Today is May the Fourth. A day to celebrate all things from a galaxy far, far away. To celebrate, we wanted to throwback to a celebration from a few years ago, when we sat down and looked at comics stories from across the Star Wars universe.
Though they’re fondly remembered, the old Expanded Universe, now called Legends, was a lot more hit and miss than many are willing to admit. One of the brightest spots in that line though is far and away the book we revisit here.
If you ask fans what they miss the most of the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, the most common answer you’re likely to get is Mara Jade-Skywalker, the Dark Jedi turned Bounty Hunter turned Jedi Master and wife of Luke Skywalker. However, the next most common will likely be Star Wars: Legacy, a series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2006 to 2011. It chronicled the adventures of the most unorthodox Jedi to date in the middle of a galactic civil war over a century after the Battle of Yavin.
The series was written entirely by John Ostrander, with line art in volume 1 by Jan Duursema and Dan Parsons, color art by Brad Anderson and letters by Michael David Thomas. The series introduced a new era of the galaxy that readers had never before seen. Though it was met with trepidation at first, it quickly became one of the most popular entries into the Expanded Universe.
After his father’s murder at the hands of the Sith, Cade Skywalker went on the run. Over the next seven years, he became one of the galaxy’s greatest bounty hunters. However, fate has a way of finding Skywalkers and thrusting them into a bigger destiny.
A master of worldbuilding, Ostrander quickly creates a world that’s familiar but foreign to the readers. There’s no Republic, and the Jedi are barely keeping the peace against a new Empire and their allies the Sith. This Empire is fascinating too, a government that’s closer to the Republic than Palpatine’s Empire, but is definitely more amoral and ruthless than the old or New Republic. However, the Sith are as familiar as ever, with the biggest change being their population boom, leading up to their usurpation of the Empire’s throne.
Even better though is the characters that inhabit this world. None of the main characters feel like a caricature or stereotype, even though Cade and Darth Krayt, the Sith Emperor, are really the only two to get a significant spotlight here. It’s quite a large cast, but each character clearly has a history that could unfold on the page and be relevant to the plot.
Duursema cements herself as one of the legends of the Star Wars universe in this series. Her designs are fantastic throughout, from new ships to tech, to the characters. Her sense of storytelling is great too. Nothing feels static or still, with there always being motion and action on the page, even in the quieter scenes. When fights break out, she steps it up another notch, with dynamic layouts and character movement.
Even though it’s no longer “canon” this is still one of the most enjoyable Star Wars stories I’ve read. Its “Legends” status shouldn’t prevent anyone from checking it out. I know I’ll be checking it out again.
Star Wars: Legacy is available in reprints from Marvel Comics wherever comics are sold.
Today is May the Fourth. A day to celebrate all things from a galaxy far, far away. To celebrate, weCOMICONRead More