As I slowly work down my gigantic stack of to-read books, I finally came to the graphic novel Star Wars: Shattered Empire, part of the “Journey to Star Was: The Force Awakens” and another one I’ve been meaning to read for quite a while. This was my first foray into the new Star Wars canon outside of the movies, and I was excited to jump directly into the moments after what was probably my favorite movie as a kid, Return of the Jedi. I’d read the older books which take place right after or not long after Jedi (The Truce at Bakura, The Courtship of Princess Leia and the original Thrawn Trilogy to name just a few – now all under the Star Wars Legends banner), and was quite interested to see where the new official storyline would take us.

This Marvel graphic novel collects the single issues Star Wars: Shattered Empire #1-4, and also includes Princess Leia #1 and Star Wars (1977) #1. (ISBN 978-0-7851-2), and has a cover price of $16.99.

I felt that the best thing about the book was the artwork. It was absolutely beautiful, and I’m glad to have added it to my collection just for that. The colors really add to the mood, which suits the Star Wars universe perfectly, while both my beloved classic characters and the new ones (including the Damerons) look great.

I found the story itself (or at least the overall events which take place), while well written, to be a bit run of the mill, and felt like Marvel was perhaps going through the motions as they put together this new official timeline.

Also included is Princess Leia #1, which was a nice addition to the main story (which was only 4 issues), and a good introduction to more reading material (the full page ad afterward for the Princess Leia TPB directs you right to it).

Lastly, also included was Star Wars (1977 comic series #1). I understand wanting to add a little more content, but this really felt out of place. The issue itself is fine, though very dated in comparison, and is followed by 4 full page ads for newly collected editions of old Marvel Star Wars comics, making it seems as though its inclusion was little more than a marketing maneuver. I fell like more content from “The Journey to Star Wars The Force Awakens” or anything from the new canon would have been much more appropriate than marketing for new collections of old material.

I look forward to continuing with the new canon of books and comics, but felt like this first one for me didn’t live up to the Legends stories before it.

3/5

-Clint