If you weren’t already sold on the brand new Star Wars: Legacy comic, you almost definitely will be after this issue.  Legacy #5 by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman is out in stores today and draws the first story arc to a spectacular close.  If you haven’t been reading the book thus far, I would definitely suggest find yourself copies of the first 5 issues or preordering the trade.

As with before, this review contains mild spoilers for the issue.

At the end of the previous issue, Ania Solo was left alone.  Jao and Sauk were both seriously injured and AG-37 wasn’t faring much better.  After some encouragement from AG-37, Ania heads off to face the Sith who is broadcasting a challenge to the entire galaxy.  He reveals himself as Darth Wredd and prepares to kill Master Val only to be interrupted by Ania with her blaster blazing.  The Sith is quick to knock her down but doesn’t notice the lightsaber in her boot even though Val does and takes advantage of the opportunity.  It soon becomes a fight for survival!  (And I won’t spoil the rest of the book for you.)

First and foremost, I really have to applaud Bechko and Hardman for the character of Ania Solo.  The staff of this blog have been noting lately that we’d like to see more female characters take the forefront and I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank both of them and Dark Horse for a book like this.  Ania is a well-rounded character who is capable yet has her flaws and doesn’t fall into the cardboard action girl tropes.  She’s going to do great things in her own right and not solely because of her famous ancestors.

Characterization in general is definitely a strong point of this book as all of the core characters have been distinct and interesting.  Sauk perfectly fills the role of Ania’s more cautious yet incredibly loyal best friend while AG-37 continues in the fine tradition of awesome companion droids.  Knight Jao Assam was one of the big character surprises in this book and I sincerely look forward to reading more about him in the future.

Another one of the strengths of this book is absolutely the artwork.  Hardman and colorist Rachelle Rosenberg work wonderfully together through the entire arc and especially excel during action scenes which look dynamic and just plain awesome.  The panels are also laid out for nicely and readers will likely have no trouble tracking the sequence of action whether they are new to comics or have been reading them for ages.  To top it off, the character design and the costume for Ania are both wonderful.  (Come on cosplayers: what are you waiting for?)

Even though I continuously make it a point to praise the artwork of this book, that doesn’t mean the writing is lacking.  Bechko and Hardman both do an excellent job here with dialogue that is believable and never feels stilted and they have also crafted an interesting story that keeps readers wanting more.  This has quickly become one of the books that I really look forward to every month and the possibilities for where Ania’s story could go from here are endless.

Thus far, I’ve been giving the book a steady 4/5 rating but this issue is getting a 5/5 because of how wonderfully everything came together in this first story arc.  Go and give this book a try.