Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Star Wars: Kanan – The Last Padawan
Marvel Comics
Weisman, Larraz & Curiel
Kanan is proving to be a very entertaining book. For those that like the Clone Wars era or are enjoying the TV Show that features the character then I urge you to pick this comic book up. The book isn't trying to be too cute with a long, sprawling political story. It also isn't trying to outline how the Force works. The comic is giving you the highlights of how Kanan ended his run as a Jedi and it is very entertaining in the process. If you like fast moving comics with action and easy-to-understand characterizations then this is the issue to pick up.
This issue is all about the Jedi purge and the escape that Kanan manages to pull off. The story is straight forward enough and cuts right into the action. The book excels in the swift pace but manages to stop and tell a story along the way. The perspective that Kanan gives throughout the book contains a nice range of emotions and thoughts and while this might seem rushed as a character arc, the book provides it all in a natural way.
The comic book also provides the next step in the adventure by getting Kanan off-world but he finds himself in more trouble than trying to escape from the Clones. The comic book definitely has the Star Wars vibe and captures the cliffhanger aspect very well.
The artwork has a cartoon quality to it, which might sound like a drawback. It isn't. The fight that the Jedi have with the Clones is as graphic and detailed as they come in Star Wars comics. The book makes good use of coloring and shading to help illustrate the changing mood of the book. The comic book presents a very nice visual story, one that you expect from Star Wars.
Kanan is turning out to be a breath of fresh air. The story of the character provides the reader with a unique spotlight on life as a child, being trained to be a Jedi, at a time when all the Jedi are murdered by the Clones. The book has plenty of action, moves at a fast pace and gives a cliffhanger for the reader to want more. The book may not have Han, Chewie, Luke and Leia but it is making its own mark and proving to be a superior read than the other Star Wars comics because you don't know where this character is going next. I am enjoying this book and this issue delivers Order 66 in a way that kept me heavily entertained.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
