Just weeks out from the release of the videogame, The Force Unleashed, I got my hands on the graphic novel because it will be sometime until I play the game and I was very anxious to see how the story goes.  When this was announced, I was worried about this story because Darth Vader never struck me as someone wanting an apprentice, regardless of what transpired in ESB.  However, once again, although I had little faith in the story, I was not disappointed like I assumed I would.

To begin, the art of the graphi novel is beautiful.  Force powers are done very well, and the characters look very human…well, for the characters that are supposed to be human, anyway :-).  Brian Ching, Bong Dazo, and Wayne Nichols did a great job, and I’ve been a fan of Brian Ching’s work, particularly on the Knights of the Old Republic comic series.

For the story, although I haven’t played the game, Haden Blackman does seem to capture the storyline from the game.  You can tell that the story comes from a videogame script because the panels try to capture the game play, such as having to fight through drones or “thugs”.  The narrator is kind of what I would expect for this story, so be sure to check this story out (and I do believe it ends with the cannon ending).

Finally, what I thought of this story?  The first half, I did roll my eyes as the story went, especially when Starkiller said, “my master.”  Juno Eclipse, Proxy, and Rahm Kota are all well defined characters, and I like the story given for how Kota escaped Order 66 (if you know me, you know I have had a problem with EU dealing with that order).  Other characters I didn’t think would appear made an appearance in this story, although one of them seems much older than I thought he or she should have been.  And for the twist…as soon as it happened, I thought it was great because something very similar happened in the movies, so I couldn’t be too disappointed about that the twist.  In short, very well done!

The Force Unleashed graphic novel was very well done, and I recommend it to everyone.  As for the game and the novel, I plan to check them out as soon as I can to see if they are just as well done.  Until next time, may the Force be with you! JMA

Hello to all EU fans out there! Although I’ve been away for the summer (as those who listen to EU Cast know), I’ve tried my best to keep checking in to see what’s going on. I hope everyone is having a great summer and I’m looking forward to returning to EU Cast and the EU Cantina forums early next month. I plan to use this blog to write any thoughts I have on what’s happening in the Star Wars EU, such as news stories, books, comics, and more. Also, I plan to be sure to check out what others are saying out there and will welcome any and all comments; the only way to make an argument stronger is to test it and see if it comes out just as strong. Looking forward to blogging next month!

JMA