Following Order 66, the Empire's Jedi purge is in full swing, and anti-Jedi propaganda is at its height. Among the survivors is Jedi Knight Nagi Tsukumo. Betrayed, poisoned, and on the run, he joins forces with two droid outcasts searching the galaxy for coordinates to a fabled Droid Paradise.

With an Imperial assassin hot on their tail, Nagi, along with droids Dee-Seven and Ee-Ten, must find the rumored utopia before the Empire catches up with them. But when they finally reach their destination, all seems lost. Can one Jedi overcome the Empire's influence, or will peace demand the ultimate sacrifice?

Star Wars Visions: Tsukumo has a story and art by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi. Lettering by Phil Christie. Published by Viz Media (July 14, 2026). Rated T+

Erica Friedman
Rating:

A lone man accompanies two droids to find the Droid Paradise. A Jedi-killing droid begins to ask philosophical questions about life, death, and whether it, too, has The Force. These dualities make for the kind of superficial depth we are familiar with in the Star Wars universe.

We're told that two sides cannot live in harmony, but even a droid understands that these two sides are intertwined and cannot—would not—exist without the other.

This look at the world of Star Wars after Order 66 has been carried out and clones have killed the Jedi masters is bleak, but familiar. With undertones of faux-Buddhist belief and the space magic and martial arts we've come to love and expect from Star Wars, Star Wars Visions: Tsukumo offers us a bite-sized introduction to every contradiction in the Star Wars universe.

While Nagi seeks to find, maybe create, a droid universe, this undeniably angry Jedi killer droid, having learned too much about human weakness, demands an accounting from Nagi about the rights and wrongs done by the Jedi.

Nagi and the Jedi Killer fight and, as is so common with Jedi, defeat and victory turn out to be the same thing. And when a new Jedi master is born from the ashes of the old, there's still a bit of thrill after all.

This manga is written and drawn with love for the ideals of Star Wars, and it really shows. It's a small slice of the mythos that any fan—even an older, perhaps jaded, fan can read and enjoy. May the Force Be With You, even if you're an angry droid.

Bolts
Rating:

“What do you want to do?” That is the prevailing question that permeates this simple short story in the Star Wars universe. Sometime after Order 66 is executed, the Jedis are scattered, but such an order also seems to affect the lives of droids out there as well. What initially starts as a chance encounter between a droid and a dying Jedi quickly turns into a simple yet fascinating exploration of the self. While the artistic style can be a bit messy at times, given how many dark shadows are plastered over everything, most of the story is conveyed with very little to no dialogue. The paneling gives a lot of life and weight to the individual actions of its characters.

I love how the story uses a combat droid's primary objective to contemplate the Jedi code itself. This combat droid needed to learn the ways of the Jedi in order to find the best way to kill them, but by learning that, it starts to wonder why the Jedi act the way that they do. This is a robot that understands, or feels, that it cannot be more than what it is, yet still cannot help but question everything around it. It's a distinct sense of self-awareness that fully explores many questions about the Star Wars universe that most other stories would barely even touch on. While it does have some pretty predictable plot beats you could probably figure out from the description I'm giving you, that doesn't make any of the key moments feel any less satisfying. This was a nice, tight, and compact story that reminds me why I am a Star Wars fan. If you are as well, then please pick this up and enjoy your afternoon with it.