Star Wars

Age of Republic: Heroes and Villains

by Laura
February 16, 2021February 16, 2021

The Age of Republic graphic novel duo is a great place to start in Star Wars canon if you have little idea who any of the main players are or what drives them. If you’re even moderately versed in Star Wars lore, you can skip these two volumes and not miss anything.

The Heroes volume introduces us to Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Mace Windu, Jar Jar Binks, and Captain Rex. While I enjoyed getting a sampling of each of the main heroes, I was a little bored with the content and the illustrations didn’t wow me as they have in other Star Wars graphic novels. I did not learn anything new from this volume, but I did appreciate the articles between issues. These had interesting tidbits from the head of George Lucas, input from the actors, and examples of how roles carried over between different types of media.

I got a bit more out of the Villains volume and therefore enjoyed it a bit more as it wasn’t all information I already knew. In the Villains volume, we’re introduced to Darth Maul, Jango Fett, Count Dooku, General Grievous, and Asajj Ventress. I was introduced to villains I was only vaguely aware of, and it had the same types of articles between issues that go further into the depth of each character.

These volumes only covered the main characters of both the heroes and the villains and one or two supporting characters from each side, but it would be interesting to see another volume focused exclusively on other supporting characters that wouldn’t necessarily be considered part of the main cast but appear in several pieces of canon media.

Star Wars: Dark Lord of the Sith

by Laura
January 14, 2021February 9, 2021

Though this is a collection of four volumes, I lumped them together for this review as I read them all in nearly one sitting.

As someone who knows very little about the Star Wars universe outside of the movies, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Star Wars: Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith series, but I really enjoyed it! I didn’t feel like I was missing anything, not knowing much of the Star Wars lore, and was able to keep up with events. The dialogue was solid, and the illustrations were detailed without trying to do too much in a small space, which can be a tricky balance to find in a graphic novel.

It certainly isn’t necessary to read them all in one go. I had borrowed them from the library via Hoopla and was reading on an iPad, so it was quite convenient to just flow from one to the next. Before I knew it, I was finished. They’re easy, entertaining, and contain what I thought was a good amount of information about the timeline in which they’re set.

I’m suddenly finding myself immersed in this universe I know very little about and want to know more. My husband loved the Clone Wars animated series when it was first released and has talked me into watching it with him this time around since he has not yet seen the final season. My uncle has been a fan of the novels since I was a child, so I made it one of my reading goals this year to start them in chronological order. And I enjoyed the Dark Lord of the Sith series so much I’ve decided to start the Star Wars graphic novels from the beginning, also in chronological order according to Star Wars Canon Timeline.

Let me know what some of your favorite pieces of Star Wars canon are below or if you use a different source for tracking the chronological order. Any tips for diving headfirst into Star Wars are welcome!