For those looking to feed their Star Wars jones and use their recently acquired gift cards, Dark Horse Comics has amassed quite the collection of adaptations and extended universe stories. I never indulged in any of these along the way but my recent Star Wars movie festival with my young son drove me to discover Star Wars: Legacy and I am now hooked.
Comics adaptations of films or series based on movie characters have never thrilled me, but this series, which has been around for a little more than a year, is just fantastic. Exquisitely drawn by Jan Duursema, one of the few women artists in comics (500 geekdad points to anyone who can name her DC series debut…), and written by comics stalwart Jon Ostrander, the series takes place 125 years after the destruction of the Death Star.
Ostrander and Duursema have been writing and drawing Star Wars stories for Dark Horse since 2000, but they have pulled out all stops on Legacy. The series lays out the upheaval in the galaxy after the Empire and the proliferation of the Jedi. Once more the Sith arise to wrest control and scatter the Jedi across the galaxy. The story follows Cade Skywalker, descendant of you-know-who, who has forsaken his Jedi heritage to become a self-obsessed, drug-taking bounty hunter. Events and plotting by the various elements of the Emperor and the Sith force Cade to reluctantly confront his destiny and make the classic choice: good or evil; the many or himself. The pages are filled with weird and familiar aliens, excellent new characters, cool new ships, and light-saber action all faithfully and lovingly drawn. There is everything you would expect in a good space opera: plotting by corrupt generals, slick spies, power-mad schemes, and galactic domination. And there is plenty of the force to go around. The series does justice to the Star Wars mythos and should keep things moving for a good while. Story pacing and dialogue are suitable for all ages. You and your geek padawans will want of nothing. Issue no. 18 is due out soon. The collected omnibus will get you caught up while you wait.
