Book review
True Rating: 4.7
This is my official introduction to the new Star Wars Canon in terms of graphic novels and books. Even though I was not born when the Original Star Wars was released in 1977, I am lucky enough to have been born in the right time to have seen the prequels to the Original Star Wars which I was 4 years old when Phantom Menace was released and remember vividly all those wonderful scenes that made me fall in love with Star Wars.
George Lucas introduced Star Wars to a whole brand new generation which was truly successful and now that we are in 2015, and Star Wars VII is almost approaching, I feel like a little kid again and have no clue what to expect with this series! I have always supported George Lucas from the beginning which at times I feel as though I feel like an outcast with the majority of Star Wars fans especially since I loved Phantom Menace, Jar Jar Binks, and the rest of the prequel trilogy. (Don’t shoot me please!)
Then he sold Lucasfilms to the Disney Empire which at first was mixed emotions and then the biggest upset for fans was when they announced that all previous books of Star Wars Expanded Universr are now ‘Legends’ meaning not real/pure fiction and anything published now will be the official canon to the films and tv shows. I apologize for all those who accumulated all the Star Wars EU books and fell in love with countless series within this universe.
What people don’t release is a lot of books contradicted the films and other published novels, Disney would have to deal with all that drama and republishing all these books, and now that Disney is making a whole brand new trilogy it’s harder to deal with this established EU with brand new material. I don’t blame Disney and finally with this Official Canon everyone is on board and has all the correct facts not to contradict with anything in the Star Wars Universe.
Plus it helps brand new readers to read this new Expanded Universe because I personally find it discouraging to read a Star Wars EU when there’s been over 200 books published! It doesn’t mean that ‘Legends’ is any less important, the way I see it is like they made the ‘Legends’ books like Tales that are passed on to generations but does not mean that it did happen in the Star Wars Universe. I cannot wait to read more Star Wars EU and I apologize for that rant but I needed to finally give my 2 cents to those who are complaining and arguing that this new canon is garbage.
When reading this comic, I thought it took place before the first film and no one made it clear that this graphic novel is the successor to the Star Wars Clone Wars. When I found out later on because of the confusion, then I realize that Darth Maul is still alive!
I was excited when they introduced him in the first film and I always wondered about his childhood, how he met the Sith Lord, and that kickass double edge light saber! The cartoon show wanted to showcase more of Darth Maul and failed to do so and by doing this graphic novel, it provided closure to Darth Maul storyline and more adventures for the future.
Darth Maul is captured by Dooku and the Sith after surviving the events of Episode I and Darth Maul seeks revenge and wants to kill the Sith and rule the universe! Whereas the Sith wants him and his mother dead because they can ruin his plans and could possibly get killed. So just as they were going to kill Darth Maul, he is saved from rebel soldiers and escapes.
Later on war breaks out as Count Dooku tries to capture Darth Maul’s mother and kill all rebellious forces who are helping Darth Maul. It was interesting and I love all the battle scenes and the dialogue that Star Wars fans have never encounter with Maul. I wish that this graphic novel didn’t need a predecessor to understand 50% of the book but overall I enjoyed the graphics, the storyline, and showcasing familiar faces from the films in the book.
The ending was surprising and it raises a bunch of unanswered questions about Darth Maul which I hope will be answered in the future! I honestly believe he dies in the future but I am extremely curious to know how that comes to be and when does it take place in Star Wars universe!
I highly recommend this book for those who love the cartoon show! I felt like if I had seen the show completely, I would have gotten a bigger grasp of the characters and events that took place in this graphic novel.
I trust George Lucas and I am going to at least try to trust Disney and hopefully through the guidance of George Lucas and other people, this new Star Wars Canon will be EPIC!
- Goodreads rating – 3.89
- REVIEW – Matthew