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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Lit The Trades Thread (Discussion and Review for All Comic TPBs)

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Jedi Ben, Sep 3, 2012.

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  1. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Well, in that case, you know I'm not quite as favourably disposed to DOTJ as some. As to the first one, hard to say - could be back a few pages.
     
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  2. Django Fett33

    Django Fett33 Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 2013

    I found it. I really like your reviews, keep up the good work as always!

    I understand you have read many Star Wars titles like myself and seen just about everything Star Wars has to offer and more. I was very skeptical with DOTJ after Volume 1 but DOTJ seems to be going in the right direction with the start of Volume 3. We will see if its a worthwhile conclusion or beginning for that matter.
     
  3. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    I'm wondering how much time DotJ has left myself, but maybe the April solicits will help on that.
     
  4. Darth_Henning

    Darth_Henning Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 1, 2007
    Somewhat related to the hypothetical omnibus list from the previous page (awesome list thanks, never even heard of the UK clone wars comics until now (sigh, back to the clone wars timeline I was working on).

    I'm surprised there's been no attempt to collect and print an omnibus (or collection of some sort) of the various webcomics from the Clone Wars and Evasive Action. That would seam like a no-brainer since almost none have ever been in print before (other than the impossible to find Tales from the Clone Wars)
     
  5. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    To my surprise I managed to grab this little set on the cheap!

    X-Wing: In the Empire's Service

    This is where several of the EU's best creations first turned up! We have the great idea of there being an Imperial squadron to match or even exceed the Rogues in the form of the 181st. Then there's their squadron commander - Baron Fel. Stackpole is clearly riffing on the real life World War 1 pilot von Richthofen, known as the Red Baron. Into this mix he throws in Isard, who we know ends up the Rogues main adversary, but here she's working for Pestage!

    The battle for Brentaal IV mixes in action and politics on both sides and introduces another excellent character, Colonel Salm and his Y-Wing squadron. It's quite cool seeing how the two groups integrate, with each having specialist talents. On the Imperial side Fel comes across as scarily precise and charismatic to his squadron, but he has no tolerance for the politics Isard engages in, yet follows through on his orders, eventually engaging Wedge in a dogfight he seems fated to win, save for Salm's intervention in a crippled Y-Wing.

    It's the last page that throws a wild card as a captured Fel asks to see Wedge and mentions his wife asked him to pass on her regards, as she's Wedge's sister....

    With this arc X-Wing kicked off the Rise of Isard epic and in doing so it hit a zenith in terms of quality. Nadeau and Ensign's art had never looked better and, after this, they'd cede the art duties to Steve Crespo and others. To match Stackpole threw in as much as he could, making maximum use of the space he had without ever making the story feel cramped or rushed. It mixes in politics and action, space, air and ground battles, characters both end up in and are rescued from deadly jeopardy, there's an ever-present edge to the story.

    X-Wing: Blood and Honour

    This collection covers two stories - one is the quite epic Making of Baron Fel, the other is the titled arc.

    The Making of Baron Fel is a masterclass in two respects: One it shows how to do an anniversary special, this story being the 25th issue and the other is how to use continuity to enhance a story. Fel explains his background, how he came to fly for the Empire, his time teaching pilots, several of them being the current Rogues, how he was almost posted to the Death Star but was sent to the 181st as punishment for some of his students - Wedge, Tycho and Hobbie - defecting to the Rebellion, a battle that went on at the same time as Yavin and the battle of Derra IV. Into this tale Stackpole also weaves in established main characters - Solo, Vader, the Emperor, even Thrawn and Xizor get a look in! And none of it requires that you know the stories referred to, it's just all woven together seamlessly.

    The issue was also a stand out for two other things - one is Steve Crespo's art, who'd return for the last arc of the book. He's excellent at both people and technology, action and emotion, he even draws a good Vader and that's not easy. The second is its conclusion which tops the wild card end of the previous issue as Fel declares an intent to join the Rebellion, if they help him save his wife who will have gone on the run.

    Blood and Honour cannot possibly match the first story but it is entertaining and notable due to characters and location. It's set on Corellia, which is interesting to see rendered visually and features two CorSec operatives, Corran Horn and Iella Wessiri, plus one K. Loor! Yeah, for anyone who's read the books, this is a neat little tale of the Rogies attempting to track down Fel's wife and saving a baby in the process from a kidnapping plot.

    X-Wing: Mandatory Retirement

    In-between this and the previous tale there was another, Maskerade, but it's one I never cared for both in art and story terms - it was a misfire, so skipped it to grab this, the last story of the book.

    Looking at it now, in the light of recent years, I have to wonder if it isn't an occasional tendency of DHC to end titles when they still have much to give for fear of running them dry and rendering them a shadow of what they were! Because, when you get to the end of this one, it does feel a premature end has been decreed! It feels that there could be so much more done with these characters and this ensemble.

    The arc sees Isard's power plays reach their zenith as she decides the cabal she supplanted Pestage with also needs to go. Pestage himself is legging it and attempting to defect to the rebels. He ends up held on Ciutric, so the Rogues are sent to grab him, to prove that the Rebellion is better than the Empire. The politics we see on the Rebel side involve that most toxic cloud of self-interest, Fey'lya, whose clashes with Ackbar act as an interesting precursor to their TTT relationship. Isard and the cabal send Krennel and his Star Destroyer plus an Interdictor to Ciutric, which renders the mission far more dangerous.

    In grounding the Rogues and stranding them in the system, as nothing they have can take on both ships - a neat point, especially when compared to the Star Wood series - it functions as an examination of the Rebel and Imperial philosophies. In this respect, Pestage is particularly odious, especially after the death of Ibitsam. Fel's joining the Rogues also raises questions of when a person should rebel, is it too late for Fel in the eyes of some Undoubtedly, yet a clear-cut answer is never given.

    The story ends up as an assembly of characters - Mirax Terrik joins them, as does Salm's Y-Wings in response to the Rogues breaking into Imperial communications hub to send a distress call. Their highly desperate plan is to damage the Interdictor sufficiently to force it to flee, then scare Krennel off by hitting the Reckoning's bridge. What ensues is one hell of a fight, that sees Crespo do a wonderful double-page spread of the two Imperial ships aflame, TIEs and X-Wing dogfighting, while the Y-Wings rack up the hits. Yet despite the damage inflicted, even with the Y-Wings, they don't have enough firepower to kill both ships - or even one of them! Fortunately, the Imperials don't know that!

    Despite the heroics Pestage slips away, he believes he can convince Krennel to come over to his side - his belief is wrong as Krennel kills him, setting himself up as ruler of Ciutric - a plot thread that X-Wing: Book 8: Isard's Revenge addresses head on. On Coruscant, Isard's plans to supplant the cabal are successful, setting up the conflict that the books focus on a few months later. Finally, Wedge holds a memorial for those lost on the mission which brings the book to a poignant close.

    ---------------------------------------------------

    Reading these books now, some 15 years later, is an interesting experience. With DHC axing both Legacy and KOTOR, Empire/Rebellion, Agent of the Empire - I can't help but wonder if X0-Wing's end was simply an earlier manifestation of the trend. It doesn't feel like it should be the end. Oh there's a gathering of characters, the arc is more ambitious, the battle larger but none of that says it should be the end. I suspect the usual reason lurks behind it, sales or rather the lack of, but it's still a shame.

    The other aspect that really jumps out at me now is this - no one in the series is Force-sensitive, or if they are they don't know it. In these books the Jedi and the Force take a rest and don't feature! Now, how unusual must that look now? In an EU dominated by laser-sword-wielding mages? My answer is it's both stunning and saddening. Stunning because having characters without any supernatural abilities are far more easier to relate to, but saddening that the EU narrowed its scope so drastically. It's sad that there has been this catastrophic loss of vision, that the EU must be reduced to an easily summarised one-liner for..... Well, who the hell is that for? I know no audience is that dumb!

    Finally, it remains an utter travesty that, though produced, the story of the Re-Enlistment of Baron Fel remains unpublished! Why? Well, a conspiracy theorist may say it doesn't fit with the EU now, that no one's interested in a mere pilot - and if he's that good he must be Force-sensitive, no one can be that good without it!

    If you haven't read these, do so! Be it Omnibus or digital or even the old issues, go for the most cost-effective option and then have a ball! Enjoy it to the max and then wonder why there wasn't more of it.
     
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  6. Zeta1127

    Zeta1127 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    I would have gotten the three X-Wing Omnibus if the first two were unavailable new at the moment.
     
  7. jaoblias

    jaoblias Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Sep 23, 2012
    Apparently at one point they were going to print Evasive action but the plans fell through. I'dd love to get the Clone Wars stuff in an omnibus, but with Disney trying to sorta sweep The Clone Wars under a rug for now I have a feeling there might be issues with omnibusing that material.
     
  8. Darth_Henning

    Darth_Henning Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 1, 2007
    I actually hadn't remembered until now that AotE had been cancelled. I thought it was merely on hiatus or something. That's disappointing. I guess Star Wars meets Bond didn't work. Too bad. I quite enjoyed it. Would be nice to see Cross turn up again somewhere.

    I've always had the same reaction to the end of the X-wing comics though..."er...wait...huh?" It feels so unfinished. You may well be right about the reasons, but it is disappointing.

    Given that the X-wing novels open with the reformation of Rogue Squadron, you'd think that at some point they'd show how the original group was decommissioned and split up.

    I did not know that. Interesting.

    I'm not sure there would really be issues from Disney, I don't think they're paying particular attention to what's being omnibussed currently, the only hitch I can see is because the webcomics aren't by Dark Horse, they'd have to get permission from LFL or whoever has rights to them to print them. I wouldn't think that any more difficult than collecting the old marvel comics though.
     
  9. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    Crespo really is fantastic, Ben. I've always been disappointed they didn't have him do more work. X-wing had some really great art -- Nadeau, Crespo, Biukovic, Erskine. Even the much-maligned The Rebel Opposition features some very solid classic-style art from Nunis. I'd say only Blood Ties and Masquerade disappointed on the art front.
     
  10. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Yeah, in a way Crespo's the David Roach of X-Wing - shame, though I doubt he was looking for work with that level of talent.

    Blood Ties? That was the one that followed Making of Baron Fel? Yeah, it was adequate but not going to set the world a-light.
     
  11. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    Yeah, Family Ties. Not Blood Ties. Trade name mixed me up on that one. It was a mix of Jim Hall and some Drew Johnson, who did Masquerade. The art of neither is terrible, but it's simply not up to the standard of the rest of the series. Both are too cartoony for the series, where Nadeau set the gritty, tech-heavy, used-universe tone carried over from the movies.
     
  12. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Yup, that and the Star Destroyer in Maskerade.... Ugh..... It's not everything, but drawing the tech well is an essential skill for a SW artist.
     
  13. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004

    Especially if you’re doing one the space combat series. ;)
     
  14. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    My suggestion to every one contemplating buying DHC SW trades and Omnibuses for the next few months - do not hold off!

    Once items go out of print - and these will - the price skyrockets. If you want this material, make plans to grab it sharpish!
     
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  15. Django Fett33

    Django Fett33 Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 2013
    Here is my No Spoiler Review of Dark Times Omnibus Volume 1

    I thoroughly enjoyed the series again and think this book is worth it. Its def the shortest omnibus book i have ever bought.

    My Impressions video will be coming shortly
    Enjoy

     
  16. Django Fett33

    Django Fett33 Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 2013
    Hey everyone,

    I just posted my Impressions video of the Dark Times Omnibus. I dont spoil the book but show the chapters contained and show the artwork.

    Here is the Impressions video:


    Also check out my above video as well.
     
  17. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    XWRS was the ongoing at the time, but DHC got the chance to do a new ongoing tying into Episode I. XWRS's sales were supposedly on the downturn at the time as well, so DHC's decision to change gears makes sense even if it's dissapointing.

    I think AOTE was the only other series to be cancelled due to sales-related issues. Rebellion possibly too, but I think that was more to make room for Invasion in the schedule.

    Why Legacy and KOTOR were concluded, I don't think we'll ever really know. I assume the desire to launch DOTJ played a factor in the former.

    It's not just the EU that narrowed it's scope- it was the films doing so that the EU simply reflected. Much like how the pre-99 EU was mostly rogues, bounty hunters and soldiers with only the occasional force sensitive. Only the Veitch/KJA plot thread epics really dealt with force users on the level of modern EU.

    Anyways, I've been very behind on my trades- I kinda stuck to monthlies from about 2008 onwards for the most part (figured I'd always be able to get the TPBs relatively easily down the road). So I'm more than a bit behind, but I intend to catch up, more or less, by year's end while things are more or less in print/stock.

    As my Before pictures:

    [​IMG]

    (They're only broken up because they don't fit on one shelf (and certainly won't once i start filling in my gaps) and only that second one is strong enough to be used as a graphic novel shelf- I need to get a support beam in there for the top row, as you can see. The YA/YR, digests and game tech boxes are just functioning as counterweight and book ends for now.

    (and since taking this photo I found my Tales From the Clone Wars TPB, so thats now in there as well)

    Highlights in that bunch there are TOTJ: TFNU (that was such a *****!), EE & the UK-only River of Chaos. Several are signed too: KOTOR Vol 1, Legacy Vol 1, Twilight, Acts of War, Tales from the Clone Wars & CE1.

    And, then the hardcovers:

    [​IMG]

    Fewer titles to make up there (and I'm debating if any but Ghost Prison are really worth my time/money). The ROTS and Legacy Vol 1 HCs are signed out of this bunch.

    Hopefully I'll have some pretty After photos by the end of the year :).

    I'm not going after the Omnis right now, except for a few key ones with a notable amount of unique material (Wild Space Vol 2, most notably) or other appealing feature (the larger-than-originally-printed size of the Adventures). I figure I can play wait and see on those based on what happens with Marvel's plans and the overall EU going forward- at the very least, it'll give me something fun to hunt down in the future on a collectibles level (though it'll obviously probably cost me).
     
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  18. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    Well, I started to make a dent on my pile of cancellation-provoked pickups.

    Ewoks: Shadows of Endor was decent fun. It is what it is; the hijinks of Ewoks are never going to be that interesting a part of the Star Wars galaxy, but it makes good use of all the old Ewoks stuff to tell a fun little tale.

    The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters was just sort of a thing. Maul's back, people like Maul, let's make our tie-in comic about Maul. So he and Savage go around doing a buddy act just wandering around until they see a vague opportunity to get money, and meanwhile a bunch of Jedi go hunt them down. There's a fight and they kill all the Jedi who are original characters, including Jedi Master Bruce Lee. There are a few interesting bits, including Jedi Master Bruce Lee, but none of what's interesting gets particularly fleshed out. It manages to elevate itself above the level of throwaway amusement with its look into Maul, but it's not really anything to write home about.

    Darth Maul: Death Sentence was a bit of a pleasant surprise. By which I mean that it wasn't a pile of crap and the art was great. Taylor's sly sense of humor helps enliven the tale of Maul and Savage yet again wandering around vaguely waiting for things to happen to them. Which happens in the form of a bounty put on them by a random guy, which turns out to be for the silliest reason, so they go to kill him. Meanwhile, the Jedi want to know how this random guy knows Maul is alive, so they go talk to him. There's a lot of fighting and Maul interacts with the natives and the Jedi die and Maul escapes. All the fundamentals of the plot are basically silly -- the guy who put a bounty on them because they killed a guy he knows once, the guy's total disregard for the ability of two Sith-trained Force users to damage his operations, the guy's operations in a mine that's apparently the only place on the planet the natives won't die, the cartoon villainy of everything he does, the natives' sappiness. But what gets the story somewhere is the examination of Maul as he plots and manipulates the natives, the use of prophecy and morality to illuminate the greatness and goodness of the Jedi as regards saving the natives, and the fact that it's kind of interesting seeing kid Dray. Plus, the art is really great. The design for the natives is achingly generic cat-people, and the overuse of the asinine half-and-half hairdo that's apparently a thing now is stupid, but the quality of the art itself is fantastic. I'd love to see this guy used again. Again, it's an interesting curiosity but nothing special.
     
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  19. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    And now I read The Old Republic: Blood of the Empire. It didn't suck, so expectations exceeded, but otherwise it doesn't have much to recommend it. The art is okay, but the writing is choppy, and it mostly comes across as a handful of ideas slapped together sloppily. Some of the ideas are pretty good -- I love the idea of the Emperor's apprentice and prototype Child revolting against him in horror and resentment of the idea. Unfortunately, the protagonist through which we had to experience her story just wasn't very interesting. Tenel Ka Teneb Kel is yet another entry in the long list of insufficiently-distinguished bland Force-sensitive protagonists. It's not enough that he's a Sith who has an ambiguous relationship with his slave -- it makes the slave a little interesting, but it never really makes Kel interesting because it's such a generic oh-look-he's-kind-of-sympathetic touch, and because Kel is too much of a bland cipher throughout the whole story for the reader to figure out where that relationship fits into his characterization. Good ideas, but lackluster execution, and overall sloppy. It's readable, but completely unexceptional.
     
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  20. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    The Old Republic: Threat of Peace. Giant pile of crap. I knew this back when the thing was coming out online, but it's even more apparent when you put it all together, in its full incoherence. Everything about it is idiotic. The characters are all thinly-drawn ciphers, and pretty much universally fools, and it's impossible to care about any of them. The plot is missing most of the connective tissue that makes it anything other than a random collection of incidents. When the overarching plot is finally and lacklusterly revealed, it is stupid. Also, why is Orgus the only Jedi in the galaxy? He gets sent on every single mission at the same time. "Hey, I know you haven't finished the thing we sent you to do because only you could do it, but this new thing that only you can do came up, and look, you've just got to drop your critical mission because we have a new super-critical mission." Five minutes later: "Hey, uh, did you finish that super-critical thing yet? Because we've got a super-mega-critical mission that only you can do, and, uh, is your shuttle gassed up?" Darth Angry and Darth Bareass stabbing each other in the hallways for vague reasons may be the most coherent part of the plot, and that's saying something. Plus the art is utterly mediocre.

    But the comic's biggest sin, bigger even than being incoherent and generally wretched and having a silent Wookiee in goggles and a funny hat who shows up randomly to do random things and look absolutely ridiculous, is its despicably idiotic level of moral and political comprehension, because it makes the Treaty of Coruscant, which the back cover rightly points out is a huge historical event, the stupidest thing of all time. And then it compounds it by making everyone act like an idiotic *******. See, the Sith and Republic are negotiating, except wait, the Sith attack Coruscant and blow up the Jedi Temple and kill the Supreme Goddamned Chancellor. So, instead of saying, "Hey, the Sith are completely untrustworthy! A peace treaty would be useless!" or, "We will not bow to underhanded tactics and threats," or, "Guys, if they could actually take and hold Coruscant indefinitely, they'd do it, so how about we muster the fleet and kick them off?" or, "We'll sign but then immediately repudiate it because it's under duress and seriously, let's be real here," they all say, "Oh, now we MUST sign it! Because . . . uh . . . uh . . . our capital? Anyway, we have to agree to all their terms!" So then the Sith dictate terms to the Republic, and the Republic signs them and puts itself in a horrible, lopsided position with idiotic rigged droids observing them all or just Satele actually or something, and then EVERYONE IN THE REPUBLIC is like, "We must abide by the terms, because . . . uh . . . uh . . . uh . . . uh . . . uh . . . I don't know. We just have to. Once a sovereign nation signs a piece of paper under duress, surely, like, Jesus will evaporate you if you break it, right? Or, uh, the Sith will, uh, defeat us? But I thought the narration said we were in a stalemate, not losing . . . uh . . . uh . . . is it peace? Is peace such an unquestionable, profoundly positive good in itself that we're duty-bound to defend 'peace' even if it means enabling the position of a bunch of evil, murderous, oppressive scumbags who have proven they will stab us in the back at the first opportunity? Yeah, I think that's it." And that's the idea the comic settles on -- that "peace" is a good in itself that the Jedi must defend, because, uh, reasons. They should become the Sith's stooges because otherwise, someone might get killed in the pursuit of not subjecting the galaxy to doom! Also, we totally, like, pinky-swore to the Sith, and the gun at our head was irrelevant. It's like Rob Chestney read about the Munich Agreement, and was like, "That sounds BRILLIANT! But it's not craven and wretched enough!" To anyone who knows anything about anything, the whole scenario is just unutterably stupid. Every single thing about it reeks of the deepest and most discreditable idiocy, and there's no reason the Republic and Jedi had to come off this cravenly pathetic just to get a truce scenario. And then, the stupid background having been settled upon, the comic's plot just plunges the whole thing even deeper into dumbassery than it had to, painting opposition to the peace treaty as dangerous, deranged, and wrong -- the position of any sane person is represented as insane and unallowable, while craven head-in-the-sand appeasement is painted as noble and moral. I still feel like I haven't done enough to explain just how stupid this entire plotline is.

    But, you know, at least the comic has, uh . . . it's got nothing going for it.
     
  21. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    OK, let's see, I'm reading Hav's set of reviews.

    Nope - £10 saved; next one? Nah - £20, next 2? Even worse! £40. Maybe the last one will be worth buying? Ye gods no, right..... That's about £50 I won't be spending! Excellent.
     
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  22. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 25, 2002
    Easy decision for me as I haven't gotten into the Old Republic comics. The time period just doesn't interest me.
     
  23. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    The Old Republic: The Lost Suns. Meh. Generic, underdeveloped lead. The half-crazy Jedi guy didn't do anything for me. The Twi'lek lady crook who spoke pidgin Basic and displayed the behavior and thought patterns of a small child was just stupid and obnoxious and a terrible idea. Darth Aluminum Eyebrows was a boring villain. The plot was bland. The art was mediocre. It threatens to get interesting occasionally, but never really does. There was a brief period at the beginning when Theron seemed a little interesting, but the rest of the comic swiftly took care of that. I kind of liked Black M, and he helped Theron be an actual character, but it's much too little in a comic like this. Overall, it's just a waste of everybody's time.

    The Clone Wars: Defenders of the Lost Temple. Hey, Ben, I'm giving this one a positive review! It's not Jedi vs. Sith or anything, but it's a fun, effective little adventure. A pair of Jedi and a squad of clonetroopers go check out a storehouse on Lucien's Covenant moon to recover an artifact -- until some jackass from the TV show turns up. I like the exploration-adventure angle, and writer Justin Aclin manages to make the clones and Jedi sufficiently interesting for the digest format. The central theme revolves around a clone named Glitch, who thinks he's Force-sensitive and is quietly interested in using the Force, and the idea of to what degree people are what they're born to be. It's an interesting question, and the book does a decent job handling it, though I'm not that fond of the choice the Jedi padawan makes. The action is good; some of the art is very good, mostly in composition, because the house style for these digests keeps the look of the art a certain way, though the padawan's hair, apparently borrowed from the Golden Girls, drove me nuts; and the character work is solid. It's never really a lot more than the little adventure with an idea or two it's designed to be, but it does that job very well and I found it a pleasant read.
     
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  24. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    £60..... £70...... Do keep going Hav!
     
  25. JediKnight75

    JediKnight75 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 15, 2011
    KOTOR Flashpoint

    This story arc didn't do much to advance the overall conflict against the Jedi Covenant ( in hindsight it was a good set up for future arcs), but it did cement the story in the time period. We see the Mandalorian invasion truly commence. I loved watching them land and seeing there fleet. It was well draw (I have loved the pictures of every fleet and ship in this series). Saul Karath makes and appearance. I love how his character was written. John Jackson Miller really captured his character. We also have the appearance of Revan's Jedi. This is something that's nice to see and we gain some glimpses into what was going on with the Jedi and Republic at this time.

    So Karath believes Zayne is a Mandalorian spy. That's another problem he has to deal with. I liked how they rescued Jareal. Gryph taking an orbital bombardment was awesome, granted the damage was real.

    Zayne and his freinds continue to make great characters. They all feel so alive and likeable I. different ways. They are an amazing cast and I'm already sad that I have a limited number of stories.

    Rholan is an interesting character. A Mandalorian deserter isn't something you'd expect and at this point, which makes him all the more enjoyable. After this arc I was hoping to see more of him.

    Flashpoint Interlude: Homecoming

    This was a great issue. First of all we see Revan before the council ( there's no way you can tell me that's not him his robes and the nature of the conversation). I didn't expect to find that he hadn't yet broken toes with the council, although the strain in their relationship was clear. Such a fun scene, that builds the era as a whole. Then the Jedi Covenant came before the council. I loved seeing them reprimanded and separated. While the council doesn't believe they are bad, it's nice to know they don't fully trust them. Lucien had a great line here, where he acts like he's taking blame, but turns it to his lack of awareness, not his actions.

    This issues really built up the Jedi Covenant. We find out about their founding and connections to Kyndra Dray. They are all such good villains. They are clearly bad, but not in a cheesy way. I think they are one of my favorite groups of antagonists in the EU. We find out that the Taris Masters weren't in charge and that killing the padawans was actually a violation of their orders. Although, I don't think sending them to Coruscant would have been much better.

    The flash back to Lucien's child hood was great. It aided his character development.

    KOTOR Reunion

    I loved the character interactions in this one, especially between Zayne and Gryph. They are amazing together. I love Gryph's scheming and attitude in general. The way Zayne respknds makes it even better. Speaking of Zayne: I'm amazed at the way his character is handled. With having him week in the force, they could have went the route of also portraying him as incompetent. Instead he's capable in his own right and very likeable. Although all of them are great. I begin to like them more with each issue. I'm blown away with how well this series is handling its cast.

    The plot with them trying to access Gryph's account was fun. And it led to an interesting scene with Zayne meeting up with his father.

    I don't have all that much to say about this are. Still it was a great continuation of the story so far and left me wanting to continue the series.
     
    Gorefiend and Iron_lord like this.
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