Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago, Volume 5
Story by Jo Duffy, Archie Goodwin, Ann Nocenti, Randy Stradley
Pencils by Bart Blevins, Sal Buscema, Jaan Duursema, Ron Frenz, Bob McLeod, Cynthia Martin, Tom Palmer, Tony Salmons, Al Williamson
Inks by Sam de la Rosa, Steve Leialoha, Art Nichols, Tom Palmer, Whilce Portacio, Ken Steacy, Bob Wiacek, Al Williamson
Colors by J. Ferriter, Daina Graziunus, Michael Higgins, Elaine Lee, Glynis Oliver, Petra Scotese, Bob Sharen, M. Wrightson
Cover Art by Cynthia Martin, Art Nichols, Petra Scotese
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: February 26, 2012
Cover Price: $24.99

Lumiya, Dark Lady of the Sith! The Nagai! Zeltrons!

Does that make me seem too overexcited for this review?

Well then, go to buggery if it does, because my, oh, my, Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago, Volume 5 is an extraordinary trip down memory lane for those of us Star Wars fans old enough to remember the closing era of the Marvel Star Wars.

The fifth part of the A Long Time Ago Omnibus reprints the final series of issues originally released by Marvel Comics – from Issue #86 August 1984 to Issue #107 September 1986. The collection represents the closing period of Marvel’s Star Wars publication, in a post Return Of The Jedi era as the Expanded Universe (as it was during that time) would begin to wane. It would not be until 5 years later when Timothy Zahn would release Heir To The Empire, his first episode of The Thrawn Trilogy, that enthusiasm would return to the Expanded Universe with a new level of enthusiasm from fans old and new.

Star Wars: Dawn Of The Jedi #1
Story by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema
Pencils and Cover Art by Jan Duursema
Inks by Dan Parsons
Colors by Wes Dzioba
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: February 15, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

The debut issue of Star Wars: Dawn Of The Jedi is, in essence, a Creation Myth, telling the very beginnings and origins of the Jedi and the Sith. Set tens of thousands of years before the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the story tells of how the original order, called the Je’daii, came into being, and how their approaching conflict with the Rakatan Infinite Empire set their course away from balance and into division.

Dawn Of The Jedi, for the Star Wars continuity geek (such as myself – I like to consider myself a bit of an in-universe SW historian) is a dream come true – the publication we’ve long waited for. From start to finish, Dawn Of The Jedi #1 is chock full of new information about the deeply unexplored ancient history era of the Star Wars universe, providing a solid glimpse into a time where swords were used instead of a lightsaber.

Star Wars: Dawn Of The Jedi #0
Text by John Ostrander
Art by Jan Duursema
Cover Art by Rodolfo Migliari
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: Febuary 1, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

“Your Guide to the Dawn Of The Jedi era of Star Wars: It is an era of legend, an era before the discovery of hyperspace travel, before the foundation of the Old Republic, and before the philosophies of the Jedi and the Sith were codified. This is a tale of a great and mythic society, established and nurtured by powers unthinkably ancient and mysterious, on a collision course with an empire founded on darkness and death. These are the true roots of both the Jedi and the Sith Orders . . . the dawn of the Jedi.”

Issue #0 of the brand new Star Wars comic series Dawn Of The Jedi is not really a comic book. Instead, it is more of a text overview and an artistic preview of what is to come – and there is a LOT in this new series that will break a lot of ground in the Star Wars mythos.

Star Wars: Legacy, Vol. 11: War
Written by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema
Pencils by Jan Duursema
Inks by Dan Parsons
Colors by Brad Anderson
Cover Art by Jan Duursema
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: January 11, 2012
Cover Price: $19.99

When I found out that the Star Wars Legacy series was coming to an ending, I was not amused. I had fallen in love with the series, and wished it would continue, but all good things – actually, in fact, all the best things, must come to an end; or in this case, a conclusion. The Legacy series had everything against it in the beginning – a Skywalker tale set over a century after Return of the Jedi seemed (to many, including myself) a tacky, desperate move by Dark Horse. But something very odd happened:

It worked.

Well Star Wars fans, the end of an era is upon us. One of the most successful Star Wars comic book titles is coming to a bittersweet end. Star Wars: Legacy #50, which goes on sale tomorrow, is the grand finale of a story that brought readers epic battles and amazing characters that we felt for.

The final issue will have one final battle that has Sith vs. Sith, Jedi vs. Sith, Imperials vs. Sith, and Cade Skywalker vs. Sith. The series was one of the best written and best drawn Star Wars titles out there. The characters were not perfect, but they were very lovable and readers could relate to them.

The writer of Legacy, John Ostrander, has been on the book since issue one and has brought readers memorable characters and moments that remind us so much of the Star Wars saga. They even included R2-D2 in a few story arcs.