For some, Shadows of the Empire was the greatest thing since the original trilogy, the story passed through books, comics, video games, toys, and an original cd score. For others, it was a lot of hype which just didn't deliver. For me, like many, it was an okay story which threaded together (unnecessarily, I might add) Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
I will easily admit that Xizor and his Black Sun "Godfather" type operation was an interesting addition to the Star Wars mythos, but for the novel, written by Steve Perry, only! The fact that Perry, who has never before attempted comics scripting, wished to continue the story in comics would prove that he's devoted to his newfound creations (and the Star Wars Universe). But you read Shadows Of The Empire: Evolution, and you tell me whether Perry's into it for fun or profit.
The entire script would make even the minimalist of minimalist storytellers blush. What took 5 issues to get through could easily have taken 3... or less! Talk about dragging it on. The series, dealing with the robotic Guri's attempt to dump all her memory banks of knowledge about the Black Sun operation, wound up being a complete waste of time, and doublessly the worst addition to Star Wars mythology yet (even worse than Dark Empire II !!!)!.
The art by Ron Randall is stagnant. Sure, the females look purty and the movie characters look like themselves (for the most part) but expressions are stagnant, and mannerisms are minimal. The coloring by Dave Nestelle was good though.
The worst part of the entire series was the inclusion of the 5 main Star Wars heroes (Luke, Leia, Lando, Han, and Chewie). They really weren't a necessity for the story, and the fact that Perry used them for comic relief - and comic relief only - borders on blasphemy. It's a sad state of affairs when beloved fictional creations are turned into pathetic comedic hucksters (and bad ones at that!).
In fact, the only redeeming quality to the books are the goddamn gorgeous covers done by Duncan Fegredo. It's a shame they had to go to waste covering shit like this.