In Legacy, the New Republic is a distant memory.  The Galactic Alliance, which was made of what was left of the New Republic, the Imperial Remnant (the remains of Palpatine’s Empire), and the Jedi, falls to a new evil – the Sith lord, Darth Krayt.  The Jedi are once more scattered and hiding, but there is hope.  One last heir to the Skywalker legacy lives – Cade Skywalker.

However, Cade has vowed never to lift a lightsabre again.  He is now a bounty hunter, looking out for himself and addicted to drugs that keep him from facing his ties to the Skywalker legacy.  When an Imperial princess falls under his protection, Cade finds himself thrust back into battle with the Sith and once again confronted by his own destiny.  To help Princess Marasiah also means that Cade must face the calling of the Dark Side.

THE LOWDOWN:  Having spent years avoiding Star Wars comic books, I was confronted with reading an entire trade paperback.  Scripter John Ostrander and pencil artist Jan Duursema, (who both share story writing duty), not only didn’t disappoint, they left me clamoring for more.  Their’s is a funky, down and dirty Star Wars that actually reminds me of the original Star Wars film trilogy, where much of the infrastructure and technology is old and rundown.

Ostrander’s writing has a mood similar to some of the Star Wars comics that Marvel Comics published between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  Densely written and focusing on political history and intrigue, Legacy also feels like a novel.  Duursema’s art is a close cousin to Al Williamson’s Star Wars comics.  Combined with Dan Parsons’ inks and Brad Anderson’s colors, Duursema has the look of dark, adult-oriented sci-fi animation (Heavy Metal or HBO’s “Spawn” series).  Together Ostrander and Duursema have created a dark vision of Star Wars’ future history, but one with hope and the anticipation of lots of good storytelling.

FOR READERS OF:  In its early years, Dark Horse Comics produced excellent adaptations of such films as the Aliens franchise, The Terminator, and Predator.  The company even had Michael Kaluta produce a comic book adaptation of James Cameron’s movie, The Abyss.  Star Wars Legacy is proof that when Dark Horse puts its mind to it to produce high quality comics based on movie properties, they deliver.

B+

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