I was able to pick up a copy of Republic #78: Loyalties (it's about time it came out!) today at my nearby comic book store. Man, was it great!

The story pretty much wraps up the Sagoro Autem (a Republic soldier whose son, if you've thoroughly searched the databank, you would know was blamed for the theft of Simon Greyshade's Narglatch XJ-6, the airspeeder Anakin rode in AOTC) saga who one could call the Leiutenant Sunber of Republic. Sagaro is on the run from bounty hunters (including a guy who looks like Jason) hired by Lord Vader after strangely being declared a traitor to the Empire. One thing that may disappoint readers is the Spielberg-type happy ending but I didn't mind it. The comic also sees to the fates of Captain Jace Dallin, Plo Koon's friend from the Stark Hyperspace War and the hero of the Rendili Dreadnaught battle depicted in Republic #69, 70, and 71, and Isaru Omin, one of Autem's allies from back when he was a senate guard. The genius of the tale is how it portrays how it feels like to be a Jedi after Order 66 from the perspective of an Imperial officer.

Now, the artwork is magnificient! Luke Ross, whose work I don't believe we've seen a lot of, captures the tone of the story perfectly in his drawings. It seems almost 3-dimensional. The art also accomplishes the grittiness and darkness of ROTS and the Jedi Purge era in general. I'm most impressed with Ross's depiction of Emperor Palpatine, which is a nearly the same as his appearance in ROTJ. The art is that real!

The only small complaint I have is that Vader seems to differ from how he is in "Evasive Action: Recruitment" and "In His Image" which both captured his character at that time perfectly. However, Vader seems too much like the Vader that walks through the smoke onto the Tantive IV in this comic.

Overall, this is a must-buy for those who are familiar with the series and aren't. So far, I'd say this is the best post-ROTS EU material I've read so far but Dark Lord will probably naturally outdo it. So go out there and get it!