Star Wars #5

The penultimate chapter of Dark Horse's "Prelude to Rebellion" arc arrives with a striking cover by Ken Kelly — two fierce warriors, a muscular elongated-headed alien man and a determined armored woman wielding a spear, stand back-to-back over a burning flame with a massed crowd looming behind them against a blood-red sky. It's a tense, atmospheric image that captures the feeling of two fighters braced against impossible odds. Writer Jan Strnad and artist John Nadeau bring this five-part Star Wars story close to its conclusion in what promises to be a charged and eventful issue.