Published: February 2, 2022
Rated: T
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artist: Will Sliney
Colourist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Production Designer: Carlos Lao
Cover Artist: E. M. Gist
The synopsis;
THE VOYAGES OF THE GREATEST OF ALL-STAR CRUISERS!
• As the legendary HALCYON embarks on a momentous…cruise, the ship heads toward a confrontation with THE FIRST ORDER!
• But what secret from THE HIGH REPUBLIC ERA can help the passengers and crew all these years later?
• And how did JEDI NIBS and BURRY fend off a NIHIL attack on one of the ship’s first ever voyages?
The review;
For the launch issue of the Halcyon Legacy mini-series, you have 5 different covers to choose from. The lettering on the covers is very striking and replicates the font that will be used for the Disney immersive hotel. The direct cover is by E.M. Gist, and it is rich in colour with a minimalist edge of the crisp white surround and featuring Burryaga and the Halcyon Legacy. The attraction cover highlights Logistic Droid, D3-O9, set against a black cover. Series artist, Will Sliney gets his own interconnecting variant. Assisted on colours by Lee Loughridge, this cover will link up with all the coming issues. Each cover will highlight the major characters in the story of the issue. There are 2 other variants from Caspar Wijngaard and Pasqual Ferry, both showing their own take on the action between the Jedi and the Nihil.
Ethan Sacks has taken a detour away from the Bounty Hunter trail to pair up Will Sliney once more for another Disney Parks tie-in series of comics. They worked well together for Galaxy’s Edge, so I am sure this pairing will hit the mark once more. So, prepare to dive deep into the history of the galaxy’s most famous star cruiser… Halcyon Legacy!
The story starts with Shorr Komrrin of Tholoth and his granddaughter, Cimina. Komrrin was a passenger many years before and is recognised by D3-O9. Cimina is eager to visit the lightsaber training pods, but Komrrin’s memory is stirred by his previous journey and a meeting with Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. Sirens wail and Captain Keevan contacts the approaching vessel, a vessel commanded by Crimson Jack under order of the First Order to find a spy onboard Halcyon Legacy. Deethree remembers similar events involving the Nihil many years before.
The Wookiee padawan Burryaga and Master, Nib Assek, are aboard the Halcyon Legacy some 265 years ago. Deep in meditation, the events of the Great Hyperspace Disaster bring Burry back to the present. The star cruiser is a target for the Nihil, their ships approach before it can jump to hyperspace. Surrounded, the Nihil must be after Shug Drabor’s Hyperspace Compass.
Burry heads for his ship and launches to engage the Nihil armada, while Assek readies herself for the boarding party. Burry does an amazing job to start with, but as time goes by is being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of Nihil ships. Meanwhile Assek is being underestimated by the boarding party, she holds no quarter as she defends the star cruiser crew and patrons.
But the target was never the compass. A Nihil has snook onto the bridge and stolen information about the Chandrillan shipyards. The leader of the group of Nihil then rips a hole in the hull which he uses to escape in his exoskeleton suit and flee back to his ship. More Jedi arrive from hyperspace, headed by Master Stellan Gios, they bring the Nihil incursion under control. But the damage has been done, the important information has been retrieved by the Nihil.
Deethree tells Burry and Assek that ship owner Shug was so happy with the Jedi’s response to the Nihil attack, that he has now built a lightsaber training pod onboard for the Jedi to use.
Keevan’s slow response to Crimson Jack’s request has left him feeling they are not taking his request seriously. His ships weapons power and open fire.
Sacks has proven himself adept at writing in all the Star Wars eras in his previous publications, but he now joins the Project Luminous creative assembly in penning a story rooted in The High Republic. With this in mind, I always felt this title was in safe hands and after reading this first issue, my gut feeling was correct. As with Galaxy’s Edge, the overall story arc has firm connections with the back story that plays out. Sacks mixes the 2 so well and issue 1 is a solid start to the series.
At this point I need to mention Crimson Jack. For those who are not aware, this is a character that is deeply rooted in the earliest Marvel Comics from the seventies. Like Beilert Valance and Jaxxon Tumperakki, this is another character that is loved by many, me included! It will be interesting to see how this larger than life character influences the overall story. For me he was a character that Brian Blessed would be the perfect fit for. His original look was very similar to that of Prince Vultan, who he played in the 1980 Flash Gordon movie.
Sliney’s artwork is a joy to behold. His work is consistent and his style suits Star Wars beautifully. His illustrations of Burryaga need a special mention. I dabbled with creating art of Chewbacca when I was younger and could render his shape, but when it came to his fur, that’s where it all goes wrong for me. Sliney is able to use minimal lines to amazing effect to create the texture of the padawan. Rachelle Rosenberg is no stranger to Star Wars comics and her work fits nicely with that of Sliney. Rosenberg uses the whole spectrum of colours from pastels to bold solid colours that make Sliney’s art flow and move.
The painstaking work of those who bring us the texts are very rarely praised in reviews, but I feel that Joe Sabino does require acknowledgment for his work in this issue. He highlights the effects that would ring in our ears at a cinema very well and enhances what Sacks and Sliney portray.
A great start and a solid foundation issue for not just the next issue, but what those lucky people are going to experience on their stay among the stars on the Halcyon Legacy!
Availability;
Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy #1 was published February 2, 2022 by Marvel Comics. This issue and retails at $4.99 is available via The Marvel App and from all good comic book stores.
