By Graceland Geek

Star Wars Legacy #23
Loyalties, Part 1 - Friends from the Past, Enemies in the Present
Written by John Ostrander
Pencils by Jan Duursema
Inks by Dan Parsons
Colors by Brad Anderson
Dark Horse Comics
Cover price: $2.99; Available now

When reading Legacy I liked the fact it is a Star Wars comic, but I also like how it distances itself from previous stories from various types of Star Wars mediums in that it doesn’t try to tie itself directly to post-trilogy times, but they keep the same formula going. This series is set about 137 years in the future centralizing itself around Luke Skywalker’s descendant Cade Skywalker. Legacy gives a whole new look to the expanded universe as well as an ability to control its characters better than in previous Dark Horse Star Wars comics, such as Dark Times or Knights of the Old Republic. Previous issues of Legacy have been mixed with some tense and tightly woven stories while others were drawn out and basically boring because they didn’t seem to accomplish anything at all. After catching up with the series and arriving at Legacy issue #23, I was very thrilled with the last episode (#22) in the fact it had a lot to tell and accomplished some important things as well as it gave us an interesting perspective of bad guy, Darth Krayt.

In this issue, sub-titled “Friends from the Past, Enemies in the Present,” nothing really happens worth mentioning but it does seem to have an ending that leaves you waiting for the second part of the story (I love cliffhangers), which will continue in Issue #24 subtitled “Home.” Overall it seems like a filler episode and we will have to wait to see what happens now that Cade and his friends have a bounty hunter from Cade’s past following them. Perhaps the best thing about this issue, and even the previous ones, is that it feels like you are reading a Star Wars story, which is good if you are a fan of the universe, and this was the biggest thing I liked when reading this comic.

Now on to the issues of art. The layouts aren’t bad and they capture the frame and flow of the story very well, but the refinement in the characters is rough in some areas and results in some distractions.

All in all, Star Wars: Legacy, in my opinion, is currently one of the most successful efforts to bring George Lucas’ creation to the world of comics and Star Wars fans who aren’t giving it a chance are only cheating themselves out of a young but captivating series. I would stay for little longer, but if the stories keep fluctuating in tone and depth I might have to say goodbye to this series. However, it is currently the best Star Wars comic book series available right now.