The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai |
Vol 1 - Betrayal The artwork isn't so great and it's a typical Empire-era story in that the Emperor and Darth Vader triumph, but I was never bored during my reading of this volume. It was released during an evolving period, since not all prequel movies had come out yet, and it managed to skirt the noticeable gap that ROTS had not yet filled. |
Vol 2 - Darklighter (vol 7 of the 30th anniversary collection) This is volume 2 of the Empire line, but my version is volume 7 of Dark Horse's 30th Anniversary Collection - it's a really nice hardcover edition with thick pages. It honestly deserved the extra special treatment. This collection really does justice to Biggs Darklighter and it makes you care. Here, he's not just Luke's expendable friend. He has adventures and doubts and he's a solid, tangible character. One of my favourite Dark Horse releases. |
Vol 3 - The Imperial Perspective There's some solid stories here, but "To the Last Man" is the real showstopper. It's one of the most memorable stories I've ever read in comic form; this is only my third reading of it (I think), yet it's remained in my thoughts for years. The Empire's flaws are laid bare to the reader and yet you completely understand why Sunber remains in service. He's one of the most interesting Imperial characters from the Legends canon. I look forward to revisiting his other appearances in this line. |
Vol 4 - The Heart of the Rebellion This volume contains Leia-centric stories, which are for the most part enjoyable or offer some food for thought. But the dialogue is a little off, particularly the banter between Han and Leia (will any comic script writer ever get it right?) and some of the art was ridiculously sexist (female characters forced into silly positions). |
Vol 6 - In the Shadows of Their Fathers The Jabiim arc in the Clone Wars era comics is one of my undisputed favourites and I'm delighted that a follow up emerged, showing the consequences of Anakin's actions - it was fascinating to see how they affected Luke many years later. I do think the story could have been a bit tighter, but it's still quite strong and sows the seeds for doubt in Luke because at the end he finds himself wondering what else Ben didn't tell him... |
Vol 7 - The Wrong Side of the War Sunber/Tank is a complex character and he's used to full effect here. I'm honestly impressed that a character who was briefly mentioned in a 1970s comic can become the focal point of such a compelling story in the 2000s. That's down to the skill of Welles Hartley (this is a pen name used by a dude who actually cofounded Dark Horse Comics - his first foray into writing Star Wars comics was in 1984, interestingly). The gripping interactions between Sunber and Luke really made this TPB. |
Vol 1 - My Brother, My Enemy I'm not sure why the series' name changed from Empire to Rebellion, since it's still the same storyline. Anyone picking up this TPB and expecting a new series would have been confused and annoyed, I'd wager. But since I like the Sunber storyline, I was pleased to see more of him and his struggle to be both an Imperial and a good man. It's a pity the art was so off-putting at times - that and the fact that everyone was so shouty! - since there is such a solid foundation here. |
Vol 2 - The Ahakista Gambit I was bored during the entirety of this TPB and did not care about any of these characters, though perhaps in Darca's case that's not fair of me because it's just been too long since I read "Nomad" (and I vaguely recall liking that story). I think my main issue with this volume is that the characters and plot are too similar to what I've encountered in other volumes in other series (Republic/Dark Times, in particular). |
Vol 3 - Small Victories This TPB is on the shorter end, likely because of the Vector crossover and the series' cancellation. Not sure what happened to Luke's face here (did the artist have any kind of reference? lol) and the story was explosive yet still underwhelming somehow. At least Deena finally gets to become a hero in her own eyes. |
Vol 1 - In the Shadow of Yavin This is part of a Dark Horse reboot which met its end shortly after the Disney acquisition. The story itself in this TPB isn't terrible, though the characters didn't feel like themselves all the time. I think the main problem is that this became an extremely crowded era even before this series was published and a reboot, treading the exact same ground as previous comic series(es), was in no way necessary. I would have much preferred to see the Empire/Rebellion line continued. |
Vol 2 - From the Ruins of Alderaan Once again, I'm underwhelmed. Perhaps because our heroes have been divided for so long and their separate stories didn't engage me. There is some decent stuff here, with Luke, Leia and Wedge dealing with their losses... and then there's the mediocre stuff, like someone's nephew randomly being revealed and also Han's drawn-out and stagnant side of things. |
Vol 3 - Rebel Girl Somehow, this TPB managed to be worse than the previous two. No one acted consistently or like themselves and the art was horrendous - faces and facial expressions were the artist's glaring weakness. It was horribly distracting. I've just realised that there's a fourth volume in this series and since I want my Legends collection as complete as possible, I've ordered it... but I know I'll probably hate it. |
#1 - Han Solo and the Hollow Moon of Khorya This adventure offers nothing new, which isn't itself a problem, but it also feels a like a tired retread. Han has had many of these types of stories told about him in the Legends canon. I wasn't keen on this comic adding a new character from Han's childhood, since this part of history had been covered extensively by that point. |
#2 - Princess Leia and the Royal Ransom Another less-than-stellar adventure. Some writers really don't "get" how to capture the banter between Leia and Han (it's too easy to take it too far, I think). This is the kind of story that would not have felt out of place in the 1970s and 1980s, but it didn't work for me in 2009 (and it worked a lot less during today's reread). |
#3 - Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes A slight step up from the previous two instalments. I always wish we'd seen more of Luke's training on Dagobah, so I was happy with the concept - although I admit to expecting a bit more, since I know what Taylor is capable of in his other work. |
#4 - The Will of Darth Vader Now this is what I was waiting for. This adventure carries Taylor's signature humour and somehow even manages to evoke sympathy for Vader being under the Emperor's leash, all while maintaining his fearsome image. The other comics in this line - so far - hadn't dug deep enough below the surface to interest me, but this one did. |
#6 - Chewbacca and the Slavers of the Shadowlands The framing device helped ground this story, which was fascinating because of the era in which it was set. I liked seeing more of Chewbacca's earlier life. The art, though... I can appreciate a soft, cutesy style (and I did like it here), but it didn't match the tone of the story and felt a bit off as a result. |
Alyce Caswell, when she isn't drinking her way through a giant pot of tea, can be found dabbling in multiple genres and writing forms. She has self-published several titles in her space opera family saga, which is divided into two series: The Galactic Pantheon and The Pantheon War. Her most recent book is The Shadow of the Gods.
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