Lit A Chronological Journey Through the EU: Currently Disc. Interference

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Also Raana Tey is a togruta (like Ashoka Tano from TCW).

 

Yeah. And Feln is the Feeorin, which isn't what Kit Fisto is (he's a Nautolan) but looks very similar. The biggest difference is the eyes; Nautolans have those big glossy black circular eyes, whereas Feeorins have normal eyes. The Feeorins were actually designed by the EU around Episode I as the species of Nym, the protagonist of Starfighter, and IMO they're a better design. But then Episode II came out with a near-identical design and there was a sort of awkward semi-synchronicity as the EU found itself with two similar species designs.

Xamar is a Khil, a species that goes way back in sourcebooks. They're prominent and have a long history in the galaxy; we just almost never see them because nobody pays attention to what sourcebooks tell them and just replicate movie species over and over.

 

Oh, yeah, Nym! I loved that guy. And it's interesting that you bring up how the Khil is a species that rarely crops up. I mention it a bit in this review of Reunion, but I really think this series has some of the best non-human characters in the EU and also some of the best non-human art in the comics. I feel like the series kind of purposely stretched to get into the non-human stuff in new and interesting ways.


Reunion



3,963 BBY

*Okay, so, this story opens with Camper pretending to be “Baron Hyro Margryph” & Jarael pretending to be his assistant. They’re on Telerath, a banking planet or something, in order to withdraw a lot of funds and close “Margryph’s” account. So, this is one of Gryph’s other identities, obviously, and our little pack of fugitives are going to get some of his hidden funds.

*More evidence about Gryph & Zayne awesome duo, etc.: “You can be replaced, you know that?” “Know it? It’s the thought that gets me through the day.”

*Gryph tries to convice Zayne that they aren’t doing anything dishonest. “We’re not stealing. This is my money.” “Yeah, but how’d you get the money in the first place?” I mention this exchange because Gryph’s only response to Zayne’s last question is an absolutely hilarious grin. Such great art. Gryph may turn out to be one of my favorite non-human comic characters, just purely speaking in terms of design, that is.

*There is this amazing bit where the bank account manager asks Camper for the thirty digit security code and Gryph realizes that he forgot to give Camper the document with the code on it. And, as we all know, Camper can barely remember his own name. And then Camper just coolly rattles off the thirty digit code. It’s just absolutely hilarious.

*Gryph and Zayne are just wonderfully drawn here as they panic as soon as Camper starts coolly saying numbers and then slowly realize that he’s actually managed to somehow remember all thirty digits. It’s like a page long scene and I laughed and laughed and laughed.

* “Four…nine…” “Wait! What is he doing?” “…oh…nine……one…eight…eight…” “Jarael! Make him stop! That crazy old coot is gonna get us killed!” “…nine…six…eight…” I really cannot tell you how much I love this scene.

*And the crowning touch is the ending. “Eight-four-nine-one…nine. Or something like that.”

*This is maybe displacing A Death Star is Born as the single funniest comic story in the EU. Because now enter Ithorian bounty hunters Del & Dob, the stupidest two individuals in the entire galaxy.

*The art is just amazing. I’ve never seen non-humans be this expressive. Artists seem to struggle with doing more with non-humans than just a couple of expressions, but these Ithorians are brilliantly done.

*There’s a moment in their very first scene when I swear Del says something stupid and Dob gives the reader a very Oliver Hardy look.

*Their conversations are really too complex and tortured for me to be able to pull any good quotes out. You’d basically have to just read their entire conversation to get all the funny. But they’re amazing. Anyway, Raana Tey has hired them to find Zayne, so they’re engaged in watching Camper & Jarael.

*So, they’re only supposed to follow Camper & Jarael back to Zayne, but, in a genuinely hilarious panel, they kind of forget and so they leap out of the bushes, screaming, in order to kidnap Camper & Jarael.

*This is amazing. There’s this great long panel of Jarael beaning one of them with a frying pan full of food.

*And there’s an even funnier panel of one of them headbutting Jarael. I loved this use of an Ithorian’s specific anatomy. And then she just calmly places a hand on either side of his head (as he just stands there, coolly watching her do so) and she just flings him through the air.

*I am not even joking, you guys. This comic is ******* hilarious. This is a genuine side splitter.

*Then the Ithorians grab THE BANKER and take off. Oh, there’s a twist.

*This side character, who never even gets a name, just walks off with this page. First panel, he’s just standing absolutely still, watching the Ithorians run towards him. Second panel, one of the Ithorians is blasting past him and a tray of drinks is being knocked high in the air. Third panel, he’s just standing there, covered in beverages. Final panel, Jarael & Camper dash past him. The thing that makes this so astoundingly hilarious is that it’s the exact same drawing. He never actually moves. He’s just like frozen the entire page.

*Gryph: “This is the last time I hire someone from a trash heap!” Great line.

*Zayne takes off in pursuit of the fleeing Moomo brothers (that’s the Ithorians). He’s impressed: “These guys put MY debris trail to shame!”

*So f’ing good. The Moomos kept saying they were there to watch “him,” so I assumed they meant Camper. They actually meant the banker . . . WHO IS ZAYNE’S DAD! Great, great twist.

*So damn good. Raana Tey isn’t happy with the Moomos for kidnapping the banker instead of watching him and letting him lead them to Zayne. Hilariously, they actually ran off when Zayne tried to stop them from taking his dad. So, they just frigging escaped from the guy they were supposed to capture.

*But here’s the good part. After Raana Tey signs off the comm after yelling at the brothers for a while, we get the following dialogue: “She’d be a happier person if she got more sleep.” “I’d be happier if you shut your maw.” “What’re you talking about Ma for?”

*I’d be happier if you shut your Ma. Oh, God, that’s good. Oh, I laughed until I cried.

*Also, they refer to Raana Tey as “Stripey-Head” so apparently I won’t be getting any help as far as her species from these guys.

*So, Gryph goes and finds Dob Moomo at a local bar and pretends that he’s going to sell Zayne out by turning him over to the Moomos. The art in this scene is just incredible. Harvey Tolibao, it looks like. Anyway, he’s a master. Just for Gryph’s expressions alone, this scene is a master class in characterization.

*I love this. You guys. I love this. I mean, people have been telling me this series is awesome. Well, they undersold it. It’s better than my wildest hopes.

*Gryph tries to sell Dob on Zayne: “He’s a Jedi. No—he’s a Dark Jedi. They see EVERYTHING.” “I’ve heard that.”

*The script is not so funny there, but the expression on Dob’s face as he reverently intones, “I’ve heard that” is one of the funniest things yet in this story.

*Gryph then starts trying to sell Dob on the idea of cutting Del out of the picture. There’s a series of three panels that is just incredible. “Y’know…Del doesn’t manage money well.” “This is the best thing for him.” “He eats too much when he has his own money.” “Think of his health.” “And he keeps cheating me at Pazaak.” “IT’S THE ONLY WAY HE’LL LEARN!”

*God, I hate to keep saying the same thing over and over, but the art is amazing. I love Gryph’s sympathetic, hangdog face when he says, “Think of his health.” And the genius of having Gryph just lose his **** and yell that final line, complete with flying spittle . . . I mean, that’s hilarious.

*Their ship is named the Moomo Williwaw. Of course it is.

*Okay, so here’s the whole deal behind the “coincidence” of Zayne and his dad, Arvan, running into each other. Seems the bank Arvan worked at was bought out by a consortium that includes Adascorp, Czerka Corporation & the Draay Trust. So, some shady stuff there. I don’t know Adascorp, I don’t think, but I know a bit about Czerka. They have some stuff going on later in the War I think or maybe in the Jedi Civil War with Revan. I think they’re kind of Sithy or something.

*Anyway, the bank shuttles Arvan to Telerath in order to kind of set a trap for Zayne, I guess, with the Moomos on hand to let the Covenant know when Zayne arrived to see his family.

*I really loved this moment which comes as Zayne is rescuing his dad: “Dad—you, um, never asked if I did what they said I did.” “No, we never asked . . . we know you.”

*So, Gryph shows up to the Williwaw (God, I love this series so much) with “Zayne” in tow. It’s actually Camper in a hooded Jedi robe.

*Gryph & Camper are hot on the heels of Gryph & Zayne as the awesomest duo ever: “Touch me again, Snout, and I’m gonna chop that paw off.” “You owe me, Mumblechops.”

*I am totally putting “mumblechops” in my personal bank of great insults.

*So, they rescue Arvan and escape, leaving the Moomo brothers having a fistfight (long story).

*So, the Draay Trust. Yeah, the Draay family is incredibly wealthy. Eh, some details that we’ll get into later if they turn out to be important.

*Zayne & Gryph take the lead in the awesomest duo contest again: “That reminds me. Now that you’re getting all this money, Gryph—pay me.” “Ahem. You just said the Jedi weren’t into the whole material thing.” “I’m a henchman, not a Jedi. I hench, you pay. Now pay me.” “There’s nothing left to believe in anymore. Here, this amount seems fair.” “GRYPH!” “My hand slipped! My hand slipped! This has all been very hard on my nerves.”

*There’s nothing left to believe in anymore. So good.

*As Zayne and co. get ready to head out on the run again, Arvan gets off a great line: “May the Force—start doing what it’s supposed to do, I guess.” That really perfectly encapsulates Zayne and his weirdo relationship with the Force.

*And the story ends a week after Zayne and co. head out. Arvan and Zayne’s family have moved to Dantooine to manage the Jedi Academy’s finances under the personal oversight of Vandar Tokare, the Yoda-esque Jedi that’s on the Council. Obviously, this is all to keep Zayne’s family out of the line of fire and in a place where the Jedi can protect them from the meddling of the Draays and such.

*Anyway, this was awful. I hated it.

*No, seriously, this series just continues to blow me away. It’s a real exercise in contrast, right? I mean, there’s been humor before in the series, but this story was essentially purely a lark – it’s written to basically just be a comedy. It’s not an adventure with comedy in it; it’s a comedy with adventure in it.

*And I love that this pure comedy story comes after the series’ most serious story, Homecoming. Homecoming had such a tight focus on Lucien and his past that there was really not a single moment of overt humor in it that I can remember. It was about helping us to realize that Lucien isn’t just a bad guy, he’s, in some ways, a tragic figure and the story got quite emotionally heavy and dark. And then, the very next story, you’ve got the frigging Moomo Williwaw.

*It’s also kind of clever that the two stories actually share similar themes. The Draay story is called Homecoming; this one is called Reunion. You could really have switched those titles if you wanted, so closely do these main plots resemble each other. But wildly different tones and styles.

*This series just defines masterful for me. Here’s hoping it keeps up. I have confidence that it will.

*CANONICAL STATUS: This work is of exceptional accuracy and is RECOMMENDED as a historical resource.

*Highly recommended. 4 stars.

John Jackson Miller

*Next time, something a bit different. Most of Zayne’s story is told via comics, but there are a couple of exceptions and we’ll hit one next time, a short story by Miller entitled Labor Pains.

Star Wars Chronology!

 

You will.

 

Labor Pains

3,963 BBY

*So, this is an outlier in the KOTOR series. It’s a short story meant to tie in with the comic series. It was originally a Hyperspace deal. Since Hyperspace went under, some of the material hasn’t resurfaced, but, luckily this one has. You can read it legally and for free at the link above.

*This story is told in the first person from the perspective of Gryph, so this has potential. Anyway, our merry band of misfits are on Ralltiir because, essentially, Ralltiir is filled with idiots: “The blaster with the reversible handle came from Ralltiir. The sing-along hologram craze started on Ralltiir. I rest my case.”

*So, Gryph is planning to sell some “statuary” to a museum, the Obohn Gallery of the Industrial Aesthetic, which is run by a Muun named Dremullar Obohn di Garthos and his partner, a fat Rodian in a hoverchair.

*I see sitcom potential here.

*Miller just has a wonderful ear for turns of phrase. “Obohn sniffed, which is the only word for it despite the fact that I had 100% of the nose in the conversation.”

*Great conversations in con-artistry: “You’ve heard of Adnah Tiblarett?” “Tiblarett?” “Tiblarett.” “Never heard of her.” “A moment, master! Sorry – blast my poor Cadomai accent! I didn’t mean Tiblarett. I meant . . . uhhh . . .” “Teronto?” “No.” “T’gronish?” “No . . .” “Not Tikartine?” “Is she any good?” “He.” “Is he any good?” “Any good? I should say so! If you have work by Ineas Tikartine . . .” “That’s the one then.”

*It’s interesting. Gryph is a very Han Solo-ish character in that he seems to actually not be all that good at what he does, he’s just incredibly lucky. I mean, that was the worst con-job in the history of con-jobs but it worked.

*Obohn isn’t quite as big an idiot as he might seem however. He notices that Zayne . . . well, looks like Zayne Carrick. And then he recalls that Carrick reportedly has a Snivvian accomplice.

*Gryph attempts to spin a tale: “’Young Wervis here has been helping me since I adopted him. I freed the lad from a life of slave labor in a factory, skinning borrats.’ Summon teardrop, one (1). ‘To tell you the truth, I’m like a father to him.”

*Summon teardrop, one (1). No one but Miller.

*Anyway, Gryph just has some scrap metal that he’s pawning off as avant-garde sculpture by this Tikartine guy and he has to convince Zayne to mind-trick the fat Rodian into believing that the huge pile of metal is in fact great art.

*But then Obohn tries to blackmail them into just leaving the “art” without paying them for it by threatening to call the police. THEN Camper arrives, angry that Gryph hauled away a bunch of scrap metal without asking permission.

*So, things seem completely out of control when Obohn gives us a classic Miller twist: “You don’t fool me. I know who you really are! And I know who that was. You are thieves – and that man was Ineas Tikartine! That man you shoved out of here – I heard part of what he said. Those are his works – you two stole them!” So, now Obohn is totally convinced and, in fact, now that he has a great story to tell about his brush with the famous Ineas Tikartine, he pays Gryph and Zayne double what they were asking.

*So, yeah, this was a fun little interlude. It doesn’t add anything to the on-going story of the series or anything. It’s basically an opportunity to have a fun little lark with the characters we know and love. For me, given just how much I do love Gryph & Zayne, that’s enough. Plus, it’s short. And free which Gryph would approve of.

*CANONICAL STATUS: This work is of exceptional accuracy and is RECOMMENDED as a historical resource.

*Recommended. 3 ½ stars.

John Jackson Miller

*Next time, back to the comics; join me for Days of Fear.

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You're back on this project!

 

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Days of Fear

3,963 BBY

*Okay, so here we go. Next one on the block takes up three issues of the series and follows right on the heels of Labor Pains.

*So, as this begins some sort of surveillance picks up Camper where he and the rest of the group are hanging out on some backwater planet. A guy watching the camera feeds radios to a “Lord Adasca” that they’ve found what they’ve been looking for. This would be Adasca of Adascorp, I would guess.

*So, Zayne & Jareal have a lightsaber/some sort of lightsaber repelling battle staff duel that’s pretty cool.

*So, the group is splitting up. Camper, Jarael & Elbee are heading off on their own. Zayne, for God only knows what reason, is staying with Gryph instead of finding a way to go with Jarael. Moron.

*More great art. As they’re saying goodbye, there’s a series of three panels focused on Jarael’s face and she goes through some great expressions.

*Gryph & Zayne, best duo in Star Wars, more evidence, etc. “People get scared, they get stupid. And wherever stupid people are, I want to be there.” *Zayne looks directly at the ‘camera’” “I’m going to let that one go.”

*I really do love the small moments here, like Zayne just giving us a real Oliver Hardy look. I thought either Del or Dob did it in Reunion; now that Zayne’s done it, the fourth-wall breaking is confirmed.

*Oh, jeez, there’s a quick shot of a box in Camper’s hatch cracking open! I had completely forgotten about “Rohlan”/Demagol being stowed away with them! I had literally forgotten about it.

*So, Gryph has hired someone to steal a ship for them. He’s a Trandoshan, which we discover when Gryph & Zayne approach the stolen ship and he looks out the door, blurts “YEEP!” and slams the door. I had been given a heads up about “YEEP.”

*It doesn’t disappoint, I tell you.

*There’s this four panel series of Gryph pounding on the door of the ship while Zayne glares at him. It’s just brilliant. Gryph’s increasing desperation and Zayn e’s unchanging angry stare are both perfect.

*BAM BAM BAM “It’s me, the Gryph! Come on, Slyssk, open up!” BAM BAM “Umm…they say he’s the best. Well, he’s the best on Ralltir. At the moment. It’s a seller’s market, Zayne. What do you want?”

*Gryph’s abashed grin in the third panel is particularly wonderful. I mean, this is just more hilarious brilliance.

*So, Slyssk decides he wants a lot more money from Gryph, leading to a shouting match between the two. Zayne, hilariously, just doubles over and starts laughing hysterically.

*I. Love. This.

*Slyssk, it turns out, is a Trandoshan that’s always been looked down on because violence makes him nauseous so he can’t be a bounty hunter or a mercenary like most Trandoshans. He’s got a complex: “Don’t try to talk me out of it. This is my big chance to make something happen. I’ve heard it all my life. ‘How did YOUR egg get in the nest, Slyssk?’” “I understand. Kids can be cruel.” “What kids? That was my mother!”

*There’s a great moment where Gryph tells Zayne he needs his help with Slysk and Zayne makes a hilarious face, waves two fingers and says, “You want me to do my thing?”

*So, Zayne ends up making a light fall in such a way that Gryph has to push Slyssk out of the way. So now Gryph has saved Slyssk’s life. Gryph tries to use this to get Slyssk to cut him a deal, but unfortunately, Gryph wasn’t quite up on the whole “lifedebt” thing.

* “I don’t suppose there’s a way we can get the ship without you?” “You can’t bargain away a debt to your Ghrakhowsk with a mere ship! While he breathes, my service is his! Where Gryph goes, I go!” “Figures. Well, cheap helps is cheap help, I guess.”

*Again, it’s the expressions. Slyssk has this incredibly funny look of pure determination on his face and Gryph is just scowling in fury. Again, great work on the non-human characters; this is the first time I’ve seen a Trandoshan character actually be expressive.

*So, Zayne flies the ship off planet, but he runs into a Republic task force and the ship Slyssk stole just happens to be a Republic military mess ship. So, Zayne and crew get grabbed up by the task force and it seems the task force is headed where our friends don’t want to go: the front lines.

*See, this is the kind of great plotting that I love. Irony. Zayne’s weird “luck.”

*So , the little extra we get with this first issue is The Admiral’s List, an official Republic military communique. I only mention this because we get our first mention here of Admiral Karath and I know that he’s from the video game.

*Oh, wait, he had a cameo before actually. Never mind.

*Most people would edit that out. I have more integrity than that.

*So, an HK droid has somehow stowed away on Camper’s ship as well. The assassin droid attacks Camper and knocks him out. Jarael & Elbee attack the droid, but things are going poorly when suddenly who should appear but “Rohlan,” blasting the assassin droid from behind.

*Rohlan is Demagol, Confirmation One: “That thing was after my friend – and he nearly got him. I don’t suppose they train you guys in first aid?” “Certainly, I -- -- well, I have seen the medics work.”

*WHAT WAS THAT CERTAINLY YOU ARE WHAT A DOCTOR PERHAPS?!

*So, Gryph, never one to miss an opportunity, just sets up the mess ship on the front lines and ends up doing a booming business, thanks to, of all people, Slyssk. “I know you wouldn’t think a Trandoshan could cook, but apparently no one ever asked them!”

*Gryph goes into the kitchen when he realizes that they’re running low on plates. He finds Zayne, sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, in front of a massive sink full of dirty plates. “Oh, I see the holdup. More labor problems. What’s the deal, Zayne?” “I’m using the Force to keep from losing my mind.”

*This is so damn good.

*So, Zayne literally bumps into Admiral Karath, but Karath fails to recognize him.

*Oh, Carth Onasi shows up. He was in TOR timeline video about the Mandalorian Wars. Presumably he’s from the game.

*Zayne has a vision of the Mandos arriving and essentially just doing a massive orbital bombardment and essentially killing everyone on the planet. Time to go. According to Zayne’s vision, the planet will be toast by sunset tomorrow, ie. about one standard day.

*For once, Gryph actually listens and prepares to ship out first thing in the morning. But it seems Slyssk hasn’t got the memo and he’s made Trandoshan pancakes. Gryph decides to stick around a bit longer.

*Meanwhile, Zayne stows away on Carth Onasi’s ship in order to get to Admiral Karath. He’s going to try to tell Karath about Mandalore’s plan.

*Onasi is reasonably suspicious. “I saw the future. It was all in a vision I had.” “You’re a cook.”

*Admiral Karath isn’t that open either. He recognizes Zayne as the guy wanted for killing those Padawans and he makes a pretty good case against Zayne. He murdered several Jedi Padawans, escaped, headed for the Mandalorian lines, infiltrated the Republic forces and is now attempting to get the Republic to move their defenses on the eve of a huge battle. Obviously Zayne’s both a murderer and a Mandalorian spy. I mean, it makes sense.

*Zayne does, to his credit, attempt to bring up the whole Flashpoint thing where he rescued a ton of Jedi, but unfortunately, he neglected to get Squint’s real name, so he has no way to prove what he did.

*Squint’s real name, eh? WE KNOW IT THO AMIRITE GUYS FORESHADOWING

*So, the Mandalorians arrive and fire missiles. At the planet, as Zayne said.

*Meanwhile, Gryph and Slyssk are finally attempting to pull out, only for Slyssk to recall that he forgot to refill the fuel tanks and they probably won’t even make orbit.

*I have to say, this guy is as bad at life debts as anybody I’ve ever seen. The guy’s on the front lines of a war zone and he forgets to keep the gas tank filled up? Aw, who am I kidding? I can’t stay mad at this guy! He’s adorable!

*There’s a great page here with panels of the missile bombardment just raking across the planet’s surface, devastating cities. Interspersed are two other really great panels. Revan, along with Malak, doubling over in pain, “I feel it! I feel it!” And Q’anilia in the other panel, also in great distress. “That was what it feels like when a vision starts to come true.”

*Yeah, this is dark stuff. I love this.

*Hmm, basically twenty-seven civilian cities destroyed and only eight Republic ships managed to escape the planet. Zayne is crumpled on the deck. “The Little Bivoli. Was it one of them?” “Looks like it tried to make a getaway. It was just too late.” Devestating panel of Zayne, tears streaming down his face. “Why wouldn’t you leave, Gryph? Why--?”

*Of course, he’s not really dead. This series can have no intention of killing off a character as great as Gryph so early in the series. But what this mean is that our little rag-tag group has fractured even more. First Camper, Jarael & Elbee split off into their own group. Now, Zayne’s in Republic custody and Gryph and Slyssk are on their own. I like this. The series sets up a great group that has great chemistry together and now its splitting them up to explore them even more as they have to function on their own. I dig it.

*If I’m wrong, and Gryph is actually dead, I will be both mad as all hell and yet also extremely impressed at the size of the balls on Miller. And the rest of the series will genuinely be more terrifying. But, like I say, I seriously doubt.

*So, a slight moment of respite at the end. It seems Onasi trust Zayne enough to sneak off to the comm center and pull a little prank on the civilian cities down below. He called in massive storm warnings that he knew would send them scurrying to their bunkers below the cities. He managed to call seventeen cities before the bombardment began.

*I like that the series gives us the moment of a sort of success and eases the blow to Zayne. But the series is also smart enough not to give us exactly a happy ending. The people in ten cities still got fried; and as Onasi says, he can’t be sure his warnings actually did any good. But it was a damn fine try and maybe Zayne can rest just a bit easier. Or, as Onasi says in the final line of the story, “Hang in there, Zayne.”

*Nice. I really liked this one a lot. Again, this series is just super good. I love that the series is able to be both super funny (“It’s a buyer’s market, Zayne! What do you want?!”) and also really dark in the very same story. That’s one of Miller’s biggest gifts and part of what makes his stuff feel so genuinely part of the Star Wars universe. The films manage that as well, both hysterically funny and dark and sad. About the only other author good at that in the GFFA was Allston. RIP, Aaron, by the way. Just because it’s never a bad time to remember just how ******* great that guy was.

*Good times, the series just continues to really impress me with its storytelling and I can’t wait for the next one.

*CANONICAL STATUS: This work is of exceptional accuracy and is RECOMMENDED as a historical resource.

*Highly recommended. 4 out of 4 stars.

John Jackson Miller

*Next time, obviously, it’s Nights of Anger. Can’t wait.

Star Wars Chronology!

 

Dude play the Kotor games! One reason I really liked this story - one among many - is seeing Serroco get nuked into the stone age. There's a conversation in Kotor 2 about various atrocities that the mandos commited during the war and this is one of them. So after hearing about from war veterans in kotor 2, it was a powerful moment actually getting to see it - and nail biting due to beloved characters being there. The game created a lot of tension here even before Zayne's vision.

 

Nights of Anger



3,963 BBY

You’re the one who thinks you’re such a great seer. So prove it. Open your eyes.

*So, here we go, Nights of Anger, you guys. Follows right on Days of Fear and takes up three issues of the series. It’s available in the first KOTOR omnibus.

*So, this one starts with Raana Tey, the scariest of all the evil Jedi Masters in this series, having a dream/vision that she’s being confronted by all of the dead padawans and Zayne and they’re going to kill her but she wakes up screaming right before it happens.

*Zayne reiterates in the vision what he told the masters before: “The one who confesses lives.”

*We find out that Tey’s been having these nightmares like crazy. Like “you haven’t slept for more than an hour in a month” crazy.

*Meanwhile, Jarael is on Arkania. She’s come there because Rohlan/Demagol hasn’t been able to help Camper recover from his sickness. He advises her to take Camper to get medical treatment from someone who actually knows more about Arkanians. He suggests Adascorp on Arkania, and so Jarael agrees, even though she knows that Camper’s been hiding from Adascorp for years now. So, she’s on Arkania trying to figure out how to get Camper help.

*But there’s all this racism toward “Offshoots” on Arkania. Jarael is an offshoot, which means she’s, basically, a half-breed between “pureblood” Arkanians and another race. So, she can’t get into the Medcenter and she gets forced onto this shuttle that takes her out to this . . . well, I mean, basically an Offshoot ghetto.

*So, Jarael, who’s actually never been to Arkania before, gets to spend a nice evening with an Arkanian family discovering the hardships faced by her fellow Offshoots and such. Standard trope.

*But she’s able to sneak into the Medcenter in disguise where she meets with Lord Adasca who agrees to help Camper.

*So, Camper worked for Adascorp when it was being run by Lord Adasca’s grandfather; this was during the Sith War.

*Oh, jeez, Master Arca was an Arkanian. That’s why he had the weird eyes like these folks. How did I not notice that before now?

*So, Adasca says that in his grandfather’s day, the company was into some shady stuff, like biological warfare and other messed up science stuff. Camper got accidentally exposed to a virus back then that has led to his sickness now. Adasca says, of course, that Adascorp has gone legitimate since then. I’m skeptical.

*Meanwhile, on the front lines, Admiral Karath’s ship has been attacked and boarded by Mandos. After a lengthy action scene, Karath, Carth Onasi and some other Republic folks take refuge in the brig where Zayne is locked up.

*Luckily, Zayne has spent the last few days using the force to unscrew the bolts out of a wall panel that leads to the cargo bay so they all escape that way.

*Meanwhile, Rohlan’s causing trouble back on the Arkanian Legacy, Adascorp’s headquarter ship. He won’t let the guards take his armor away.

*ROHLAN = DEMAGOL ALERT ROHLAN = DEMAGOL ALERT

* “Enough about me. Why would you bring this whole ship out for the old man?” “Mercy is a central mission of Adascorp.” “Spare me.”

*Adasca tells Rohlan that he has special plans for Jarael and that he’ll need Rohlan/Demagol’s help with it.

*Oh, okay, a twist. The whole thing about the virus was a lie. It turns out that there was just a mold infection on Camper’s ship that was making him sick. They’ve cured him, but they’re keeping it from Jarael. I have to say, even though I knew Adascorp was up to no good, I believed the virus story.

*Boy, it is really weird to see Camper with his hair combed.

*So, Camper wants to know what’s up. Adasca’s right hand man tells him: “We need you to finish the project you were working on when you ran away . . . and we need her to make sure that you do.”

*Then there’s a brief bit of Lucien on Telerath where he’s supposed to be meeting Admiral Karath and the Courageous. He gets the news that the Courageous has been captured/destroyed/something by the Mandos and he allows himself to hope that Zayne died with the Courageous.

*So, Lucien talks to Haazen and it seems that some new dark power is rising. It’s not the Sith, but it’s something pretty bad. Haazen tells Lucien that Adasca has been trying to get into contact with Revan and that seems like it might not end well. So, Lucien sets out to investigate this new dark thing.

*The art on Lucien is pretty terrible, I must say.

*But this scene ends with a really creepy close-up on Haazen: “Discover what this dark power is – and report to me!”

*Half-page full-body shot of Jarael in a mid-riff baring, gauzy, super-low-cut outfit.

*So, Rohlan is being given free roam of the ship these days. Guess where he’s hanging out?

*The medical library.

*Just gonna leave that there.

*I’ll tell you what’s going to be super, super hilarious is when it turns out that Rohlan isn’t actually Demagol. If that happens and Miller’s just been sprinkling all these little clues through the series as a troll, I will fall on the floor laughing.

*So, Adasca’s big plan involves having Rohlan contact the Mandalorians with a secret message of some kind. Adasca promises Rohlan that he’ll give him safe conduct wherever he wants to go after he’s done it.

*But then Rohlan and Adasca get in a pissing match about Jarael. They both want her, for their own reasons. Probably both medical though.

*Karath, Onasi, Zayne and a few other folks are all trying to reach Republic space in Onasi’s ship, but then THEY get a message from Adasca, telling them to meet with the Arkanian Legacy because he has a weapon that will give them a chance to win the war.

*So, he’s obviously trying to assemble the Republic, the Mandos, Revan, etc. In order to try to give them the secret that’s been locked in Camper’s head. BOOM. NAILED IT.

*Third-of-a-page full-body shot of Jarael in a gauzy, off-the-shoulder, super-low-cut dress.

*I mean, I get it; this is the first time in the entire series that they’ve been able to believably have Jarael dressed in anything but work clothes. And Adasca is definitely a perv, so I guess these are the kinds of clothes he would provide.

*On the one hand, it seems like Jarael would be like, “**** no, I’m not wearing that, you perv, bring me some pants.” On the other hand, she’s smart enough to kind of know that Adasca’s up to something and she might be just trying to go along with him to get on his good side and/or distract him. She has seemed quite stupidly trusting up to this point in the story, insofar as Adasca goes, so I’m hoping it turns out that she’s been playing him.

*Because she knows that Camper has been hiding from Adascorp for decades, right? And that he said they committed crimes against the galaxy or something? And now this guy’s just like, “Oh, that was my grandpa, I’ve gone legit now,” and she seems to be falling for it. I mean, if she’s really buying into what Adasca’s telling her then she’s a real idiot. And Jarael is NOT an idiot. And I’m going to legit be pissed if it turns out that this story is straight up trying to say that she is.

*Okay, so, Jarael’s blood is like super-pure and will enable the Arkanians to create Purebloods again because the race of true pureblood Arkanians is dying or something. I don’t know.

*Anyway, the big secret weapon Adasca has . . . giant space worms. It’s giant space worms, you guys.

*So, these exomorphs are just giant space worms and Adascorp has bene researching them for a long time and it looks like there are just countless numbers of them out in space in hibernation states.

*So, I talked about how dressed up Jarael was earlier and that’s because she was going to dinner with Adasca. And he has now talked for five pages about Arkanian purebloods and exomorphs and viruses and in a moment that made me laugh out loud, Jarael mutters, “This is the worst dinner I’ve ever had.”

*Now, see, THAT’s Jarael.

*You know, I only just this minute realized why I’m not enjoying this story as much as the others. There has been, to this point in the story, basically NO humor. That line from Jarael is the first funny line, I think. Wow. That’s just not right.

*Okay, so there’s a nice two page spread of several of these exomorphs in hibernation and some ships for scale and it’s a suitably creepy image.

*So, anyway, this guy who investigated the exomorphs years and years ago? Surprise! It’s Camper; his real name is Gorman Vandrayk; I’ll be continuing to call him Camper.

*So, anyway, thanks to Camper’s research, Adasca’s going to outfit these giant space worms with hyperdrives . . .

*sigh*

*So, he’s going to put hyperdrives on them and then he can control where they go and so he can like send them into inhabitated systems and turn them loose and they’ll basically just eat everything in the system.

*Jarael gasps, “They’re a plague.” Adasca positions himself so his face is dramatically lit from beneath and raises a clawed hand to intone, “This plague works for me.”

*So, yeah, this one was not very good. I think there are a lot of reasons.

*Well, first off, Gryph is still dead apparently. Now, whether they’ve actually killed him off or not (and I’m betting not), it’s still a ballsy move to let an entire story arc go by without bringing him back. I respect the guts of that move.

*But it’s also somewhat crippling to the story because of the energy that Gryph brought to the series. And then there’s Zayne who is also barely in this story at all; he’s essentially in three brief scenes over the entire story arc and one of those is a dream sequence. Zayne is one of the top three characters in this series; so is Gryph. And when the two of them are together, they make my favorite character dynamic in . . . well, maybe in all of Star Wars comics.

*I talked about how bold it was for the series to really fracture our little KOTOR group in the last story arc. I said it was going to give all the characters time to kind of develop on their own. Well, guess what? I don’t think I like Jarael and Camper on their own. At least not nearly as much as I love them as part of the ensemble. Jarael, I should say, I think would be a fine character on her own, but she’s really done deceptively little in this story. I feel she’s been poorly written as well. Jarael is not the kind of woman to stand about being a sounding board; Jarael makes things happen – she’s a badass and she takes the initiative. She’s been poorly served here. She’s been IN it a whole lot, but mainly just standing around listening to either Adasca or other Offshoots talk about their lives and plans.

*And speaking of that. My God, is Lord Adasca a ******* drag. This guy just talks and talks and talks and talks. I mean, I’ve seen exposition dumps before, but this guy will NOT SHUT UP.

*Can I just give you one of his speeches? Because that is really the only way you’ll get it.

*After he picks up Camper and sends him to the medbay, he’s giving Jarael a tour of the Arkanian Legacy: “The man you call Camper worked for Adascorp years ago, when my grandfather was running it. The firm has come a long way since then – This vessel was mygrandfather’s great project. My father saw it completed. During the Sith War, the Arkanian Legacy was simply intended to be a means of moving the corporate headquarters from harm’s way. But it’s become much more. A medical research center. A university. Even a domed observatory for concerts under the stars. Everything that is good in Arkanian culture is here.” *Jarael says two sentences* “He’s not alone. Our greatest hero, Jedi Master Arca Jeth, once said, ‘The only thing more dangerous than a foolish Arkanian is a smart one.’ We celebrate boundless innovation – even where innovation should know some bounds. The ‘Offshoot Question’ is one historical result. And while I’ve made great strides to make Adascorp a morally responsible corporate citizen, I won’t deny that in my grandfather’s time – in what would have been Camper’s time – there were managers then who were overzealous in their pursuit of certain advances. It’s clear he was not treated well by the firm, Jarael. I’m not surprised he left.” *Jarael asks a one sentence question* “He was one of the last truly brilliant Offshoot students to come out of the Arkanian universities – before disease closed off admissions. He was a wonder with things both organic & inorganic – as knowledgeable about biology as he was about technology. We hired him immediately. But in his years of working in the corporate labs, he was exposed to Balinquar’s Virus, a pathogen that seemed harmless at the time. We now know that in Offshoots, it lies dormant until old age, when it triggers a series of worsening symptoms. Well, you saw the results. That’s how we found you, actually. When my staff analyzed his sample, they saw the virus – and recognized his genetic profile from our records. We knew we had to help right away. We owe him, Jarael. Financially – and morally. We can’t make everything right, but we can start by healing him. Here we are.”

*I mean, Jesus.

*I mean, holy ****.

*That is almost three pages of one guy talking. That would be a long monologue even in a novel. In a comic book, that’s just absurd.

*And I will tell you that he has at least one other one that is about that long and the dinner monologue at the very end of the arc is twice as long.

*I just. Goddamn. SHUT YOUR ******* MOUTH.

*Okay, I get it; to some degree, this character is intended to be pretentious and pedantic, but you’ve got to stop short of making him so pretentious and pedantic that he’s just annoying. And they go way over that line with this guy.

*And as to the “giant space worms equipped with hyperdrives” plan. As to that.

*I know, Miller said that he was kind of purposely going for a Marvel comics feel with this one and the giant space worms seem very much early Marvel. But, come on; those Marvel comics were a long time ago. Haven’t we just admitted a lot of that stuff was stupid by now? Giant space worms with hyperdrives . . . stupid.

*Anyway, this arc has no humor; sidelines two of my favorite characters and mischaracterizes another; focuses tightly on a boring and annoying pedant who won’t shut up; and is about a plot that revolves around equipping giant worms with hyperdrives.

*Wow, I REALLY did not like this.

*Obviously, I’m continuing and it appears that at least some of our cast will be reunited next time since Admiral Karath is en route to the Arkanian Legacy with Zayne in tow and it also appears that Master Lucien may be headed there as well. It’ll be good to get those two together again hopefully and getting Zayne back with Jarael will be a good thing as well.

*And maybe with Karath, some Mandos, Lucien and Zayne all in one room, somebody can manage to decapitate Adasca or shoot him right in the teeth or something, because he and his giant worms need to bugger off. Or maybe Revan shows up too. That would be cool.

*Anyway, I’ve loved this series from the jump so it pains me to do this, but . . . well . . .

*CANONICAL STATUS: The events depicted here are of dubious historicity. Some of them almost certainly occurred and others may have occurred, but almost certainly very differently than depicted here. This work is overly dramatized and certainly contains events that did not happen and distortions of facts. It is NOT RECOMMENDED as a historical resource.

*Strongly recommended against. 1 ½ stars.

John Jackson Miller

*Next time, Daze of Hate. Please be better. EXIT LORD ADASCA, STAGE LEFT, PURSUED BY GIANT WORMS.

Star Wars Chronology!

 

The whole year KOTOR spent on issues with Nights/Knights/Days/Daze title puns and horrendous word bubble cover art was the low point of the series (excluding War).

 

I can't believe I didn't mention the word bubble covers. Yeah, those are dreadful.

 

Um, did you not catch that the exogorths are space slugs?

I mean, it's sort of tangential to your criticism of them, but I'm seriously weirded out by the way you keep going "giant space worms" like it's some totally new and unprecedented invention. It's not - it's the origin story of this fella.

 

Holy crap, I completely forgot about this thread!

 

I would like to point that having seen the new Marvel star wars comics ..... they'd still use giant space slugs through hyperspace.

 

Don't disrespect the word bubble covers, okay? Those were awesomely cheesy and provided years of enjoyment for Lit.

 

I think Daze, Days, and Knights were pretty good, but yeah, I'd be lying if I said I read all of Adasca's excessive monologues in Nights. It's just absurd. That's the one part of this series that I actually skim while reading. I just...can't. This isn't fun. This series is supposed to be fun. But this part's just meh. On the other hand, I think it ends up being a buildup to the next part, which is actually really enjoyable IMO, so it's a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.

 

I think that even if trying to weaponize giant space slugs isn't the most reasonable thing in the world, it is at least realistic to a degree. People have come up with all kinds of crazy schemes involving animals in war over the years.

 

Days of Fear was great, but Nights of Anger suffered from being not much more than a setup for Daze of Hate. Not a whole lot really happens over the three issues. Daze of Hate is a well-written fast-paced action sequence that only suffers from Bong Dazo's art, and Knights of Suffering is a fantastic arc that closes out the year with class and has Dustin Weaver's incredible pencils to boot. All in all Days/Knights was a really fun and energy-filled year for KOTOR (nine years ago already?), but Nights of Anger was the weakest link of the bunch.

Yeah, it was definitely gutsy. Halfie, don't read this spoiler if you haven't read the subsequent story arcs yet, but

Spoiler

it caused a lot of grief on this forum, too. Sure, we all knew that he wasn't really dead, but back in the days of Dark Horse's monthlies, six whole months of being left wondering about a character's fate felt like a long, long time. When the one Moomo Brother showed up at the end of Daze of Hate and revealed that Gryph was still alive, it really did feel like all of us let go of a breath that we had been holding for half a year.

There will never be a time quite like the era of KOTOR and Legacy's runs, will there? What a time that was to be an EU fan.

... Save for LOTF and FOTJ, that is.

 

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Daze of Hate



3,963 BBY

*So, here’s the next three issue story arc. Obviously picks up right after the last one. We’ll hope and pray Adasca gets popped in the head in the first two or three pages.

*Hell, even five would be okay. I’m in a generous mood.

*So, Jarael finally tries to actually escape and she does, as I always said she would, a solid job of kicking butt, until Adasca tells her that if she doesn’t stop, he’ll cut off Camper’s hands.

*But still, she could have attempted this back during that interminable monologue. As far as I was concerned anyway. But see, this is what I was talking about when I said she was being very out of character in Nights of Anger.

*Karath arrives and Zayne’s in tow. Jarael sees him and lunges for him and gives him a massive kiss that, through a series of three panels, carries everything but her hair out of the frame. It’s a very witty page. And she’s able to whisper to him about Camper and that Adasca’s planning to auction off the space w –

*Giant space slugs. I stand corrected.

*Anyway, they take Zayne off and lock him up, so he’s not there to see Squint arrive. Revan hasn’t come with him, so no cameo there, but Squint’s a good second. Then, Adasca calls Rohlan to come to the meeting place. So, Squint’s all like, “ROHLAN WHAT THE HELL?”

*Okay, so, we’re pulling everyone back together and I’m liking it.

*Ah, so we find out what happened to Demagol/real Rohlan. Squint says that he fell into a coma right after they left Flashpoint and still hasn’t awakened. Rohlan/real Demagol says that he wouldn’t worry too much about saving his life.

*I had been wondering, of course. I figured Demagol/real Rohlan had probably been trying to tell the Republic the truth but they just weren’t believing him.

*Aha, so now Lucien has arrived. We get a little backstory on him and Adasca; seems their father’s were pals and business partners. Lucien isn’t, obviously, all that keen on the giant spa –

*Space slugs. Space slugs.

*Ah, but Adasca drugs Lucien and knocks him out.

*So, Karath and Onasi are squabbling with Squint about the slugs. Both the Republic and the Revanchists obviously want control of these new weapons and they’re trying to figure out how much they need to bribe Adasca in order to get them. And then Mandalore the Ultimate arrives. And Adasca reveals his plan. “This advance changes everything. Adascorp was a major corporate player. Not it is a galactic player. We no longer seek contracts. But we may accept allies.”

*Okay, so this whole thing is frigging chaos. Everyone’s pointing guns at each other and leaping at each other and stuff. Onasi tries to get Karath to arrest Adasca. Sqint tries to kill Mandalore, but Mandalore puts Squint down for the count. Camper calls Jarael and manages to tell her that Adascorp has been creating diseases that effect only Offshoots in a sort of biological genocide. Adasca is so enraged that he tries to kill Jarael, but Squint stops him. Rohlan asks to leave with Jarael, but Mandalore stops him.

*This is ******* chaos and I love it.

*So, there’s an interesting conversation between Mandalore and Rohlan/Demagol. Mandalore has spread the rumor that Rohlan has died, but that in his dying speech he reaffirmed his loyalty to Mandalore. You may remember that whole thing about Rohlan achieving a bit of notoriety as “The Questioner.” “The Questioner accepts that there is only one answer – and that answer is the word of Mandalore.”

*Mandalore has also changed up the Mandalorian army. They’re getting recruits from all across the galaxy and so Mandalore has instituted a standard issue suit of armor. He’s trying to get away from this whole individualized armor thing. He gives Rohlan/Demagol a suit of that armor and tells him that for the sake of the Mandalorian cause, he needs Rohlan to stay dead and suit up in the new uniform. Rohlan/Demagol takes the armor and disappears.

*Meanwhile, Lucien wakes up to find himself imprisoned. Imprisoned WITH ZAYNE. They’re both locked up in cuffs back to back. This results in a really great conversation. It’s really great to get the two of them in the same room again and see them butt heads.

* “You’re amazing. You even sent Raana Tey after my family!” “How did you know about – never mind. We were just trying to find you. Nobody was going to be hurt.” “That’s not how Raana played it.” “Raana is . . . not at her best right now. Her nightmares about you are so bad she’s hardly slept since Taris. Her wariness used to give her an edge –“ “Now she’s just edgy.” “Now she’s a wreck.” “Good. Even if it isn’t my fault.” “Of course it is. It’s isn’t her fault you’re fated to bring the Sith among us.”

*These guys just can’t help talking past each other.

*I love this bit about the slugs: “He has some way of controlling them.” “They won’t stay controlled for long – if you believe the visions my associates have been having.” “Their ‘visions’ ruined my life and made you a murderer. I’m not a big fan of their work.”

*So, Zayne and Lucien cooperate in order to escape and take out all of their guards. But once they’re free Lucien instantly gets his saber back and just tries to kill Zayne IMMEDIATELY.

*I love this stuff. “You know I had to try.” “I’m not afraid of you anymore.” “I know – that’s why we’re afraid of you.”

*God, find a way to get these guys in the same room together more often. With Gryph out of the picture, this is the relationship I love the most.

*I just love how cool Lucien is about his actions. He uses Zayne to help him escape and then he tries to kill Zayne. When he fails, he just shrugs and says, “You know I had to try.” It’s pretty great. He’s just a great character.

*And then once he fails and realizes that he’s going to have to actually expend some energy to kill Zayne, he just decides it’s not worth the effort at the moment and tosses Zayne a blaster. “Take this. We’ll settle up after we sort out Adasca.”

*So, Karath offers Lord Adasca a Senate seat if he’ll ally with the Republic. Mandalore offers to make Adasca the chief weaponmaster for the entire Mandalorian army. Squint just stands around and shouts “No!” a lot.

*I’m surprised Adasca even invited the Revanchists. He knows they’re just a small splinter group. Even the Jedi Council itself probably has little in the way of resources. Revan’s group isn’t going to have anything at all to offer.

*So, meanwhile, the Lab Doctor and Adasca’s assistant (who I don’t think I’ve even mentioned yet) are discussing the results of Jarael’s lab tests. Apparently, she’s something super special (*sigh*) but before they can say what, a mysterious figure shows up and shoots them both down. It’s got to be Rohlan/Demagol. He’s the one seems to have some inside info on Jarael.

*So, Carth Onasi has slipped away in all the arguing and he finds Zayne and Lucien. Lucien is arguing that they need to kill Jarael. That’ll take away Adasca’s leverage over Camper and ruin his plans. But then Rohlan/Demagol shows up and nixes that. “Can you think of a reason it wouldn’t work?” “Just one. You’ll be dead before you get near her.”

*This is right in my wheelhouse, this unlikely allies thing. You’ve got Onasi, Rohlan/Demagol, Zayne and Lucien. I don’t think anybody in that scenario even tolerates more than one other person in that group.

*This is fanservice of the highest order, all these badasses coming together for a common goal, but, hey, I’m a sucker for it.

*I loved this bit: “We need a diversion.” “A diversion? How do you cause a diversion in a room full of armed people? A roomful of armed people who . . . can’t stand each other.”

*So, Zayne comes up with a plan and he gets off a sick burn on Lucien. “You were around the con artist too long.” “Best teacher I ever had.” OH SNAP

*So, Zayne slips into the crowd in the generic armor Mandalore gave to Rohlan/Demagol. Onasi re-enters and violently bumps into Zayne. So, they start a brawl. Then Lucien charges in, bellowing that the Jedi have arrived to arrest Mandalore just as Adasca planned. Mandalore’s like “WHAT THE **** DID HE JUST SAY?” And then Zayne cuts Jarael free and she’s screaming that she’s going to kill Adasca and then EVERYONE IS PUNCHING AND SLASHING AND SHOOTING AND THROWING GRENADES AND IT IS EVERYTHING IT NEEDS TO BE

*I wish they’d done a full page shot of this melee. There’s a third page panel that is just pure chaos and I love it.

*So, Zayne is able to transmit to Camper that Jarael is safe. So, Camper immediately takes control of the station he’s on by overriding the controls of the HK droid guarding him.

*So, then Camper wakes up the space slugs and sends them to attack the Arkanian Legacy where everyone is.

*So Mandalore escapes with his warriors and then Karath and his guys are escaping too. “Bring Carrick! He’s still our prisoner!” Onasi grabs Zayne’s shoulder. After a brief pause, he lets go. “Whoops. You escaped.”

*Zayne asks why. “Too many bad guys right now – you’re not one and I don’t need to be another. Good luck, kid. Let’s party again, but next time try not to bring a war with you.”

*So Camper’s aboard his ship and he’s leadng the space slugs off into wild space where they won’t hurt anyone. He vanishes with a last word of affection for Jarael, Zayne and, yes, even Gryph.

*I’d be happy if we don’t see Camper again. In this series, nothing’s for sure, but I feel like his arc is complete. He’s cured, he has a purpose again and he’s had his vengeance against Adasca, who died by the way when all the slugs smashed into the Legacy.

*But now Zayne, Jarael and Rohlan/Demagol are stranded on the Legacy without an escape ship. And it’s slowly breaking up, of course.

*Then Lucien arrives and says he’ll take everyone away on his ship. But only if Zayne surrenders to him. Zayne does so. “I’ll go with you – for them.”

*And then, my God, the cherry on top of this arc. A ship comes crashing into the hanger bay and out leaps . . . AN ITHORIAN? DONTEVENSAYIT DON’T TELL ME IT’S . . .

*Zayne is equally shocked: “Del Moomo?” “Dob Moomo.”

*Yup, still funny.

*And then Slyssk races out of the ship. “Master Gryph sent us!” “Gryph? Gryph’s alive?” “Alive? He’s running the resistance on Taris and he needs your help!”

*Thank you, God.

*Could it really be that the next arc is going to feature Zayne, Gryph, Jarael, Slyssk and Rohlan/Demagol? All together? Praise be.

*Dare I even hope . . . that the Moomo brothers will also be present? Dare I even hope? No, no, I won’t build myself up too much. We’ll just have to see.

*So, everyone escapes in the Moomo ship. Dare I believe that this is . . . my favorite ship of all time . . . the MOOMO WILLIWAW? No, no, I won’t . . .

*Ah, **** it, I’ll believe it. Zayne and everyone escape on the Moomo Williwaw.

*Lucien escapes as well in his own ship and his single-minded focus remains. “You can’t run forever, Zayne. Taris, eh? So be it. The chase ends . . . where it began.”

*Okay, that was a lot, lot, lot better.

*Oh, I should mention the little extras included in these issues, you know those little things that Miller and Co. jackassedly decided not to include in the trades?

*So, one of them is a transcript of a meeting Adasca’s grandfather had with Camper just before Camper took off. Camper tells Adasca’s grandfather that he’s just leaving to do some business on a ship; Adasca’s grandfather says, “Don’t camp out up there too long.” AY-O!

*Then there’s a little section of some kind of bounty hunter newsletter decrying the use of HK droids. And then a transmission from Cassus Fett to the people of Taris letting them now that they’ve officially been captured by the Mandalorian army. And I suppose we’ll get the ground level view of that next time.

*Okay, so, wrap-up. This was still a bit below the usually brilliant standards of this series. The art wasn’t particularly great, especially on the faces, though I did like the big action sequence at the end. And the whole Adasca/space slugs thing just still feels really out of place. But I did dig the whole face-off with the Revanchists, the Mandalorians and the Republic and the way Lucien and Zayne had to work together. That scene of the two of them together in Adasca’s prison was certainly the best in this one.

*But this one corrected a lot of the problems of Nights of Anger. It’s packed with action and the character interactions have some of the spark that they just didn’t really have in Nights of Anger. And this brought all of our main characters back together. Even Gryph is there in spirit, in a way, given that ending.

*Nights of Anger focused almost exclusively on Jarael, which would have been fine if it hadn’t also badly mischaracterized her. In this one, she’s back to being a badass, so thanks for that. And I’m genuinely excited for the next arc, something I most definitely couldn’t say after Nights of Anger.

*CANONICAL STATUS: This work may contain some fabrications or errors, but it is probably mostly historical accuracy. This work can be accepted as a resource with some small reservations. It is RECOMMENDED as a historical resource.

John Jackson Miller

*Okay, next time, let’s move on to the next arc. Join me next time for Knights of Suffering. Is this our last pun arc? I think so. I hope so.

 

On that front, you'll be disappointed. But it is the end of word bubbles on covers. I also seem to remember a debate about the word bubbles dominating the KOTOR letters sections throughout 2007, which at the very least was a nice break from the constant barrage of Lars Meyer praise-fests.

Also, now that you've read Daze of Hate, you can go back and read the spoiler in my last post.

Daze of Hate will go down in SW comic history as Exhibit A in the trial of determining whether bad comic art can ruin a great comic story. Imagine if these three issues had been penciled by Dustin Weaver, Brian Ching, or even Harvey Tolibao? It would be remembered as one of KOTOR's all-time great arcs, right up there with Flashpoint and company. Maybe Dazo's art is actually better than I give it credit for, but when it was constantly stuck between Weaver and Ching, the contrast was ridiculously striking. Especially in the middle of the Vindication arc, when Dazo did the one flashback issue.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bomb

For real.

 

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Knights of Suffering

3,963 BBY

*Okay, here we go with our next arc. So, this one starts with Zayne arriving on Taris and hooking up with Gryph’s group of rebels. There’s a bit of trouble at first because Zayne is wearing a Mandalorian suit of armor, but that gets straightened out pretty quick.

* “You kids get back to your war – my associate can handle the kid. Zayne, you remember Dob Moomo?” “I’m Del.”

*Let’s just see here, I need to just check . . . aha, yup, still funny.

*Oh, so these guys aren’t the real resistance. They’re a swoop gang called the Hidden Beks, run by a big dude name of Gadon Thek. They’re trying to get hooked up with the real resistance, but there’s been a snag in the plan. It seems that someone has kidnapped the children of the chief constable on Taris and she’s in control of the resistance and she’s suspicious of the swoop gang class because of it.

*So, there’s this sidekick hanging out with Gryph and he’s named Griff. Expect a lot of comical mixups.

*Okay, so here’s the deal with Gryph. He’s on Taris to try to find Senator Gorravus, the Senator from Taris. He’s disappeared in all the chaos, but rumor has it he’s also hooked up with the Resistance. So, this billionaire industrialist, Jervo Thalien, who happens to be a good friend of Gorravus, hired Gryph since he figures Gryph knows his way around Taris.

*Oh, God, this is complicated. The exposition isn’t quite at Adasca level yet, but I’m just warning you guys.

*Okay, so Jervo and Gorravus are sufficiently powerful that Jervo has promised Gryph that if he finds Gorravus that he’ll get the murder charges against Gryph and Zayne dropped.

*So, Raana Tey is on Taris as well and she’s got this blonde chick that hates Zayne for some reason. There’s a big reveal when the blonde chick, who’s been seen in silhouette and shadow, finally turns her face to the “camera.” So, I guess this is someone I’m supposed to know. And I do not have one single clue.

*Okay, so it turns out that the constable’s children WERE kidnapped by someone in Gadon’s gang. A little Twi’lek girl named Mission leads Zayne and Gryph to them. So, it looks like Gadon and his group are on their way to the Resistance.

*So, there’s this great scene of all the swoop riders blasting through the Mandalorian lines on their way to the Resistance meet-up. And I just dig this one panel of Zayne, Gryph and Del all on one bike. Zayne just has this hilarious grin on his face, Gryph is scowling and Del is screaming “YAAAAHHHH!!!!” and firing a blaster with both hands. I don’t know, I just love those Moomos.

*So, Zayne and crew arrive at the Resistance meet-up and the blonde chick is there.

*Zayne recognizes her and seems happy. Shel is her name. And then she shoots Zayne.

*Ah, “You killed my brother.” This is the brother of one of the dead padawans then. Yeah, that was a LONG time ago and I remember none of those dead padawans.

*Great full page panel: Zayne on his back on the ground, Shel, tears streaming down her face, has her blaster pressed to his head as Raana Tey looms overhead, lightsaber ignited. “Finish it now.”

*God, that’s great.

*Tey allows herself to get distracted when Del Moomo intervenes. And by distracted, I mean she tries to kill Del.

*And, you know, not without reason. I mean, the Moomo brothers did screw her over pretty badly in that whole fracas before. Well, though, SHE was the one who hired them. I mean, buyer beware. Surely the Moomo brothers had some bad Yelp reviews or something.

*So, anyway, yes, Senator Gorravus is leading the Resistance and he makes Ranna Tey stand down. The Resistance can’t afford to lose any skilled fighters, even if they are the accused murderers of a bunch of padawans. And it helps when they return the constable’s children.

*So, there’s some nonsense about Thalien and Gorravus. Turns out that Thalien’s plan all along has been to kill Gorravus because Gorravus has some dirt on Thalien giving some bribes in order to get Taris into the Republic . . . skip it, it’s complicated. Anyway, Del Moomo’s on the payroll and so he’s about to kill Gorravus, but then Raana Tey attacks him again and then there’s this bomb. Whatever. Anyway. Thalien’s plans fail because Shel shot the case with the bomb when she was shooting at Zayne.

*So, Rohlan/Demagol and Jarael are still up in orbit around Taris, hiding from the fleet.

*This is great: “You are distraught. We Mandalorians deal with problems in a Mandalorian way. Perhaps I can help. Follow me, I have just the thing to occupy your mind.” The brilliant part is the look on Jarael’s face in the last panel. She’s got one eyebrow cocked in a very incredulous way.

*I don’t blame her. I sense some vivisection coming up.

*So, Shel and Zayne have a heart to heart.

* “Shel . . . where’s your little brother? Where’s Shay?”

*God, I remember nothing about this.

*So, Gryph is defending Zayne to Shel and he says “I’ve never killed anyone in my life – and as far as I know, Zayne’s never killed anyone either.” That can’t be true. All the shooting and slashing and bombing and neither of them have killed anyone. What about that whole fracas on Adasca’s flagship? Zayne had to have killed some people in that fight?

*So, Shel finally just says, “So who killed my brother?” And Raana Tey stands in the doorway and says, “I did.”

*And then you turn the page and she says, “At least, that’s what he’s told himself. But you know the truth, Shel. I couldn’t have killed your brother.”

*That’s a pretty cool moment. Except they did exactly that same moment with Lucien earlier in the series.

*Zayne gets off a nice burn: “I couldn’t have killed your brother.” “That’s true. She wasn’t standing close enough to him.” OH BOOM NAILED IT

*Oh, so Demagol’s idea was just for Jarael to spar with Squint. Okay, that’s fine.

*So, Jarael kind of collapses emotionally. She misses Camper, Elbee’s gone into shutdown since Camper left . . .

*I wonder if he has a map to Camper’s whereabouts or something.

*Anyway, Alek tries to kiss her but she turns him down.

* “Not now. Please. Adasca really abused my trust.”

*Oh, bull****. The real Jarael did not trust that stupid sack of exposition for a second. It’s just never a bad time to point out how poorly written she was in those arcs.

*So, it looks like Cassus Fett is using the Jedi Temple tower as his command center. So, the Resistance figures they’ll have to send some people in to confirm that Fett’s there and once they know he is, they’ll blow the place up.

*Zayne volunteers to go because he knows his way around the Temple. Shel says she’ll go as well because Zayne can’t be trusted to do the mission alone. And then Raana Tey says she’ll also go because Zayne can’t be trusted alone with Shel.

*And then they totally set me up for this gag because then Gryph steps up and puts his hand on Zayne’s shoulder and then he just says, “Well . . . enjoy yourselves.”

*Great gag.

*So, Raana tells Shel that she has a plan. Shel has the crystal from her brother’s lightsaber. Once they get to the temple, Raana tells Shel that she’ll be able to get to the lightsabers themselves and then Shel can put the crystal in it. “Your brother’s lightsaber will dispatch your brother’s killer.”

*There’s a nice scene between Shel & Zayne here where they talk about the fact that they were kind of maybe going to be in a relationship when the padawans all died. I like the fact that it isn’t that they were actually in any kind of relationship, but were, instead, just, you know, working toward it. That makes it a little different and it also feels quite a bit more realistic.

*I like the dialogue in this scene quite a bit: “You didn’t want a relationship with me before.” “I didn’t? You were trying to become a Jedi. I might not have seen you again.” “Oh, come on. We both knew I’d flunk out. It was thinking about you that made that not seem so horrible. Thinking about after . . .” “That’s very touching. I was your consolation prize.”

*Anyway, they get in a screaming match in broad daylight right out in front of the Jedi Temple, so they almost get caught, but they pull the old “don’t mind us we’re just kissing” trick.

*There’s a really great moment when Zayne and Shel get into the Temple and Zayne remembers playing games as a kid with Shad in the storage room they snuck into. And he just says, “I really miss him.”

*You know, it’s interesting. This story has been moving so fast and Zayne and co. have hardly had time to stop running that I’d kind of overlooked the fact that these padawans that got killed were Zayne’s best friends. I mean, he’s certainly had no time to actually mourn them. And in fact, he still doesn’t. After he says the line about missing Shad, Shel asks him what he said and there’s a great shot of Zayne just wiping his face and saying, “Never mind.” This moment was surprisingly powerful.

*So, Zayne discovers that Cassus and the Mandalorians have left. They’re on their way to attack the Resistance. Then Raana Tey decides enough’s enough and she throws down on Zayne. “We have to get down to Shel and have her warn Gadon’s people before it’s too late.” “It’s already too late. The Sith are here. Now. I can feel their presence below, and above. It’s come to pass. I can’t stop it.”

*Oh, this is great, this is great, is she going to die? Shel’s going to kill her, isn’t she?

*So, Gadon and everybody gets word that the Mandies have attacked the underground base, so they head back to help. “Hey, Moomo, you want to come shoot at somebody?” “DO I?!”

*Oh, damn it, it’s Zayne and Raana Tey, just going at it, just having a real old-fashioned lightsaber fight. Oh, I have been waiting for this.

*This fight is pretty great and then it ends with Raana slashing into Zayne’s jetpack and sending him just rocketing into this wall.

*Bad ass images: Raana Tey, stalking across the destroyed Jedi Council room, a lightsaber in each hand, growling about prophecies. ******* awesome.

*So, yeah, Shel arrives in time to hear Raana Tey admit to killing the padawans and so she stabs her from behind with Shad’s saber.

*Nice. “Your brother’s lightsaber will dispatch your brother’s killer.” Well done.

*Oh, this is cool. “Shel. You did it.” “Zayne . . . you didn’t do it.”

*So, Raana’s still alive and Zayne actually tries to save her. Gryph and Gadon show up and so Zayne and Shel are hanging on to the tow rope from the speeder and there’s this great image of Zayne reaching down for Raana. “Raana – the Mandalorians are coming! Hurry! The Resistance has a healer – they can still save you.” “No! You think I’ll confess about the Padawans! I won’t – not for you.” “I – I don’t care. No one else is going to die in this building. Give me your hand!”

*No one else is going to die in this building. Nice.

*But Raana’s hand is trapped and so she ignites her lightsaber to cut herself loose and Gryph sees it and thinks that she’s trying to kill Zayne, so he triggers the bombs.

*God, these last three pages are awesome. Gryph triggering the bomb and then there’s this three panel page of the tower, with Raana Tey pinned on top of it, dropping away from Zayne as it collapses. “Tell Krynda – Tell Krynda I’m sorry!”

*And then a quick flash to Q’anilia and Lucien. “The worst has happened, Lucien.” “I sensed it too, Q’anilia. Poor Raana Tey.” “That’s not it. He knows. He knows!”

*And then back to Zayne for the last word. “I’m sorry, Zayne. I’m so sorry you lost your chance.” “Maybe. But maybe I got something else. I got a name. Krynda.”

*Oh, ****, yeah, you did.

*And I’ll just briefly mention the three little extra bits.

*There’s an official thing from the Republic celebrating Admiral Karath’s safe return and mourning the loss of Lord Adasca. Then there’s a bounty hunter thing that lists Gryph, Zayne and Slyssk as wanted.

*The Slyssk bit is gold. The picture is this extreme close-up of him with this goofy smile and then the note is “Nothing like stealing spaceships to help a guy rack up some big bounties fast. But honestly, who could get sore at a sweet face like this?”

*I’d like to just register my displeasure at the fact that Slyssk spends the entire story in the ship orbiting Taris and what’s more, even when we’re briefly on the ship, he doesn’t show up for even one line. That guy. Love. That. Guy.

*And then finally some kind of briefing from the Republic. It’s useless even by the standards of these little extras.

*Okay, I kind of have mixed feelings about this one. I don’t know if any of the side stuff in this story is going to pay off, but I have to say it all felt very much like filler. The whole thing with the constable’s kids and the Gorravus/Thalien subplot both felt really unnecessary and like they were just shoved in to take up space.

*I mean, I find it pretty annoying that the comic didn’t even take time to give the constable a name. I mean, that’s just weird. And I’m supposed to care about this story when you can’t even bother giving the characters names? That whole thing was just so much filler. I feel like the first two thirds of this arc was about seventy-five percent filler.

*And I’m also a little troubled by Gryph’s presence here. I’m just going to be honest. He wasn’t particularly funny and the chemistry between Gryph and Zayne just wasn’t quite there.

*Maybe one problem is that Gryph gets saddled with all the exposition. He spends a lot of time doing lengthy monologues, which is not his strong suit. Anyway, whatever the problem was, I did not like Gryph in this story and that’s a problem. I mean, I feel like I only mentioned him in this review in terms of his function in the plot and that is not the reason I love Gryph as a character. I’m guessing a solid year or so not writing the character maybe has the writers a bit out of step with him. Hopefully, he gets his mojo back.

*But I ended up really liking the Shel-Raana-Zayne stuff. At first I didn’t know how well the Shel character was going to play, but she ended up working really well, particularly in that last third, starting with that conversation on the street.

*And then there’s Raana. I mean, her stuff was going to HAVE to be epic; we’ve been building to her final showdown with Zayne for a long, long time now. She’s really been the only one of the five killers, aside from Lucien, to really come into her own as an actual character. I’m thinking that now that she’s out of the way, some of the others can kind of step forward in similar fashion.

*But, anyway, her psychotic break with reality has been a real sense of energy in the story to this point. I mean, her character is the bad ass of the group. I know Lucien’s supposed to be the heavy in the Covenant. Raana’s one of the seers; Lucien is, as established in Homecoming, just the guy who does the dirty work. But Raana’s really usurped that role, so all this to say that her final confrontation with Zayne needed to be really epic or it was going to feel like a disappointment.

*And it succeeded. It wasn’t a disappointment. It really worked. The art of the fight scene was great and then the bit with her just stalking around the room with both lightsabers, ranting and raving about prophecies . . . that was just great. And then the whole way she died with Zayne trying to save her with the “no one else is going to die in this building” bit and then the page of her just falling away from Zayne as the tower collapsed under her. ******* great.

*Zayne also got some great character work in this one. I really liked what they did with having him return to the Temple for the first time since the murders. Giving him that moment to feel real grief for his friends was super-compelling.

*First two-thirds, basically not that great. Last third, really great. That’s my verdict on this one, I guess.

*CANONICAL STATUS: This work may contain some fabrications or errors, but it is probably mostly historically accurate. This work can be accepted as a resource with some small reservations. It is RECOMMENDED as a historical resource.

John Jackson Miller

*Okay, next time, it’s a break from the comics for another Hyperspace short story set during the Resistance on Taris. Join me next time for Interference.

 

TBH "Knights of Suffering" was my favorite of these arcs. The Taris stuff was great and some of the outfits were literally straight out of KOTOR. The art in this issue was on-point. I do agree that those in orbit above Taris were underused, but I actually found Gryph's humor to be great (the whole I'm-carrying-a-bomb part in particular). But I will agree that the Zayne/Raana/Shel stuff was strongest.