Halcyon Legacy #3 - Comic Review

While Captain Keevan pilots the legendary and historical star cruiser the Halcyon away from a band of pirates, the droid D3-09 continues telling epic stories of the ship’s travels to help keep the young Cimina from worrying about current events. This time the droid goes back to the Clone Wars to tell a tale of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Senator of Naboo Padmé Amidala. Here on the Halcyon to make sure another senator doesn’t fall into the hands of the Separatists, Anakin and Padmé spend their time both keeping an eye on the target as well as using this trip as an excuse to take a little time for themselves and their secret relationship. Little do they know that the Separatists are looking to strike a little sooner than expected by sending a secret operative to extract the senator known as the dark assassin Asajj Ventress!

Writer Ethan Sacks continues the trend of making each individual tale feel a lot like a fairy tale being told to a child, but with Halcyon Legacy #3 he also goes a lot more personal by delving into the relationship and love between Anakin and Padmé. As with the previous two issues, this story is quick and light as Sacks has to bookend the tale with the events happening on the Halcyon in present day, but both present day and past events are enthralling and exciting! Not to mention the inclusion of Asajj Ventress which, and I’m personally quite biased here, skyrockets the excitement and entertainment value a lot. Sacks’ depiction of Ventress is wonderful and badass and she feels perfectly written with the small amount of page time she gets.

Halcyon Legacy #3 brings us art by Will Sliney, colors by Rachelle Rosenberg, and lettering by VC’s Joe Sabino. They all do a wonderful job detailing this wonderful comic, but I need to give a standout mention to Sabino’s lettering, especially in terms of the sound effects, which enhance the events happening so much. From subtle sounds of beeping on the bridge of the Halcyon to the noises various creatures in the menagerie on board the star cruiser make—and especially the lightsaber sounds throughout the second half of the issue—Sabino does an incredible job making the readers feel like the comic is coming to life right before our eyes!

The main cover art for Halcyon Legacy #3 comes from E.M. Gist and is an absolutely stunning rendition of Padmé and Anakin as well as the Halcyon itself. The first variant cover was done by interior artist Will Sliney and continues the Connecting Cover variant featuring characters from this issue such as Padmé, Anakin, Ventress, and others featured within. The second variant, my personal favorite, is a piece by Annie Wu who gives us a powerful and absolutely breathtaking piece of Ventress in her dark robes, lightsabers out, and her trademark part smile part scowl across her face.

While the crew of the Halcyon worry about pirates, D3-09 tells a tale set during the Clone Wars in Halcyon Legacy #3. It’s a fun and light issue that brings us to an exciting little story with some fan favorite characters of the Clone Wars era and pages full of beautiful art. So fire up your Jedi Starfighter and zoom on down to your local comic shop to pick up a copy today!