Review by Frank Plowright

This second small format hardback collects the individual Legacy graphic novels Alliance, The Hidden Temple and Storms, with one chapter from Tatooine thrown in. As nice as it may be to have the stories in hardback, they can be purchased cheaper as individual collections.

For new readers this begins awkwardly as Alliance is the weakest of the Legacy series. There’s good reason for John Ostrander to focus on the Mon Calimari, Admrial Gar Stazi and Darth Wyyrlok as they’ll all play a significant roles in forthcoming storylines, but the introductory material is slight in comparison with what will follow. Omar Francia’s art is okay, but Alan Robinson would develop into a far better artist. Thankfully the remainder of the book is back to the top quality action adventure well illustrated and co-plotted by Jan Duursema.

Shifting the focus back to Cade Skywalker and his allies restores the tension and political intrigue that are the standbys of the series. Cade very much feels the solution to the Galaxy’s current problems is to kill Darth Krayt. This of course violates the Jedi code, so while they can see the bigger picture they’re also aware of the precedent this sets. It’s a variation of real world disagreements well presented by Ostrander. Also included are the Legacy chapters of Vector, an ambitious story featuring the pivotal involvement of one character over four periods of Star Wars continuity. Celeste Morne leaves her mark here, and much has changed by the conclusion of her story.

With so many cast members already shoved centre stage it’s a wonder that there’s the space for even more, yet still they come, with Bantha Skywalker among them. The increasingly complex political background is clarified a little when an alliance is made between two of the major forces, but by the end of the material gathered here Cade had reverted to his status of the earliest chapters.

Legacy was consistently the most exciting of the Star Wars graphic novel series, and despite a slow start this collection of material shows exactly why. The series concludes with the third omnibus.