Published: January 8th, 2015 (Marvel reprint)
Written by: Jan Duursema, John Ostrander
Art by: Jan Duursema, Dave Ross
Based on: Star Wars by George Lucas

Dark Horse, Marvel Comics (reprinted), 443 Pages

Review:

Well, here we are, the final act of this comic book series. I also had never read any of this, as I stopped reading the series before its end due to no longer being able to pull the issues at my local comic shop.

So seeing where all these characters ended up was something that I didn’t get to experience until now.

I’m very happy to say that this series ended with a giant f’n bang!

I loved this and it tied everything up perfectly and the long arcs of the main characters ended up being really damn satisfying. But then again, this was Star Wars before Disney took control and basically wrecked it with their warped ideology, complete lack of actual creativity and by putting people in charge of the franchise that cared more about current day “issues” than the actual art.

That being said, and as I have said many times before, this version of Star Wars is my canon. Fuck that Disney shit. The original Expanded Universe, as proven by this comic book series and just about every other release be it comics, books, video games or whatever, is the superior continuity. The reason for that, is it was made by creatives that were fans and cared about the franchise while respecting the fact that being given the keys to it, was a huge responsibility.

But enough about me bitching about the state of modern Star Wars.

This beefy collection of issues was fantastic. You finally get to see the final showdown between Cade Skywalker and Darth Krayt. You also get the satisfaction of seeing Krayt get revenge on the Sith who betrayed him, while shuffling the deck for the Sith’s survival going forward.

By this point, this series had a ton of characters. All of them get their stories wrapped up and it’s neat seeing new alliances formed as old ones dissolve in the wake of this big final battle between Krayt’s Sith Empire and their opposition.

We see heroes grow, destinies fulfilled, alliances formed, redemption achieved for some and the triumph of light over dark. This is Star Wars. 

Rating: 9.25/10
Pairs well with: other Star Wars comics of the Legacy era, as well as the stuff originally published by Dark Horse.

Published: January 8th, 2015 (Marvel reprint)
Written by: Jan Duursema, John Ostrander
Art by: Jan Duursema, Kajo Baldisimo, Omar Francia, Alan Robinson, Adam Hughes (cover)
Based on: Star Wars by George Lucas

Dark Horse, Marvel Comics (reprinted), 417 Pages

Review:

After being pretty drawn into the first large collection in the Star Wars: Legacy comic book series, I didn’t want to waste too much time before getting to the second of the three volumes.

This one is nearly as good. However, it jumps around a lot to tell different stories with some characters we haven’t met yet. Most of these side stories were there to lay the groundwork for the overall, bigger arc.

For the most part, I enjoyed these side plots even though I wanted to get back to Cade Skywalker and his friends, as well as seeing where Darth Krayt was after his first big encounter with Cade.

The biggest things that happen in this volume is that there is a legit power struggle on the Sith side of the coin, while on the Jedi side, Cade has to evolve and conquer his personal demons in an effort to allow the light to wash away the dark. He’s not quite there yet but things in his life continue to push him towards the destiny he keeps trying to deny.

This volume also develops all of the main and secondary characters much more, as by this point, the series had gotten through what I would call its first act with this being the second.

This sets up everything for the final third of the larger story and it really keeps the momentum going, as we know shit will most assuredly hit the fan in the final volume.

Overall, this was solid and kept me invested in the series. Now there’s only one more book to go.

Rating: 8.75/10
Pairs well with: other Star Wars comics of the Legacy era, as well as the stuff originally published by Dark Horse.

Published: January 8th, 2015 (Marvel reprint)
Written by: Jan Duursema, John Ostrander
Art by: Adam Dekraker, Jan Duursema, Travel Foreman, Colin Wilson, Adam Hughes (cover)
Based on: Star Wars by George Lucas

Dark Horse, Marvel Comics (reprinted), 473 Pages

Review:

I was in on this series from the day it was originally released. I was buying all the Star Wars comics series by Dark Horse at the time and this, along with Knights of the Old Republic, were solid additions to my pull list. From that mid-to-late ’00s era, these comics kept me interested in the Star Wars franchise, even though it seemed like there would be no more movies, as George Lucas seemed like he was shifting into retirement mode.

Having re-read this for the first time in well over a decade, I’m happy to say that it’s held up exceptionally well. Hell, it’s much better than the version of Star Wars that Disney has been spoon-feeding us since they bought the IP in 2012.

What stands out the most with this series is the writing. It’s just so good. Also, within a short time, you feel like you know these characters. Plus, once they’re established, this doesn’t waste any time in getting right into the thick of it.

This is action packed and the characters, especially the Sith, are really damn cool looking. I also like that the main Sith Lord, Darth Krayt, is a character that reaches all the way back into the prequel era.

Even though this takes place over a hundred years into the future beyond The Return of the Jedi, it still features characters like Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade in the form of Force ghosts trying to inspire this series’ reluctant hero into embracing his destiny as a Skywalker.

I like that Cade Skywalker, the main character, is sort of an amalgamation of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo but that he is also a heavy drug user, as he wants to suppress the Force and hide from who he is supposed to be.

Legacy has a darker edge to it than any other Star Wars comic series. I think that it actually adds to the sense of the dread that everyone in the galaxy should be feeling in this time period.

The galaxy is splintered and everything is in flux, making the future pretty damn uncertain and also solidifying the fact that even though the Empire fell a century earlier, life doesn’t just have a happy ending. There are still things that the survivors and heroes will always have to fight for.

I can’t wait to read the other two beefy volumes in this series.

Rating: 9/10
Pairs well with: other Star Wars comics of the Legacy era, as well as the stuff originally published by Dark Horse.