What do you think?
Rate this book
Star Wars Legends: Omnibus Collection
Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus Vol. 1
The Old Republic has fallen — and the Empire is rising! In the aftermath of Episode III, Sith lord Palpatine exerts his ruthless grip on the galaxy as his enforcer Darth Vader leads a brutal purge to wipe out the Jedi Order! Marked for death, Jedi master K’Kruhk must protect the younglings under his care, as master Dass Jennir finds refuge with a crew of smugglers. But to survive, will they abandon their heroic ideals? Meanwhile, the relentless Vader must rescue an officer’s son and defend the Emperor from an uprising — by any means necessary! Witness the beginnings of the Galactic Empire!
COLLECTING: Star Wars: Republic (2002) 78-80, Star Wars: Purge (2005) 1, Star Wars: Purge – Seconds to Die (2009) 1, Star Wars: Purge – The Hidden Blade (2010) 1, Star Wars: Purge – The Tyrant’s Fist (2012) 1-2, Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command (2011) 1-5, Star Wars: Dark Times (2006) 1-17, Star Wars: Dark Times – Blue Harvest (2009) 0, Star Wars: Dark Times – Out of the Wilderness (2011) 1-5, Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison (2012) 1-5
COLLECTING: Star Wars: Republic (2002) 78-80, Star Wars: Purge (2005) 1, Star Wars: Purge – Seconds to Die (2009) 1, Star Wars: Purge – The Hidden Blade (2010) 1, Star Wars: Purge – The Tyrant’s Fist (2012) 1-2, Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command (2011) 1-5, Star Wars: Dark Times (2006) 1-17, Star Wars: Dark Times – Blue Harvest (2009) 0, Star Wars: Dark Times – Out of the Wilderness (2011) 1-5, Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison (2012) 1-5
990 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 4, 2022
12 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
John Ostrander
2,082 books172 followersJohn Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 26, 2022
(Zero spoiler review) 3.5/5
Talk about rescuing a thoroughly average read from the fires of apathy and mediocrity about half way through...
I've never bene the biggest Star Wars fan. A point which I believe I've made just about every time I've reviewed something Star Wars related on this site. And for the first half of this book, I was about ready to jack in any chance I had of delving any further into the extended universe, which is established canon, despite what despicable Disney would have you believe. They can stick their High Republic and sequel trilogy where the twin suns of Tattooine don't shine. Anyway, it all started of reasonably well enough with a few one and done stories, although things started to go off the rails when I noticed a pattern emerging. That pattern being 'big bad' Darth Vader kills jedi, repeat. The sheer repetition of this narrative had me rolling my eyes and waiting for something a little more interesting to come along. Vader, unless very well written, is little more than a walking plot device, and here, he wasn't terrible well written, so he was a walking plot device. You knew what was going to happen within a few pages of each issue, and despite the exceptional artwork throughout this book, the writing was well and truly letting the team down. And to make matters worse, as soon as we veered away from milking the Darth Vader cow, the assortment of characters we did get interested me even less. I get that the galaxy is a big place with all manner of potential life forms, although the eclectic assortment on offer here really did stretch the imagination just a little too far. A triceratops person, really? Lame character models were one thing, but the stories did them no favours either. It was one bland arc after another until I just didn't care any more and may have skipped a few issues, waiting to see a change of cast.
It was here, at the start of the Blue Harvest arc (I keep wanting to say Blue Waffle for some reason), that things picked up. The shoddy characters were mostly relegated to obscurity, and instead, we got decent stories, competently told, featuring characters that didn't make me want to insert long slender objects into my nasal cavity. The two arcs that followed were both good and great, and really saved not only this omnibus from being sold off, but maintained enough interest for me to continue delving further into the Star Wars comic book canon. I doubt I'll ever read the first half again, but the second is worth checking out, whether you read the individual trades or grab yourself the omnibus. 3.5/5
OmniBen.
Talk about rescuing a thoroughly average read from the fires of apathy and mediocrity about half way through...
I've never bene the biggest Star Wars fan. A point which I believe I've made just about every time I've reviewed something Star Wars related on this site. And for the first half of this book, I was about ready to jack in any chance I had of delving any further into the extended universe, which is established canon, despite what despicable Disney would have you believe. They can stick their High Republic and sequel trilogy where the twin suns of Tattooine don't shine. Anyway, it all started of reasonably well enough with a few one and done stories, although things started to go off the rails when I noticed a pattern emerging. That pattern being 'big bad' Darth Vader kills jedi, repeat. The sheer repetition of this narrative had me rolling my eyes and waiting for something a little more interesting to come along. Vader, unless very well written, is little more than a walking plot device, and here, he wasn't terrible well written, so he was a walking plot device. You knew what was going to happen within a few pages of each issue, and despite the exceptional artwork throughout this book, the writing was well and truly letting the team down. And to make matters worse, as soon as we veered away from milking the Darth Vader cow, the assortment of characters we did get interested me even less. I get that the galaxy is a big place with all manner of potential life forms, although the eclectic assortment on offer here really did stretch the imagination just a little too far. A triceratops person, really? Lame character models were one thing, but the stories did them no favours either. It was one bland arc after another until I just didn't care any more and may have skipped a few issues, waiting to see a change of cast.
It was here, at the start of the Blue Harvest arc (I keep wanting to say Blue Waffle for some reason), that things picked up. The shoddy characters were mostly relegated to obscurity, and instead, we got decent stories, competently told, featuring characters that didn't make me want to insert long slender objects into my nasal cavity. The two arcs that followed were both good and great, and really saved not only this omnibus from being sold off, but maintained enough interest for me to continue delving further into the Star Wars comic book canon. I doubt I'll ever read the first half again, but the second is worth checking out, whether you read the individual trades or grab yourself the omnibus. 3.5/5
OmniBen.
June 29, 2023
Star Wars The Empire omnibus.
I still got plenty omnibuses to read but whenever i go through them to pick a new one, i easily get a SW one, i have been on a Star Wars trip this year, and i have been loving these newly released Dark Horse comics by Marvel. The Empire omnibus focuses on the first months of the Empire and immediate aftermath of Revenge of the Sith. Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader are starting their reign and the jedi are hunted and killed. This omni focuses on the Dark Side (love it) but also on some Jedi like Dass Jennir who is a cool dude. The big standouts however are Darth Vader related. Darth Vader and The Lost Commando and Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison are stories i wanted to read for a very long time because their praise. But where never really available for quite some time, so i am very happy to have those in this format. And the artwork is bloody brilliant. The force is strong with this one.
I still got plenty omnibuses to read but whenever i go through them to pick a new one, i easily get a SW one, i have been on a Star Wars trip this year, and i have been loving these newly released Dark Horse comics by Marvel. The Empire omnibus focuses on the first months of the Empire and immediate aftermath of Revenge of the Sith. Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader are starting their reign and the jedi are hunted and killed. This omni focuses on the Dark Side (love it) but also on some Jedi like Dass Jennir who is a cool dude. The big standouts however are Darth Vader related. Darth Vader and The Lost Commando and Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison are stories i wanted to read for a very long time because their praise. But where never really available for quite some time, so i am very happy to have those in this format. And the artwork is bloody brilliant. The force is strong with this one.
May 16, 2025
11/10.
Fantastic. I never imagined that such detailed and engrossing stories could be told in comic book format. Seeing a fresh and unhinged Darth Vader portrayed shortly after the events of Revenge of the Sith hunting down Jedi alongside clone troopers and coming to grips with everything he had just lost was downright incredible. The other story lines about Dass Jennir and the smuggling crew and K’Kruhk were perfect additions to the universe. I found myself more engrossed in these stories than I have been in nearly any other Star Wars content.
There is something very authentic and engaging about these comics that none of the canon ones have been able to recreate successfully for me; I assume it stems from these being passion projects for the writers and artists at the time rather than a constrained author working out of a corporate assembly line with checklists and bureaucracy. Compared to the three ongoing canon comic runs I caught up on recently, this omnibus collection displayed far more depth and understanding of not just the world of Star Wars, but its characters' motivations old and new.
2nd Reading: I re-read this now that I have the 2nd and 3rd volumes and it's just as good as the first time around. They don't make them like they used to.
Fantastic. I never imagined that such detailed and engrossing stories could be told in comic book format. Seeing a fresh and unhinged Darth Vader portrayed shortly after the events of Revenge of the Sith hunting down Jedi alongside clone troopers and coming to grips with everything he had just lost was downright incredible. The other story lines about Dass Jennir and the smuggling crew and K’Kruhk were perfect additions to the universe. I found myself more engrossed in these stories than I have been in nearly any other Star Wars content.
There is something very authentic and engaging about these comics that none of the canon ones have been able to recreate successfully for me; I assume it stems from these being passion projects for the writers and artists at the time rather than a constrained author working out of a corporate assembly line with checklists and bureaucracy. Compared to the three ongoing canon comic runs I caught up on recently, this omnibus collection displayed far more depth and understanding of not just the world of Star Wars, but its characters' motivations old and new.
2nd Reading: I re-read this now that I have the 2nd and 3rd volumes and it's just as good as the first time around. They don't make them like they used to.
October 13, 2022
Incredibly fun read, probably the best Star Wars comics I've enjoyed (have not read too much though). The culminating story at the end: "Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison" was probably the highlight, but there were numerous great stories peppered in there. I particularly liked the Chris Scalf illustrated issue (The Hidden Blade). My only issues with the omnibus itself were the half-hearted inclusion of the "Vector" arc which spanned multiple Star Wars titles, and only the issues relating to the crew of the Uhumele being included since they progress the main story forward. It is strange that the remaining issues are not included, leaving the reader with an incomplete story requiring them to find them in other omnis. The lack of page numbers is another frustrating decision here, and some people may be bothered by the thin pages that arise from printings from the infamous Imak Offset printer.
July 27, 2024
There’s some good writing and good art in here. There’s also some OK writing with mediocre art in the latter half. I just can’t bring myself to care enough for the stories or the characters in them.
Part of it has to be that the main story is already told, so the fates of Darth Vader, the Jedi and the Empire are already written. Every Star Wars story I read just feel like force creating stuff to sell. Make up some new characters and Jedi and have them run around some planet for a couple issues.
I thought I loved the universe of Star Wars and all of its possibilities for creating new stories, but I’m beginning to feel like I rather read something entirely new. What Disney has done with the franchise hasn’t helped
Part of it has to be that the main story is already told, so the fates of Darth Vader, the Jedi and the Empire are already written. Every Star Wars story I read just feel like force creating stuff to sell. Make up some new characters and Jedi and have them run around some planet for a couple issues.
I thought I loved the universe of Star Wars and all of its possibilities for creating new stories, but I’m beginning to feel like I rather read something entirely new. What Disney has done with the franchise hasn’t helped
March 3, 2024
Good guys are losing and suffering heavy losses, while everyone underestimates Darth Vader. It gets tedious after a bit. However, at some point in the book the an overarching story sets in. It's still depressing, but it's nice to follow a larger cast of characters.
You get some rare instances, where Darth Vader reflects on what's happening and those pages are the strong parts of this book. Most of the time, he is ruthless and invincible. Just after the fall of the galaxy, he shouldn't be in my opinion.
On the plus side, the artwork is amazing in this book.
You get some rare instances, where Darth Vader reflects on what's happening and those pages are the strong parts of this book. Most of the time, he is ruthless and invincible. Just after the fall of the galaxy, he shouldn't be in my opinion.
On the plus side, the artwork is amazing in this book.
February 25, 2023
This Omni tells a little about what Darth Vader does shortly after Order 66. He basically goes on a killing spree, and man can he kill. A little depth is added to Vader's character, when he has flashbacks with Padme. You kinda feel sorry for him and his loss. This is packed with action. I think Star Wars fans will enjoy it.
January 4, 2026
Realistically, I've made it as far as I want to for the moment. Overall, most of the stories were good, and I am enjoying the overall Dark Times story arc. However, Darth Vader: The Lost Command is the single worst Darth Vader story in the every Star Wars canon lol. Oof.
May 9, 2024
The absolute best of Legends exploring the most interesting months of the timeline. Incredible characters and concepts realized incredibly well
December 28, 2024
Very good. This was a great collection of comics from a creative era of storytelling. It was certainly refreshing to read compared to some of what's on offer today.
December 7, 2025
An excellent, very large collection of Empire-themed Star Wars comics set between RotS and ANH.
Looking forward to the next Omnibus collection.
Looking forward to the next Omnibus collection.
December 9, 2025
This is the best Star Wars omnibus I have read so far. There are many great characters, compelling stories, and some very dark, and even disturbing, moments. Can't wait to read the other volumes.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews