The holiday season is upon us, and for those looking to get the Star Wars fan in their life some reading material, you have more than a few options. Marvel has been vigorously pumping out Epic Collections of the now de-canonized Legends comics, giving new life to stories many feared would end up unpublished. Collecting a series of interesting storylines that all fit into the Republic Era, this Epic Collection offers plenty of great stories from the Star Wars galaxy, as well as a few forgotten gems.
Collected here are a bunch of Boba Fett storylines (Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul), Star Wars: Jedi Academy – Leviathan #1-4, Mixed Up Droid, Union #1-4, Chewbacca #1-4, and some random material form Star Wars Tales #19. As you can see, there is a lot of incongruent Star Wars arcs crammed into this single trade. Thankfully, most of it is rather strong, making this a worthwhile collection to read through in its entirety.
Rightfully, the book starts off with the Boba Fett miniseries by John Wagner and artists/colorist Cam Kennedy, whose distinct pallet will be instantly recognizable to anyone who poured over the Dark Empire series published by Dark Horse in the 1990s. These issues perfectly encapsulate everything we loved about the wandering bounty hunter, giving him deadly assignments to prove his station as the galaxy’s greatest bounty hunter. The plot is focused and easily digestible, with Kennedy’s blocking giving Boba Fett movements vitality and range.
The Union and Chewbacca runs are equally entertaining, with Union featuring strong writing from Michael Stack focusing on the near nuptials between Luke and Mara Jade. Robert Teranishi’s pencils are realistic in their design, and make the book feel like a clear representation of the films. The Chewbacca mini was a startlingly instructive run, giving a window into Wookiee society and culture. I was surprised to have enjoyed it as much as I did.
The Jedi Academy material was my least favorite of the lot, but still a serviceable storyline. Dario Carrasco Jr.’s linework feels too animated for this arc, but it does establish some interesting lore within the Jedi Order.
While only providing a few supplementals at the end of the trade, this collection is a surprisingly strong series of Star Wars tales that are worth reading, even if they are no longer canon. The fact that I was unaware of these runs just goes to show that the Star Wars comic universe has been producing excellent stories within this galaxy for decades, and worth a deep dive by fans.
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