talyseon's Full Review: John Ostrander - Star Wars Legacy 2: Shards
Star Wars Legacy Volume Two: Shards Story by John Ostrander.
What has gone before From the frontpiece.
After the death of Emperor Palpatine, the defeated Imperial forces pulled back to the planet Bastion and called a truce with the New Republic. For decades, peace flourished, until an invasion of extra-galactic aliens called the Yuuzhan Vong killed trillions and devastated worlds. A Galactic Alliance of remaining systems, Jedi, and the Imperial Remnant finally defeated the invaders.
Then, a new breed of Sith, numbering more than two and led by Darth Krayt, emerged to form an alliance with the newly reforged Empire. Together they manufactured an incident that sundered the Galactic Alliance and began a brutal war.
Now, the Empire is poised to regain control of the galaxy. Yet the intentions of its Sith allies remain shrouded in secrecy….
This graphic novel collects issues eight, four, nine, ten, thirteen, eleven and twelve. Each story, as you may gather from the order, is an independent little jewel that taken as a whole, advances the over all story line, focusing on widely disparate areas of the galaxy. Most of the stories focus on the efforts of the Sith. Each is a stand alone jewel that together hint broadly at the overall picture. Each one is like a shard, a jagged little piece of the larger puzzle.
Allies Art by Adam DeKraker. This story focuses on Moff Nyna Calixte, lover of would be Emperor, Grand Moff Veed. As master of intelligence she is a veteran of plots and schemes. Confronted by Emperor Fel, she still manages to show him the value of keeping her alive. She also realizes how alike, and how different she is from Darth Maladi, her Sith counterpart. The art of Adam DeKraker is strong, realistic, with heavy emphasis on shadowing. He has a good grasp of anatomy, and is particularly skilled at making Calixte look like “a woman of a certain age.” However, his portraiture does not approach the skill of Jan Duursana who did the first seven issues. Grade, B.
Noob Art by Travel Foreman.
This issue follows Imperial Storm Trooper Anson Trask, who is assigned to the Jokers. Unfortunately their very first mission sees them digging another battalion of Storm Troopers, these loyal to Emperor Fel. A story of loyalty, duty and survival, it is a well written tale.
The art is where this story falls down. Foreman has a rough style, not cartooinsh, but somewhat…representational. His backgrounds are minimalist. It does serve the tale, overall. A rough story about rough men, with rough art. Grade C.
Trust Issues Art by Colin Wilson.
This issue focuses on, well, trust issues. Moff Calixte is given the job of bringing in Cade Skywalker. Much of her network has been replaced with agents of Darth Malidi. She can no longer trust them. So she activates an old agent who has retired for twenty years, Morrigan Corde. Emperor Fel deals with his two knights who rescued his daughter against his direct orders, and The True Empire tries to gain some allies.
The art is excellent, and would look perfectly at home in the pages of any superhero title. Great anatomy and portraiture work, and very nice in the action sequences. Grade B+.
Ready to Die. Art by Colin Wilson.
This issue takes place on Munto Codru, the planet of the Codru Ji, the four armed kidnapping specialists. Also, Emperor Fel deals with an assassination attempt, and sends a message to Emperor Krayt.
Ghosts Art by Jan Duursana.
Cade Skywalker must deal with many ghosts, the Ghosts of dead Jedi, the Ghost he becomes when on deathsticks, and the Ghosts of his past, in the form of the Jedi Masters who have come to deal with him.
In my mind, Duursana is THE artist for this title. The almost painted look of the art is unbelievable, lending a vibrancy to the art that brings Cade and his companions to life. It is awesome. Grade A+.
As I said, these stories are like shards of a larger picture. The different artists, something I usually object to, actually lend a little to the project, giving each story its own feel, much like Lucas used the environments of Tatooine, Hoth, Bespin , Dagobah and Endor to give each arc of his tale a different feel.
All in all, it is an interesting departure from the first volume, Star Wars Legacy: Broken. That was the story of Cade. Now, he does not appear until the very end. It sets the story in perspective. I just hope Volume Three focuses more on Cade and his story. It looks like it is picking up.
I did not enjoy this as much as the first volume, but I am willing to continue reading. Taken on its own, and not as a continuation of the storyline, it was still a darn good read.
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