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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Vol. 2: Flashpoint
Nearly four thousand years before the Death Star, fugitive Padawan Zayne Carrick's quest to clear his name for the alleged murder of his fellow Jedi-in-training brings him head to head with the galaxy's most feared fighting force—the Mandalorians!
Along with a petty crook named Gryph and Elbee the grouchy droid, Zayne is a passenger aboard the Last Resort, a renegade ship piloted by the senile genius Camper and his fierce protector Jarael. Together, this motley crew will face kidnappings, hijackings, maniacal scientists, Mandalorian traitors, bumbling bounty-hunting brothers, and a few really big explosions. This volume launches our lovable heroes into one of the most outrageous and exciting adventures since Luke Skywalker learned the ways of the Force!
Collecting: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 7-12
Along with a petty crook named Gryph and Elbee the grouchy droid, Zayne is a passenger aboard the Last Resort, a renegade ship piloted by the senile genius Camper and his fierce protector Jarael. Together, this motley crew will face kidnappings, hijackings, maniacal scientists, Mandalorian traitors, bumbling bounty-hunting brothers, and a few really big explosions. This volume launches our lovable heroes into one of the most outrageous and exciting adventures since Luke Skywalker learned the ways of the Force!
Collecting: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 7-12
144 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2007
11 people are currently reading
687 people want to read
About the author
John Jackson Miller
344 books986 followersNew York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller has spent a lifetime immersed in science fiction. His Star Trek novels include the Discovery – Die Standing, the acclaimed novel Discovery — The Enterprise War, the Prey trilogy, and Takedown. His Star Wars novels include A New Dawn, Kenobi, Knight Errant, Lost Tribe of the Sith, and the Knights of the Old Republic comics, available from Marvel as Legends: The Old Republic.
He’s written comics and prose for Halo, Iron Man, Simpsons, Conan, Planet of the Apes, and Mass Effect, with recent graphic novels for Battlestar Galactica, Dumbo, and The Lion King. Production notes on all his works can be found at his fiction site.
He is also a comics industry historian, specializing in studying comic-book circulation as presented on his website, Comichron.. He also coauthored the Standard Catalog of Comic Books series.
He’s written comics and prose for Halo, Iron Man, Simpsons, Conan, Planet of the Apes, and Mass Effect, with recent graphic novels for Battlestar Galactica, Dumbo, and The Lion King. Production notes on all his works can be found at his fiction site.
He is also a comics industry historian, specializing in studying comic-book circulation as presented on his website, Comichron.. He also coauthored the Standard Catalog of Comic Books series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
March 19, 2015
Zayne Carrick, Marn Heirogryph, Jarael, Camper, and Elbee continue their trek through the galaxy, trying to avoid Master Lucien and his counselors. This time around, the team encounters Mandalorians and plans a daring escape of someone close to their group - and then we learn a bit more about Master Lucien and his fellow Jedi.
This was fantastic. From the first page, I was hooked, and I could barely stop until the very end. I will go so far as to say, I think this was BETTER than volume 1 - which isn't a surprise, because everything has been set up, and characters get a chance to grow and explore.
One thing that stood out to me that I loved in particular: the Moomo Brothers, the Ithorians. In previous Star Wars media, Ithorians have been peaceloving and amicable, content to be on their world and absorb knowledge around them. But the Moomo Brothers are the exact opposite - they are HILARIOUSLY stupid (and somehow in that perfect comedy way without get stupid stupid), violent, and selfish. I am so very tired of the Star Wars trope of saying ALL aliens of Species X are "insert adjective here". Hutts being mobsters; Twi'Lek slave girls; Rodian morons. The list goes on. But here, I start to see a variety amongst the species, something I've been clamoring for since forever.
The art, the characters, the story - all top notch. We see a few new characters (Rohlan the Mandalorian, who somehow became one of my favorite characters) and then some cameos from the game. So keep your eyes open!
I really don't have much more to say (unless you want another 6 paragraphs of my gushing) other than I enjoyed this so much, and I am moving directly to volume 3!
This was fantastic. From the first page, I was hooked, and I could barely stop until the very end. I will go so far as to say, I think this was BETTER than volume 1 - which isn't a surprise, because everything has been set up, and characters get a chance to grow and explore.
One thing that stood out to me that I loved in particular: the Moomo Brothers, the Ithorians. In previous Star Wars media, Ithorians have been peaceloving and amicable, content to be on their world and absorb knowledge around them. But the Moomo Brothers are the exact opposite - they are HILARIOUSLY stupid (and somehow in that perfect comedy way without get stupid stupid), violent, and selfish. I am so very tired of the Star Wars trope of saying ALL aliens of Species X are "insert adjective here". Hutts being mobsters; Twi'Lek slave girls; Rodian morons. The list goes on. But here, I start to see a variety amongst the species, something I've been clamoring for since forever.
The art, the characters, the story - all top notch. We see a few new characters (Rohlan the Mandalorian, who somehow became one of my favorite characters) and then some cameos from the game. So keep your eyes open!
I really don't have much more to say (unless you want another 6 paragraphs of my gushing) other than I enjoyed this so much, and I am moving directly to volume 3!
February 5, 2022
This was quite fun!
Zayne is on the run with his crew but when Jaraela is captured by some Mandalorians, he teams up with Rholan Pyre, one of the rogue mandalorians and they fight the evil mandalorians and rescue the Jedi and Jaraela and also Zayne gets to play the role of the evil scientist Demagol (the one experimenting on the Jedi captured there) and that was fun and I love the whole escape story and kinda shows fun adventures of the team.
Plus another story with thr origin of Lucien Draay and its quite sad like how he was ignored by his mother in favor of the seers and like explains his current mission, a little and well another story where Zayne's father is captured by Moomo Brothers (bounty hunters) on mission of one of Lucien's Consulars, its upto Zayne and his crew to infiltrate that place and save his father and big moment between father and son and mission affirmation and he does something to sort of protect them!
Its an amazing volume and I love the character work here and involving the mandalorians and then the stuff with LUCIEN and his origin was awesome, enriching the enmity between Master and Padawan and increasing the complexities and showing there is more story here than others. Awesome stuff all around.
Zayne is on the run with his crew but when Jaraela is captured by some Mandalorians, he teams up with Rholan Pyre, one of the rogue mandalorians and they fight the evil mandalorians and rescue the Jedi and Jaraela and also Zayne gets to play the role of the evil scientist Demagol (the one experimenting on the Jedi captured there) and that was fun and I love the whole escape story and kinda shows fun adventures of the team.
Plus another story with thr origin of Lucien Draay and its quite sad like how he was ignored by his mother in favor of the seers and like explains his current mission, a little and well another story where Zayne's father is captured by Moomo Brothers (bounty hunters) on mission of one of Lucien's Consulars, its upto Zayne and his crew to infiltrate that place and save his father and big moment between father and son and mission affirmation and he does something to sort of protect them!
Its an amazing volume and I love the character work here and involving the mandalorians and then the stuff with LUCIEN and his origin was awesome, enriching the enmity between Master and Padawan and increasing the complexities and showing there is more story here than others. Awesome stuff all around.
January 2, 2020
Whenever the Mandalorians show up - in the old canon or the new - they're just about the best thing in it. We need more of them, less Jedi.
May 26, 2022
Really liked it!
Continues to be interesting and fun as hell to read, a real page-turner and you just want to find out everything about all main and little plots there is. Even the secondary characters are interesting to read. But it's mostly the story that's really good and the feeling of how the whole plot unfolds while reading. Awesome stuff.
Great captivating story and solid artwork!
Something tells me this is going to be a great run. Highly recommended for Star Wars fans and for sci-fi fans alike.
Continues to be interesting and fun as hell to read, a real page-turner and you just want to find out everything about all main and little plots there is. Even the secondary characters are interesting to read. But it's mostly the story that's really good and the feeling of how the whole plot unfolds while reading. Awesome stuff.
Great captivating story and solid artwork!
Something tells me this is going to be a great run. Highly recommended for Star Wars fans and for sci-fi fans alike.
May 25, 2022
My reread continues with the completion of the second volume of the KOTOR comics!
Originally I found this to be somewhat of a step down from Vol. 1: Commencement, and while I still maintain that, I do like "Flashpoint" better on my most recent reread.
This volume is split into two story arcs: The first one is the 4-part "Flashpoint" (Issues 7-10), and the second is the 2-part "Reunion (Issues 11-12)
THE STORY: "Flashpoint" continues right from where "Commencement" left off. After fleeing Taris in the Last Resort, Zayne, Marn, Jarael, Camper, and Ellbee wind up on Vanquo, where the Mandalorians attack. Jarael is captured and winds up at Flashpoint station, and the rest of the party work to rescue her.
An interlude within "Flashpoint" cuts to Lucien Draay and the other four jedi masters, taking a chance to expand on their backstory and flesh out their motivations. This also marks the first in-story appearance of an iconic character from the original Star Wars Expanded Universe !
"Reunion" makes for a change of pace as the team works to pull off a bank heist on Telerath. Jarael and Camper go undercover as nobles, with Zayne and Marn coordinating from the Last Resort. They run into a pair of bounty hunters as well as a figure from Zayne's past.
THE BAD: For the volume as a whole, there's not much I can complain about. While again, not as good as "Commencement", the second volume of the KOTOR comics is still a fantastic continuation for the series.
If I really had to nitpick, it's that the plot for "Flashpoint" (aside from the interlude) is largely an episodic adventure of the week. It certainly sets up important plot recurring plot points, introduces Rohlan Dyre (a character who will play a bigger role later in the series), and plants the first seeds of mystery when it comes to Jarael, but Zayne Carrick himself doesn't really develop in this arc. We don't learn anything new about him.
If I had to nitpick "Reunion" it's that Jarael and Camper don't get much to do after the first couple of pages, despite Jarael getting a moment of badassery in a dress.
THE GOOD: Overall, Volume 2 is still great, and better than I originally realized.
Starting with "Flashpoint", there's still some great stuff here. First is the worldbuilding- it is here where we get to see the true start of the Mandalorian Wars, and it offers a compelling explanation as to why Zayne Carrick's capture didn't become a higher priority for the Republic as a whole.
Flashpoint also helps to flesh out the Mandalorians through the introduction of two new characters: Demagol and Rohlan Dyre. In their own ways, we see that not all Mandalorians are bloodthirsty warriors addicted to battle. Rohlan shows us that not every Mandalorian was on board with their war with the Republic, and he is one of the few to realize that something about his people's aggression was... a bit off. Demagol is a fun villain with a creepy presence whenever he appears on the page- and he shows us that some mandalorians are more than just badass brawlers with his way of contributing to the war effort.
This is also a really solid introduction for Squint (not counting his first chronological appearance in Issue #0). Knowing where the direction of his character goes, it was a smart idea on John Jackson Miller's part to make him so likeable and strong here, and it offers a compelling foundation for the rest of the developments he will receive in later arcs.
The real standout for "Flashpoint" is Issue #9, an interlude that cuts over to Lucien Draay and the other masters from the Taris council. This is an interlude done right- yes it doesn't feature our main characters, but the characters that are focused on directly relate to the main story. "Homecoming" gives us the chance to really focus in on the villains in this comic, particularly Lucien Draay. Through his struggles with relating to his mother and her attendant, Haazen, we get a really compelling glimpse as to why he lead Q'anila, Feln, Raana Tey, and Xamar down the path he did. It also greatly fleshes out the dynamic he has with the other four masters, providing further context to his emotional turmoil. Finally, it gives us a subtle appearance of a fan favorite character .
Even though it doesn't reach the heights of the previous story arc, Miller's writing is still great in Flashpoint. The dialogue is still top notch and most of the humor works well. I also love the artwork, despite the absence of Brian Ching in issues #7-8 and issue #10. While Michael Atiyeh stays on as the colorist, Ching was replaced for most of "Flashpoint" by Dustin Weaver- who is more than capable for the job.
And of course, Brian Ching's collaborations with Michael Atiyeh in these comics never fail to be amazing. "Homecoming" is no different.
Next there's "Reunion", and this was a really strong pair of issues for is comic.
Starting off with the writing, it is HILARIOUS. While almost every story arc in these comics have their funny moments, "Reunion" is particularly comedic in tone and John Jackson Miller nails it. The Moomo Brothers are a pair of characters who could have easily gone so terribly wrong and ended up on the annoying side, but these new characters straddle the line perfectly. They are quite inept and stupid, but gain- Miller makes them a delight on the page without crossing the line. I think the Moomos work for two reasons-
1) They still pose a physical threat to our heroes, especially Zayne Carrick. Thanks to Zayne's already established shortcomings, they are just threatening enough to not make this adventure boring. Zayne and Marn still need to put effort into preparing a scheme to win the day here, so their eventual victory feels earned despite how inept the Moomos actually are (and the comic is aware of this).
2) Once again, Miller's writing. His dialogue and the scenarios he comes up with are so entertaining and funny that it somehow works. Again, the comic acknowledges that the Moomos are not very competent bounty hunters but the writing works in a way that makes me laugh WITH it, instead of AT it.
That being said, "Reunion" picks up a lot of slack from "Flashpoint" in the development of Zayne Carrick. We get to see more aspects of his personality that reinforces how layered he is as a character. While "Reunion" is more comedic in tone, Miller finds room for some emotionally poignant moments for Zayne that show how selfless and likeable he is. That being said, we also see that he can be assertive when necessary too. Zayne Carrick may not be very skilled in combat or with the force, but I always will root for him.
And once again, the artwork is excellent. Brian Ching and Michael Atiyeh provide the visuals for issue #11, but for some reason they couldn't cover issue #12. Despite this, Harvey Tolibao and Jay David Ramos do a pretty good job in their place.
THE CONCLUSION: "Flashpoint" gets a 4 stars overall- Issue #9 specifically gets 5 stars, but issues #7-8 and issue #10 gets 3.5 stars. "Reunion" gets 4.5 stars. So the final rating for the 2nd volume of the KOTOR comics is 4.5 stars, rounded down.
These two story arcs are still very high quality comic book storytelling for the Star Wars EU. It doesn't reach the perfectly paced, perfectly written storytelling levels of "Commencement", but I still really loved it. Especially now that I know where the series as a whole goes, "Flashpoint" does a great job setting up various plot threads while fleshing out the Mandalorian War very nicely; "Reunion" packs a surprising amount of wait in adding layers to Zayne Carrick despite being mostly focused on comedy.
What else is there to say? I love the KOTOR comics. Sure this volume isn't quite as good as some of the others, but its still more of my favorite characters and stories in the entire Star Wars legends continuity.
Originally I found this to be somewhat of a step down from Vol. 1: Commencement, and while I still maintain that, I do like "Flashpoint" better on my most recent reread.
This volume is split into two story arcs: The first one is the 4-part "Flashpoint" (Issues 7-10), and the second is the 2-part "Reunion (Issues 11-12)
THE STORY: "Flashpoint" continues right from where "Commencement" left off. After fleeing Taris in the Last Resort, Zayne, Marn, Jarael, Camper, and Ellbee wind up on Vanquo, where the Mandalorians attack. Jarael is captured and winds up at Flashpoint station, and the rest of the party work to rescue her.
An interlude within "Flashpoint" cuts to Lucien Draay and the other four jedi masters, taking a chance to expand on their backstory and flesh out their motivations. This also marks the first in-story appearance of an iconic character from the original Star Wars Expanded Universe !
"Reunion" makes for a change of pace as the team works to pull off a bank heist on Telerath. Jarael and Camper go undercover as nobles, with Zayne and Marn coordinating from the Last Resort. They run into a pair of bounty hunters as well as a figure from Zayne's past.
THE BAD: For the volume as a whole, there's not much I can complain about. While again, not as good as "Commencement", the second volume of the KOTOR comics is still a fantastic continuation for the series.
If I really had to nitpick, it's that the plot for "Flashpoint" (aside from the interlude) is largely an episodic adventure of the week. It certainly sets up important plot recurring plot points, introduces Rohlan Dyre (a character who will play a bigger role later in the series), and plants the first seeds of mystery when it comes to Jarael, but Zayne Carrick himself doesn't really develop in this arc. We don't learn anything new about him.
If I had to nitpick "Reunion" it's that Jarael and Camper don't get much to do after the first couple of pages, despite Jarael getting a moment of badassery in a dress.
THE GOOD: Overall, Volume 2 is still great, and better than I originally realized.
Starting with "Flashpoint", there's still some great stuff here. First is the worldbuilding- it is here where we get to see the true start of the Mandalorian Wars, and it offers a compelling explanation as to why Zayne Carrick's capture didn't become a higher priority for the Republic as a whole.
Flashpoint also helps to flesh out the Mandalorians through the introduction of two new characters: Demagol and Rohlan Dyre. In their own ways, we see that not all Mandalorians are bloodthirsty warriors addicted to battle. Rohlan shows us that not every Mandalorian was on board with their war with the Republic, and he is one of the few to realize that something about his people's aggression was... a bit off. Demagol is a fun villain with a creepy presence whenever he appears on the page- and he shows us that some mandalorians are more than just badass brawlers with his way of contributing to the war effort.
This is also a really solid introduction for Squint (not counting his first chronological appearance in Issue #0). Knowing where the direction of his character goes, it was a smart idea on John Jackson Miller's part to make him so likeable and strong here, and it offers a compelling foundation for the rest of the developments he will receive in later arcs.
The real standout for "Flashpoint" is Issue #9, an interlude that cuts over to Lucien Draay and the other masters from the Taris council. This is an interlude done right- yes it doesn't feature our main characters, but the characters that are focused on directly relate to the main story. "Homecoming" gives us the chance to really focus in on the villains in this comic, particularly Lucien Draay. Through his struggles with relating to his mother and her attendant, Haazen, we get a really compelling glimpse as to why he lead Q'anila, Feln, Raana Tey, and Xamar down the path he did. It also greatly fleshes out the dynamic he has with the other four masters, providing further context to his emotional turmoil. Finally, it gives us a subtle appearance of a fan favorite character .
Even though it doesn't reach the heights of the previous story arc, Miller's writing is still great in Flashpoint. The dialogue is still top notch and most of the humor works well. I also love the artwork, despite the absence of Brian Ching in issues #7-8 and issue #10. While Michael Atiyeh stays on as the colorist, Ching was replaced for most of "Flashpoint" by Dustin Weaver- who is more than capable for the job.
And of course, Brian Ching's collaborations with Michael Atiyeh in these comics never fail to be amazing. "Homecoming" is no different.
Next there's "Reunion", and this was a really strong pair of issues for is comic.
Starting off with the writing, it is HILARIOUS. While almost every story arc in these comics have their funny moments, "Reunion" is particularly comedic in tone and John Jackson Miller nails it. The Moomo Brothers are a pair of characters who could have easily gone so terribly wrong and ended up on the annoying side, but these new characters straddle the line perfectly. They are quite inept and stupid, but gain- Miller makes them a delight on the page without crossing the line. I think the Moomos work for two reasons-
1) They still pose a physical threat to our heroes, especially Zayne Carrick. Thanks to Zayne's already established shortcomings, they are just threatening enough to not make this adventure boring. Zayne and Marn still need to put effort into preparing a scheme to win the day here, so their eventual victory feels earned despite how inept the Moomos actually are (and the comic is aware of this).
2) Once again, Miller's writing. His dialogue and the scenarios he comes up with are so entertaining and funny that it somehow works. Again, the comic acknowledges that the Moomos are not very competent bounty hunters but the writing works in a way that makes me laugh WITH it, instead of AT it.
That being said, "Reunion" picks up a lot of slack from "Flashpoint" in the development of Zayne Carrick. We get to see more aspects of his personality that reinforces how layered he is as a character. While "Reunion" is more comedic in tone, Miller finds room for some emotionally poignant moments for Zayne that show how selfless and likeable he is. That being said, we also see that he can be assertive when necessary too. Zayne Carrick may not be very skilled in combat or with the force, but I always will root for him.
And once again, the artwork is excellent. Brian Ching and Michael Atiyeh provide the visuals for issue #11, but for some reason they couldn't cover issue #12. Despite this, Harvey Tolibao and Jay David Ramos do a pretty good job in their place.
THE CONCLUSION: "Flashpoint" gets a 4 stars overall- Issue #9 specifically gets 5 stars, but issues #7-8 and issue #10 gets 3.5 stars. "Reunion" gets 4.5 stars. So the final rating for the 2nd volume of the KOTOR comics is 4.5 stars, rounded down.
These two story arcs are still very high quality comic book storytelling for the Star Wars EU. It doesn't reach the perfectly paced, perfectly written storytelling levels of "Commencement", but I still really loved it. Especially now that I know where the series as a whole goes, "Flashpoint" does a great job setting up various plot threads while fleshing out the Mandalorian War very nicely; "Reunion" packs a surprising amount of wait in adding layers to Zayne Carrick despite being mostly focused on comedy.
What else is there to say? I love the KOTOR comics. Sure this volume isn't quite as good as some of the others, but its still more of my favorite characters and stories in the entire Star Wars legends continuity.
June 9, 2024
Typowy filler, dowiadujemy się czegoś więcej o głównej intrydze, ale nie na tyle, żeby doszło do jakichś kluczowych rozstrzygnięć w fabule.
August 31, 2015
Flashpoint's artwork may be a little more rough around the edges, but the second installment in the Knights of the Old Republic series delivers an even deeper and more complex story, which begins to explore the fascinating family dynamics in the lives of both Zayne and Master Lucian. Both the illustrations and John Jackson Miller's engaging story unite do create suspense in the most efficient ways, however this combination also brings in a great deal more humour this time around - putting a smile on my face as I'm taken back to hours of glorious banter in The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: The Clone Wars . I'm becoming more and more willing to pay a ridiculous fifteen French euros to purchase the next chapter in this series, as I'm rapidly being pulled more and more into this new gigantic world. Especially with such funny, well constructed and unique characters. I'm also overjoyed this issue featured a surprising amount of war craving, less polished Mandalorians, which is always a welcome addition in my book.
November 24, 2022
This volume contains three arcs: Flashpoint, Homecoming, and Reunion.
Flashpoint
Zayne and friends go to Vanquo, a mining colony on the fringe of Republic controlled space. Gryph knows that frontier camps are easy targets for resources as they aren't well defended. His mastermind couldn't have predicted that the Mandalorians (Mandies) show up out of nowhere. This entire arc was a perfect introduction to the Mandies. Jumping straight into action and completely unexpected. They mistake Jarael for a Jedi and bring her to Flashpoint, a moon deep in Mandalorian space where a scientist named Demagol performs cruel experiments to try to figure out how to understand and counter/weaponize their powers.
Compared to Commencement, this volume really took a more serious tone as Gryph had a smaller role. It is still nice to know that this series takes itself seriously and can tell some amazing stories. The worldbuilding is impeccable. We meet Rohland Dyre who ends up having a big role in later volumes and we get brought up to speed with Squint and his agenda . Flashpoint is a perfect place to conduct such heinous experiments as it is isolated and highly protected by the radiation of the nearby sun. There's a twist that I didn't catch the first time I read this series. On this reread, the clue was definitely there. We also get a glimpse at the Republic side of things through Captain Karath. The Senate doesn't seem to care that the Mandies are taking over neutral systems (like Vanquo) and gaining strength. Politicians don't seem to understand that APATHY IS DEATH!
We meet new people, see new places, learn more about existing characters and Zayne's transition from Padawan to henchman is just beginning. Bravo! 5 stars!
Homecoming
Taking a step away from Zayne and friends to develop the villains - the Jedi Covenant. We go back in time to the Draay estate where momma Krynda is training the Covenant but Lucien is far from her best student. The narrative jumps between the past and the present and does so flawlessly. The past establishes Lucien's backstory while the present has them argue their case about annihilating the Sith uprising before it happens to the High Council. At the same time, a Jedi is arguing his case about dealing with the Mandalorians. I love how these Jedi are fighting different wars and the High Council is just as useless as always.
Homecoming was excellent at developing the characters and establishing the bigger picture. Sure, Zayne could be the next Exar Kun, but JJM lets us know that there are other issues in the galaxy too. Très bien! 5 stars!
Reunion
Telerath. A banking planet and vacation resort all-in-one. Apparently a more relaxed environment makes banking so much more enjoyable. Need to deposit a cheque? Bring your family and stay the weekend. This world has to be one of my favourites because it is so unique. Wonderful addition to Star Wars.
Zayne and friends are trying to access Gryph's bank account but it's kinda hard because he's like, you know, a fugitive. Meanwhile, the Ithorian Moomo brothers, Dob and Del are hired by the Covenant to keep eyes on the banker in case Zayne shows up. Well, the Moomo brothers aren't exactly competent, and they screw up everything. Their incompetence and their familial fighting are just hilarious. This entire "vacation" on Telerath has a shocking reveal, and we get to learn more of the backstory of one of our favourite characters.
Great development with some funny new characters. 5 stars!
AVERAGE SCORE: 5 stars!!!
Flashpoint
Zayne and friends go to Vanquo, a mining colony on the fringe of Republic controlled space. Gryph knows that frontier camps are easy targets for resources as they aren't well defended. His mastermind couldn't have predicted that the Mandalorians (Mandies) show up out of nowhere. This entire arc was a perfect introduction to the Mandies. Jumping straight into action and completely unexpected. They mistake Jarael for a Jedi and bring her to Flashpoint, a moon deep in Mandalorian space where a scientist named Demagol performs cruel experiments to try to figure out how to understand and counter/weaponize their powers.
Compared to Commencement, this volume really took a more serious tone as Gryph had a smaller role. It is still nice to know that this series takes itself seriously and can tell some amazing stories. The worldbuilding is impeccable. We meet Rohland Dyre who ends up having a big role in later volumes and we get brought up to speed with Squint and his agenda . Flashpoint is a perfect place to conduct such heinous experiments as it is isolated and highly protected by the radiation of the nearby sun. There's a twist that I didn't catch the first time I read this series. On this reread, the clue was definitely there. We also get a glimpse at the Republic side of things through Captain Karath. The Senate doesn't seem to care that the Mandies are taking over neutral systems (like Vanquo) and gaining strength. Politicians don't seem to understand that APATHY IS DEATH!
We meet new people, see new places, learn more about existing characters and Zayne's transition from Padawan to henchman is just beginning. Bravo! 5 stars!
Homecoming
Taking a step away from Zayne and friends to develop the villains - the Jedi Covenant. We go back in time to the Draay estate where momma Krynda is training the Covenant but Lucien is far from her best student. The narrative jumps between the past and the present and does so flawlessly. The past establishes Lucien's backstory while the present has them argue their case about annihilating the Sith uprising before it happens to the High Council. At the same time, a Jedi is arguing his case about dealing with the Mandalorians. I love how these Jedi are fighting different wars and the High Council is just as useless as always.
Homecoming was excellent at developing the characters and establishing the bigger picture. Sure, Zayne could be the next Exar Kun, but JJM lets us know that there are other issues in the galaxy too. Très bien! 5 stars!
Reunion
Telerath. A banking planet and vacation resort all-in-one. Apparently a more relaxed environment makes banking so much more enjoyable. Need to deposit a cheque? Bring your family and stay the weekend. This world has to be one of my favourites because it is so unique. Wonderful addition to Star Wars.
Zayne and friends are trying to access Gryph's bank account but it's kinda hard because he's like, you know, a fugitive. Meanwhile, the Ithorian Moomo brothers, Dob and Del are hired by the Covenant to keep eyes on the banker in case Zayne shows up. Well, the Moomo brothers aren't exactly competent, and they screw up everything. Their incompetence and their familial fighting are just hilarious. This entire "vacation" on Telerath has a shocking reveal, and we get to learn more of the backstory of one of our favourite characters.
Great development with some funny new characters. 5 stars!
AVERAGE SCORE: 5 stars!!!
January 20, 2018
It's so good and I love it.
March 18, 2015
John Jackson Miller is back on the script, with Brian Ching, Dustin Weaver, and Harvey Tolibao on the art work. The first story, Flashpoint, takes up by far the majority of the page space, and it’s a good one. Our enterprising fugitives come up with a clever scheme to ensure their continued survival, only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory once more. Never was the idiom “out of the frying pan, into the fire” more apt than with the ragtag band of the KOTOR comic series. And, I must admit, I love them for it. This series wouldn’t have held my attention and affection for so long, through repeated readings, if it didn’t have a tension laced plot jam-packed full of twists and turns. Of course, once they’re in the fire, our crew have to come up with an even more ambitious and clever plan in order to not only get themselves out of it, but to save the day for all and be generally awesome. I’ve got to say I’ve always been fond of Zayne and his special brand of luck, regarding the Force. We meet him as a hapless and very unfortunate Padawan in the first volume, and his master seems to think that Zayne’s “special relationship with the Force” is a cosmic joke; but throughout the series we see that Zayne’s extraordinary bad luck goes hand in hand with his extraordinary good luck, too. This is no accident. Miller has explained that this was always deliberate, and that, up until the point we meet him, Zayne’s growth as a Jedi has suffered under his master’s rather distracted tutelage – but thrown into a challenge and beginning to meet those challenges, Zayne begins to jump ahead in leaps and bounds from where we first find him. I have to applaud Miller for this character arc plotting and the complex threads in all this. This is just what I like in my stories. We also get a really nice tie in here with the “main plot” of the KOTOR era – that is to say, the Mandalorian Wars and our two favourite maverick Jedi Knights, which continues into the second story, but more on that in a moment. I really like Weaver’s interpretation on the art. I definitely tend to view his and Ching’s portrayals of the characters as my favourite versions.
In the second story we get further cameos and tying in, as aforementioned, but we also get to explore more of the history and motivations behind Lucien Draay and the First Watch Circle. This is where we get the first clues that this story goes back farther than anticipated and ties all the way back to the Sith War of the previous generation. This I really love. Not just because it’s deliciously complex and authentic – like history and real life, one action follows on from another that in turn has consequences for a third – but also it really expands Lucien’s story and depth of a character. Suddenly a character who was already well fleshed out becomes vastly more complex and ambiguous. Needless to say I have nothing bad to say about Ching’s artwork here.
The third story is self-contained to Zayne and the leading characters in his story. Once again, Ching does a sterling job, and I can’t help but take a moment to gush over the Telerath scenery in particular. Heck, that’s a resort planet I’d visit any day! I wasn’t as big of a fan of Tolibao’s work, but that’s only because I adore Ching’s art work so much – Tolibao’s art was still high quality, top notch stuff. I liked this little story. Short but neat, resolved in one go, interesting, and throws Zayne a little bit of an emotional bone along with a dose of good luck; but there’s still tension and clever schemes abounding. Plus a couple of references are teased to organisations who we haven’t seen yet but who will definitely prove to be important players in future.
10 out of 10
May 14, 2017
The plot becomes more complicated in this installment, when our fugitive Padawan and his band of misfits plus droid arrive at a mining planet too close to the Republican-Mandalorian frontline combats for comfort. Using their wits more than the weapons of that floating pile of garbage that's their ship, the Last Resort, they manage to land on the "night" side of the planet, inhabited only by independent miners, through trickery that soon backfires on them and takes them to hostile territory.
There, they'll have to deal with a roguish Mandalorian soldier who becomes an unexpected ally at the right time, and find themselves plotting ways to be of help to a group of captured Jedi Knights being subjected to torturing "medical examinations" by the Dr Mengele of the Mandalorians, obsessed with uncovering what powers exactly make a Jedi be one, at a prison ship hovering near the recently-invaded planet. Some familiar faces do reappear, amongst them one I'm quite invested in reading more about and that the tiny bits dropped all over this series do nothing but whet my appetite even more.
Whilst our favourite adorably clumsy bunch are trying not to get themselves killed, the focus moves to the other side of the galaxy, to Coruscant, a planet that sounds familiar from the main film storyline, to show what the Jedi Covenanters in pursuit of Zayne and his friends are doing meanwhile. Turns out Zayne's master Lucien Draay is a man with comprehensible motives that go very far back in time to when the Sith still existed and were causing a massive slaughter of Jedi in a bloody war between both. It's quite interesting to learn the backstory, because the way the Padawan massacre was presented in the opening volume, one could be led to believe this was a product of a Sith resurgence, and this clarifies a lot of things. Nothing is exactly what one had thought!
By the end of this story arc, Zayne gets an offer that's quite tempting: to join the Jedi of Revan and Alek in whatever mission they're embarked on involving the Mandalorians. His choice surprised me a little, because I'd been expecting him to go along and be the "eyes" into what those subversive Jedi are cooking that's so mysterious . . . and not wholly Force-approved by the look of it.
I can say I'm liking these stories more and more, mostly due to the characters, who're so far from the ultra-smart and awesomely badass Jedi and Sith of the other Star Wars stories, who always know what to do, how to do it, and can wipe the floor with a hundred opponents with one hand tied behind their back. Zayne is very different, he's "marginally" Force-sensitive, he's a mediocre student and the most laughable Padawan ever, but so honest and earnest that you can't but love him for that. He's no special powers nor abilities either, he's not even all that good a fighter, yet he's aware of his limitations and tries his best to improve. His crew of fellow fugitives is just as lamentable and yet sympathetic as well: an underground smuggler and a couple of junk-dealers. Oh, and the grumpiest of droids you could find, because it wouldn't be a Star Wars story without one emblematic droid. It must be a requisite by now.
Very entertaining and recommendable for Sci-Fi fans and particularly for readers interested in the Star Wars franchise.
There, they'll have to deal with a roguish Mandalorian soldier who becomes an unexpected ally at the right time, and find themselves plotting ways to be of help to a group of captured Jedi Knights being subjected to torturing "medical examinations" by the Dr Mengele of the Mandalorians, obsessed with uncovering what powers exactly make a Jedi be one, at a prison ship hovering near the recently-invaded planet. Some familiar faces do reappear, amongst them one I'm quite invested in reading more about and that the tiny bits dropped all over this series do nothing but whet my appetite even more.
Whilst our favourite adorably clumsy bunch are trying not to get themselves killed, the focus moves to the other side of the galaxy, to Coruscant, a planet that sounds familiar from the main film storyline, to show what the Jedi Covenanters in pursuit of Zayne and his friends are doing meanwhile. Turns out Zayne's master Lucien Draay is a man with comprehensible motives that go very far back in time to when the Sith still existed and were causing a massive slaughter of Jedi in a bloody war between both. It's quite interesting to learn the backstory, because the way the Padawan massacre was presented in the opening volume, one could be led to believe this was a product of a Sith resurgence, and this clarifies a lot of things. Nothing is exactly what one had thought!
By the end of this story arc, Zayne gets an offer that's quite tempting: to join the Jedi of Revan and Alek in whatever mission they're embarked on involving the Mandalorians. His choice surprised me a little, because I'd been expecting him to go along and be the "eyes" into what those subversive Jedi are cooking that's so mysterious . . . and not wholly Force-approved by the look of it.
I can say I'm liking these stories more and more, mostly due to the characters, who're so far from the ultra-smart and awesomely badass Jedi and Sith of the other Star Wars stories, who always know what to do, how to do it, and can wipe the floor with a hundred opponents with one hand tied behind their back. Zayne is very different, he's "marginally" Force-sensitive, he's a mediocre student and the most laughable Padawan ever, but so honest and earnest that you can't but love him for that. He's no special powers nor abilities either, he's not even all that good a fighter, yet he's aware of his limitations and tries his best to improve. His crew of fellow fugitives is just as lamentable and yet sympathetic as well: an underground smuggler and a couple of junk-dealers. Oh, and the grumpiest of droids you could find, because it wouldn't be a Star Wars story without one emblematic droid. It must be a requisite by now.
Very entertaining and recommendable for Sci-Fi fans and particularly for readers interested in the Star Wars franchise.
June 16, 2020
Love the artistry in this book.
December 2, 2015
A Rescue Mission and Some Background
08 July 2012
The second book in this series revelas that this is basically an episodic story with an overarching story arc. Each of the stories are supposed to be complete though the story arc is also evident. These are not graphic novels in the strict sense in that they are more four comic books combined into a single book, and the series itself goes for nine books (where, at the end, I suspect that the story arc resolves itself). As set up in the first book, this series is about a not to good Jedi padawan who finds himself framed for the murder of his colleagues and finds himself running around the galaxy with a dodgy merchant named Gryph, an old engineer named Camper, and a rather attractive lady (as seems to always be the case).
This comic has three stories: the first, Flashpoint, appears to be a story that traverses two comics. Basically the girl is masquerading as a Jedi and is captured by the Mandalorians and taken to a prison planet so that the Mandalorians might experiment on her. Zane, after capturing a turn-coat Mandalorian, then travels to the planet of Flashpoint in an attempt to rescue her. The second story seems to be more of a background story regarding Zane's protagonist, his former master, and raises some questions as to the nature of his family and possible connections with the Sith. We are also given the impression that the Jedi council are not too impressed with these guys.
The final story is set on a strange banking world where Gryph is trying to get access to some funds that have been frozen due to his status as a wanted criminal. Here we meet Zane's father, and find that the Jedi who are after him are also targeting his father in an attempt to catch Zane. However they make the foolish move of hiring a couple of moronic thugs to do this work, and as is expected, while they attempt to show initiative, it in the end fails (why do the bad guys always hire morons?).
I was mentioning that these Star Wars comics can in a sense be canonical, but I have noted that volume 5 appears to be a crossover with some of the other comic series. It seems as if this is the only crossover one though (and it appears that Darth Vader makes an appearance). Looking at the wikipedia article, it seems that most of the books and comics are canonical, though Lucas does seem to reject that claiming that only the six films are the true canon. I guess it is during the Clone Wars that many of the contradictions arise, particularly since we have two animated series (though I believe that Anakin's padawan appears in both of the series). Mind you, I preferred the computer animated Clone Wars than I did the other animated Clone Wars simply because the earlier one did not seem to have much of a storyline.
08 July 2012
The second book in this series revelas that this is basically an episodic story with an overarching story arc. Each of the stories are supposed to be complete though the story arc is also evident. These are not graphic novels in the strict sense in that they are more four comic books combined into a single book, and the series itself goes for nine books (where, at the end, I suspect that the story arc resolves itself). As set up in the first book, this series is about a not to good Jedi padawan who finds himself framed for the murder of his colleagues and finds himself running around the galaxy with a dodgy merchant named Gryph, an old engineer named Camper, and a rather attractive lady (as seems to always be the case).
This comic has three stories: the first, Flashpoint, appears to be a story that traverses two comics. Basically the girl is masquerading as a Jedi and is captured by the Mandalorians and taken to a prison planet so that the Mandalorians might experiment on her. Zane, after capturing a turn-coat Mandalorian, then travels to the planet of Flashpoint in an attempt to rescue her. The second story seems to be more of a background story regarding Zane's protagonist, his former master, and raises some questions as to the nature of his family and possible connections with the Sith. We are also given the impression that the Jedi council are not too impressed with these guys.
The final story is set on a strange banking world where Gryph is trying to get access to some funds that have been frozen due to his status as a wanted criminal. Here we meet Zane's father, and find that the Jedi who are after him are also targeting his father in an attempt to catch Zane. However they make the foolish move of hiring a couple of moronic thugs to do this work, and as is expected, while they attempt to show initiative, it in the end fails (why do the bad guys always hire morons?).
I was mentioning that these Star Wars comics can in a sense be canonical, but I have noted that volume 5 appears to be a crossover with some of the other comic series. It seems as if this is the only crossover one though (and it appears that Darth Vader makes an appearance). Looking at the wikipedia article, it seems that most of the books and comics are canonical, though Lucas does seem to reject that claiming that only the six films are the true canon. I guess it is during the Clone Wars that many of the contradictions arise, particularly since we have two animated series (though I believe that Anakin's padawan appears in both of the series). Mind you, I preferred the computer animated Clone Wars than I did the other animated Clone Wars simply because the earlier one did not seem to have much of a storyline.
March 2, 2016
A good continuation of the story. The Mandalorians are getting ready for their invasion of the Republic and we learn more about the conspiracy behind the five Jedi Masters. Several new plot strands and a few new characters get introduced, but there is nothing really spectacular happening now that the initial rush from the escape from Taris is over.
An enjoyable read, but not nearly as thrilling as the previous arc or those that are to follow later.
An enjoyable read, but not nearly as thrilling as the previous arc or those that are to follow later.
May 29, 2012
Hardly as entertaining as the previous volume... Got the next few lined up still, so I'm still giving it a go.. Hope it gets better because this volume bored me to tears.
February 27, 2018
Actual rating 2.66
Part One: Flashpoint
3 – Stars
Using Zayne's Jedi robes and light saber, Jarael impersonates some random Master, contacting a mining outpost via holo to inform them the Mandalorian's have landed on the opposite side of the planet and that they should be ready for evac. Zayne and the others fake an attack and the miners leave. While Jarael is playing around with Zayne's light saber, the Mandalorian's actually do attack taking her hostage.
Working with a Madalorian who's not entirely sure about this new war, they track down Jarael to an outpost called Flashpoint where some doctor is performing experiments on captured Padawan's.
Part Two: Homecoming
2 – Stars
This is about Zayne's former Master Lucian Drayy. He returns to Coruscant where he grew up to visit his mother who happens to be a Jedi Seer. There are a couple of flashbacks in which we find that Lucian was never trained by a Master because his mother didn't want him in the Order, instead he was trained by a failed Padawan.
In one of the flashbacks we see that one of the Masters who killed their apprentices, Q'anilia, who is also a seer and was trained by Lucian's mother.
It gets a little confusing as there seems to be a vision that Lucian's mother and her students shared many years ago, and the vision that Lucian had about the Sith returning as one of their Padawan's. Also, the artwork, while good, the exchanges between Lucian and his mother seem very tense with them yelling at each other for no apparent reason.
Part Three: Reunion
3 – Stars
When Marn was seen running away with Zayne, his accounts were frozen and they attempt to fix this by sending in Jarael and Camper to protest that it's a different, but similar name and that Camper is a Baron.
The bank is actually a luxury resort, which is pretty cool, and after they get things fixed, two Ithorian's attack and make off with the banker who was assigned to help them.
Turns out the banker is Zayne's father, and he was being used in a plot to lure Zayne to the planet. The kidnapping wasn't supposed to happen. Marn knows of the Ithorian's who are pretty stupid, and he hatches a plan to get Zayne's dad back. In the end, they get the money, and Zayne's family gets resettled on Dantooine with Master Vandar to look over them.
Part One: Flashpoint
3 – Stars
Using Zayne's Jedi robes and light saber, Jarael impersonates some random Master, contacting a mining outpost via holo to inform them the Mandalorian's have landed on the opposite side of the planet and that they should be ready for evac. Zayne and the others fake an attack and the miners leave. While Jarael is playing around with Zayne's light saber, the Mandalorian's actually do attack taking her hostage.
Working with a Madalorian who's not entirely sure about this new war, they track down Jarael to an outpost called Flashpoint where some doctor is performing experiments on captured Padawan's.
Part Two: Homecoming
2 – Stars
This is about Zayne's former Master Lucian Drayy. He returns to Coruscant where he grew up to visit his mother who happens to be a Jedi Seer. There are a couple of flashbacks in which we find that Lucian was never trained by a Master because his mother didn't want him in the Order, instead he was trained by a failed Padawan.
In one of the flashbacks we see that one of the Masters who killed their apprentices, Q'anilia, who is also a seer and was trained by Lucian's mother.
It gets a little confusing as there seems to be a vision that Lucian's mother and her students shared many years ago, and the vision that Lucian had about the Sith returning as one of their Padawan's. Also, the artwork, while good, the exchanges between Lucian and his mother seem very tense with them yelling at each other for no apparent reason.
Part Three: Reunion
3 – Stars
When Marn was seen running away with Zayne, his accounts were frozen and they attempt to fix this by sending in Jarael and Camper to protest that it's a different, but similar name and that Camper is a Baron.
The bank is actually a luxury resort, which is pretty cool, and after they get things fixed, two Ithorian's attack and make off with the banker who was assigned to help them.
Turns out the banker is Zayne's father, and he was being used in a plot to lure Zayne to the planet. The kidnapping wasn't supposed to happen. Marn knows of the Ithorian's who are pretty stupid, and he hatches a plan to get Zayne's dad back. In the end, they get the money, and Zayne's family gets resettled on Dantooine with Master Vandar to look over them.
July 2, 2025
The second volume builds wonderfully on the foundation laid in the first. Zayne Carrick continues to be a refreshingly unusual protagonist - a rogue vigilante Jedi whose personal shortcomings keep him utterly relatable despite his unique circumstances. Miller's character work really shines here as the cast grows more compelling with each issue.
The unravelling Jedi masters' conspiracy provides genuine intrigue. I appreciated that the plot relied much less on outright slapstick elements this time around. While chance and misfortune still play heavily into the story (often for great comedic effect), the characters are forced to rely more on their resourcefulness, which makes for more engaging storytelling.
Visually, this volume presents an interesting mix. Brian Ching gets replaced for half the issues, and I have to admit I preferred his colleagues' work. The guest artists bring a more classic modern comic book style that makes action sequences generally easier to follow. That said, Ching's approach is slowly growing on me as well.
Overall, this volume shows the series really hitting its stride. The characters are growing on me, the plot intrigue is compelling, and I'm definitely hooked enough to continue following Zayne's journey.
The unravelling Jedi masters' conspiracy provides genuine intrigue. I appreciated that the plot relied much less on outright slapstick elements this time around. While chance and misfortune still play heavily into the story (often for great comedic effect), the characters are forced to rely more on their resourcefulness, which makes for more engaging storytelling.
Visually, this volume presents an interesting mix. Brian Ching gets replaced for half the issues, and I have to admit I preferred his colleagues' work. The guest artists bring a more classic modern comic book style that makes action sequences generally easier to follow. That said, Ching's approach is slowly growing on me as well.
Overall, this volume shows the series really hitting its stride. The characters are growing on me, the plot intrigue is compelling, and I'm definitely hooked enough to continue following Zayne's journey.
April 9, 2020
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Volume 2 picks up a little bit after Zayne escapes from his former master, Lucien, thanks to the aid of Gryph, Jarael, and Camper.
This volume starts on an outer world planet near Taris where the team stopped to gather supplies using a ploy that the Mandalorians are attacking. Ultimately their fake-out rings true and they really do attack and they take Jarael captive, mistaking her for a Jedi.
This volume only has three parts and takes Zayne and the team into Mandalorian territory to a planetoid named Flashpoint. They're aided by a Mandalorian runaway named Rohlan, who is searching for answers to a question regarding the war with the republic.
This volume wasn't as action-packed as the previous one, but it was an entertaining read nonetheless and filled in some details regarding Master Lucien's past, and the Mandalorian War itself.
Onward to Volume 3: Reunion.
This volume starts on an outer world planet near Taris where the team stopped to gather supplies using a ploy that the Mandalorians are attacking. Ultimately their fake-out rings true and they really do attack and they take Jarael captive, mistaking her for a Jedi.
This volume only has three parts and takes Zayne and the team into Mandalorian territory to a planetoid named Flashpoint. They're aided by a Mandalorian runaway named Rohlan, who is searching for answers to a question regarding the war with the republic.
This volume wasn't as action-packed as the previous one, but it was an entertaining read nonetheless and filled in some details regarding Master Lucien's past, and the Mandalorian War itself.
Onward to Volume 3: Reunion.
November 23, 2024
Zayne and his team of rogues are hiding out from the rogue Jedi that framed them. I'm still really curious the deal with these guys as they are certainly acting like the end justifies the means of straight up killing people when they are supposed to be Jedi. They don't seem at all conflicted about it. Anyway the actual good guys meet a bunch of Mandalorians in the main story. Then they go to a bank planet to get Camper's money from his accounts. They run afoul of these dummy hammerhead brothers that are both idiots and hilarious. I'm really enjoying this series. It's way better than the current Star Wars comics Marvel is putting out.
April 11, 2019
Unlike the first volume, which was all one story arc, this volume contains two shorter ones. It suffers a bit for it — both arcs feel like they could have been longer, and the interlude in the Flashpoint arc seems to exist only to introduce the concept of Revan (and to tease us with the potential of one of the characters turning out to be Revan, even though none of them will be). This isn’t to say that the volume is bad, it’s just not quite as good as the first.
May 24, 2023
I liked the story and still find Gryph hilarious but it was visually distracting having different artist do this graphic novel; I didn’t think the characters looked nearly as good for the main characters while other characters were more detailed as in the previous book. This did not affect the story just my rating of the book overall.
July 23, 2013
I probably would not have picked this up if I had re-read the first volume more recently, but I did. Ho hum. This graphic novel is not bad, but it is far from great either. Discovering that this series is a spin off from a computer game series did nothing to raise it my esteem either.
If you are not a Star Wars fan then you probably did not even read the first volume, never mind have made it onto the second one to read this review. However, there are different types of Star Wars fan with different tastes... so even if you like the Star Wars universe, you may not appreciate this so much.
First of all, I found the whole premise of the story to be rather odd. Admitedly, I only really flirt with Star Wars and have not read much of the ancillary literature outside of Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels and the Clone Wars graphic novel series, however there were several aspects of the story itself which I found to be contrary to my image of things. If you have read the previous volume, you will be fully aware that , which is completely contrary to the portrayals of jedi which I have previously come across. Further, in both this volume and the last there are a number of depictions of jedi becoming quite emotional and even angry... What happened to "Anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering" in regard to the paths to the Dark Side? In the sub-story Homecoming, Lucien's jedi mother frankly seems a total bitch - not at all any of the spectrum of characters I would see as being a jedi.
The second thing which jarred me a bit was that despite the fact this story is set around four thousand years before any of the films, the technology, fashion and general feel of the setting could just as well have been during any other time. There seemed to be some vague attempt to change the Republican military's uniforms and there seems to be a be a little avoidance of using the more familar droid or ship types, but I expected something more radically different. Perhaps the message is that civilisation rises and falls and things cycle around on itself, or perhaps the message is that such things have reached a stagnant point and very little will change over the next four millennia. This does not really sit well with me though, given the situation of war in one form or another, and if nowhere else then out on the Outer Rim, causes at the very least military innovation and change through conflict. In the end, it just seemed sloppy and as if the developers of this period had not really thought about what society could have been like all this time ago - which to be fair is probably not the authors' faults (I feel a bit more general about this point now that I have learnt about the computer game spin off as presumably they are trying to fit the story in with the content which was presented in those games).
What is Miller's responsibility is the fairly hackneyed and cliched group of characters we find ourselves reading about... The young not-quite-jedi/padawan, the comic furry alien, the tough female character and the eccentric droid. The character of Camper is a bit more out of the ordinary, but so far he has not played a major role and is a bit flat. It also seems a bit too much like a copy of Yoda to have an elderly jedi master of the same mysterious race featuring. in fact, the choices of races which have been depicted seem to skirt the line between making good use of continuity and just shoving in as many familiar aliens as possible. I would presume that four thousand years ago many of these aliens' might never have left their home planets or to possess cultures quite different to their modern counterparts. Naturally, a clear visual link to the modern Star Wars eidolon is important - but it seems to be overly done here, very much as if the story relies on the Star Wars feeling to support it rather than work towards expanding and enhancing the universe.
On the positive side, the art is reasonably well drawn, though I do not really like the way the character of Marn Hierogryph is drawn. It did not blow me away, but it does appear that the artwork is consistant from story to story, which really helps when you want to immerse yourself in the story.
Also, in this second volume we see a definite deepening of the story and things do become a bit more interesting. I got the sense that there might be more going on with the story than seemed at first glance and things might not be as simple as they first seem. Even so, I would not normally be in any rush to read the next volume... except that when I picked this one up, I also bought part #3 and #4 as well, so I am going to read those at the very least. If the story perks up even a little bit, I will probably be able to overlook the shortcomings and be invested enough in the story that I will want to finished it.
I guess I shall see...
If you are not a Star Wars fan then you probably did not even read the first volume, never mind have made it onto the second one to read this review. However, there are different types of Star Wars fan with different tastes... so even if you like the Star Wars universe, you may not appreciate this so much.
First of all, I found the whole premise of the story to be rather odd. Admitedly, I only really flirt with Star Wars and have not read much of the ancillary literature outside of Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels and the Clone Wars graphic novel series, however there were several aspects of the story itself which I found to be contrary to my image of things. If you have read the previous volume, you will be fully aware that , which is completely contrary to the portrayals of jedi which I have previously come across. Further, in both this volume and the last there are a number of depictions of jedi becoming quite emotional and even angry... What happened to "Anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering" in regard to the paths to the Dark Side? In the sub-story Homecoming, Lucien's jedi mother frankly seems a total bitch - not at all any of the spectrum of characters I would see as being a jedi.
The second thing which jarred me a bit was that despite the fact this story is set around four thousand years before any of the films, the technology, fashion and general feel of the setting could just as well have been during any other time. There seemed to be some vague attempt to change the Republican military's uniforms and there seems to be a be a little avoidance of using the more familar droid or ship types, but I expected something more radically different. Perhaps the message is that civilisation rises and falls and things cycle around on itself, or perhaps the message is that such things have reached a stagnant point and very little will change over the next four millennia. This does not really sit well with me though, given the situation of war in one form or another, and if nowhere else then out on the Outer Rim, causes at the very least military innovation and change through conflict. In the end, it just seemed sloppy and as if the developers of this period had not really thought about what society could have been like all this time ago - which to be fair is probably not the authors' faults (I feel a bit more general about this point now that I have learnt about the computer game spin off as presumably they are trying to fit the story in with the content which was presented in those games).
What is Miller's responsibility is the fairly hackneyed and cliched group of characters we find ourselves reading about... The young not-quite-jedi/padawan, the comic furry alien, the tough female character and the eccentric droid. The character of Camper is a bit more out of the ordinary, but so far he has not played a major role and is a bit flat. It also seems a bit too much like a copy of Yoda to have an elderly jedi master of the same mysterious race featuring. in fact, the choices of races which have been depicted seem to skirt the line between making good use of continuity and just shoving in as many familiar aliens as possible. I would presume that four thousand years ago many of these aliens' might never have left their home planets or to possess cultures quite different to their modern counterparts. Naturally, a clear visual link to the modern Star Wars eidolon is important - but it seems to be overly done here, very much as if the story relies on the Star Wars feeling to support it rather than work towards expanding and enhancing the universe.
On the positive side, the art is reasonably well drawn, though I do not really like the way the character of Marn Hierogryph is drawn. It did not blow me away, but it does appear that the artwork is consistant from story to story, which really helps when you want to immerse yourself in the story.
Also, in this second volume we see a definite deepening of the story and things do become a bit more interesting. I got the sense that there might be more going on with the story than seemed at first glance and things might not be as simple as they first seem. Even so, I would not normally be in any rush to read the next volume... except that when I picked this one up, I also bought part #3 and #4 as well, so I am going to read those at the very least. If the story perks up even a little bit, I will probably be able to overlook the shortcomings and be invested enough in the story that I will want to finished it.
I guess I shall see...
July 21, 2021
5🌟/5🌟 Tohle bylo velké zlepšení oproti prvnímu dílu! 10x lepší kresba, lepší barevnost, i lepší výprava. A Mandaloriani k tomu. I když tahle série kánon není, pusťte se do toho a přežijte kresbu 1. volume. Budete odměněni naprosto excelentním volume 2.
December 5, 2021
The Jedi order is well established but still in its early stages. We join a Jedi on the run and a group of smugglers and lowlifes. Great story and art. Even though it’s no longer canon it’s still a blast to read.
January 10, 2023
A cracking continuation that doesn't disappoint. I'd forgotten some of this and I have to say, the stories collected in this TPB are incredibly well paced and characters are introduced at exactly the right moments. I really love this series.
June 18, 2017
Me está gustando esta serie.
September 3, 2017
fun with some nice twists and turns. Always great to dive into the Star Wars universe
January 17, 2018
Una auténtica pasada. Todo cuanto uno espera encontrar en una historia de SW está aquí. Que brutalidad y solo es el tomo 2/10. Imprescindible.
August 11, 2019
I like how Zayne's story is going. All the characters feel real and I love continuing to unravel parts of their past and learn more about them.
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