Star Wars Legacy #1 Reviewed

Continuing his fantastic ongoing series of reviews, friend of Escape from Tomorrow Simon Breeze has written at length about his love of Star Wars and Dark Horse's recent reissue of a first issue from a popular series.

Star Wars Legacy #1

“The Jedi Temple is attacked, an Emperor is betrayed, and the Sith are born anew! A lot can happen in a hundred years, but all of the above happens just in this first issue! Not since Luke Skywalker first stepped aboard the Millennium Falcon has the galaxy seemed like such a vast, exciting, dangerous place!”
[Source]

For continuity and canon, the Star Wars universe can be a very complicated place indeed! Star Wars: Legacy is quite cleverly set 130 years after the first Star Wars film, A New Hope. This has given it the flexibility to almost 'start again' without getting bogged down in all of the established Star Wars Expanded Universe ('EU'), or the current George Lucas vision of the saga via multiple re-envisions of the films and TV shows (Known as 'G'-level canon, see what I mean by complicated).

For me, I am one of those irritating Star Wars fans who likes what he likes and ignores the rest; kind of making up my own canon for the saga as I go. I often feel that the Star Wars universe is so vast and encompassing and has so many characters that you could go out of your mind trying to keep up with it all. I guess this is my way of saying I'm a little fussy when it comes to new Star Wars material, and I wont lie, maybe sceptical and a little difficult to please too.

Something that caught my attention, and sadly far too late to jump on-board with the monthly comic release of the story, was Star Wars: Legacy. Although the comic run started in 2006 and ended in late 2010 (and is about to get a new mini-series called War early 2011), my introduction to it was several years into the run and oddly via a two pack of Star Wars action figures packed with a comic. The action figures were of two of the most popular characters from the Star Wars: Legacy title, Darth Talon and Cade Skywalker and the comic packed with the figures was issue #2. A quick read of issue #2 was all I needed to peak my interest in the comic series (and yes you maybe sensing a 'but') but I wasn't convinced enough to invest in the collected edition, I needed more before I was ready to take that plunge (see, sceptical and a little difficult to please!).

Fast-forward to this year and the ongoing and brilliant trend for comic publishers to re-print first issue for a Dollar, and I have issue #1 of Star Wars: Legacy in my mits!

When I ordered this first issue, I must admit, I had a mixed bag of feelings towards it before it had even arrived on my doorstep. Something happened to Star Wars back in 1999 with the release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: it changed. Now this might sound like an obvious thing to say, but stick with me for a moment whilst I rant. Before 1999, Star Wars was all about Science Fiction and Fantasy adventure, action and fun. With the release of the three new films, Star Wars became about politics, and this bled into everything!

No longer were the Star Wars comics and books spawning from the Star Wars universe about strange aliens, cool spaceships and roguish space adventurous saving the beautiful princess and the galaxy. No, it was now all about some unpronounceable Jedi, Sith, alien or planet and the politics of how they all get along - or don't get along - and was it me or does everyone now have a lightsaber of some description? For some folk, this works and it is loved dearly. For me? I like my Star Wars to be about the fun and adventure in a galaxy far, far away (it's my age).

This was my concern: was Star Wars Legacy politics or adventure? I'm happy to say – both!

This first issue starts in the thick of things with the last of the Jedi battling Stormtrooprs and Sith as the Jedi try to flee for their lives on the planet of Ossus. The Jedi are but a handful against a huge army and things are not looking too promising for their survival.

Against overwhelming odds, Kol Skywalker stands his ground giving the few remaining Jedi, including his son Cade, the time they need to escape before his death. Witnessing his death, Cade is overrun with emotion and leaping into a fighter takes the battle with the Sith into the stars above Ossus. Seemingly killed in the fight, but as did his father, buying valuable time for the (now even smaller) group of Jedi to escape into hyperspace.

Phew! Almost the first three quarters of this comic are action packed! So much so it barely pauses for breath between lightsaber fights and space battles and leaves your head spinning, all good so-far ...

The story now slows the pace for the last few pages whilst it moves location to the planet of Coruscant, the hub of the Star Wars galaxy. That is not to say this last section doesn't have a few panels of action, however its main focus is laying the foundations for political intrigue and backstabbing (Hmmm ... Star Wars politics!). Simply, this is where we are introduced to the 'bad guys' of the story, so a lot of 'Lord this' and 'Emperor that...' and 'Grand Admiral Unpronounceable' debating and scheming about how they are not going to get along.

The book ends with the main bad guy, Darth Krayt, sitting on the throne, the new Emperor of the Star Wars galaxy, almost doing an evil laugh saying, '... My vision of galactic order is not yet reality, but it will be ... It will be...' I kid you not.

Now this last bit sounds like I'm mocking the comic, and being truthful I am, but only because I love all that 'cheesey' bad guy stuff. Darth Krayt is awesome, his is a typical big and scary bad guy with a vision and the will to carry it out, and true to his archetype, he has surrounded himself with fools and goons and needs someone of power to take the mantel of his legacy when he pass on. In this case, the assumed killed in battle Cade Skywalker who Darth Krayt must hunt down and turn to the Darkside of the Force! Brilliant stuff.

Technically the comic is very good. The story and the dialogue are very much classic 'space opera' with plenty of action and adventure thrown in for good measure – much like the original Star Wars films. For those who are fans of the newer Star Wars, there is plenty to get excited about too, lots of planets and people with unpronounceable names, everyone really does seem to have a lightsaber and swinging it plus there is Sith coming out of the woodwork, none of the '... two there are. No more, no less' rule. I don't think I have ever seen so many people tattooed red and black in a Star Wars comic before.

The art is fantastic, very cinematic and popping off the page as you read. You can't help but feel part of the action as it takes place. The panel placing and pacing is really good too, with the amount of action that takes place in this first issue, it could have easily have become stagnant and dull, however the creative team putting the art together have nicely managed to avoid this and instead presented a visual treat.

I'm going to give this comic a strong - yet cautious - 4 out of 5. Cautious? 4 out of 5?

Where was Darth Talon in this issue? She was on the cover and that was it. Could help but feel a little let down by this, a personal point I guess as it is her character along with Cade's that interested me in reading this title.

The politics of the Star Wars galaxy: yes not for me, but for some very important and in this issue at a level that works for me. However, I have a nagging fear that as the story progresses they become very central to the story, this does make me a little cautious.

My last grumble is that even though the story is set 130 years in the future of the Star Wars universe, you still need a good solid knowledge of the Star Wars universe. I grumble about this point from a personal point-of-view, as here was a great opportunity to create a title that anyone could read, instead there is a heavy tug of the apron strings of the already established Star Wars continuity from previous titles. Even me with my knowledge of the Star Wars franchise, still struggled in places to understand what was going on and the relevance of some of the situations: people, places, etc ... that were being referenced throughout the story.

In reality, all minor points, I found this a very enjoyable read, value for money, and yes, I will be picking up the first trade and giving it a go.

That's right, I'm sceptical and a little difficult to please!

Star Wars Legacy #1
One for One Dollar
Story by John Ostrander & Jan Duursemma, script by John Ostrander, Pencils by Jan Duursema, inks by Dan Parsons, colours by Brad Anderson, letters by Michael David Thomas, cover art #1 by Adam Hughes
Published by Dark Horse Comics, 2010

Star Wars Blood Ties #1: Guest Review by Simon Breeze

Star Wars: Blood Ties #1

Written by Tom Taylor with art by Chris Scalf and letters by Michael Heisler
Published by Dark Horse

Here begins a multigenerational tale of honor and redemption, starring two of the heaviest hitters in the Star Wars galaxy-the father-and-clone team of Jango and Boba Fett!

Shortly before the start of the Clone Wars, Count Dooku sends Jango Fett on a mission that will affect the course of Boba Fett's life some twenty years later. But for now, neither of them knows what the future holds in store, and besides, they have their schedule filled dodging monsters and fighting bad guys!" - DarkHorse.com

Okay, off the bat, I'm a huge fan of Star Wars and unlike some of the fans of the saga I have no issues with the EU (Expanded Universe) - in fact I love it. 'Blood Ties' is a great comic and testament as to why the EU is such a fantastic way to explore the Star Wars universe, not tied down to just George Lucas's vision of how things should be, the EU has the freedom of many of the worlds greatest creators working on some of the best science fiction & fantasy stories about. These creators have the time and breathing space to explore characters and places that will never get the screen time on any of the television shows or films.

One of my all time favorite Star Wars characters is Boba Fett (try prising that action figure from my hand when I was a kid, in fact give it a go now!), and one of the best things to come out of the three new films is the character of Jango Fett, Boba's clone 'Father'. This comic starts around sometime before the Star Wars film "A New Hope" the actual time frame is given in the comic of being set between 1,000 and 0 years before the battle of Yavin (the big spaceship battle around the Death Star at the end of A New Hope), not very helpful at all? Well, if you have watched the films and read any of the EU comics, books or played the video games before, you know this is in fact quite a narrow time line for these characters and events, and as a reader you can easily place them in a lose period in the timeline of the Star Wars films and EU.

As I said, the comic opens with Boba Fett trapped in a room surrounded by 'bad' guys (being classed as one himself it is difficult to say for sure at this point just how bad they are), and a huge monster called a Rancor at his back (the monster that tries to eat Luke Skywalker in The Return of the Jedi beneath Jabba the Hutts palace) and things don't look to promising for our uber cool gadget-armoured bounty hunter. The comic now goes into a flashback (and by flashback I mean the rest of the comic), to a time when Boba was a young boy and still with his father Jango being taught the ways of the bounty hunter.

The rest of the comic follows the story of Boba's training at his fathers hands and Jango's hunt for a troublesome informer that could scupper the well laid plans of Count Dooku to overthrow the Republic (which clearly sets this part of the story not to far away from the events of the film 'Attack of the Clones'). Throughout the comic we get to see some familiar creatures, characters and places and the awesome spaceship, Slave 1 in a bit of action too. The first part of this four part run ends (and what feels all to soon) with a nice twisty cliff hanger, awesome stuff.

I think this comic is one of the best Star Wars ones I have read for the most part of this year. You could puff your cheeks out and sigh at the re-used formula of Jango and Boba doing the 'father and son thing' again, it is used a lot in the EU for these two characters, but that is what makes them great. Boba and Jango only work as the 'loner' or as the 'father and son' character, obviously dependent on the story and time setting, so to hell with it. I think it is a great formula and Tom Taylor's writing, both story and dialogue, are bang on.

Visually the story is very impressive, Chris Scalf's art is amazing and is fully painted throughout the comic giving it a realistic feel that really brings the page to life, it is almost like your watching a film in your head. His great use of lighting and colour on the page adds a real mood to the work that allows you to smoothly transit from scene to scene with no effort. While on topic of Chris Scalf's art, his cover is brilliant, a quick glance at it and you could be fooled into thinking it was a photo, real great stuff.

You may already know where this is going, a solid five out of five, anyone will enjoy this comic, Star Wars fan or not. I will go even further than that, if you know any Star Wars fan that doesn't 'buy-into' the EU, give them this to read, they will love it.


As always, my thanks to Simon for another great review - Dark Horse have published a number of preview pages from this comic book over on their website while if you'd like to find out more about Simon Breeze's writing and artwork portfolio head on over to his blog.

Devil #1 - Guest Review by Simon Breeze

A vampire virus rages through Japan and only one man stands in its way - welcome to the world of Devil!

I am now about to cheat in writing this review as I can't sum up the story any better than the inside page of issue one of this action horror, so here is the blurb from the issue itself:

A virus is raging across the planet, turning people into bloodsucking super-humans referred to as "Devils." Most victims die within days, sometimes months, but there's a new strain, a new class of devil that threatens to overtake mankind with power and blood-thirst. This new class of Devils derives from an experiment to clone a virus victim, and it looks like science has created a true monster this time. Can Takimoto and the Devil Investigation Section of Tokyo police force stop this societal scourge?

This is a really great story that is well illustrated too, reading this comic was like watching an anime in high definition in my head!

The main characters, Takimoto and Migiwa are quite 'generic' for the manga genre, however this is a good thing, right away you know who these two characters are and where they are coming from with almost no introduction other than the first few panels in which they appear. The stroke of genius comes in with the Devils, they are very manga, yet very different too, the contrast of this against the two main human characters works really well; predictability vs mysterious, this means your never in your comfort zone, despite feeling like you should be and your not to sure what you will encounter on the next page when you turn it, brilliant stuff.

The story is very fast paced and action packed with short pauses for breath to let the previous panels sink in, this gives the story a chance to build nicely amongst all of the roof top running, car chasing, mad shooting and fisty-cuffs that takes place. If I was asked to sum this story up in one sentence, it would be this, '28 days later with Vampires instead of Zombies.' The story is fast, gritty and real and also elevates the vampire from the over diluted puddle of the genre they have become into something new, very much as the aforementioned 28 days Later did with zombies.

Having praised the comic so highly I am now going to throw in a negative or two (however one in my head it is a positive), if you have recently purchased a copy of the Twilight manga and are looking for one to follow it up, I'm sorry (no, I really am) this is not one for you. Within these pages you will find no pale faced and just wanting to be loved because I'm just misunderstood and twinkle in the sunlight two-hundred year old pretty school boys (shame). Instead you will find nail biting, head spinning edge of the seat action that adds a fantastic new spin on the vampire genre. The other disappointment with Devil is this, after reading only one issue I am saddened as there is only a four issue run! Four! Dam you Dark Horse! (You have to picture me shaking my fist in the air in rage and going, 'Grrrrrrr! As you read this bit). Even after reading one issue I would love to see this story taken further, much further than only four issues can take us.

I give Devil a solid 4 out of 5, why not 5? Mostly because of the short four issue run, the other reason is speech bubbling and captions, it is an annoyance with a westernised manga, the bubbles and caption boxes are always way to big for the text they contain, this I sometimes feel a little jarring upon reading. This is a personal and small thing, I do understand why it is this way, however this combine with the limited run smudges it down just enough to take it to a really high 4, if there is such a thing?

Devil
Story and Art by Torajiro Kishi and Madhouse Studios
Published by Dark Horse Comics

More on Devil at Dark Horse Comics.

As always, my sincere thanks to Simon for another great contribution. Remember, you can find Simon's work on his deviantArt site as well as his work and family blog.

If, like Simon, you'd be interested in submitting a occasional piece for publication - a review, article, or news - then drop me an email, I'd be happy to hear from you.

B.P.R.D. King of Fear #1 - Guest Review by Simon Breeze

I'm delighted to present another contribution to Escape from Tomorrow from one of my favourite artists and writers Simon Breeze.

B.P.R.D. - King of Fear #1

Written by Mike Mignola & John Arcudi
Artwork by Guy Davis & Mike Mignola with colours by Dave Stewart and letters by Clem Robins

The B.P.R.D or the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence (in case you were wondering), are a fictional organization from the creator of Hellboy, Mike Mignola. The B.P.R.D. protect the world (from their base of operations in America) from the paranormal and supernatural and employ several team members who would fall under this category, including the aforementioned Hellboy.

Story synopsis from the Dark Horse Comics site:

‘After the defeat of the mystic Memnan Saa, the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense - on the outs with the United States government after the bloodstained rescue of Liz Sherman - embarks to the Ural Mountains, the site of B.P.R.D.: Hollow Earth, to put the frog menace to rest once and for all.

Meanwhile, Kate Corrigan heads to Hunte Castle in Austria, where Hellboy killed the Conqueror Worm, on her own rescue mission - to save ectoplasmic special agent Johann Kraus, possessed by the ghost of Lobster Johnson.’

[Source]

First of all, I’m going to say that this issue is by no means a ‘jump-on’ point to the worlds of either Hellboy or the B.P.R.D. It is an issue #1 of a story arc set in the Hellboy universe, and that is the key. There is no provision made for anyone who has never read any Hellboy or B.P.R.D. before. To be upfront about it, there is no pretence to say otherwise either.

Mike Mignola and John Arcudi's writing is flawless throughout this first issue - although I admit I’m not up to speed with the current events in the Hellboy universe, it didn’t take me long to get into the swing of things. Already there are two or three strong stories developing within this issue that make me want to know more by the time we reach the cliff-hanger ending. The story is also none the weaker for the absence of Hellboy from the team either; the other members are more then strong enough characters to carry their own title.

As for the art, Mike Mignola’s cover is awesome; his stylised art is something I have always admired. The interior art is the handywork of Guy Davis, another stylised comic artist whose work is really great and not out of place on the pages of this comic. To digress for just a second, as an added bonus for me as a reader of the Judge Dredd Megazine, Guy Davis has drawn a one-off Judge Dredd story for writer Rob Williams for the upcoming issue of the Megazine #296, entitled ‘Out Law’ - on sale at the end of March and one to look forward to.

If there is anything wrong with this comic I can’t find it, I was drawn in and engaged within the first two thought bubbles of panel one, page one:

A head and shoulders view of Liz Sherman sat in a boardroom looking lost in thought.

Thought-bubble #1, Liz Sherman: A whole battalion of men. A battalion and armoured complement.

Thought-bubble #2, Liz Sherman: just GONE.

Oddly as much as I enjoy the character of Hellboy and the B.P.R.D., I own and have read very little, however with this title I feel that could change. If you like paranormal and supernatural based comics, you can’t go wrong with B.P.R.D. King of Fear - just bear in mind you will probably need to have some knowledge of the Hellboy universe before taking the plunge, otherwise the story could, initially at least, be tough going.


As always, my sincere thanks to Simon for another great contribution. Remember, you can find Simon's work on his deviantArt site as well as his work and family blog. This weekend Simon has posted his latest work, a simply stunning image of the Marvel character Black Cat.