Star Wars: Republic #68

Part of Dark Horse's Clone Wars-era Star Wars: Republic series, issue #68 kicks off the "Born to Fight" arc with a cover by Jan Duursema that puts a battle-worn clone trooper in striking gold-and-tan armor front and center, blaster rifle in hand, while a blue-skinned Twi'lek Jedi ignites her lightsaber in the jungle background. The atmospheric setting — glowing orbs drifting through lush alien foliage — gives the scene a tense, otherworldly quality that writer John Ostrander and the creative team clearly relish. With the story titled "Armor," this 2004 issue promises an up-close look at the soldiers who make the Republic's war machine run.