Star Wars: Kanan #8 Review

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A Jedi lesson in wisdom and humility and both sides of the war feature in this issue.

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Kanan #8.

Kanan #8

Writer: Greg Weisman | Artist: Pepe Larraz | Colors: David Curiel | Cover: Mark Brooks | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

 Kanan continues to be one of the best ongoing Star Wars stories out there. Issue eight is the latest in a streak of excellence for this series. Kanan, under the watchful eyes of the crew of the Ghost, continues to recover in a bacta tank from a stab to the back. The vigil is interrupted by an announcement that the building the crew is in has been surrounded, by who we don’t know for sure. Meanwhile, Kanan flashes back to his time as a padawan at the Jedi Temple when he was known as Caleb Dume–before Order 66 lead to the extermination of the Jedi order.

As in the present, Caleb finds himself in a dangerous situation. A separatist agent, Rackham Sear, has invaded the Jedi Temple. His goal is to cause the central tower to topple through the use of marble sized bombs. If he accomplishes his goal, he will demoralize the Jedi and the Republic while inspiring the Separatists. The Jedi order reacts quickly to the invasion, but it is Caleb Dume’s quick actions and intuition that brings Jedi Master Depa Billaba to her senses. Recovered from her fear, Depa puts aside her concerns that her actions might lead to another disaster as she believes them to have done in a previous engagement with General Grievous that resulted in the annihilation of her battalion. Caleb and Depa triumph over Rackham and save the temple. It is unclear whether Rackham survived to take the fight to the Jedi another day.

Weisman’s writing and Larraz’s art combine to create one of the most authentic Star Wars experiences in the comics so far. The art is crisp and fast-paced. The dialogue is witty and heroic.  A genuine Star Wars experience pours from the page. Furthermore, Weisman draws on a great deal of the Star Wars universe to create a truly immersive story. For instance, General Kleeve returns in this issue. He was first seen in earlier issues of the series as a Separatist General surrendering the planet Kaller to Republic forces. Later, he would become an ally to Kanan and his Kalleran mentor.

Another instance of drawing on the greater Star Wars universe occurs with the appearance of Jedi Master Cin Drallig. Master Drallig has rarely been seen in the pages of any Star Wars story. His name is the reverse of Nic Gillard, a stunt coordinator for the prequel films. In the same panel in which Master Drallig appears, a trio of younglings huddle in the background. Although not named, they look strikingly similar to Jedi younglings that appeared in season five of The Clone Wars. Also, Rackham mentions to General Kleeve that he acquired the plans for the Jedi Temple from a bounty hunter named Bane, which is undoubtedly Cad Bane, another veteran character Clone Wars, who had infiltrated the Jedi Temple at least twice.

Weisman’s skill in writing also provides insight into the motivation of the average Separatist soldier. In a single panel, Weisman bestows dialogue on Rackham that clearly and concisely presents his side of the story. To him, the Republic is the bad guy in the galactic conflict. The Republic stifles freedom and self-determination. The Jedi are nothing but tyrants for defending the Republic and pursuing the Chancellor’s goals in battle. To Jedi such as Obi-wan Kenobi, the Republic is freedom and represents democracy. As Padmé Amidala will later remark, the war represents a failure of communication. Both sides believe in freedom and their side champions that ideal. Where is the disconnect? Communication was an early casualty in the war. Separatist and dark side agents made sure that Senator Amidala and others never had a chance to resurrect it.

Depa Billaba continues to come into her own in this issue. In previous expanded universe material, her exposure was largely limited to the novel Shatterpoint, but that book was primarily devoted to the story of Mace Windu. In the movies, she receives limited screen time and is largely a background character. Weisman and Larraz have created a fully fleshed out character. She isn’t perfect. Her greatest flaw is her self-doubt. She has been somewhat crippled by her previous failure in battle against General Grievous. Caleb saw through her doubt and fear and his actions inspired her to act despite her belief she would be a liability. Depa displays humility and wisdom in acknowledging that someone far younger and less experience aided her. In other warrior cultures, it would be easy for a senior member of the tribe to dismiss Caleb’s contribution. However, Depa credits Caleb for helping her see the truth so that she may continue her journey, and rewards him by taking him as her Padawan.

The less experienced Jedi of the order still have a long way to go it seems. Caleb informs some of his closest friends of his good news, and to his disappointment, he is met with fear and envy. Granted, like Caleb, his friends are still children. Their attitudes are not the stuff of Jedi though. Everyone knows what Yoda had to say about fear, and envy is a symptom of attachment, which the Jedi are forbidden. The seeds of the fall of the Jedi are present.

Caleb’s adventures will continue. The story of how he acquired his kyber crystal was alluded to, but has been saved for another day. The overall story is returning to a time closer to the beginning of this series when Caleb and Depa served the Grand Army of the Republic with a Clone Army behind them. As long as Weisman is at the helm of this book, it should be a great ride.

Favorite Panel:

It is always hard picking a single panel from a book with Weisman and Larraz contributing to it. However, they have succeeded in making Depa Billaba a character that I have invested in. Therefore, I picked a panel featuring her as this issue’s favorite.