First of all, let me admit. I've been a Star Wars fan since the beginning, after seeing it in theatres in 1977 when I was just 5 years old, and I went through my action figure stage as a child. I didn't really get into SW when it came to reading deeper into the stories and morals, but I thought Vader was cool (Boba Fett was my favorite action figure), and I just grew up with SW being one important aspect of my childhood.

After becoming a teenager and beyond, I always thought of Star Wars as that place that was "a long, long time ago... in a childhood far, far away...", but never really "got into it" much more than that. Even after the release of Episodes I and II, I just thought, "Man, that is a good series."

Then came "Episode III", and the rest is history.

Now what I'm building all these sentimental memories up for is for my newest SW interest. And thanks to the past year as a renewed, revived and rejuventated Star Wars fan, this interest is growing! And it all started... with an ending... just around 1000 BBY.

Behold! Darth Bane!

Darth Bane is one of those characters in the EU that's interested me from the the get-go. It's his arrogance, his demeanor and just the simple fact that he survived the ever-loving "thought bomb" at the Battle Of Ruusan that makes him one of the most intriguing figures ever.

After reading what has probably become my all-time favorite graphic novel Jedi vs. Sith and hearing about the upcoming book Darth Bane: Path Of Destruction, I'm all psyched and ready to learn more about this Dark Lord of the Sith who pretty much created the Sith's vision for the future.

To be quite honest, I probably would have never even heard of Darth Bane had it not been for The Ultimate Visual Guide to Star Wars . And had it not been for that same book, I probably wouldn't have heard of the "thought bomb" and re-discovered a whole new look at the Star Wars universe.

Think about it. Lord Kaan and other members of Brotherhood of Darkness worked together to create the Dark Side of the Force into this mass, this physical entity that would be used to destory all Jedi. I guess you could compare it to the Alpha-Omega bomb in Beneath The Planet Of The Apes. And the images that you see, as life is slowly stolen from the living is harrowing at best. Of course, anything Force-sensitive was affected, but Darth Bane was capable of surviving it's destuction. (If you have read Jedi vs. Sith, then you're really missing out on very interesting story.) I tell you, I'd love to see Battle Of Ruusan played out like the Clone Wars series, or even like a CGI-type film.

I'd like to go on more about why Darth Bane and pretty much ANYTHING relating to the 1000 BBY era interests me, and maybe I will. But for now I'd like to just imagine Bane singing to himself:



"It's the end of the world as know it... and I feel fine! (Okay, that was bad.)

svn