Quinlan Vos, his arc and the Clone Wars 'creme of the crop'

I've now discovered Clone Wars. New to comics I was told by many of you that Clone Wars 'was the cream of the crop' and doesn't have to be enjoyed in order so...
I picked up Clone wars VI(on advice. Great read), then V and VII the last two I have to read. I so like the Vos character that I was tempted to grab VIII instead of VII: When They were Brothers because of Vos. Some advice I'd heard said to go back and read earlier Vos stuff before hitting Clone Wars VIII.

There is so much on Vos out there where should one start and would Clone Wars VIII have been the better buy than VII? I only ask because Ostranger didn't write Clone Wars:VII. I'm almost tempted to switch VII for VIII.

 

VIII is pretty much the resolution of Quin's CW stories, so if you're caught up with those, you can get it. Or if you wanna get Quin's story from the beginning, go with Twilight, Darkness, & Rite Of Passage.

And VII is my personal favorite, but some crazy people don't like it for one reason or another.

 

You may never understand
How Ostranger is inspired
But he isn't always evil
And he is not always wrong

Heh heh heh. But seriously. Vos? Blargh. His master is far more interesting. And he has a cane.

But if there was a Vos arc that I kinda enjoyed, it was The Stark Hyperspace War. Probably because it wasn't about him, and didn't feature him sporting the constant "You Gonna Get Raped" look that seems to be the fashion in Duursema works.

 

Clone Wars IV: Light and Dark is pretty important for him.

The Stark Hyperspace War honestly is not.

 

Glad to hear it is a favorite.

Quite helpful breakdown, The2ndQuest. I don't care how or who-centric the issues are as long as they are as good as I'm hearing.

Somehow Quin interests me as Cade Skywalker does. Glad I resisted temptation and didn't get Clone Wars VIII as it would be kind of sad to read the culmination and conclusion of his adventures in these final story arcs without going back to IV at least.

The plastic is often on TPB's in the comic stores so I have no idea what V or VII is or how good it is. Somehow VII didn't appear as interesting as VIII cause it isn't written by Ostranger and it's "Obi/Anakin centric". I happen to know that Clone Wars V is a big favorite so that one I'm really looking forward to.

I have to tell you it is kind of lame when I'm investing around $24 Canadian (with our crazy tax) in one TPB having no real idea what's inside. (They don't help much in comic stores. Some act just like The Simpson's Comic Guy) Every bit of good advice especially navigating through the comics I've learned on this board. Everyone's help about X-Wing Omnibus to Dark Empire has been fantastic.

 

Bro, look, if you're in a store that has wrapped the TPB's in plastic, you need to leave immediately and find another comic book store.

I've been buying comics for nearly thirty years now, and not once, ever, has a comic or TPB come wrapped in plastic so you couldn't read it. The comic company does not do this, so the store themselves must be doing it. I know you're in Canada, but that's where I grew up and still have friends, and none of us ever bought a comic wrapped in plastic.

Boycott that store, at all costs. Comics should never be wrapped. Boycott, boycott, boycott. Then tell them to go screw themselves on the way out the door.


On topic: Just buy all nine Clone Wars TPBs. Every one of them is worth the price, and then some.

 

I actually thought they came in shrink wrap. That's effed up. I can see no motive for doing so.

 

I think this is the best bet. I don't think you need to read Twilight, Darkness, and Rite of Passage to understand Quin's CW stuff, but the story is much better if you have that background.

Count me in as one of those "crazy" people. What did you like about it?

 

Some less than reputable stores do this to incite "blind buying." They're trying to make you buy things based on the cover alone. For some stupid reason, they think this will boost sales. We have a store here in Tucson, Arizona that does it. He's also famous for his "no browsing" tactics. You aren't allowed to linger, at all. No reading. He'll come right up to you and tell you that it's not a library.

I'd just find a better comic store, or, if there isn't one close to you, Amazon Canada has everything in TPB.

 

Quinlan Vos is based on an extra in Ep I, which makes him the canon character that was born at Dark Horse. There's quite a lot of good information on him at the Wookieepedia, and at the LJ community in my sig. Jan Duursema and John Ostrander are genius together when it comes to Star Wars antiheroes.

 

Ok, the complete Quin library:

The Stark Hyperspace War: Quin, as a young Padawan, plays a small part in the Stark Hyperspace War. Not essential, but a good story that you should pick up sometime down the road.

Emissaries of Malastare: Quin makes a cameo. Not really necessary, not a great TPB, so don't feel obliged to pick it up.

Twilight: the first Vos story. Establishes the character and the background of his memory loss, as well as several recurring characters. Essential part of his pre-CW arc, but not essential to understand the CW arc in and of itself.

Darkness: the second Vos story. Establishes more characters and a lot more of Quin's actual history. Essential to the pre-CW arc, not essential to understand the CW arc in and of itself.

Rite of Passage: Quin becomes a Master and his apprentice, Aayla, becomes a Knight. Great story, great art, somewhat less essential backstory, but definitely an important part of the pre-CW arc.

CW1: The Defense of Kamino (And Other Stories): In the issue Sacrifice, Quin's Clone Wars role is established, and in Jedi: Mace Windu (retitled Schism for the TPB), he makes what's basically a cameo. It's a good volume overall and, while not absolutely vital to the CW arc like some other TPBs, I'd recommend it based on its overall quality.

CW2: Victories and Sacrifices: Quin appears in Jedi: Shaak Ti (retitled Catspaw for the TPB) in a bit role, but it establishes some of the ambiguity surrounding his character nicely. Easily the weakest TPB overall of all the ones Quin is in, however, and I wouldn't recommend it if you just want the essentials, though if you want to get the whole picture eventually and continue collecting, I'd mark it for acquisition at some point.

CW4: Light and Dark: This is the only TPB that is numerically out of chronological sequence, so don't be fooled. Anyway, it's all Quin (except for one arc that's Aayla and Tholme, but they're still part of the "Quin storyline" IMO). Absolutely vital; get it now.

CW3: The Battle of Jabiim: No Quin, but a lot of other people love this TPB. I personally find it vastly overrated. Still, it's not bad and, like volume 2, worth getting if you want the entire CW run; it's especially vital to the Anakin/Obi-Wan storyline you'll find running parallel to Quin's in your other CW TPBs.

CW5: The Best Blades: Again, no Quin, but one of the best TPBs of the run. You won't regret having gotten it.

CW6: On the Fields of Battle: You've got it, but I'll tell you anyway: This is where Quin's story picks back up. You can jump in here, but I think you're really missing a lot if you don't have CW4 at the very minimum.

CW7: When They Were Brothers: I'm rather meh on this. It's got pretty decent art, but I'm not a fan of the writer. No Quin relevance, but if you've got it you might as well hang on to it, as it resolves the Obi-Wan/Anakin arc you'll find in your other TPBs and it's not too bad, especially if you're a completist like me.

CW8: The Last Siege, the Final Truth: Quin's story comes to a head. Great TPB, but I'd recommend not coming in for the payoff here until you have the backstory to make it really zing.

CW9: Endgame: The final story of Quin's arc. Some of it I found honestly repetitive, but it ties off Quin's story neatly, and it's a must to wrap up the entire arc. Again, it won't mean as much without the reams of backstory to really pay it off.

So my overall suggestion? Stop where you're at, go back, and start with Twilight, Darkness, and Rite of Passage. Those are great stories, and they'll give you a real familiarity with the character and help a lot of later-story elements mean more and make more sense. Then move through the Clone Wars chronologically, possibly skipping 2 and 3 to get at Quin's story and coming back to them later if you feel the inclination. That'll give you the best overall experience, I think.

 

I thank you Havoc. Great breakdown. Course you all made me realize that collecting is a never ending chase for the next purchase. I ran out of novels and once I walked down the comic path forever will it dominate my bank account.

 

Havac, you forgot Infinity's End, which is arguably the high point of the Vos Saga.

Unfortunately, it's not yet collected as a TPB, but hunting down the original four issues is definitely worthwhile.

 

Now, 000, that was just mean.

 

So I did. And I distinctly intended to cover it when I started, too.

So, insert between Twilight and Darkness:

Infinity's End: Non-Ostrander story of Quin going to Dathomir. Not generally cared for, not at all relevant to the overall arc (or, for that matter, ever referenced again, IIRC), not collected. I've yet to meet anyone who actually likes it, and you're better off ignoring it like everyone else.

 

Actually, I just finished reading Darkness for the first time this weekend (it was awesome, introduces some cool characters, reveals why Quin is susceptible to the dark side, and is definitely worth reading, for anyone who wants to know), and Quinlan's trip to Dathomir is referenced a few times in it. Mostly it's other Jedi saying stuff like, "Even though he saved us all from those witches of Dathomir, I still don't trust Quinlan Vos!"

That's one of the things I really appreciate about John Ostrander's writing. He can work in references to not-so-good stuff and turn it into something cool.

 

That one went right over my head at first.

I gotta tell you, There is just too much Vos out there! Ideally I'd love to start at the beginning of Vos as advised. Darkness, Twilight...Too late. I already have Clone Wars V-VIII But I see I needClone Wars IV to totally understand VIII and get the "zing" Havoc spoke of and I want that zing!...and I need the pre clone wars stuff (which is never sold in my city comic stores) to enhance his character and Clone Wars Arc.

EDit: ramble ramble ramble...

 

Don't go nuts. I just read em as I find 'em. There is "zing" no matter what.

 

I wouldn't say I LIKED Infinity's End.....but a Given (Spelling?) actually like, being part of a comic story was pretty neat.

 

Wrapping trades in shrink wrap is definitely uncool. My local comic shops definitely let you browse through a trade before buying, and being a Canuck as well, I can understand all the cash you have to fork up to buy one. Are there any other stores in your area? Hopefully so --- when I'm back home from school in London, Ontario, there's only one comic store anywhere close to me that has a good collection of trades. Here in Hamilton, my local comic store has a pretty small trade collection --- the only SW one they have right now is Broken.

 

I think the reason this one place shrink wraps is because it's right off Granville and Robson in Vancouver. It is downtown. There is a lot of drug dealing and drunks in the downtown. Normal shoppers but this is a bit of a scummy town surrounded by every gift nature can supply. There can be people scoring meth right outside while shoppers pass. They're a fairly helpful and friendly store but to tell you the truth, if I owned the shop in a prime shopping/drug dealing district I might do the same. The guy is making a mint cause of his location.

 

Ahhh the Chateau Granville... great place to stay if you ever take a roadtrip to see the Canucks at GMPlace. Loved the proximity of the casino...

Been almost ten years since I visited.

Anyways, the entire Vos story rocks, save for the aforementioned Infinity's End.
I look forward to seeing how they use him between the sagas. I was kinda hoping that Vos or his son would turn out to be Darth Krayt, but since that isn't the case I wonder the direction that they'll take...

 

There's the "zing" of a well-written story . . . and then there's the "zing" of nine TPBs worth of buildup all coming to a head. The first is certainly enjoyable and pleasing, but the second is a one-time thing that I think is worth building up to.