Is It Good? Star Wars: Legacy #11 Review

Legacy is the best monthly Star Wars book on the stands. Okay, with blanket statements out of the way, how’s the latest issue? Is it good?

Star Wars: Legacy #11 (Dark Horse Comics)

Check out our review of issue #10 here.

A new story arc begins today, as we’ve just left a massive battle seeing Imperial Knights take out a Sith special-ops style. Ania Solo is teamed with Imperial Knight Jao to take down a Sith known as Wredd. He’s taking out other Sith leaders, doing the work for the good guys…or is he? Jao is running on a vision he had of him and desires to take him out. The funny thing is Jao and Ania are doing what Wredd wants as he places breadcrumbs from them to follow. That’s one of the benefits of an ongoing series like this, complicated plots that weave in and out to make the whole web that much more enjoyable.

Rude. A please would be nice!

This issue sets up a very compelling new story element that hasn’t even been hinted at since issue #1, namely the big kiss on the front cover. I’m sure Star Wars fans will see that cover and say, “oh look, Solo’s descendant is pulling the same kiss we know and love” and you might be right. Partly. It’s a lot more complicated than that, which is precisely what writers Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman are going for. Ania’s backstory seems to be a lot more complicated than we ever thought. This issue opens with some aliens looking for Ania back at her junkyard business and they can’t find her. That’s a good way of bringing things back to the beginning of the series, but also opens up possibilities as to what we’ve thought we knew all along. Nothing is as it seems and that makes this read all the more interesting.

Bechko and Hardman continue to write some fantastic characters as well. Ania, at one point, decides to ride a giant alien that is basically a bull; mostly for shits and giggles, but also because she’s so competitive. It’s a neat way to show how hard and complicated she is all while showing off a neat cultural science fiction thing on a random planet.

After a brief hiatus, Gabriel Hardman is back on art duties and it shows. The man draws a mean Star Wars book. This is mostly due to the gritty style and dark tones, but also because he has an impeccable sense for the dramatic. The layouts cater to the ebb and flow of the story so when the moment on the cover occurs it’s actually more powerful than that single image alone can convey. It’s at once exciting, surprising and interesting. He nails this moment and you really feel it.

Rats in Star Wars are basically small dinosaurs.

Is It Good?

After a brief up and down story arc, we’re back, baby! This issue brings all sorts of entertainment value, not least of which is the smooch on the cover. More please!