Marvel Comics has expanded the Star Wars Universe with their recent offerings of comics. One that is one of the best additions (to me) is Star Wars: Kanan which had the first issue released this week.
The comic will unveil the history of Kanan, who is one of the star characters of Star Wars: Rebels airing on Disney XD. The show is new and chronicles the start of the rebellion. The comic chronicles Kanan’s history, including revealing that his original name was Caleb Dume.
We’ve found out in the show that he is a Jedi, but has had a bad path to lead him to help start the rebellion. Though it was not divulged in the show (yet) the comic intends to show how he survived the Jedi purge and get to be crew of the Ghost.
The story starts right before Order 66. This order was given by the Emperor, and was intended to have the clone troopers murder the Jedi. The tale begins with the last mission of Caleb and his master, Depa Billaba. They are able to push away a Separatist occupation. The group of Jedia and clone troopers stay one night on the planet, and a discussion takes place. That may sound boring, but it revealed a lot between Depa, Caleb, and even the Jedi’s interactions with clone troopers. The issue ends with Order 66 being given.
Where I’ve watched much of Star Wars: Rebels, it’s interesting to view all of it through a comic form. The art is fantastic. Pepe Larraz captured the Star Wars feel, while also making it unique to the comic. I like how the crew of the Ghost looked compared to the cartoon. They looked more realistic, and that means more fitting to the Star Wars universe.
The plot has a great setup. Kanan has been mysterious in the show, and his past should really unveil what the universe has been like since Order 66. As I was reading I was afraid that they would get right into the aftermath of Order 66, but it seems like they’ll take their time. My fear is that they’ll take too much time with this one execution, and not a lot about how Caleb Dume becomes Kanan Jarrus.
The writer, Greg Weisman, has certainly given more depth to Caleb/Kanan. The young padawan is full of questions, which makes him a very insightful person and Jedi. My disappointment is that we don’t see a lot of that fleshed out in the show. I like that the comic gives Kanan an edge to his character.
Is this a comic worth picking up? Most definitely for Star Wars fans! This is canon material and really bridges between Episode 3 and Star Wars: Rebels. Is it something to pick up for regular comic fans? I don’t know. I will admit there’s a lot of dialogue and not a lot of action in this first issue. It’s not too dynamic as far as comics go. But, my thought is this first issue is all exposition. From the looks of the preview of the second issue I think it’ll pick up the pace. Definitely pick this book up if you’re a Star Wars fan. And, it’s available in stores while copies stay on shelves, and is also available in the Marvel app.
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