Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Star Wars Legacy #37

Star Wars Legacy #37
Dark Horse Comics
Ostrander, Duursema & Parsons

Star Wars Legacy kicks off a new arc this month which finds Cade Skywalker and crew on Tatooine. Generally, I find stories that constantly return to Tatoonie to be rather unimaginative and I usually find opening issues of an arc to be rather boring and filled with elements that are merely setting up future actions. However, this issue falls into neither one of those trappings and is a very good issue. At some point I will stop being surprised at how great this series is issue after issue.

The comic is good because it has a complicated plot using many characters with a multitude of allegiances. At the heart of the story is Cade and his two pirate buddies. They are making their way through Sith Imperial ships and stealing cargo. They cash in the stolen goods on the remote planet of Tatooine to avoid detection. However, in this issue they find themselves stranded on Tatooine as their ship needs some repairs and money isn’t so easy to come by as they’ve over-supplied the locals with stolen goods resulting in dried up demand.

Ordinarily I can’t stand stories that rely on coincidence to weave a plot. The coincidence here being that Cade happens to need repairs, while out of money, stranded on the planet that every Skywalker seems destined to return to over and over again. However, it’s not the coincidence that seems out of place but the circumstances. Cade can’t locate the part he needs anywhere on the planet? No other dealer wants his stolen goods yet he had been selling his shipments to the same dealer over and over again? Wouldn’t another dealer be dying to get their hands on these goods if the same one had been buying all of them this whole time? It seems like Cade is just being stubborn which works very well for his character. I’m just not sure I’m buying all of this. It’s not bad, but I just find something to be missing for now.

The story hits on all cylinders when it deals with those that are tracking Cade. In the interests of a) not spoiling and b) not confusing something that needs to be read very carefully; I will keep this brief. Basically, the Sith Empire wants to find the pirates stealing their stuff. The Grand Moff tasked with this enlists an untrustworthy officer, a renegade pilot and a “trusted” bounty hunter. However, these folks involve various scum, like criminals and Tatooine locals to help their causes and agendas. In short, a lot of people are after Cade and their intentions and allegiances are not solidified one bit. These twists and turns in the comic make this issue much more than just set up.

The comic recalls several characters from previous arcs, some of which were very minor players. The story also continues to add complexity to Cade’s character. He seems to take a step forward but then take a half of step backwards. In this issue he seems to further withdraw from his pirate buddies, but he makes an attempt at being playful with them.

The art is tremendous. The comic bounces from planet to planet, character to character, race and race and nothing misses a beat. The art excels in some of the obscure scenery, such as the garden oasis on Tatooine. There is one small nugget on the very first page. It sure looks like a very familiar protocol droid getting blasted on the Sith Imperial ship. The art knows the universe, the characters and how to tell a great story.

This comic is a great opening to the arc using Tatooine because it stays away from the typical Tatooine territory, like wandering the desert or hanging out in a cantina. The story sets up multiple levels of betrayal and presents a story where every single character seems like they could turn on their superior or “friend”. This is a very good comic that relies on building characters and plot without the crutches like action or giant splash pages. I definitely recommend this comic.

4 out of 5 geek goggles