- Mangaka : Akira Himekawa, Haruichi, Subaru, Akira Fukaya, and Takashi Kisaki
- Publisher : Viz Media
- Genre : Shonen, Fantasy, Sci-fi
- Published : January 14, 2020
Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker—The Manga Introduction (No Spoilers)
The Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker-The Manga is a collection of four spectacularly illustrated stories about the adventures of Luke Skywalker after the first film, Chapter IV A New Hope. You get three completely original stories and one retelling of an arc from one of the films that have Luke working with, droids, imperials, and grad students.
Contains Spoilers
Discussion Time
You already know that Star Wars stories begin “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." and this collection of stories about the iconic character Luke Skywalker is no different. The 200-page manga contains three original stories and one very cute retelling of the Jabba the Hut arc from Return of the Jedi. The original stories seem to take place sometime after the events of the original trilogy. We follow Luke as he appears to be wandering the galaxy as some sort of Jedi Knight errant. We follow Luke as he helps a stranded imperial soldier in Akira Fukaya and Takashi Kisaki story. In the story by Haruichi, a droid-friendly Jedi goes undercover to spark a robot rebellion and Subaru gives us a unique retelling of the Jabba arc in The Tale of Lububrious Mote. The final chapter by Akira Himekawa, the artist duo behind The Legend of Zelda manga series, is a part romance, part adventure, and part spiritual awakening for Luke and his lovely companion.
1.What was Luke up to?
Did you ever wonder what Luke Skywalker was doing in between the times we saw him during the movies? How did Luke learn about the history of the Jedi without Obi-wan Kenobi and only meeting Yoda a few times? The manga shows the young Jedi on a journey of discovery, acting at sometimes naïve, sometimes wise and sometimes like the undefeatable Jedi master who faced down the emperor.
2.Aurthor Ken Liu
Ken Liu’s talent for telling a story is absolutely a reason to read The Legends of Luke Skywalker-The Manga since the anthology is based on the multiple Hugo Award winner and author of the hit novel Star Wars, Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Legends of Luke Skywalker.
3.Amazing Artists
The talented artists. The mangaka who contributed to this work are extortionary. You get a variety of styles in this manga but nothing that is so different that it makes the anthology disjointed. We also see an adorable take on the relationship between Luke, Leia and a flea-like creature that will have you smiling by the end of the story.
1.But they can't do that...
You won't like the manga if you are a Star Wars purist. The manga adds liberally to the Luke Skywalker lore. We don’t have confirmation from Lucasfilm Story Group that anything in this manga should be considered canon you still might have problems if you don’t accept any story not blessed by LSG. You might have real problems with the retelling of the Jabba arc if you are a canon zealot.
2.You gotta know when...
The ambiguous timeline of the stories. You never get a solid date or time frame for the events of the story. We only surmise to the events happening after A New Hope because Luke is a known quantity to the Imperials, and he considers himself a Jedi. The Imperials still exist and aren’t referred to as the New Order so it must happen before the Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If you need to know when the events of this manga happened, you won’t be happy and should skip it.
Final Thoughts
The Legends of Luke Skywalker—The Manga is a great read for an afternoon on the couch, on the train, or at the beach. You’ll easily wade into it without having to go through all of the world-building that a new manga or novel typically requires. The authors assume that you know the Star Wars universe and more specifically the characters of Luke, Leia, 3PO, and R2D2. You can relax while reading the stories, too, since you know that in Star Wars, except for Empire Strikes Back, the good guys typically win. The movies may have wrapped for now, but we are happy to know that talented artists and storytellers are on the job expanding the legends of the Star Wars universe.
Author: Zeke Changuris
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