Reviews Comics The JC Lit Comic Reviews Special: Legacy: NOOB

Previous Review Threads

Legacy: Broken
Knights of the Old Republic: Commencement
Rebellion: My Brother, My Enemy

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Now up is "[link=http://boards.theforce.net/literature/b10003/24857432/p1/?50]Noob[/link]," the curiously titled one-shot that will likely be included in the second TPB.

Some rules: rate "Noob" on a scale of [b]1 to 5[/b], supplementing your rating with a review, if you want to (it's not necessary but is highly encouraged). Please do not rate or review the story until after you've read the whole thing, and remember to review the entire story, not just a single issue. Re-reading the arc in its entirety is recommended, although obviously not required. Thanks. [face_happy]

 

Bleh. Jan's cover is fantastic, and the design for Maleval is one of the better Legacy Sith designs. But the story was simply dull and pretty much unneeded. And the art is some of the worst I've seen in SW comics, which is especially jarring compared to that of Ms. Duursema, which is the best in SW.

So, the good:
Cover
Maleval
Hondo Carr, the rumored ex-Mando

The bad:
Art
Story
Repeated use of "NOOB!"
Stormtrooper designs look like OT versions, rather than the slightly different design seen in other Legacy literature

I'll give it... 1.75/5

 

It wasn't as exciting as Broken, but it was a solid one shot with a villain who finally embraced the sadistic culture the Sith are supposed to embody. The art was average at best but it didn't detract from the story. All in all, a 3.5/5. Legacy needs one shots like this to flesh out the galactic scene.

 

Filler that felt like filler. Didn't like the title, the overuse of "noob," the lack of discipline, the weird setup, the cartoonish stereotypes, the decrepit lieutenant (although, to be fair, that's an artist error), the lack of armor for said lieutenant, or the story.

Did sort of like the implication that Sith of this era serve pretty much as political officers. Thought the implication that the Army adopted Stormtrooper armor (and the name)-- making the ST corps proper nonexistent-- interesting and sensible, although I'd like it more explicitly stated.

Yeah, that's about it.

1

 

For my sake, I assumed the Lieutenant was probably demoted from his previous rank.

I hope they don't change him or it ruins the feel of the man.

I loved the comic and felt it was a great look into the Stormtroopers as a commando team.

At heart, Noob is a necessary look into the heart of the Sith Empire and has the interesting look into the fact that Roan Fel's Rebellion isn't the typical "Evil Imperial Fascists" versus "Good Rebels." We never get to see what Roan Fel's Loyalists are like but its unlikely they're any nicer or more compassionate than the forces under the command of Darth Krayt. Frankly, I'm a little upset at the unit getting annihilated because...realism or not....they were a very likeable bunch of characters that made an excellent impression.

There's also the fact that Darth Maleval is a very impressive Sith as he brings to lie that Darth Krayt's ranks are any better than the other Sith Lords before him. It also shoots down the idea that Dark Siders are "normal." Maleval is a psychopath and his every action breaths evil. It's actually a pity that he dies too since in a single issue he completely gets rid of the "Red Paint" syndrome of most of the Sith thus far. However, he dies in such a way as to remind us that the Force is wasted on the foolishly overconfident and even a single trooper can kill a Sith Lord.

 

This is by far my favorite issue of the Legacy series thus far. No offense to Jan, she's an amazing artist, but I LOVED the art in NOOB. Also, the characters were simply amazing. The story was well done and told us more about the Sith Empire. It was great to see some Sith Imperials vs. Fel Loyalists.

The Cade/Masariah story is good, but its wonderful to see what else is going on in the galaxy every once in a while. Here's hoping we seen the return of the NOOB in one form or another over the course of this wonderful series.

5/5

 

Not the best but a good issue , ok "noob" was overused, but the story was solid. Like someone said its a filler! and IMO it was a good filler .
The art was diferent but not bad, what i didnt like is that Maleval died too soon.

It was a good distraction of the main plot .

3.5/5

 

After rereading Commencement, I don't think any change in artists could possibly be as jarring. The person who did Noob was no Jan, but he certainly wasn't a slouch either. The characters all felt distinct (except when they were all in Stormie guise, but that was kinda the point then...). Maleval was outright one of the slickest Sith we've seen in all of Legacy, and it gives me high hopes for John's ability to be adventurous in his storytelling that even someone as cool-looking and downright Sithly as Maleval can turn out to be cannon fodder. No one is safe!

Furthermore, Filler or not, I felt that Noob slid in perfectly between Broken 3/6 and 4/6. It was an interesting look at the splintering of the Imperials, and it showed us that this era can go beyond just its main characters, and given the debate over in the thread about Luke's potentially imminent mortality, it's good to know that Legacy could still go on carrying itself for at least a few issues even if John decided to kill of Cade, Sia, Syn, Blue, Antares, Roan, Krayt etc. all in the next issue.

4/5

 

Honestly, when this first came out I was irritated that it didn't follow the normal arc and I read it in the store but didn't buy it. People talked about it once awhile on here so I wanted to give it another try. I went out and bought it and it has grown on me since. The parts I don't like: The feeling that this is absolutely a 1 shot....they do a good job introducing 6 or so new characters and kill them all off. I would have enjoyed seeing the gang together a bit more. The use of "n00b" wa kind of annoying in it's own right.

Still, the premise of the story is awesome. Stormtrooper vs. Stormtrooper. The N00bs little talk about his father, continuity of service, and the "Honor of the Armor" wasn't Shakespeare but it was well written. Lord Maleval was pretty darn brutal and cool, and his second visit to the Joker's with the Lt. brother was outright cruel. One of my favorite parts is the background pic of noob and Hardcase when Maleval is about to fry Hondo. Hardcase is going berzerk and n00b appears to be frozen up again.

3/5.0 Good story but the lack of actual relevance to the larger picture hurts it's numbers.

Carnage

 

I have no problem with "Noob" as part of the vernacular of SW. It's the phonetic spelling of a logical shortening of "Newbie". What would you rather see in its place? Rookie? Newb (because that carries less of a gamer-ish connotation)? Noob is a fine word, and I bet that if not for MMOs and FPS, you people wouldn't have a problem with it. I just find that odd.

 

Yeah, I know. It does make sense but it made me feel like a script kiddie or something. It wasn't something really really terrible.

I think it would have been much better if the cover would have said....

n00b..........With a Gun!

Carnage

 

Everything is better with ...with a gun!

 

Yes, I'd rather have that. A more logical and less gamer-ish shortening. As it stands, however, it's hardly a deal-breaker.

 

You know what's funny? You're talking about the same artist in both cases -- Travel Foreman.

 

I liked his art quite a bit, actually. Guy at my comic shop agreed with me. Despite the author changes in KOTOR, we liked all the styles.

 

So... you want to provide a score, Charles?

 

5/5

 

Muchas gracias.

26.75/7 = 3.8214285714285714285714285714286 = ~ 4

[image=http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b93/tripzero/stars/score1.png]

 

Well, in one case it was hideous. In Noob it wasn't nearly as bad.

 

I was kinda dissapointed when I realized it wasn't part of the main story, but I liked it. I thought it was a good look into the Legacy era stormtroopers and I liked the Sith vs Fel thing. I play MMO's a lot so I'm used to reading the word "n00b" often, so that wasn't a problem for me.

Aside from a few weird looking panels, I really liked the art.

My main problems was that Maleval died. He makes a great Sith, better that the red twi'lek, whos name I'm blanking on for some reason. And I wish that idiot with the knife died.

4/5

 

You're right. It wasn't as bad, it was worse. Nothing's more hideous than seeing Stormies in what look like ballet tights at a distance.

I'm glad he didn't, being the best part and all.

 

Wait, Noob looks worse than KOTOR #5? What are you smoking, and how long before it strikes you dead or at the very least blind?

Although, perhaps Noob only succeeds where KOTOR 5 fails because in Noob he's not trying to draw the characters we're all used to.

 

Eh, it was the Stormies-in-Longjohns effect, mostly. I don't really think either of them looked all that bad.

 

I thought Noob and KOTOR 5 were about equal in art quality. Noob gave us weird looking stormies in a few panels, and Kotor 5 made Gryph look waaaaaay different. So it balances out. Both looked good overall in my book.

 

I thought KOTOR 5 wasn't that bad, just jarring and annoying in the middle of an arc. Noob is ugly as sin.