“Wah, wah, wah too much Star Wars”, “wah, wah, wah, they are ruining it for me”. That’s all you hear on social media from the stubborn, stuck in their ways fan, who would see the original trilogy untouched and unexpanded. Not here at Mass Movement. It really doesn’t matter who’s at the helm or the output type, be it Lucas, Filoni, Scott, Favreau, Chow etc, us Star Wars devotees are lapping it up and asking for seconds. So pipe down Mr Gatekeeper and get a load of Star Wars: Tales From The Death Star from Dark Horse Comics and Disney.

It’s a simple enough synopsis, that begins on the ocean moon of Endor, the site of the downed second Death Star as seen in The Rise Of Skywalker. A local human boy’s little adventure to the fallen space station, is interrupted by a cloaked figure, warning the boy of it’s dangers by regaling the youngster with five fearful stories that will scratch both your Star Wars and Halloween itch.

When the words “Life Day” are uttered in Star Wars fandom, the nerd sweat becomes particularly moist as we recall the dreaded Holiday Special, so it’s satisfying to read a story that does justice to the galaxy’s most celebrated day, even it means a couple of Death Star operatives are stuck in work and not celebrating with the family. Palpatine cares not about annual leave. A simple sweep of the area means overtime may also be required.

There’s monsters of Lovecraftian proportions in The Creature From The Trash Compactor where pest control problems are a much bigger problem in a galaxy far, far away and when Commander Jerjerrod promised Lord Vader that they would “double their efforts” in Return Of The Jedi, he was not thinking about the workload this would put on the engineering team. But is raising the dead to create a zombie workforce the answer? And the final story delves into the cold steely mind of Tarkin, to see if there is anything that can scare the unshakeable. A full cast of Death Star visitors past and present make themselves known here and we get to find out who the mysterious person is that is recounting these tales to young Fry.

As you’ve probably guessed by now, there is a fair amount of tongue in cheek in these pages, as the day to day goings on of the galaxy’s biggest weapon are explored, but nothing that would seem to far removed from what we are used to in Star Wars. This is largely down to the writing of the wonderful Cavan Scott, who has brough his extensive knowledge to the table, whilst having free reign to inject some humour and hijinks into proceedings, before dropping a doozy of an ending. Each story is brought to life by the artwork of Soo Lee, Vincenzo Riccardi, Fico Ossio, Ingo Römling, and Juan Samu all of whom bring a unique look to the Force fed table whilst making sure it stays true to the source material. Star Wars: Tales From The Death Star is a perfect way celebrate the Star Wars spooky season… Chris Andrews