Star Wars Legacy TPB 3: Claws of the Dragon

Now that's more like it! As John Ostrander ties his Legacy universe more and more into the Star Wars stories I know, I find myself more and more interested. This trade gives us the background of Darth Krayt, the new leader of both the Sith and the Empire. Ostrander ties him back to the Clone Wars, Obi Wan Kenobi, AND makes him a Tuskan raider! That's enough nerd cred to make him a lot cooler in my opinion. Krayt reveals all this while trying to sway Cade Skywalker to the dark side. Once again, Ostrander stages all of this to make it familiar and new at the same time. He balances the feel perfectly, making this really feel like a continuation of the Star Wars story I'm familiar with.

The Legacy universe is getting more and more populated too. I love the new squadron of Imperial pilots who almost seem like the inheritors of the Rogue Squadron standard. (Heck, maybe they are, I sure wouldn't know!) Morrigan Corde has some big secrets too, you'd think that being Cade Skywalker's secret Mom would be enough, but she's got some doozies.

I really enjoyed the pages spent fleshing out the smugglers (including Cade's partners Jariah and Delilah), but it comes at the cost of absolutely no rogue Imperials, which bums me out, I like those guys. The Vong are easier to take in this trade too, as invaders from another universe, maybe that's why they look like they don't fit in quite right.

In all, this feels like it could be an "Empire" chapter for Legacy. Cade is wooed by the Dark Side, but I don't think he ever really comes close to going for it, he's got too much pent up anger at the Sith to ever join them. Plus, he comes out and states that part of the reason he acts the way he does is so that he's not doing what people tell him to. It's the response of a petulant teenager, but I don't think he's exactly learned that with great power comes great responsibility yet. He's getting there, though.

Jan Duursema does a nice job with the Sith. I love how they look like a team of super-villains but they're still made up of races we know from the movies. Very nice character designs. It's always fun to see a wookie show up too.

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually interested enough in the comic Star Wars universe to hunt down some other trades. Where should I start? Rogue Squadron? Clone Wars?

Good