Star Wars: Kanan Volume 1-The Last Padawan collects issues 1-6 of Star Wars: Kanan. It was written by Greg Weisman with art by Pepe Larraz (1-5) and Jacopo Camagni (6), and released on November 3, 2015.
Synopsis
Caleb Dume and Depa Billlaba.
The crew of the Ghost is assigned to pick up supplies on the planet Kaller. Upon hearing of this, Kanan Jarrus thinks back on his previous life as Jedi Padawan Caleb Dume and his assignment to wrest control of that very planet from Separatist hands in the waning hours of the Clone Wars. It was there where young Caleb witnessed the death of his master and was forced to flee for his life when Order 66 was carried out by the same clone troopers he thought were his comrades. Alone, in hiding, and barely surviving, he met Janus Kasmir. Caleb makes the only decision he can in order to live, he abandons his existence as a Jedi and partners with Janus in a life of smuggling and theft. Nevertheless, the clones remain in dogged pursuit of him until finally catching up. As they prepare to execute him on board their ship, he pleads with them to recognize the lie at the heart of Order 66 and the Empire it helped bring about. Commander Grey begins to realize the truth, but Captain Styles persists. Caleb takes an opportunity to escape; launching himself into space where he is picked up by Janus’s pursuing ship. Grey disables the shields on the clones’ ship, allowing them to be destroyed. Caleb, fearing for Janus’s safety and not wanting to endure the loss of another friend/mentor, decides they must go their separate ways. He begins his new life by taking the name Kanan Jarrus. When they arrive on Kaller, the Ghost crew finds their supplies stolen. Kanan tracks them to a former enemy of his and Janus, Tapusk. He recovers the supplies but is seriously wounded in the process.
Review
Caleb Dume experiences Order 66.
In a just world we would have gotten several comic book tie-ins (and maybe another novel) during the run of Star Wars Rebels. For those who felt the show leaned a little too much toward “kid-friendly” at times, these could have been a little more grounded. We could have gotten a mini-series about Zeb and his people, and one about Hera and Chopper. Am I forgetting anyone? That’s everybody? Good. As it stands, aside from some young reader books and comics included in Star Wars: Rebels Magazine, the show was as criminally underserved in the literature line as it was in the toy line. Fortunately, we did get Star Wars: Kanan. The story of just how Caleb Dume came to be Kanan Jarrus is told simply but powerfully here. The scenes depicting Order 66 have an emotional intensity that puts them on a par with their counterparts in Revenge of the Sith; scenes which never fail to elicit an emotional response from me. You can really feel the loneliness and despair when you see young Caleb set adrift, having nothing and no one to turn to in the aftermath of the slaughter. Caleb looses Depa Billaba; but, as Star Wars characters are wont to do, finds another mentor in the form of Janus Kasmir. Janus has a little bit of Hondo Ohnaka in him, a thief and a con-man who still has some kind of code and moral compass. When Caleb makes the decision to abandon their partnership you can really sense the masked but genuine sadness that echoes his earlier loss. It’s a story about having things taken away from you: your friends/family, your security, your identity. It’s also about forging something new out of that loss. In the end Caleb Dume has a new identiy, Kanan Jarrus; a new life; and we know he will eventually get a new family. You know, looking back on that final season of Rebels, it seems to me that Kanan Jarrus came to understand that he had been living on borrowed (or rather given) time ever since Order 66. It’s as if he knew that, at some point, he would have to go back to being Caleb Dume; and that Dume’s fate had been sealed for a long time. At least his death in Rebels was one of willing sacrifice and not execution.
Caleb makes a new friend.
Pepe Larraz’s art is fantastic, and it’s really a shame he hasn’t done interiors on any other Star Wars titles. Jacopo Camagni takes over for issue six, and the style is similar enough so that visual continuity is maintained. The depiction of the Ghost crew in the framing narrative is very well done. The series is drawn in a style that doesn’t attempt to mimic the animation of the show. The character focus in these scenes is wisely kept on Kanan with the others providing suitable supporting roles.
Notes
The Ghost crew.
While not explicitly stated, one assumes that the framing part of the story takes place during the first season of Rebels. The flashback, of course, takes place just before, during, and just after Order 66.
Hey, you know what reading this series reminded me of that I had forgotten about? Ezra’s slingshot. Remember that? Remember Ezra’s slingshot?
The issues comprising this trade paperback were also collected in a hardcover omnibus which also includes issues 7-12 (and thus the entirety of the series).
Comic Pack Wish List:
We need the whole Ghost crew, obviously. I would also really love a new Depa Billaba figure.
Score:
This story is a must for Rebels fans; and even if you’re not a fan of the show, it’s also a must for Prequel/Rise of the Empire era fans. 4 Skulls.
