Lit Dawn of the Jedi: Force War #1 (of 5)

I think the problem - and perhaps the trigger for Jeff's response - is we've been here before. With Legacy, however, it was a very unwelcome surprise and no one wants that to happen again, but it has happened again since - you only have to look at Invasion to see a good example.

Unlike Jeff though, I'll take a resolution, possibly rushed, over an inconclusive story that builds but ultimately goes nowhere - Invasion only just avoided being that.

 

There is a difference, though, between eliding the self-explanatory or largely obvious development, or deliberately hitting you with a "ten years later" effect after the first setup issue, and skipping over big developments in the middle of a story that aren't self-explanatory. Going from Daegen Lok in prison to Daegen Lok trusted by the Je'daii to lead their Order in battle isn't self-explanatory. It demands explanation. It's also a significant shift in pacing. This isn't having a prologue and then skipping ahead. There were two full arcs of slow buildup to the Rakatan invasion, to Xesh and Daegen Lok's complex roles -- then suddenly everything those two arcs were building up to has already happened and we're in the middle of some new status quo. It's a slow build to which the actual payoff is skipped over.

That's not what in media res storytelling is. In media res is when you start from someplace later than the absolute beginning of everything. It's not when you start at the beginning and then skip the middle to get to the end. That's sine media res.

Now, it's certainly possible that all the development will start showing up in flashbacks or whatever -- but that doesn't make the preliminary assessment of "this is currently missing vital connective tissue" wrong.

 

@Havac:What about the 9 missing years between TPM & AotC? It just seems like SW does this all the time. And DotJ didn't start at the beginning, it started with the story already running. Even the recap in Vol.1 #1 didn't tell us who the Tho Yor are or where they come from. This series has been skipping around, cherry picking what it wants to reveal & telling important back stories through flashbacks from the start. And I'll repeat that there might be twists & turns in that "missing" chunk of story that were planned from the beginning to be revealed after the fact, the same reason the Tho Yor are a mystery. They've already done that with Xesh and Lok, they might be doing the same thing now.

But thanks for the clarification about 'in media res' I didn't know that!

 

Nothing happened in the ten years between Episodes I and II. Obi-Wan trained Anakin and the Jedi Council lost a few members, but the only really significant development was the Separatist Crisis. Everything else was business as usual. A more apt comparison would be if Episode II had begun with Darth Sidious already having led an army of clones to conquer the Outer Rim; Nute Gunray leading the Republic Military; and all of the Politicians, Podracers, and Senate Guards from Episode I fighting on the front lines. The shift from the end of The Prisoner of Bogan to the beginning of Force War is so significant that I highly doubt flashbacks will cut it. And flashbacks certainly won't be able to make up for all of the character development and world-building being so suddenly scrapped.

I'll keep an open mind and keep reading, though. I do trust John & Jan, but... eh...

 

I have a feeling this could be the end of DOTJ, so compression is to be expected.

 

I think novel will cover it. I thought that the novel WOULD tie closely into the series.

Yeah this may be a sign that the series has less time then the Author thought. Still at least they have given notice this time.

 

IF.... And only if..... IF DHC screw this up, they'll have reduced my SW TPB buying by 50%!

 

Cause you only buy this and Legacy?

If so same here

 

Nah, they have a good run ahead of them it just won't be 55 issues.

 

Quite so, quite so! If you'd told me 2 years ago I'd be down to 2 SW series I'd be sceptical but Blood Ties, Knight Errant, Agent of the Empire and KOTOR are gone and I don't like Star Wood so only 2 there are!

 

Is this pure optimism on your part or do you have some info to share with the rest of us?

 

Part optimism, part experience.

 

OK, I'm now curious about the experience part as few minis have made it past 3 series in recent years.

 

I like it. Ya'll be trippin'.

 

Truer words never spoken, and so eloquently.

 

I think DOTJ has potential to go beyond the realms of books/comics, to even that of the video games, and perhaps an animated tv series (that is something i want to see, though its unlikely because it does not have a strong connection to the PT or OT like TCW had, and so will Rebels)

There is plenty of room for many new stories to come in the pre-republic era.

 

Agreed, DOTJ and the old republic era have the most potential for telling stories. It's how safe Disney wants to "play" with the franchise that can hold back these stories, since they have no connection to any of the movies or tv shows.

 

I wonder if the "new movies" or shows will have any mention of DOTJ/Old Republic era. Just thought I'll mention this because if they "do", this may open doors to more of the franchise and then there will be connections to possibly continue with them.

 

It just seems like this is the arc that the whole series has been building to....hence why I feel it could be the end.

 

As far as I know TOR is cannon, so pretty much all stories connected to the games are cannon too. Also, that era is very popular among SW fans, so I'd be really surprised if Disney doesn't touch that era. And imo, if the Old Republic era is explored more, chances for more DOTJ are more likely.

 

How cool would it be to have a series, similar in presentation and appearance to TCW, that follows Dessel and Zannah? Perhaps their journies, and adventures that may have taken place in between each of the novels? I'd love to see something involving Bane.

 

Speaking of TOR, I just wanted to mention that in the recent Old Republic encyclopedia there is mention of Force Hounds in the Rakata species section...so, a clear connection/exchange of information between DOTJ and TOR.

*/shameless nerd rant*

 

i gotta admit Force War seems like it will be a cool "Book" to read once its in TPB form.

 

So I was just scanning the comments and was interested by Jeff's opinion. My comic store had this in my pull list but I ended up not picking it up. I lost interest in the first 10 issues and didn't really want to pick up a comic I was "meh" on because of all the other top notch titles I'm buying from Image and other publishers. Not really room on the budget. I do enjoy Legacy though!

 

I actually think this arc actually has the potential to be something great. But yeah, showing up in the middle after initial losses we don't see and the realization that they're outgunned to the extent of needing a brand new dark side weapon to even have a chance... that would have been nice to actually see.