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Tales of the Jedi
Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Vol. 5: Dark Lords of the Sith
Darth Vader was a Dark Lord of the Sith--now discover the terror of the Dark Lords who preceded him in this stunning sequel to Tales of the Jedi.
Ulic Qel-Dromoa and Nomi Sunrider are young Jedi Knights drawn into a battle for the survival of the Old Republic. But as the power of the evil Sith spreads across the galaxy, it threatens the existence of the Jedi themselves, and draws one of their greatest allies over to the dark side!
Ulic Qel-Dromoa and Nomi Sunrider are young Jedi Knights drawn into a battle for the survival of the Old Republic. But as the power of the evil Sith spreads across the galaxy, it threatens the existence of the Jedi themselves, and draws one of their greatest allies over to the dark side!
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
10 people are currently reading
396 people want to read
About the author
Kevin J. Anderson
1,037 books3,102 followersYes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
January 17, 2018
A few things:
- I really liked the story. A very interesting continuation after the Freedon Nadd dualogy. Perhaps a little cheesy at times, but not too bad.
- The artwork - eh, not so much. Sometimes I can see how it might be really awesome for some, but just isn't for me. Not in this case - I am not sure why anyone would like it.
- The cover(s) - the main graphic novel and each compiled issue had a cover with different artwork than the rest of the series. A couple of things about this: 1. I would have liked it better. 2. I am not sure any of the covers actually related to the story. They were just cool Star Wars art. See the cover below - nothing really to do with the story other than there are lightsaber fights. I am not sure who he is supposed to be from the story:
Funny side story: about 10 pages in the middle of the copy I got from the library had been ripped out, mixed up, and rebound with the normally bound side facing out. Needless to say, I was confused!
A book for Star Wars completists - all others will probably enjoy something else better.
- I really liked the story. A very interesting continuation after the Freedon Nadd dualogy. Perhaps a little cheesy at times, but not too bad.
- The artwork - eh, not so much. Sometimes I can see how it might be really awesome for some, but just isn't for me. Not in this case - I am not sure why anyone would like it.
- The cover(s) - the main graphic novel and each compiled issue had a cover with different artwork than the rest of the series. A couple of things about this: 1. I would have liked it better. 2. I am not sure any of the covers actually related to the story. They were just cool Star Wars art. See the cover below - nothing really to do with the story other than there are lightsaber fights. I am not sure who he is supposed to be from the story:
Funny side story: about 10 pages in the middle of the copy I got from the library had been ripped out, mixed up, and rebound with the normally bound side facing out. Needless to say, I was confused!
A book for Star Wars completists - all others will probably enjoy something else better.
May 8, 2021
The events of the previous volumes have taken a very serious tone.
Ulic Qel-Droma decides to try to infiltrate the Krath, a Dark Side organization but falls to the Dark Side. While he is starting his tutelage of Dark Side arts, he is visited by the shade of Freedon Nadd who says that one-day Ulic will be a powerful Sith Lord, but more importantly, his time will usher in one of the true great Sith. Who is this person?
Exar Kun. This volume goes into the rise, or fall depending on your view, of Exar Kun. A powerful and arrogant Jedi Knight, his skill is so great that he is able to defeat, and humiliate, his master. Kun leaves the stifling Jedi way and communes with the spirit of Freedon Nadd who takes him on a tour of the great Sith places like Korriban and Yavin. As Exar learns more about the force, he finds the Massassi, a corrupted form of the Sith followers of Naga Sadow- from their Kun is put in a life or death choice. He chooces life and the Dark Side.
More than this I shall not spoil. Exar's fall is well documented in this volume and while he is indeed powerful it is nothing compared to what he will become. One a side note- during the final parts of the book when Ulic and Exar are fighting, the unnamed Dark Lord's spirit that explains Exar's place as Dark Lord and Ulic's place as apprentice- I am thinking that is Marka Ragnos. But we shall find out next volume.
A superb issue. Mostly because I see the rise of one of the greatest Sith Lords- Exar Kun. A great volume for any fan of Star Wars, but especially those interested in the great Sith Lords of the past.
Ulic Qel-Droma decides to try to infiltrate the Krath, a Dark Side organization but falls to the Dark Side. While he is starting his tutelage of Dark Side arts, he is visited by the shade of Freedon Nadd who says that one-day Ulic will be a powerful Sith Lord, but more importantly, his time will usher in one of the true great Sith. Who is this person?
Exar Kun. This volume goes into the rise, or fall depending on your view, of Exar Kun. A powerful and arrogant Jedi Knight, his skill is so great that he is able to defeat, and humiliate, his master. Kun leaves the stifling Jedi way and communes with the spirit of Freedon Nadd who takes him on a tour of the great Sith places like Korriban and Yavin. As Exar learns more about the force, he finds the Massassi, a corrupted form of the Sith followers of Naga Sadow- from their Kun is put in a life or death choice. He chooces life and the Dark Side.
More than this I shall not spoil. Exar's fall is well documented in this volume and while he is indeed powerful it is nothing compared to what he will become. One a side note- during the final parts of the book when Ulic and Exar are fighting, the unnamed Dark Lord's spirit that explains Exar's place as Dark Lord and Ulic's place as apprentice- I am thinking that is Marka Ragnos. But we shall find out next volume.
A superb issue. Mostly because I see the rise of one of the greatest Sith Lords- Exar Kun. A great volume for any fan of Star Wars, but especially those interested in the great Sith Lords of the past.
October 10, 2016
Coming of "Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon", "The Saga of Nomi Sunrider", and "The Freedon Nadd Uprising", Tom Veitch continues his stories of the ancient Jedi knights with needed assistance from fellow (rather reviled, it seems,) Star Wars author Kevin J. Anderson. The fruits of their collaboration has resulted in the first sequel and full length story arc for Tales of the Jedi, Dark Lords of the Sith.
The arcs in Tales of the Jedi: The Collection are rather dated. The stories and lore are cool, especially for the time they first came out, but those good aspects are overwhelmingly negated by Tom Veitch's awful writing style, the weak characterization, and the so-so artwork. Despite the problems, something about that first comic made me enjoy reading it and want to continue through the series. My final conclusion was that this series will probably end up being one of my guilty pleasures.
I feel like Kevin J. Anderson's assistanced did very little to improve the series, as my feelings on Dark Lords of the Sith are basically the same as the last. I still enjoyed this volume as a guilty pleasure but it is still very flawed.
THE STORY: Following their victory on Onderon, the Jedi plan out how they are going to triumph over the Dark Side, which has taken the form of the Krath in the Empress Teta System. Ulic desides he can destroy the Krath by learning their secrets and going under cover.
Meanwhile, Jedi Knight Exar Kun goes on a quest to learn more about the Dark Side and the sith, but his insatiable thirst for knowledge may take him to a point of no return.
THE BAD: This comic inherits many of the same problems of its predecessor.
Once again the largest problem by far is the writing. I have already ranted repeatedly on how much I despise narration in comic books. While the narration is not quite as bad here as it was before, it is still obnoxious, distracting, and could have been better conveyed through art and character dialogue. The poor writing leads to my next flaw in this volume, the characters.
The characterization, once again, is weak. The character developement is once again botched by the irritating narration, as even with Kevin J. Anderson's help, Tom Veitch still can't escape the "show, don't tell" trap. There are two romances in this comic and they both come out of nowhere. You don't feel any chemistry between the characters involved because a) the characterization is bland and b) the writing is so bad so there is no buildup. There is also a character that dies, but I felt less emotion than I should have because even though he was important, he was underdeveloped.
A new character is introduced in Exar Kun, and his characterization is all over the place. The poor writing on him made me feel like he flip flopped every other page and it was awkward and confusing for me to follow his character.
THE GOOD: A few improvements were made that makes this a decent sequel: even though it is very flawed, it makes a few slight improvements to The Collection.
First and foremost, the art has gotten a pretty good upgrade. The artist remained the same, but they got a much better colorist and the panels have a much more vibrant color scheme, and are hence much more appealing to look at. I still haven't gotten used to Nomi Sunrider's sudden change in hair color in "The Freedon Nadd Uprising", but the characters consistently look great, the backgrounds are more detailed, and the action is more exciting.
Despite the very poor execution, I can appreciate that the writers at least tried to develop these characters. Sure I hate it that they narrated it, but the character progression, especially for good old Nomi Sunrider, was compelling and made sense.
The plot was also improved, feeling more epic and more suspenseful, even if the awful writing detracted from it.
THE CONCLUSION: Dark Lords of the Sith caries the same children's bedtime fable feel to it like the last one did, with the theoretically fantastic plot line and the simple yet relateable characters that we the readers can project outselves onto. It still isn't a great comic because it mostly fails to fix the bad writing and underdeveloped characters, but I still enjoyed it.
This volume as seemingly cemented Tales of the Jedi as one of my ultimate guilty pleasures. I look forward to continuing on to the next volume, The Sith War. Perhaps with Tom Veitch handing the reigns over to Kevin J. Anderson, the force will be stronger with this series. But if it isn't, I will be perfectly happy to continue on with more guilty pleasures in the Jedi order's legendary past.
The arcs in Tales of the Jedi: The Collection are rather dated. The stories and lore are cool, especially for the time they first came out, but those good aspects are overwhelmingly negated by Tom Veitch's awful writing style, the weak characterization, and the so-so artwork. Despite the problems, something about that first comic made me enjoy reading it and want to continue through the series. My final conclusion was that this series will probably end up being one of my guilty pleasures.
I feel like Kevin J. Anderson's assistanced did very little to improve the series, as my feelings on Dark Lords of the Sith are basically the same as the last. I still enjoyed this volume as a guilty pleasure but it is still very flawed.
THE STORY: Following their victory on Onderon, the Jedi plan out how they are going to triumph over the Dark Side, which has taken the form of the Krath in the Empress Teta System. Ulic desides he can destroy the Krath by learning their secrets and going under cover.
Meanwhile, Jedi Knight Exar Kun goes on a quest to learn more about the Dark Side and the sith, but his insatiable thirst for knowledge may take him to a point of no return.
THE BAD: This comic inherits many of the same problems of its predecessor.
Once again the largest problem by far is the writing. I have already ranted repeatedly on how much I despise narration in comic books. While the narration is not quite as bad here as it was before, it is still obnoxious, distracting, and could have been better conveyed through art and character dialogue. The poor writing leads to my next flaw in this volume, the characters.
The characterization, once again, is weak. The character developement is once again botched by the irritating narration, as even with Kevin J. Anderson's help, Tom Veitch still can't escape the "show, don't tell" trap. There are two romances in this comic and they both come out of nowhere. You don't feel any chemistry between the characters involved because a) the characterization is bland and b) the writing is so bad so there is no buildup. There is also a character that dies, but I felt less emotion than I should have because even though he was important, he was underdeveloped.
A new character is introduced in Exar Kun, and his characterization is all over the place. The poor writing on him made me feel like he flip flopped every other page and it was awkward and confusing for me to follow his character.
THE GOOD: A few improvements were made that makes this a decent sequel: even though it is very flawed, it makes a few slight improvements to The Collection.
First and foremost, the art has gotten a pretty good upgrade. The artist remained the same, but they got a much better colorist and the panels have a much more vibrant color scheme, and are hence much more appealing to look at. I still haven't gotten used to Nomi Sunrider's sudden change in hair color in "The Freedon Nadd Uprising", but the characters consistently look great, the backgrounds are more detailed, and the action is more exciting.
Despite the very poor execution, I can appreciate that the writers at least tried to develop these characters. Sure I hate it that they narrated it, but the character progression, especially for good old Nomi Sunrider, was compelling and made sense.
The plot was also improved, feeling more epic and more suspenseful, even if the awful writing detracted from it.
THE CONCLUSION: Dark Lords of the Sith caries the same children's bedtime fable feel to it like the last one did, with the theoretically fantastic plot line and the simple yet relateable characters that we the readers can project outselves onto. It still isn't a great comic because it mostly fails to fix the bad writing and underdeveloped characters, but I still enjoyed it.
This volume as seemingly cemented Tales of the Jedi as one of my ultimate guilty pleasures. I look forward to continuing on to the next volume, The Sith War. Perhaps with Tom Veitch handing the reigns over to Kevin J. Anderson, the force will be stronger with this series. But if it isn't, I will be perfectly happy to continue on with more guilty pleasures in the Jedi order's legendary past.
May 30, 2024
Początek prawdziwej space opery. Świetnie śledzi się inspiracje twórców kotora.
February 2, 2021
The world building is great but the writing is sub par and the characters are one-dimensional. Exar Kun and Sith shenanigans are fun though.
June 27, 2022
I would have rated this one 3 stars because I really loved the clean cut artwork with the simple coloring and had a dose of 90s art-style nostalgia filled with a good guy turn bad guy (Exar Kun) who looks like he's going to eventually do lots of damage (and I hope so too).. but the Jedis here, again, are so dumb that it's not even funny. From the decisions they make, their choices and the things they say, the dialogue and everything between is like watching a bunch of 5 year olds run around.
Other than that, the ending sucked too. I didn't like it at all, cringe-worthy to say the least.
Oh well.. Here's hoping the Sith War is going to redeem everything in the Tales of the Jedi series.
Other than that, the ending sucked too. I didn't like it at all, cringe-worthy to say the least.
Oh well.. Here's hoping the Sith War is going to redeem everything in the Tales of the Jedi series.
December 3, 2019
Malevolent dark forces are on the rise yet again. On one end we have young nobility from Empress Teta system forming the brotherhood of darkness - Krath - and taking over power in system. Their goal is non other than conquering of the republic for the pure joy of sadistic rampage across stars and their spiritual leader is none other than Freedon Nadd.
On other end we have powerful Jedi Exar Kun getting seduced by the tales of Dark Jedi's and their conquests. Dismissed by Jedi masters who sense great danger in him he will seek the mysteries of the Sith and find much more than he bargained for.
And then we have Jedi's, mighty protectors of the Republic. Unlike Jedi from the modern era, Jedi's of the old were much more rational when it comes to the handling Force wielders that seek glory and power. Masters are there to provide council and guidance but if knight decides to follow the treacherous path of the Dark Side he is left to his own devices. Knight needs to decide where his true allegiance lies - one cannot escape his own desires.
And this is exactly what happens to Ulic Qel-Droma. Driven by need to fight Dark Side at any place he will fall under the influence of the Krath society and soon find himself fighting alongside Exar Kun as they unleash all-out war against the Republic and Jedi.
This is epic story, full of legendary Jedi's fighting equally legendary Dark Jedi's and Sith Lords. As casualties start to grow it is left to be seen how will Republic recover and will the blight of the Dark Side finally be put under control.
Art is wonderful in the first three quarters of the book. Panels of the Jedi assembly on Deneb and battles with Krath war droids are truly amazing. Last quarter is standard action comic drawing of the 90's, it did not ruin the experience for me but when compared to the rest of the book differences were more than obvious.
Recommended to fans of Star Wars and SF/Fantasy in general.
On other end we have powerful Jedi Exar Kun getting seduced by the tales of Dark Jedi's and their conquests. Dismissed by Jedi masters who sense great danger in him he will seek the mysteries of the Sith and find much more than he bargained for.
And then we have Jedi's, mighty protectors of the Republic. Unlike Jedi from the modern era, Jedi's of the old were much more rational when it comes to the handling Force wielders that seek glory and power. Masters are there to provide council and guidance but if knight decides to follow the treacherous path of the Dark Side he is left to his own devices. Knight needs to decide where his true allegiance lies - one cannot escape his own desires.
And this is exactly what happens to Ulic Qel-Droma. Driven by need to fight Dark Side at any place he will fall under the influence of the Krath society and soon find himself fighting alongside Exar Kun as they unleash all-out war against the Republic and Jedi.
This is epic story, full of legendary Jedi's fighting equally legendary Dark Jedi's and Sith Lords. As casualties start to grow it is left to be seen how will Republic recover and will the blight of the Dark Side finally be put under control.
Art is wonderful in the first three quarters of the book. Panels of the Jedi assembly on Deneb and battles with Krath war droids are truly amazing. Last quarter is standard action comic drawing of the 90's, it did not ruin the experience for me but when compared to the rest of the book differences were more than obvious.
Recommended to fans of Star Wars and SF/Fantasy in general.
April 19, 2024
I'm unsure how to rate this. In terms of technical execution, its not great. Art is better then some of the previous arcs (Ulic is not green) but that's not saying much. The characters are very archetypical, and the plot is too big for six issues. But I personally really like it. Its a sweeping story with lore, cool fights, and ridiculously overpowered force feats.
In post prequel era Star Wars I think the franchise has sometimes struggled with handling the Jedi. While I like the more nuanced and less heroic look a lot of the stories take them, its nice in this to see a story where they don't suck. Also, while the characters are archetypical, they do, like, actually feel emotion. Something I very much dislike about the Jedi across the franchise thats especially prevalent in the Tim Truman comics released after the Tales of the Jedi series, is that the Jedi are presented as emotionless. They suppress their emotions and have boring monologues about it. The problem with making your characters always suppressing emotion is... well, emotionless characters aren't interesting! And in the stories I'm talking about the Jedi aren't presented in a cool, stoic way either. This older series circumvents that to a large extent imo.
Another note, this series is somewhat cheesy, but I kind of enjoy this aspect. Its not so campy that you can't take it seriously, like the fun but a bit exhausting old marvel series. Later star wars stories about Jedi falling to the dark side are often thoughtful (for star wars) explorations of a characters frustrations with the Jedi. Not so here. Exar Kun turns evil after a Sith ghost threatens him with death unless he joins him, and I think Ulic Qel Droma gets injected with sithy stuff that makes him go bad. Its been a while. Anyway, I enjoy this approach because it reminds me of the things I would do in the crazy lego stories I'd make up when I was a kid. Overall, this volume is good, at least to me, and I quite like it.
In post prequel era Star Wars I think the franchise has sometimes struggled with handling the Jedi. While I like the more nuanced and less heroic look a lot of the stories take them, its nice in this to see a story where they don't suck. Also, while the characters are archetypical, they do, like, actually feel emotion. Something I very much dislike about the Jedi across the franchise thats especially prevalent in the Tim Truman comics released after the Tales of the Jedi series, is that the Jedi are presented as emotionless. They suppress their emotions and have boring monologues about it. The problem with making your characters always suppressing emotion is... well, emotionless characters aren't interesting! And in the stories I'm talking about the Jedi aren't presented in a cool, stoic way either. This older series circumvents that to a large extent imo.
Another note, this series is somewhat cheesy, but I kind of enjoy this aspect. Its not so campy that you can't take it seriously, like the fun but a bit exhausting old marvel series. Later star wars stories about Jedi falling to the dark side are often thoughtful (for star wars) explorations of a characters frustrations with the Jedi. Not so here. Exar Kun turns evil after a Sith ghost threatens him with death unless he joins him, and I think Ulic Qel Droma gets injected with sithy stuff that makes him go bad. Its been a while. Anyway, I enjoy this approach because it reminds me of the things I would do in the crazy lego stories I'd make up when I was a kid. Overall, this volume is good, at least to me, and I quite like it.
read-series-wars
February 18, 2024I was able to view the issue at the end (which was drawn by a different artist than the initial issues) through more objective eyes than I'd feared. Yes, overall, the esthetics annoy me. The colour palette is rather limited and really sets it apart from the rest of the volume -- there's too much pink and purple, and too little colour diversity. (E.g., the uniforms of the Republic/Onderonian beast commandos and those of the Cinnagar military have the same colours.) And in stark contrast to other parts of the TotJ comics, most technology (hardware in general; but especially the starships) seems to have been drawn rather quickly and rsembles a sketch-like style w/o any detail to speak of. But there are good aspects to it, as well. The characters seem very different (which is not too good, either) but their facial expressions and body language are heavily articulated, and there is a lot of diversity to both of those elements. So, while still not a fan, at least I've been able to see some nice stuff in the final pages of "Dark Lords".
February 5, 2017
I'm always bummed when the artwork changes for the last 1/6 of the book, but otherwise this is a great read. The extent to which authors Veitch and Anderson collaborated is evident, as these stories dovetail perfectly with the Jedi Academy-era novels (and Young/Junior Jedi Knight series) and the "Golden Age of the Sith" and "Fall of the Sith Empire" and "Dark Empire II" comics.
This book picks up where the Freedon Nadd duology leaves off, and builds up to the next series, "The Sith War."
Some of my favorite EU characters are introduced in this series, from Odan Urr to Vodo Baas to Ood Bnar to Qrrrl Toq, the alien races are imaginative and compelling. I only lament than the main characters had to be, as usual, human.
Aside from my few minor quibbles with the artwork, this book remains, twenty years later, one of my favorite Star Wars comics.
This book picks up where the Freedon Nadd duology leaves off, and builds up to the next series, "The Sith War."
Some of my favorite EU characters are introduced in this series, from Odan Urr to Vodo Baas to Ood Bnar to Qrrrl Toq, the alien races are imaginative and compelling. I only lament than the main characters had to be, as usual, human.
Aside from my few minor quibbles with the artwork, this book remains, twenty years later, one of my favorite Star Wars comics.
March 9, 2020
I give it a 7.5/8.
This story really feels like a second episode in a trilogy, without a beginning or an end. It got me really excited while reading the first pages, there's a lot of action and many threads in motion. It gives you the feeling that the galaxy is in chaos and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Sure, the story loses momentum and it won't pick up until the end. For those who have a notion about this era in the Star Wars universe, either by playing games or reading other graphic novels, know that there's a lot about to unfold.
I'd recommend this book to all Star Wars fans, specially those who love the Old Republic stories and more if you've read the stories before this one. I'd recommend reading "Tales of the Jedi 3 - Knights of the Old Republic" and "Tales of the Jedi 4 - The Freedon Nadd Uprising" before reading this one.
This story really feels like a second episode in a trilogy, without a beginning or an end. It got me really excited while reading the first pages, there's a lot of action and many threads in motion. It gives you the feeling that the galaxy is in chaos and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Sure, the story loses momentum and it won't pick up until the end. For those who have a notion about this era in the Star Wars universe, either by playing games or reading other graphic novels, know that there's a lot about to unfold.
I'd recommend this book to all Star Wars fans, specially those who love the Old Republic stories and more if you've read the stories before this one. I'd recommend reading "Tales of the Jedi 3 - Knights of the Old Republic" and "Tales of the Jedi 4 - The Freedon Nadd Uprising" before reading this one.
February 12, 2020
The story often times lacks any coherent direction (lingering on inconsequential details and characters, while the important stuff remains underdeveloped) and many plot elements prove to be utterly pointless (like the last battle sequence), but the main issue here is the bad art. I don't know if Christian Gossett was overworked and that's why he took shortcuts or he simply lacks the skill to produce the most basic level of quality, but this was probably the ugliest Star Wars volume I have read to date and certainly the worst looking one in the Tales of the Jedi series. The only redeeming quality of the book is the portrayal of Exar Kun's journey to the Dark Side and even that could have been handled better.
February 19, 2022
3.5🌟/5🌟 Trochu se ta série zlepšuje a nebyl to takový pain číst, jako poslední krátký díl. Vlastně jsem si to naopak i dost užila. I když ta kresba a výpravěcí rámečky....ble. Ale hlavně postavy už nejsou jako lvi, co se perou v dokumentu, jak jsem zmiňovala u předchozího dílu. Mají nějakou plastiku (i když stále docela malou, ale je to stylizované do pohádky/legendy/mýtu, stačí to). Hlavně mě jako spoustu dalších zaujala nová postava a to sice Exar Kun. Plus se mi u tohohle komiksu líbí nádech Asie (hlavně Čínské a Japonské kultury) co se týče oblékání, brnění a tak podobně. Ano, celý SW svět hodně vychází z Japonské a Čínské kultury, tohle pomrknutí se mi ale líbilo.
December 26, 2015
Star Wars Legends Project #9
Background: Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith was released in six issues from October '94 to March '95, and was released as a trade paperback in February of '96. It was co-written by Tom Veitch and Kevin J. Anderson and mostly pencilled by Christian Gossett, with the final issue by Art Wetherell. Wetherell's only other Star Wars work was on a series about Jabba the Hutt that appeared shortly after this. He has worked on various other comics, including a Transformers series, but most of his work appears to be in various "Adult" comics, which (I presume from their titles and the "Adults Only" label) are pornographic in nature. Didn't even know that was a thing. Anyway . . .
Dark Lords of the Sith takes place about a year after The Freedon Nadd Uprising (my review here), about 3,997 years before the Battle of Yavin. All of the remaining Jedi from the previous series return here. This includes Jedi Master Odan-Urr, who previously appeared in the first two Tales of the Jedi comics (set 5,000 BBY), and is now the Jedi librarian on Ossus, and well over 1,000 years old, as well as the spirit of Dark Jedi Freedon Nadd. A few other "new" arrivals are the Jedi Exar Kun, who is one of the major villains in Anderson's Jedi Academy Trilogy and his later-referenced master Vodo-Siosk Baas. So, connections abound.
Summary: Flush with their victory on Onderon, the Jedi heroes of the Freedon Nadd Uprising find their triumph short-lived. Nadd has extended his power to the Empress Teta system through two new Sith apprentices who have murdered their ruling parents and begun a brutal regime of evil. The combined forces of the Jedi and the Republic quickly dispatch a fleet to deal with the Tetans, led by Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider. Meanwhile, Jedi Apprentice Exar Kun ignores the will of his master on a quest to delve into the ancient secrets of the Sith and the dark side of the Force.
Review: So, after several hiccups and false starts, I finally, really feel like I'm in the middle of an awesome, epic story . . . Which is mostly set-up for an even more awesome, epic story (if the next series can live up to this promise). I spent most of this comic feeling a bit ambivalent about the switching back and forth between Exar Kun's storyline and the actual main plot, but when it all finally came together at the end, I was completely satisfied.
It helped that Kun's story was actually really well-done, and certainly his character arc was more compelling than Ulic Qel-Droma's in this case. I was somewhat less than convinced by his trajectory, and particularly by his reasoning and the failure of the thousands of other Jedi present to meaningfully intervene in what was obviously a bad idea. But the inexplicable stupidity of the Jedi isn't so much a problem that is unique to this comic. It's actually, frustratingly, quite common . . . and all the more annoying because the dumb stuff they often do is usually all wrapped up inside a load of pseudo-philosophical horse manure that's supposed to sound wise and profound.
Which is why, in this story, we hear the Jedi masters proclaim that it is any individual Jedi's choice to follow the dark side if they wish, and other Jedi must not interfere. Nevermind that the only outcome of this choice is that the Jedi in question goes mad with evil and power and kills a bunch of people and has to be hunted down and destroyed by the other Jedi who stood aside and let them make that choice in the first place. So, yeah . . . "It's your choice, and we won't forcibly stop you. But we are going to have to kill you for it later." Makes sense.
It's all part of this recurring theme of a Jedi Order that basically feels that its individual members and their lives carry more value than those of the galaxy's non-Jedi, and which is essentially blind to whatever they're doing wrong that keeps resulting in some of its best and brightest turning to the dark side. I wonder if this a theme that I'll keep seeing throughout the Expanded Universe leading up to the time of the films, and I wonder how much it's just bad writing and how much it's intentional. I'll also be interested to pay attention to how much the writing of Luke's post-trilogy Jedi falls prey to these same issues, or not.
But now I've wandered a bit clear of reviewing this comic, and into other considerations. That's not because there's nothing worth saying about it, though it is a bit because most of what's worth saying could be considered spoiler-ish. So, I'll leave it at a definite recommendation for Dark Lords of the Sith, and I'm very excited to see whether the next chapter delivers on the promise of this one.
B+
Background: Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith was released in six issues from October '94 to March '95, and was released as a trade paperback in February of '96. It was co-written by Tom Veitch and Kevin J. Anderson and mostly pencilled by Christian Gossett, with the final issue by Art Wetherell. Wetherell's only other Star Wars work was on a series about Jabba the Hutt that appeared shortly after this. He has worked on various other comics, including a Transformers series, but most of his work appears to be in various "Adult" comics, which (I presume from their titles and the "Adults Only" label) are pornographic in nature. Didn't even know that was a thing. Anyway . . .
Dark Lords of the Sith takes place about a year after The Freedon Nadd Uprising (my review here), about 3,997 years before the Battle of Yavin. All of the remaining Jedi from the previous series return here. This includes Jedi Master Odan-Urr, who previously appeared in the first two Tales of the Jedi comics (set 5,000 BBY), and is now the Jedi librarian on Ossus, and well over 1,000 years old, as well as the spirit of Dark Jedi Freedon Nadd. A few other "new" arrivals are the Jedi Exar Kun, who is one of the major villains in Anderson's Jedi Academy Trilogy and his later-referenced master Vodo-Siosk Baas. So, connections abound.
Summary: Flush with their victory on Onderon, the Jedi heroes of the Freedon Nadd Uprising find their triumph short-lived. Nadd has extended his power to the Empress Teta system through two new Sith apprentices who have murdered their ruling parents and begun a brutal regime of evil. The combined forces of the Jedi and the Republic quickly dispatch a fleet to deal with the Tetans, led by Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider. Meanwhile, Jedi Apprentice Exar Kun ignores the will of his master on a quest to delve into the ancient secrets of the Sith and the dark side of the Force.
Review: So, after several hiccups and false starts, I finally, really feel like I'm in the middle of an awesome, epic story . . . Which is mostly set-up for an even more awesome, epic story (if the next series can live up to this promise). I spent most of this comic feeling a bit ambivalent about the switching back and forth between Exar Kun's storyline and the actual main plot, but when it all finally came together at the end, I was completely satisfied.
It helped that Kun's story was actually really well-done, and certainly his character arc was more compelling than Ulic Qel-Droma's in this case. I was somewhat less than convinced by his trajectory, and particularly by his reasoning and the failure of the thousands of other Jedi present to meaningfully intervene in what was obviously a bad idea. But the inexplicable stupidity of the Jedi isn't so much a problem that is unique to this comic. It's actually, frustratingly, quite common . . . and all the more annoying because the dumb stuff they often do is usually all wrapped up inside a load of pseudo-philosophical horse manure that's supposed to sound wise and profound.
Which is why, in this story, we hear the Jedi masters proclaim that it is any individual Jedi's choice to follow the dark side if they wish, and other Jedi must not interfere. Nevermind that the only outcome of this choice is that the Jedi in question goes mad with evil and power and kills a bunch of people and has to be hunted down and destroyed by the other Jedi who stood aside and let them make that choice in the first place. So, yeah . . . "It's your choice, and we won't forcibly stop you. But we are going to have to kill you for it later." Makes sense.
It's all part of this recurring theme of a Jedi Order that basically feels that its individual members and their lives carry more value than those of the galaxy's non-Jedi, and which is essentially blind to whatever they're doing wrong that keeps resulting in some of its best and brightest turning to the dark side. I wonder if this a theme that I'll keep seeing throughout the Expanded Universe leading up to the time of the films, and I wonder how much it's just bad writing and how much it's intentional. I'll also be interested to pay attention to how much the writing of Luke's post-trilogy Jedi falls prey to these same issues, or not.
But now I've wandered a bit clear of reviewing this comic, and into other considerations. That's not because there's nothing worth saying about it, though it is a bit because most of what's worth saying could be considered spoiler-ish. So, I'll leave it at a definite recommendation for Dark Lords of the Sith, and I'm very excited to see whether the next chapter delivers on the promise of this one.
B+
August 20, 2018
I liked it better than the previous Tales of the Jedi story, The Freedon Nadd Uprising. Dark Lords of the Sith was more eventful and the characters were better explored. Nevertheless, the storyline still did not feel too essential within this universe and it repeats a lot of themes that are already explored within the Star Wars films themselves, many times over. While enjoyable, I'd like to see other directions explored.
May 28, 2019
As with the rest of this seres the artwork is woefully lacking. The story, however, is focused more on the characters than the events making it more intimate. Certainly, the Jedi learn the art of hubris in this one.
Unfortunately, the limited material here is stretched quite thin over the six comics which, coupled with the basic artwork, makes this one of the less engaging stories of the series.
Unfortunately, the limited material here is stretched quite thin over the six comics which, coupled with the basic artwork, makes this one of the less engaging stories of the series.
November 6, 2024
Jest w tym świetny pomysł i coś urzekającego, ale jednocześnie wykonanie ssie. Zbyt wiele rzeczy wydaje się nie być "story-based" i zbyt wiele rzeczy dzieje sie z dupy, losowo, nie klimatycznie i nie zrozumiale. Sandek powiedział kiedyś "An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic". Ja za paczke Laysów (a są drogie fest) nie pojmuję działania Mocy w tych komiksach. Ona sie po prostu dzieje
May 23, 2019
These graphic novels keep improving with every collection. The story is much stronger in this one, and while the art shifts quite a bit, it's overall very good. Nomi and the other Jedi are still very irritating in this one since they literally break their own plans multiple times throughout this story. That inconsistency is very annoying.
January 30, 2024
The storytelling in this edition ramps up to eleven! Kevin J Anderson and Tom Veitch absolutely knock it out of the park and give the reader some utterly heartbreaking scenes between brothers, lovers, and friends. This collection solidifies Tales of the Jedi as one of the best Star Wars stories every put to paper.
P.S. they hilariously illustrated someone flipping off with their pinky.
P.S. they hilariously illustrated someone flipping off with their pinky.
September 4, 2020
It was ok. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Fills in some gaps in Jedi ancient history, some of Exar Kun and his rise. Not a must-read, but interesting, if you're a completionist. The artwork was so-so (the prequels were better with the art).
October 11, 2017
6: just ok
December 7, 2017
Re-read
February 13, 2021
Good read but some big plot holes
November 15, 2021
The writing and art improved a lot.
May 7, 2022
Excellent
Read
September 22, 2022No stars DNF
My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:
https://youtu.be/oAathIRY07k
Enjoy!
My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:
https://youtu.be/oAathIRY07k
Enjoy!
November 3, 2022
Decent story. Like seeing the cross over with the Jedi Academy series. The art is a little dated, but isn't the worst. A good continuation of the Tales of the Jedi series.
July 15, 2023
The art style is not my favorite, but the story is relatively interesting.
September 18, 2023
It truly feels like a legend, with all the broad strokes and great scope that implies
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