Book review
Star Wars: Kanan is an ongoing comic series that ties into Star Wars Rebels, the animated series that Disney created to replace the fantastic Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I’ve only seen one episode of Rebels so far, so I’m not overly familiar with the cast yet – though I’ve just got Season 1 on Blu Ray. One of the lead characters of the show – Kanan Jarrus – was once a Jedi Padawan called Caleb Dume, and this story for the most part is the story of how he survived the fateful Order 66 and got his new name, told as a flashback during an adventure sometime during the events of the show.
And good news – unlike my previous Star Wars reviews, this is a story that works extremely well in this medium. Having the first part of the Kanan’s flashback take place before the Emperor orders the execution of Order 66 works very well as you get a sense of the camaraderie between the Jedi and their clone soldiers. These are all new clones that weren’t introduced in The Clone Wars, so it was important to get this right so that when that order came through, you really felt the impact that the sudden reversal had on the young Caleb. After his initial escape, the clones don’t let up, actually pursuing Caleb across that galaxy as he falls in with a criminal called Janus Kasmir.
Of course there is plenty of action to enjoy in this story, but unlike in my Star Wars reviews so far, the amount of action doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the story, but actually contributes to it. It also helps that the artwork by Pepe Larraz is really able to sell that this is actually a fast-paced action scene rather than the static images that sometimes make action-heavy stories seem underwhelming.
The plot does eventually go back to the characters from the TV show on their current mission, and I’m happy to say you don’t have to have seen the show to understand what’s going on, though I’d imagine that you’d get more out of it if you have. Either way, I’m looking forward to learning more about Kanan’s early years, though according to writer Greg Weisman (also one of the creators of Rebels) the next story arc which goes back further in time to Caleb’s first mission in the war will be the last, which is a real shame.
- Goodreads rating – 4.13
- REVIEW – Anthony Hillman