Lit Rereading Canon

Also finished the choose your own adventure series with Luke and Leia. With that if I am not mistaken I have finished all original non adaptions for junior/middle grade, young adult, and adult novelizations. I just have a few more short story compendiums to get through.

also Kragen appears in this for like 5 seconds that was a hell of a cameo.

man I can’t wait to get onto the comics just so my eyes can look at things.

also since I barely have read comics since 2019 and forget basically everything from the original runs of Star Wars and Vader I’ll post a lot more predictions issue to issue. When I read them. I plan to read at least 1 volume a day. If that holds true. I should be done completely by like March.

 

What were your favorites / top rated books out of that marathon canon reading?

 

Top 5 in no particular order
Lost Stars (despite my lack of sympathy for Ciena it’s a really great book)

I am cheating but I am including trilogies as one entry

Alphabet Squadron

Thrawn Ascendancy (as one story if you read them back to back to back I think it’s the best of canon.

Shadow of the Sith

last but not least Rebel Rising.

special shout out to Bloodlines, Princess Leia of Alderaan and eye of Darkness.

the only thing I actually disliked was Join the resistance. My god I hated those.

everything else I can definitely rate above a 7/10. But the top 5 and honestly the special mentions are all 10s in my book.

again I cannot stress how much I disliked Join the Resistance. But I give it like a 3/10 cause there are bits and pieces I like.

also lol. I was just confirming with Wookiepiedia as well as a few other canon timelines and some of the films legit have like 8 junior and young reader adaptions. Why are there so many? Stop making them. Who’s buying these!

Also while I do plan on reading any short stories that come in compendiums and collections. So like Dark Legends, Starlight stories, Star Wars Insider: fiction Voluem I and II I am not tracking down individual issues of insider nor am I buying stuff like Rise of the empire no matter how much I love reading John Jackson Miller’s books a short story by him isn’t worth it.

how many people buy paperbacks of books or these random collections just to get the short stories? Like sure if I was missing one of them I would definitely by rise of the empire. But to me 2 short stories won’t give me the cash to joy ratio I am looking for. (Usually if I can get something for 3 dollars per hour of my time spent on it. I say that is a success. The cheaper the better. Which is lucky for me. Cause per comic is close to 0 on comicology and Marvel Unlimited.

If I lose Lords of the Sith, Tarkin and or AND I will probably get rise of the empire.

again I. Ant stress this enough. People who know me know I will like almost anything Star Wars so for me to actively despise something from the franchise is no mean feat.

 

Yeah, I bought AND on sight, didn't buy Tarkin because it was at the library, then I moved somewhere else where Tarkin wasn't at the library, and that's when I felt justified in buying Rise of the Empire.

 

Lol for the first time ever I have found visions that don’t have kindle versions. Starlight stories and Star Wars Insider collections volume 1 and 2 only have physical copies on Amazon. Out of all the Star Wars books every other one has had both

 

Might be down to the publisher - those ones over here are published by Titan.

 

Almost certainly also I forgot to include this in my post about choose your own destiny Luke and Leia’s adventure.

but Luke says this



lol

 

Anyway Skywalker strikes!

Star Wars volume I


this is actually really a funny book. There were a few moments were I laughed out loud. When Leia threw the Corellian wine at Han that was just funny.


Darth Vader is brutal in this issue. He’s killing everyone.


also maybe I am just weird but I kind of find it weird that Jabba knew Obi Wan was on Tatooine for years and just never told the empire about it. Jabba would probably sell out his own son. Maybe that’s what happened to Rotta.


Han and Leia banter is on point. Also I like the art style a lot, but something irks me about the stormtroopers. I don’t know they just look wrong.


Also there is a moment in this comic that is basically like you killed my father! Do you know how little that narrows it down? It’s almost said word for word like the meme.


Now as to what will happen in the future I can’t really say. Not yet. No solid ideas and predictions have formed. I know Sana doesn’t kill Han obviously but that’s all I got.


Also Lol at Boba Fett being beaten by a blind dude twice. That is a bad record to hold. Beaten up the most by blind dudes.


Also C-3PO’s banter with himself thinking he was talking to captain Antilles was also another funny moment in the first issue. Or was that the second issue.


I think the panel that made me laugh the most is the one of Artoo and the Jawa trying to fix the AT-AT. That just had me in stitches. Also in the future.


I legit think Darth Vader killed more stormtroopers than the rebels did in this volume.

 

Skywalker Strikes is a blast. I love Vader's response to Luke in that panel. Jason Aaron captures the humor of Star Wars remarkably well.

While Jabba was aware of Kenobi's presence on Tatooine due to events that we'll see in flashbacks in later issues, it's unclear whether he knew that Ben Kenobi, crazy local wizard, was actually Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of the Jedi he'd dealt with during the Clone Wars. Assuming he was, one could readily suggest some reasons why Jabba didn't report him to the Empire - perhaps he didn't want the planet receiving more attention from Inquisitors, or maybe he was just keeping the information in his metaphorical back pocket in case he needed leverage with the Empire.

The Han and Leia banter is one of the delights of Aaron's run on the series. I love the current run with Soule, but if and when that comes to an end I'd be very happy if Aaron got another crack at these characters.

Gillen's Vader series takes place concurrent to this one, and the first arc actually intersects with the second half of Skywalker Strikes in a couple places. Not sure if you were planning to take a stab at reading them in chronological order or if you were just going series by series, but something to keep in mind.

 

Showdown on the smugglers moon Star Wars 2


Anyway another good run. I think out of everyone here Han is characterized the best. Now that isn’t to say Luke or Leia are bad, but Han is just perfect. The whole thing with him and Sana is such a Han move it’s kinda perfect. Of course he would fake a wedding.


You would think the she’s not my wife jokes would get old but they never do. I remembered that this was all a scam they pulled together, but I wonder how many people believed it until they both admitted it was a scam?


Also I must say Han Leia and Chewie using lightsabers is both the most stupidest thing ever and also the most Star Wars thing ever. I am surprised it never happened in legends. It’s very comic but it also works really well.


Also Shaak Ti. How did she die in Legends? Since here it seems like she lived long enough to make a holocron. Man she has died and survived so many times.


Also funniest interaction is the bounty hunter who tries to steal Luke’s lightsaber he calls Luke insane and Luke replies with no I am a Skywalker which is totally something Anakin would approve of.


As to what I think will happen next. Cause I don’t remember anything past this point. Luke will find a second cache of Jedi artifacts and Han will continue to fail to seduce Leia until the empire strikes back.

 

Vader volume I.

Vader

Could they really not come up with a better name for this volume?


I think I prefer Star Wars 2015 a bit more to the original Vader run. But I really like it so far. What IMO elevates it to a great comic is IMO one of the best duos in Star Wars history. Aphra and Vader just work. It’s funny rereading this after I had already listened to the audio drama earlier this year. So I remember the dialogue of this pretty well at least as it regards to Aphra.


she is just a great character. Sure she is just the female more amoral version of Indiana Jones but it really works. And it works well.


having Tagge survive the Death Star is also a cool angle to play with. I can’t wait to see what they do with that as I mostly forgot. Grand General just has such a nice ring to it. Even better than Grand admiral.


Also lol at Sheev saying Vader has a soft spot for children.


also lol at Sheev saying oh you are truly the chosen one Vader. The chosen one of being responsible.


to cheat death is an ability only one has achieved also Cyclo as well. He achieved it. He does work as a cool villian so far but time will only tell if that will continue to work.


Have I mentioned how much I love Aphra and how much she Carry’s this series?


Vader Volume 2

Shadows and secrets.


Thanoth is another great character. IMO. The characters introduced in Vader are much better than the one’s introduced in the Star Wars run at least so far. They are both so fun to read.


I do remember how Thanoth dies though. Vader kills him I do believe.


Aphra escapes again. She has a pension of doing that over and over again. She has the will and the means to survive the nearly unsurvivalbe. Vader’s hatred.


Also as to the Mortician who dies. I do like that he obviously knew Padme had twins but because Aphra only asked to confirm that she had a son he never admitted that she had another as well. In the end he was able to keep one secret. It’s funny there is almost no one to root for in this series. In a way I root for them all to kill each other. But I think it works.


Also this is me once again saying the stormtroopers look goofy


Vader down


I don’t know why but I feel like the art was way off in this one.


Not much to say on this arc. Other than I think they’ll went a bit over board with Vader killing hundreds of people. I don’t know have him be injured. I do not like Vader as this almost god like being.


Also this arc really is about Leia seeing that she doesn’t need revenge against Vader and revenge is not the way blah blah blah.


Also 3PO losing his arms is increasingly funny


Shun Tsu War. Volume 3


Not much to say here. Other than on Thanoth.what an amazing chapter despite him only appearing on like 3 issues he just kills it every time. The fact he realized it was Anakin was just the best. It was all so perfect.


Also lava what a brutal way to die. Vader would know that.

 

Agree. Threre is not much Imperials in NU Canon that are loyal personally to Vader, in opposite to Legends, and Thanoth was a welcomed exception.

 

End of games!

End of games volume 4


Checkov’s rancor. If you mention a rancor one will appear.


Aphra trying to rat Vader out to the emperor is always hilarious


Also lol. At I like murdering children. Calm down Vader


RIP general Tagge


Run grade is an 8/10. I don’t like how immortal Vader feels here. I think I’ll enjoy the next Vader run more as I know he struggles more still really great and introduced 4 new great characters. Can’t wait to read Doctor Aphra

Rebel prison.

Enab returns glad I already read annual 1. Aphra and Leia and Sana are just such a great trio

also Luke and Han herding nerfs is the most filler arc I have ever heard of but I kinda loved it. It was just funny. Which is strange as usually Aphra is the funniest.

Anakin and Obi Wan. My first mini series. I said this when it came out and I’ll say it again. This should have been a main line series. I know people want the luke/Han/Lando/Leia stuff to continue or another Aphra series or another Vader series set sometime in the dark times again. But as Kylo Ren said let the past die kill it if you have to.

over a hundred issues of original trilogy mainline series is enough. Hell I think we are near 200 now.

please give Luke and co a rest in the comic domain.

anyway this mini series was kick ass. The art was great everything about it was great.

10/10

 

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who didn't particularly enjoy the Alphabet Squadron trilogy. I really liked the overall story itself. I just couldn't connect with any of the characters at all for some reason so it made it hard to care on a page-by-page basis. I don't think it was a problem with the writing, or the story itself, because I did like the story as a whole... I just wasn't able to give a damn about the characters' personal struggles or whatever. Maybe I'll give it another chance and re-read it sometime, because it could be something as simple as the mindset I was in personally when I read them was different.

Your other choices are close to in-line with what mine would be out of what I've read. I haven't read Rebel Rising, but I do own it. It's on the to-do list eventually once I get caught up with High Republic.

 

Okay back from visting my parents and Disney so back to reading. Read the Thrawn adaption. While I do enjoy the art for this. I do have to say for the single run volumes the art seems to be leagues better. Maybe it’s just the artist.

however I do not think this is a good adaptation. It could have used 1 or 2 more issues. They gloss through Thrawn’s promotions far too fast. We hear about nightswan far too late. I think with one or 2 more issues these problems could have been solved. He literally goes from Commodore to admiral within a page of each other.

I am actually interested in how the upcoming Thrawn alliances adaption will be handled. So I will be interested in reading that in a few months

do I recommend this if you have read Thrawn? Yes. Do I recommend this if you haven’t? No.

 

Well, the Thrawn: Alliances miniseries only has four issues, so it'll probably be even more abridged.

 

Oh dang. Yea probably.

Thrawn still covers the major points. But I think spreading out his promotions would have worked better.

also read the mini series Obi Wan

it takes a snapshot look at his life as Older Obi Wan seemingly right before ANH narrates.

While interesting this does suffer from the problem of one off comics without being a one off. It feels like the story has no time to develop. I think any of these comics could have been turned into their own 5 issue run. Which I think would have been better than the end product.

also I want to keep this in mind as I think this may be Ahsoka’s one and only appearance in a marvel run comic. I could be wrong on that.

edit: a run that isn’t an adaption. I know she appears in Mando season 2. You know I will say it now. I don’t know why films and TV shows are adapted into comics. With books I get the logic. With movies not so much

 

Okay read last flight of the harbinger. Again while the mainline Star Wars comic is enjoyable. I especially like anything with Han. Aaron just nails it with him. There is something that doesn’t get me as excited as say the Aphra comics. Or the one offs.

Also does Vader recognize C-3PO or not?

I assume all of SCAR squad will die. Probably some to the rebels the rest to be choked out by Vader

anyway next up Yoda’s secret wars. It is interesting. This rock force. I don’t know what else to call it reminds me a lot of the other force used in the book Padawan as well.

this very much felt like filler. I don’t know if they needed to teach a certain amount of issues, but I feel like this should have been a standalone story and not in the Star Wars run. I feel that about the Obi Wan stories as well.

anyway next up shattered empire. Now I remember all the jokes about Shara being a Bae.

also the art is phenomenal here. Original I thought the art was just mediocre for the ongoing series, but I don’t think that is the case as I am about to discuss. Anyway crazy that this comic has had such a huge influence on Star Wars. Operation cinder has been referenced in everything from Battlefront to the Mandalorian

I wish Poe Dameron would have appeared here

anyway up next Solo a Star Wars story. Not much to say here that I haven’t already said previously. Just want to note that I have read it. Also some of the faces in here made me laugh.

lastly

Aphra Book I

I don’t know if this is a hot take but I really love the art here. It’s really unique compared to the rest. I enjoy how funny it is. It fits Aphra’s personality a lot.

also I was shocked for some reason this whole time I thought Aphra’s dad was dead.

guess he wasn’t. I almost hope we don’t see him again. I like how things ended between her and her father. Things slightly patched up. I think it fits her.

really Aphra fascinates me. I can’t wait to see what they do with her in the rest of this series and the next. Anyway crossover time! Screaming citadel here I come.

edit: I realized I posted this early lol. That’s what I get from waking up at 4

 

Zahn gave an interview recently where the comic came up, apparently he and Jody Hauser asked for more issues to adapt the story in greater detail but Marvel weren’t interested.

 

Good to know Zhan was involved - and look forward to seeing it.

Am still way behind on the High Republic (partly due to my 'no hardbacks' policy) and especially on Phase II. But may hope to see some at library. Eye of Darkness is definitely on my list, however. I have kept up largely, with the comics more, however.

 

Anyway screaming citadel

a unique premise. the art style in Star Wars versus Aphra contrast so hard to me. It’s kinda jarring going from one issue to another.

but the premise is really unique. Having the characters in Star Wars and Aphra interact was just a treat. This volume was filled with a bunch of tropes. The most notable was Checkov’s gun or I guess checkov’s parasite. And the mind control an ally into the villian.

 

Okay making my way through Aphra. Should be finished tomorrow or the next day. Then back to Star Wars 2015.

now while I enjoyed this series at the start. I am not seeing enough movement. If anything Aphra’s getting worse not better morally.

I am good with morally grey characters but she isn’t morally grey. She’ll sacrifice a puppy to get what she wants. (Literally) she seems worse than she was in the Darth Vader comic and she was working for a genocidal fascist.

she has the literal worst taste in women ever.

she objectively is fine with putting objectively good people in harms way. I just need more movement morally. Judging by the fact that this series has a follow up I doubt there will be.

now she isn’t evil. She is still on that grey scale but she’s pretty close to being evil. And I wish we had moved a bit closer to the not so evil by now.

I still really dig the art for this series. Just finished Aphra annual 2 interesting fact as far as I can recall this is the latest we have seen a geonisian. So that is neat.

also they really pulled the double twist with Evazan. I do hope he dies. Now that is a horrible person.

All I hope for the end of the series is that she goes from an evil 6 to an evil 3. Who knows by the time I finish the next series? Which I think only has a few issues to go. I will think she isn’t a horrible person.

 

That's the point. Good old Triple-Zero was almost successful at driving Aphra to the point of total despair and complete moral collapse.

 

I think Screaming Citadel was the point where a lot of people here really started outright, well, screaming to get Larroca off the main book's art. He was always kind of meh but he got worse over time and this was the breaking point.

 

True enough. Like that’s obvious with the Alderaanian prince she leaves behind. However Casyin Bog and Tam Posla are all her. She doesn’t even need the prodding from triple 0. She lures Posla to his likely death and she outright kills Bog. Two people who are objectively morally good.

I guess this is probably a low point before she gets better. But man I wish it happened earlier in the series. We are over half way done. With only 15 issues left. If Aphra is still as depraved due to Triple meddling I’ll be sad.

although I do think Triple zero and Aphra having to stay within 20 meters of each other is funny.

I don’t know what does it for me. Why I like the art for this run so much. But it’s great. It feels very unique compared to anything else in any of the one offs or Vader.

also who’s more of in charge of the style of any given issue? The colorist? The penciler? The inker? The only comics I have read before this are TWD and invincible lol