Star Wars #44

Part three of John Ostrander's four-part "Rite of Passage" arc brings two lightsaber-wielding figures to the fore in a striking cover by Jan Duursema. A blue-skinned, horned Jedi woman surges forward with her cyan blade at the ready, while a dreadlocked human Jedi sweeps his green lightsaber in a wide arc behind her — both cutting through a dusty, desert-toned atmosphere that crackles with urgency. With Duursema's dynamic linework and the story deep into its penultimate chapter, this 2002 Dark Horse entry delivers exactly the kind of tension that makes multi-part Star Wars storytelling so compelling.