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Star Wars: Vector #1
Star Wars: Vector, Vol. 1
Please note: This collection contains Knights of the Old Republic Volume 5 (KotOR #25-28) and Dark Times Volume 3 (DT #11-12).
In Chapter 1: Knights of the Old Republic Volume 5, a terrible vision reaching far into the future alerts the secret Jedi Covenant to the importance of Taris, and they activate operative Celeste Morne. She encounters a monstrous threat, an ancient Sith artifact, an army of Mandalorians, and Zayne Carrick, the Padawan accused of killing his fellow students! Then, over 4,000 years into the future, Chapter 2 of "Vector" - Volume 3 of Dark Time - crosses into the period immediately following the events in Revenge of the Sith. The unfortunate misfit crew of the Uhumele is thrown into the path of Darth Vader and the now-ancient Jedi Master Celeste! Both Sith and smugglers will not leave this meeting without grave consequences . . .
Book Details: Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1/31/2009 Pages: 144
In Chapter 1: Knights of the Old Republic Volume 5, a terrible vision reaching far into the future alerts the secret Jedi Covenant to the importance of Taris, and they activate operative Celeste Morne. She encounters a monstrous threat, an ancient Sith artifact, an army of Mandalorians, and Zayne Carrick, the Padawan accused of killing his fellow students! Then, over 4,000 years into the future, Chapter 2 of "Vector" - Volume 3 of Dark Time - crosses into the period immediately following the events in Revenge of the Sith. The unfortunate misfit crew of the Uhumele is thrown into the path of Darth Vader and the now-ancient Jedi Master Celeste! Both Sith and smugglers will not leave this meeting without grave consequences . . .
Book Details: Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1/31/2009 Pages: 144
144 pages, Paperback
First published October 19, 2005
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729 people want to read
About the author
John Jackson Miller
284 books987 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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February 20, 2020
“Star Wars: Vector” was a 2009 Dark Horse Comics publication that attempted to do what Marvel and DC were doing at the time with cross-over stories over multiple titles. It is basically a marketing scheme intended to get comic book buyers to buy more comics. Strangely enough, it works, which says something about the lemming-like consumerism of comic book fans.
In “Vector, Vol. 1”, the storyline starts in the era of the Old Republic, which is a period of about 1,000 years before the events of “Episode 1: A New Hope”. Jedi Celeste Morne finds herself in the middle of a war on planet Taris, where Mandalorians are fighting Republican soldiers. To make matters worse, a plague has broken out, which turns the afflicted into mindless bloodthirsty creatures. Somehow, an inept Jedi Padawan named Zayne and his friend, a thief named Gryph, are integral to what’s going on, but Celeste doesn’t know how. Everyone is seeking a Sith artifact called the Muur Talisman, which is the most likely source of the plague. By a stroke of luck, Celeste gets her hands on it...
And wakes up thousands of years later, in a coffin, during what is called the “Dark Times”. She is awakened by no less than Darth Vader himself, who is seeking the legendary Muur Talisman. Celeste, of course, has no idea who Vader is. When she discovers that he is a Sith Lord, she fights back.
Celeste’s story continues in “Vector, Vol. 2” where she finds herself in the middle of the Rebel Alliances’s war against the Empire and then, hundreds of years later, in the years of Star Wars Legacy.
Considering the fact that one would have to read dozens of issues in several titles in the Dark Horse Star Wars line to fully understand the context, I was actually able to follow the storyline well enough. If anything, “Vector” has given me a taste of other series that I may someday want to check out, which besides selling comic books was probably the intent.
In “Vector, Vol. 1”, the storyline starts in the era of the Old Republic, which is a period of about 1,000 years before the events of “Episode 1: A New Hope”. Jedi Celeste Morne finds herself in the middle of a war on planet Taris, where Mandalorians are fighting Republican soldiers. To make matters worse, a plague has broken out, which turns the afflicted into mindless bloodthirsty creatures. Somehow, an inept Jedi Padawan named Zayne and his friend, a thief named Gryph, are integral to what’s going on, but Celeste doesn’t know how. Everyone is seeking a Sith artifact called the Muur Talisman, which is the most likely source of the plague. By a stroke of luck, Celeste gets her hands on it...
And wakes up thousands of years later, in a coffin, during what is called the “Dark Times”. She is awakened by no less than Darth Vader himself, who is seeking the legendary Muur Talisman. Celeste, of course, has no idea who Vader is. When she discovers that he is a Sith Lord, she fights back.
Celeste’s story continues in “Vector, Vol. 2” where she finds herself in the middle of the Rebel Alliances’s war against the Empire and then, hundreds of years later, in the years of Star Wars Legacy.
Considering the fact that one would have to read dozens of issues in several titles in the Dark Horse Star Wars line to fully understand the context, I was actually able to follow the storyline well enough. If anything, “Vector” has given me a taste of other series that I may someday want to check out, which besides selling comic books was probably the intent.
February 1, 2009
All Star Wars comics are not created equal, and while there are things I like about all the Star Wars comics Dark Horse is currently publishing, I only pick up two of them in trade regularly.
So I was a bit annoyed that to keep following the stories without skipping a trade, I had to buy the trades for the other ones. Randy Stradley's intro admits that they came up with this crossover as a response to Secret Wars/Final Crisis, etc. and unfortunately, while the series may have hit its commercial goals, creatively it's a hit to the two books in this volume.
The Knights of the Old Republic story is not bad, exploring the origin of the Rakghouls (a legitimate KOTOR mystery) and furthering some of the story arcs of the characters, but it suffers from cartoony, exaggerated art that is not a fit to the story. The Dark Times story has great art, but has the same "shock value" excesses that put me off Dark Times in the first place.
Soooo... meh. I'm not entirely sure, but at this point I'd probably recommend that regular readers of any of the Star Wars titles just skip over Vector in favor of the next stories.
So I was a bit annoyed that to keep following the stories without skipping a trade, I had to buy the trades for the other ones. Randy Stradley's intro admits that they came up with this crossover as a response to Secret Wars/Final Crisis, etc. and unfortunately, while the series may have hit its commercial goals, creatively it's a hit to the two books in this volume.
The Knights of the Old Republic story is not bad, exploring the origin of the Rakghouls (a legitimate KOTOR mystery) and furthering some of the story arcs of the characters, but it suffers from cartoony, exaggerated art that is not a fit to the story. The Dark Times story has great art, but has the same "shock value" excesses that put me off Dark Times in the first place.
Soooo... meh. I'm not entirely sure, but at this point I'd probably recommend that regular readers of any of the Star Wars titles just skip over Vector in favor of the next stories.
June 16, 2022
My reread continues! This time, we take another look at the fifth volume of the Knights of the Old Republic Comics and the first volume of "Vector"- a comic book crossover of epic proportions between all four of Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars titles at the time, and a story that spans thousands of years of Star Wars history.
As for Vector as a whole, I still haven't read anything else in the story that took place during Dark Times, Star Wars: Rebellion, or Legacy. This review is only going to cover the first segment of the story taking place during the events of John Jackson Miler's Knights of the Old Republic- and as for the first chapter of Vector specifically... I still find it pretty good, and the main problems I had before are still present now.
THE STORY: The story opens with Lucien Draay and the surviving masters of the Taris Council experiencing a terrible vision of future events to come- and Zayne Carrick is in that vision! (three other figures appear as well- while the masters don't know who they are, readers of the the Old Legends line of Star Wars comics will recognize Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Cade Skywalker). They dispatch a jedi knight named Celeste Morne to Taris in order to find and kill Zayne.
This brings us to Taris, a couple of weeks after the events of Star Wars: Knights of Suffering. With the Taris Resistance in shambles, Zayne Carrick and Marn Hierogryph find themselves on the run in the Tarisian Undercity, from both Mandalorians and Rakghouls. After running into Celeste Morne, they stumble upon a group of Mandalorian raiders just as they find an ancient Sith Artifact known as the Muur Talisman. Celeste, Zayne, and Marn follow the mandalorians to their staging ground on the planet Jebble- and find themselves racing to stop the Muur Talisman from unleashing calamity upon the entire galaxy- Republic and Mandalorian.
THE BAD: There's one major problem with this comic, and one that always brings down this comic more than I would expect- the artwork.
Holy kriff, how did anyone think this would look good! How do you go from the gorgeous work of Brian Ching or Dustin Weaver to some of the WORST ARTWORK I HAVE EVER SEEN??? Not even Michael Atiyeh's coloring work could save the disastrous visuals brought to us by Scott Hepburn. The backgrounds are boring, the action sequences are incoherent, and the characters look HIDEOUS. it's a good thing that Hepburn doesn't come back to do any art for this series after KOTOR's portion of the Vector Crossover.
THE GOOD: While it doesn't reach the heights of other arcs in this series, John Jackson Miller's writing is still strong.
Starting with the characters, Marn Hierogryph still gets some funny lines and moments, and Zayne Carrick is still an insanely selfless and likeable person. His face looks completed mutated but he is still the same great character on the inside, at least.
Celeste Morn is an interesting character with a good story arc here. There's a perfect balance between a complete story and character arc for her in this chapter of the Vector crossover that works for the kotor comics, while leaving enough open to continue her overarching story in the next chapters of "Vector".
It was the right call for Miller to use Pulsifer, a character who appeared and was named only once in Flashpoint, and bring him back here. He fits nicely into the Vector storyline and it makes for a more memorable inclusion than if Miller created a new character as a one-off villain.
All this brings me to the best aspect of this chapter of Vector by far, the plot. This story arc accomplishes an impressive amount- "Vector" was created as a cash grab to ride the coattails of successful superhero comic crossovers at the time. Knowing that, I'm amazed at how much the KOTOR chapter of Vector accomplishes both as a story arc for the KOTOR comics and as an opening chapter for the Vector crossover. This is the first step in Zayne's quest for justice against Lucien and the other Masters, making the ending very exciting. It also sets up a character dynamic that pays off at the very end of the KOTOR comics, allowing this chapter to improve on repeat readings.
Also, it reveals some essential lore from the KOTOR games as well as SWTOR- the origin of the Rakghouls! It showcases how the Rakghoul plague is able to spread across the galaxy in SWTOR but why it stayed confined to Taris during the first KOTOR game in a compelling and exciting way.
THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 4 stars.
Yes, the artwork is terrible- and I mean TERRIBLE.
But the fact that it doesn't sink "Vector" is a testament to the enduring strength of John Jackon Miller's writing. The characters are just as good as they've always been and the plot advances the rest of the comic in exciting ways.
I will admit, this got me interested in reading the rest of the Vector storyline- though I may want to check out the rest of "Dark Times", "Rebellion", and "Legacy" while I'm at it.
But this chapter still works perfectly fine as a self-contained, important installment to the KOTOR series- making it work all the better as a result.
As for Vector as a whole, I still haven't read anything else in the story that took place during Dark Times, Star Wars: Rebellion, or Legacy. This review is only going to cover the first segment of the story taking place during the events of John Jackson Miler's Knights of the Old Republic- and as for the first chapter of Vector specifically... I still find it pretty good, and the main problems I had before are still present now.
THE STORY: The story opens with Lucien Draay and the surviving masters of the Taris Council experiencing a terrible vision of future events to come- and Zayne Carrick is in that vision! (three other figures appear as well- while the masters don't know who they are, readers of the the Old Legends line of Star Wars comics will recognize Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Cade Skywalker). They dispatch a jedi knight named Celeste Morne to Taris in order to find and kill Zayne.
This brings us to Taris, a couple of weeks after the events of Star Wars: Knights of Suffering. With the Taris Resistance in shambles, Zayne Carrick and Marn Hierogryph find themselves on the run in the Tarisian Undercity, from both Mandalorians and Rakghouls. After running into Celeste Morne, they stumble upon a group of Mandalorian raiders just as they find an ancient Sith Artifact known as the Muur Talisman. Celeste, Zayne, and Marn follow the mandalorians to their staging ground on the planet Jebble- and find themselves racing to stop the Muur Talisman from unleashing calamity upon the entire galaxy- Republic and Mandalorian.
THE BAD: There's one major problem with this comic, and one that always brings down this comic more than I would expect- the artwork.
Holy kriff, how did anyone think this would look good! How do you go from the gorgeous work of Brian Ching or Dustin Weaver to some of the WORST ARTWORK I HAVE EVER SEEN??? Not even Michael Atiyeh's coloring work could save the disastrous visuals brought to us by Scott Hepburn. The backgrounds are boring, the action sequences are incoherent, and the characters look HIDEOUS. it's a good thing that Hepburn doesn't come back to do any art for this series after KOTOR's portion of the Vector Crossover.
THE GOOD: While it doesn't reach the heights of other arcs in this series, John Jackson Miller's writing is still strong.
Starting with the characters, Marn Hierogryph still gets some funny lines and moments, and Zayne Carrick is still an insanely selfless and likeable person. His face looks completed mutated but he is still the same great character on the inside, at least.
Celeste Morn is an interesting character with a good story arc here. There's a perfect balance between a complete story and character arc for her in this chapter of the Vector crossover that works for the kotor comics, while leaving enough open to continue her overarching story in the next chapters of "Vector".
It was the right call for Miller to use Pulsifer, a character who appeared and was named only once in Flashpoint, and bring him back here. He fits nicely into the Vector storyline and it makes for a more memorable inclusion than if Miller created a new character as a one-off villain.
All this brings me to the best aspect of this chapter of Vector by far, the plot. This story arc accomplishes an impressive amount- "Vector" was created as a cash grab to ride the coattails of successful superhero comic crossovers at the time. Knowing that, I'm amazed at how much the KOTOR chapter of Vector accomplishes both as a story arc for the KOTOR comics and as an opening chapter for the Vector crossover. This is the first step in Zayne's quest for justice against Lucien and the other Masters, making the ending very exciting. It also sets up a character dynamic that pays off at the very end of the KOTOR comics, allowing this chapter to improve on repeat readings.
Also, it reveals some essential lore from the KOTOR games as well as SWTOR- the origin of the Rakghouls! It showcases how the Rakghoul plague is able to spread across the galaxy in SWTOR but why it stayed confined to Taris during the first KOTOR game in a compelling and exciting way.
THE CONCLUSION: Final rating is 4 stars.
Yes, the artwork is terrible- and I mean TERRIBLE.
But the fact that it doesn't sink "Vector" is a testament to the enduring strength of John Jackon Miller's writing. The characters are just as good as they've always been and the plot advances the rest of the comic in exciting ways.
I will admit, this got me interested in reading the rest of the Vector storyline- though I may want to check out the rest of "Dark Times", "Rebellion", and "Legacy" while I'm at it.
But this chapter still works perfectly fine as a self-contained, important installment to the KOTOR series- making it work all the better as a result.
March 2, 2016
This relatively short story is part of a larger crossover series with other Star Wars comics. It barely has any plot and doesn't really add any new developments to the KotOR series. As such you can easily skip it and not miss anything of the story. It's really mostly a marketing stunt.
The writing is very weak with nothing happening and there are really only four characters who have more than one or two lines of dialogue. Two of them are basically new to the series and also gone again by the end. Zayne is just being Zayne as usual while Gryph is turning into an obnoxious Rob Schneider impersonator. The plot is so bad that the characters themselves are making jokes about it. And this is one of the ugliest comics I've ever seen. The coloring is great, but it boggles the mind how these pencils can be from someone who gets payed money from a big comic publisher.
While this is not complete garbage, this is not "ok". This is very firmly "did not like it".
The writing is very weak with nothing happening and there are really only four characters who have more than one or two lines of dialogue. Two of them are basically new to the series and also gone again by the end. Zayne is just being Zayne as usual while Gryph is turning into an obnoxious Rob Schneider impersonator. The plot is so bad that the characters themselves are making jokes about it. And this is one of the ugliest comics I've ever seen. The coloring is great, but it boggles the mind how these pencils can be from someone who gets payed money from a big comic publisher.
While this is not complete garbage, this is not "ok". This is very firmly "did not like it".
January 1, 2021
The art in this is SO BAD. Every so often, there's a panel of decent art, but most of it is well into "is that a person or a rakghoul?" territory. It's just SO BAD. In fact, it's so bad, it completely ruins the story. Assuming there was a story at all. It's some weird mismash of slapstick, rakghouls, and Sith artifact hi-jinks.
And eye-bleedingly bad art.
And eye-bleedingly bad art.
May 26, 2022
This one was good too, I was thrown away a bit from the artwork which got a bit too cartoony and changed suddenly from the KotOR series, but still nice and an ok crossover event I guess, even though I didn't care much for the character jumping between eras. Though the stuff with Zayne were interesting of course.
Good one but needed more besides all the name-dropping from well-known Jedi/Sith, or better yet, the ghost-dropping. Oh well..
Good one but needed more besides all the name-dropping from well-known Jedi/Sith, or better yet, the ghost-dropping. Oh well..
November 13, 2023
Dark Horse attempts a crossover, in the style of DC or marvel, have their ongoing titles unite.
The KOTOR story is well written with really poor art, the Dark Times Story continues on the story of Celeste Morraine, but this time with excellent art while moving along the Dark Times Story. A very well done cross over. Makes one pine for the old Dark Horse comics and not the current Drek being passed off as Star Wars.
The KOTOR story is well written with really poor art, the Dark Times Story continues on the story of Celeste Morraine, but this time with excellent art while moving along the Dark Times Story. A very well done cross over. Makes one pine for the old Dark Horse comics and not the current Drek being passed off as Star Wars.
October 28, 2022
Interesting way to link the old republic jedi with other generations.
January 7, 2023
Vector Volume 1 contains two separate series taking place almost 4 millennia apart. The first three issues contain KOTOR Volume 5 (3963 BBY) and the last two issues contain Dark Times Volume 3 (19 BBY).
Average Score
4.25 stars
Artwork
For starters, let's talk about the elephant in the room. The KOTOR art is HORRENDOUS compared to the previous artwork in the series. This will not impact my rating for Vector Volume 1, but I'd rather look at King Neptune's bald head:
With that out of my system, let's move onto the reviews.
KOTOR Volume 5
With Cassus Fett's invasion of Taris, it pushed Zayne and Gryph down to the undercity where they run into Celeste Morne, a "Shadow" of the Covenant. With the Rakghouls being a massive threat, survival and completing her mission becomes more important than capturing or killing Zayne. She is searching for the Muur Talisman, a Sith artifact. The Covenant wants to destroy it to help prevent a Sith uprising.
Pulsipher, Demagol's sidekick, led a group of Mandalorians to retrieve the artifact and beat Celeste to it. Celeste, Zayne and Gryph stow away on Pulsipher's ship and end up at the Ice Citadel on Jebble. The Mandalorians don't really respect Pulsipher because he's trying to be Demagol 2.0 and they don't really care about useless artifacts.
On Jebble, the Mandalorians are turning all their prisoners of war into Mandalorian recruits. Seems like the Mandalorians came to the same conclusion as Palpatine nearly 4 millennia later, quantity over quality.
After being ridiculed by other Mandalorians, Pulsipher taps into the power of the Talisman. Without going into too much detail, it gives the wielder a loose form of control over non-force sensitives of certain species.
Celeste and Zayne get some alone time that really conflicts Celeste after learning about what the Covenant did to the Padawans. Or is Zayne a liar? Should she continue her mission? Should she kill Zayne?
After some craziness, Celeste chooses the Jedi Path, Cassus Fett owes a great debt to Zayne, and Zayne's next step is clearer than ever.
I really liked this volume. Celeste was such an amazing character that added layers to the Covenant's power and shady business. The Mandalorians trying to get value out of their prisoners seems like something they would do. The increased numbers can really change the outcome of the war, even if the recruits are merely cannon fodder. Lastly, there were a few panels showcasing one of Q'Anilia's visions. She has the power to see the Chosen One almost 4 millennia before he was born. This makes me think that the Covenant's seers are indeed very powerful, but their mistakes with the Padawans will go down in history as a prime example of how trying to manipulate the future can be dangerous. It didn't work for them, nor did it work for Anakin.
5 stars.
Dark Times Volume 3
Captain Heren is looking for a new buyer after the gongshow that occurred in the previous volume. Janks got captured by the Empire. Vader questions him about the Uhumele crew and what they are trying to sell.
Heren finally shows Bomo the cargo as he has gained his trust. The cargo is the Oubliette, a stasis torture chamber containing Celeste and the Murr Talisman. It was found under kilometres of ice on Jebble.
Vader arranges a new buyer, scholar Fane Perturri, to meet up with the Uhumele crew. Holograms of Gryph explain the powers of the Talisman and the Oubliette.
Vader opens the Oubliette. Celeste and Murr are free. Vader is seeking a new apprentice. Murr is seeking a stronger host. Celeste seeks to resist Murr and kill Vader as she is still a Jedi after all.
The little bit of fighting gave the Uhumele crew time to escape.
Not much else happened here but it managed to tie into KOTOR very nicely and continue the Dark Times story as well. Short and sweet.
3.5 stars.
Average Score
4.25 stars
Artwork
For starters, let's talk about the elephant in the room. The KOTOR art is HORRENDOUS compared to the previous artwork in the series. This will not impact my rating for Vector Volume 1, but I'd rather look at King Neptune's bald head:
With that out of my system, let's move onto the reviews.
KOTOR Volume 5
With Cassus Fett's invasion of Taris, it pushed Zayne and Gryph down to the undercity where they run into Celeste Morne, a "Shadow" of the Covenant. With the Rakghouls being a massive threat, survival and completing her mission becomes more important than capturing or killing Zayne. She is searching for the Muur Talisman, a Sith artifact. The Covenant wants to destroy it to help prevent a Sith uprising.
Pulsipher, Demagol's sidekick, led a group of Mandalorians to retrieve the artifact and beat Celeste to it. Celeste, Zayne and Gryph stow away on Pulsipher's ship and end up at the Ice Citadel on Jebble. The Mandalorians don't really respect Pulsipher because he's trying to be Demagol 2.0 and they don't really care about useless artifacts.
On Jebble, the Mandalorians are turning all their prisoners of war into Mandalorian recruits. Seems like the Mandalorians came to the same conclusion as Palpatine nearly 4 millennia later, quantity over quality.
After being ridiculed by other Mandalorians, Pulsipher taps into the power of the Talisman. Without going into too much detail, it gives the wielder a loose form of control over non-force sensitives of certain species.
Celeste and Zayne get some alone time that really conflicts Celeste after learning about what the Covenant did to the Padawans. Or is Zayne a liar? Should she continue her mission? Should she kill Zayne?
After some craziness, Celeste chooses the Jedi Path, Cassus Fett owes a great debt to Zayne, and Zayne's next step is clearer than ever.
I really liked this volume. Celeste was such an amazing character that added layers to the Covenant's power and shady business. The Mandalorians trying to get value out of their prisoners seems like something they would do. The increased numbers can really change the outcome of the war, even if the recruits are merely cannon fodder. Lastly, there were a few panels showcasing one of Q'Anilia's visions. She has the power to see the Chosen One almost 4 millennia before he was born. This makes me think that the Covenant's seers are indeed very powerful, but their mistakes with the Padawans will go down in history as a prime example of how trying to manipulate the future can be dangerous. It didn't work for them, nor did it work for Anakin.
5 stars.
Dark Times Volume 3
Captain Heren is looking for a new buyer after the gongshow that occurred in the previous volume. Janks got captured by the Empire. Vader questions him about the Uhumele crew and what they are trying to sell.
Heren finally shows Bomo the cargo as he has gained his trust. The cargo is the Oubliette, a stasis torture chamber containing Celeste and the Murr Talisman. It was found under kilometres of ice on Jebble.
Vader arranges a new buyer, scholar Fane Perturri, to meet up with the Uhumele crew. Holograms of Gryph explain the powers of the Talisman and the Oubliette.
Vader opens the Oubliette. Celeste and Murr are free. Vader is seeking a new apprentice. Murr is seeking a stronger host. Celeste seeks to resist Murr and kill Vader as she is still a Jedi after all.
The little bit of fighting gave the Uhumele crew time to escape.
Not much else happened here but it managed to tie into KOTOR very nicely and continue the Dark Times story as well. Short and sweet.
3.5 stars.
March 22, 2019
There are two chapters in this book, the first is Vol. 5 of Knights of the old republic, and the second, Vol. 3 of Dark Times.
Right away, the artwork in chapter 1 is off-putting. I hated it. As far as the story goes, it starts with Q'Anilia having a vision of an ancient Sith Lord, Zayne, Darth Vader, young Luke, and I think Cade. She also sees a talisman on the Sith and Lucien sends an agent to recover it.
Zayne and Gryph are portrayed as totally incompetent morons who screw up everything. The talisman ends up taking control of Celeste, the Jedi who was sent to collect it. As she resists the ghost of the Sith Lord from taking over completely, Zayne places her in stasis. Before this, she gives him a key that will get him access to the store of Sith artifacts that Lucien and the others have been gathering in secret while he and Gryph are rescued by Alek and Jarael.
And then Cassius Fett shows up and destroys the planet because of a Rakgoul plague, leaving Zayne grief stricken about Celeste.
The story is fine other than the ridiculous way that Zayne and Gryph are portrayed.
Although I'm reading these in chronological order I'm going to leave a review of Chapter 2 which takes place 4000 years after.
The artwork is much, much better. As for the story, we carry on with Celeste. Some smugglers have located an object for a client, bringing it to an isolated planet. It happens to be Celeste in her stasis chamber. Vader is here, and when she wakes she begins asking questions and learns that the Sith have crushed the Republic. Upon hearing this she senses the darkness in Vader and a fight ensues. All the while the spirit of Karness Murr, who created the talisman, taunts her, telling her Vader is much stronger, and that she should just let him have it.
This is a really good story, and I like where it goes. Can't wait to get to the Dark Times series.
Overall the first chapter really leads to a lower rating for this volume.
Right away, the artwork in chapter 1 is off-putting. I hated it. As far as the story goes, it starts with Q'Anilia having a vision of an ancient Sith Lord, Zayne, Darth Vader, young Luke, and I think Cade. She also sees a talisman on the Sith and Lucien sends an agent to recover it.
Zayne and Gryph are portrayed as totally incompetent morons who screw up everything. The talisman ends up taking control of Celeste, the Jedi who was sent to collect it. As she resists the ghost of the Sith Lord from taking over completely, Zayne places her in stasis. Before this, she gives him a key that will get him access to the store of Sith artifacts that Lucien and the others have been gathering in secret while he and Gryph are rescued by Alek and Jarael.
And then Cassius Fett shows up and destroys the planet because of a Rakgoul plague, leaving Zayne grief stricken about Celeste.
The story is fine other than the ridiculous way that Zayne and Gryph are portrayed.
Although I'm reading these in chronological order I'm going to leave a review of Chapter 2 which takes place 4000 years after.
The artwork is much, much better. As for the story, we carry on with Celeste. Some smugglers have located an object for a client, bringing it to an isolated planet. It happens to be Celeste in her stasis chamber. Vader is here, and when she wakes she begins asking questions and learns that the Sith have crushed the Republic. Upon hearing this she senses the darkness in Vader and a fight ensues. All the while the spirit of Karness Murr, who created the talisman, taunts her, telling her Vader is much stronger, and that she should just let him have it.
This is a really good story, and I like where it goes. Can't wait to get to the Dark Times series.
Overall the first chapter really leads to a lower rating for this volume.
March 5, 2025
It should have been great. Dark Horse's four flagship series, doing a crossover story arc over the course of an entire publishing year? A story that touches four generations of Jedi (wait, could Zayne be...) and has them face and overcome a central threat?
The four-issue KOTOR arc already starts off on the wrong foot. It just falls into every trap that it could have. The art is the biggest offender - I like hyper-stylized arstyles, but this one is just comically off-model. I'm convinced the one-time artists are secretly competing on who can have Zayne look the most wrong, and this here storyarc takes the crown. There are some plot advancements, but they're few and far-between - rather than advancing KOTOR's story, this arc is wholly self-contained. I can't divine any character development from it, either; most of it retreads familiar grounds. I like Celeste's character (and visual depiction, actually), and it's okay as a one-off, but that's about it.
Dark Times: Vector is a lot worse. Two issues are just not enough to tell a story; it's the connecting glue to Rebellion's similarly short narrative. For positives, the art is stunning, and I continue to like Celeste. But its place in DT's narrative is simply insulting. Oh, we're retreading old ground again, but this time . Oh, I guess it makes sense in terms of in universe lore, but narratively it's a misstep. I guess the crew will have more time for depressed self-reflection now. Ah, fridges.
I hope Vector's latter half is better.
The four-issue KOTOR arc already starts off on the wrong foot. It just falls into every trap that it could have. The art is the biggest offender - I like hyper-stylized arstyles, but this one is just comically off-model. I'm convinced the one-time artists are secretly competing on who can have Zayne look the most wrong, and this here storyarc takes the crown. There are some plot advancements, but they're few and far-between - rather than advancing KOTOR's story, this arc is wholly self-contained. I can't divine any character development from it, either; most of it retreads familiar grounds. I like Celeste's character (and visual depiction, actually), and it's okay as a one-off, but that's about it.
Dark Times: Vector is a lot worse. Two issues are just not enough to tell a story; it's the connecting glue to Rebellion's similarly short narrative. For positives, the art is stunning, and I continue to like Celeste. But its place in DT's narrative is simply insulting. Oh, we're retreading old ground again, but this time . Oh, I guess it makes sense in terms of in universe lore, but narratively it's a misstep. I guess the crew will have more time for depressed self-reflection now. Ah, fridges.
I hope Vector's latter half is better.
April 22, 2017
(3963, 19 BBY)
This is a unique collaborative volume that contains volume five of Knights of the Old Republic and volume three of Dark Times. Both are put together in one volume with a story woven around a Jedi introduced in the next installment of KotOR, Celeste Morne. Zayne gets mixed up on a mission with her to retrieve an ancient Sith artifact that can control the beasts of the Rakghoul Plague. On a side mission to eliminate Zayne, Celeste realizes that he is a better man than she thought. When she sacrificed herself to save the Mandalorians from the plague, she is thought dead. The Mandies now owe Zayne for warning them of the plague on their planed, but he leaves with a heavy heart.
In the next section of the volume, Darth Vader is seeking a casket found deep in the ice on a barren planet. Within the casket is Celeste and the Sith icon that Vader seeks. With her, she brings a return of the Plague. While Captain Heren’s crew and Vader’s troopers aim to avoid the plague and the death is will surly bring, Vader and Celeste battle one-on-one, Celeste opting to give in to the Sith lord controlling the ancient item, giving her the ancient one’s power.
This was an interesting collaborative piece that worked well together. I have not read the Dark Times arc yet, and I didn’t need to to know that this volume was vastly interesting. While the art for the KotOR piece is pretty bad, the shift in style to the Dart Times volume is absolutely gorgeous, and the two stories focus around Celeste and can be a stand-alone piece featuring her.
This is a unique collaborative volume that contains volume five of Knights of the Old Republic and volume three of Dark Times. Both are put together in one volume with a story woven around a Jedi introduced in the next installment of KotOR, Celeste Morne. Zayne gets mixed up on a mission with her to retrieve an ancient Sith artifact that can control the beasts of the Rakghoul Plague. On a side mission to eliminate Zayne, Celeste realizes that he is a better man than she thought. When she sacrificed herself to save the Mandalorians from the plague, she is thought dead. The Mandies now owe Zayne for warning them of the plague on their planed, but he leaves with a heavy heart.
In the next section of the volume, Darth Vader is seeking a casket found deep in the ice on a barren planet. Within the casket is Celeste and the Sith icon that Vader seeks. With her, she brings a return of the Plague. While Captain Heren’s crew and Vader’s troopers aim to avoid the plague and the death is will surly bring, Vader and Celeste battle one-on-one, Celeste opting to give in to the Sith lord controlling the ancient item, giving her the ancient one’s power.
This was an interesting collaborative piece that worked well together. I have not read the Dark Times arc yet, and I didn’t need to to know that this volume was vastly interesting. While the art for the KotOR piece is pretty bad, the shift in style to the Dart Times volume is absolutely gorgeous, and the two stories focus around Celeste and can be a stand-alone piece featuring her.
May 17, 2021
Star Wars Legends Project #16
Background: Knights of the Old Republic: Vector was released in four issues from January to May 2008. The trade paperback was released in January 2009. It was written by John Jackson Miller and pencilled by Scott Hepburn. Hepburn also pencilled 7 issues of The Clone Wars, along with various other things, mostly for Marvel (Captain Marvel, X-Men, The Avengers, Fantastic Four), but also some work on a "Dr. Horrible" comic, "Street Fighter," and "Thundercats."
A special note about Vector: I'm not reviewing all of it, because I didn't read all of it. Vector is a 12-issue timeline-hopping series that crosses four different ongoing (at the time) Dark Horse series: Knights of the Old Republic, Dark Times, Rebellion, and Legacy, with 4, 2, 2, and 4 issues in each series, respectively. So, I've read 4 of the 6 issues in volume 1, but I'm not hopping 4,000 years into the middle of the Dark Times series to continue it at this point. I'll get there when I get there. (I got there! And it only took me . . . *checks watch* . . . 5 years! You can read my review of the Dark Times issues of Vector here. *break* And here I am, 3 years later, with the 3rd Vector review!)
Vector begins sometime shortly after Daze of Hate, Knights of Suffering (my review here), still 3,963 years before the Battle of Yavin. It references various Sith Lords from Tales of the Jedi (most notably Naga Sadow), and introduces a new character, the "Jedi Shadow" Celeste Morne, who will be the main protagonist of the other Vector comics as they continue into the future. Zayne and Gryph return as major characters, but most of the other significant players from Knights of the Old Republic appear only briefly or not at all.
Summary: The Mandalorians have smashed the Resistance on Taris, and Zayne and Gryph are scrambling to stay alive amidst the chaos of war and the horrors of the Rakghoul plague in the Lower City. More danger is headed their way, though, in the form of Celeste Morne, an agent of the Jedi Covenant dispatched by Lucien Draay to find an ancient Sith artifact of impossible power . . . and kill Zayne Carrick.
Review: Ambitious, but not up to par. I look forward to seeing more of Vector in future series, but there's just no denying that it feels like an interruption of the Knights of the Old Republic series, despite the best intentions of everyone who worked on it. A bit of the problem is that it kind of comes out of nowhere, leaving several threads dangling from the last arc. When it begins, enough time has passed that I don't get to see the conversation between Zayne and Gryph about the death of Raana Tey, though you can fill in most of the rest of the gaps through hints dropped here and there.
It's not really the writing, though. This is a fairly exciting story, and an interesting spin-off that makes clever use of elements that Knights of the Old Republic has had in play since the beginning. And Celeste Morne is a cool character who has a neat little arc over the course of these issues. I enjoyed all that well enough, and certainly impacts the direction that Zayne will take in future issues, so it's not like it's just irrelevant to the series as a whole. No, the problem is the art.
The editor noted at the end of one of the issues that they wanted the art to set Vector apart from the rest of the series so far. Well, first of all, that seems kind of dumb when one of their stated goals for Vector is that it not feel like just a one-off gimmick. But, secondly, the art does stand out. It makes it seem like we've transitioned from a mature, quality masterpiece of graphic storytelling, into a cheap Saturday morning cartoon. There's a lot about this art style that I hate. For one thing, it's completely inappropriate to the seriousness of the story they're attempting to tell. The biggest problem, though, is the way the characters are drawn as ugly caricatures, particularly Zayne and Celeste.
Zayne is only recognizable from his signature outfit. His face has been transformed into an upside down triangle, with his chin protruding way down in a sharp point. Celeste is even worse because I don't know what she's supposed to look like in actual human terms, so there's just no way to imagine her any differently. Her face looks hideous from almost any angle (it seems to shape-shift as she turns her head), shaped so bizarrely that I don't know how it's supposed to exist in three dimensions. Her lower jaw juts out so violently that the rest of her face appears concave. Half the time, she looks like she's angrily chewing on so many marbles that they're packed into her cheeks, and the rest of the time she just kind of resembles a chimp. Her eyes, nose, and mouth are slapped on at strange angles that don't appear to line up with each other in any way. It's just incredibly distracting, and awful. Click here for one example of what I'm talking about.
Bad art can't destroy good storytelling, but this was an additional handicap that Vector definitely didn't need. Thank goodness they didn't turn the writing of this arc over to a different author, too, as a way of "setting it apart." I guess I should count myself lucky there. I'm glad to know, as well, that Hepburn will not be returning to either Knights of the Old Republic or Vector, and it's back to business as usual with the next issue.
B-
Background: Knights of the Old Republic: Vector was released in four issues from January to May 2008. The trade paperback was released in January 2009. It was written by John Jackson Miller and pencilled by Scott Hepburn. Hepburn also pencilled 7 issues of The Clone Wars, along with various other things, mostly for Marvel (Captain Marvel, X-Men, The Avengers, Fantastic Four), but also some work on a "Dr. Horrible" comic, "Street Fighter," and "Thundercats."
A special note about Vector: I'm not reviewing all of it, because I didn't read all of it. Vector is a 12-issue timeline-hopping series that crosses four different ongoing (at the time) Dark Horse series: Knights of the Old Republic, Dark Times, Rebellion, and Legacy, with 4, 2, 2, and 4 issues in each series, respectively. So, I've read 4 of the 6 issues in volume 1, but I'm not hopping 4,000 years into the middle of the Dark Times series to continue it at this point. I'll get there when I get there. (I got there! And it only took me . . . *checks watch* . . . 5 years! You can read my review of the Dark Times issues of Vector here. *break* And here I am, 3 years later, with the 3rd Vector review!)
Vector begins sometime shortly after Daze of Hate, Knights of Suffering (my review here), still 3,963 years before the Battle of Yavin. It references various Sith Lords from Tales of the Jedi (most notably Naga Sadow), and introduces a new character, the "Jedi Shadow" Celeste Morne, who will be the main protagonist of the other Vector comics as they continue into the future. Zayne and Gryph return as major characters, but most of the other significant players from Knights of the Old Republic appear only briefly or not at all.
Summary: The Mandalorians have smashed the Resistance on Taris, and Zayne and Gryph are scrambling to stay alive amidst the chaos of war and the horrors of the Rakghoul plague in the Lower City. More danger is headed their way, though, in the form of Celeste Morne, an agent of the Jedi Covenant dispatched by Lucien Draay to find an ancient Sith artifact of impossible power . . . and kill Zayne Carrick.
Review: Ambitious, but not up to par. I look forward to seeing more of Vector in future series, but there's just no denying that it feels like an interruption of the Knights of the Old Republic series, despite the best intentions of everyone who worked on it. A bit of the problem is that it kind of comes out of nowhere, leaving several threads dangling from the last arc. When it begins, enough time has passed that I don't get to see the conversation between Zayne and Gryph about the death of Raana Tey, though you can fill in most of the rest of the gaps through hints dropped here and there.
It's not really the writing, though. This is a fairly exciting story, and an interesting spin-off that makes clever use of elements that Knights of the Old Republic has had in play since the beginning. And Celeste Morne is a cool character who has a neat little arc over the course of these issues. I enjoyed all that well enough, and certainly impacts the direction that Zayne will take in future issues, so it's not like it's just irrelevant to the series as a whole. No, the problem is the art.
The editor noted at the end of one of the issues that they wanted the art to set Vector apart from the rest of the series so far. Well, first of all, that seems kind of dumb when one of their stated goals for Vector is that it not feel like just a one-off gimmick. But, secondly, the art does stand out. It makes it seem like we've transitioned from a mature, quality masterpiece of graphic storytelling, into a cheap Saturday morning cartoon. There's a lot about this art style that I hate. For one thing, it's completely inappropriate to the seriousness of the story they're attempting to tell. The biggest problem, though, is the way the characters are drawn as ugly caricatures, particularly Zayne and Celeste.
Zayne is only recognizable from his signature outfit. His face has been transformed into an upside down triangle, with his chin protruding way down in a sharp point. Celeste is even worse because I don't know what she's supposed to look like in actual human terms, so there's just no way to imagine her any differently. Her face looks hideous from almost any angle (it seems to shape-shift as she turns her head), shaped so bizarrely that I don't know how it's supposed to exist in three dimensions. Her lower jaw juts out so violently that the rest of her face appears concave. Half the time, she looks like she's angrily chewing on so many marbles that they're packed into her cheeks, and the rest of the time she just kind of resembles a chimp. Her eyes, nose, and mouth are slapped on at strange angles that don't appear to line up with each other in any way. It's just incredibly distracting, and awful. Click here for one example of what I'm talking about.
Bad art can't destroy good storytelling, but this was an additional handicap that Vector definitely didn't need. Thank goodness they didn't turn the writing of this arc over to a different author, too, as a way of "setting it apart." I guess I should count myself lucky there. I'm glad to know, as well, that Hepburn will not be returning to either Knights of the Old Republic or Vector, and it's back to business as usual with the next issue.
B-
March 5, 2019
What a brilliant series this is! A noteworthy cross-over event that linked four comic runs at the time. This volume is four parts Knights of the Old Republic and 2 parts Dark Times. My main issue with this story, as with any crossover event, is that it happens in the middle of another story arc already in progress. Little explanation is given as to why what is going on where it is going on because that has already been established in the main story arc. But like I said, I have this issue with all crossovers. The Dark Times segment possibly suffered more in this regard as the crew of the Uhumele suffer a significant death, which out of context is somewhat meaningless, particularly if you’ve not read the Dark Times series. Anyway, Zayne and Gryph were on top form causing mayhem everywhere they go which matched the somewhat zany artwork of the Knights of the Old Republic portion of the tale. The Rakghoul hoards made for a thrilling enemy with a unique look and feel to other alien hoards. I was reminded of the Chrysalids from UFO: Enemy Unknown. I also liked how the story explains the Rakghoul plague that featured in the original Knights of the Old Republic game, which was a mystery in the bowels of Tarsis that never got solved.
July 2, 2019
I'm reviewing ONLY the Dark Times chapter of this book.
The very idea of this crossover is asinine and it really ruins the flow and readability of all 4 books that it involved. But that's the way things are, so how is it? Well, the Dark Times chapter at least is quite good. You don't need to read any of the other chapters to understand what is going on, as the characters don't really know either. Everything is explained just fine, and it's not overbearing. You may wonder what happens to a certain character at the end, but it's not relevant to the ongoing Dark Times plot at all. That's the main thing I want to get across. This is a VERY important chapter for Dark Times and cannot be skipped, but the rest of the crossover CAN be skipped if you are only reading Dark Times. I imagine the same is true for the other series involved, except maybe Legacy, which could require a more complete knowledge.
The very idea of this crossover is asinine and it really ruins the flow and readability of all 4 books that it involved. But that's the way things are, so how is it? Well, the Dark Times chapter at least is quite good. You don't need to read any of the other chapters to understand what is going on, as the characters don't really know either. Everything is explained just fine, and it's not overbearing. You may wonder what happens to a certain character at the end, but it's not relevant to the ongoing Dark Times plot at all. That's the main thing I want to get across. This is a VERY important chapter for Dark Times and cannot be skipped, but the rest of the crossover CAN be skipped if you are only reading Dark Times. I imagine the same is true for the other series involved, except maybe Legacy, which could require a more complete knowledge.
August 31, 2017
In theory I don't think Vector is a particularly good idea, but it links some of the best Star Wars comics out there and in the hands of those competent artists it almost works. Zayne, Gryph, and Celeste are strong characters that jump off the page even coming into their story abruptly, and while the whole thing is an unwelcome interruption from Dark Times' normal business, I don't begrudge it too much. It feels just within the realm of plausibility, just barely. It doesn't add much to anyone's story but Morne's, and perhaps Vader's, though. The art is good but even though Wheatley is back it doesn't match his work on Path to Nowhere.
January 10, 2023
Storywise, this does not disappoint. Or rather, it exceeds expectations - because crossovers are generally cringey and place profit over quality (heck, they even admit to the blatant cash grab in a brief editorial at the start of the TPB). But Vector, so far, is engaging and does great things with the characters. But...artwise, I was very disappointed while reading Knights of the Old Republic segment. Terrible choice of artistic style. It does not gel with the series or the general tone of Star Wars comics. So I've deducted a star for that.
August 29, 2017
Many readers consider this a disgusting marketing-stunt and the creators do admit that this is also the case. No secret there. The first part also seems to have a significant lower quality in the drawing than from previous volumes of the Knights of The Old Republic-series. It is quite remarkable that this could get published and if it didn't have a better second part this would have been close to a 1 star.
October 2, 2017
Read the first section while reading all the SW: KOTOR comic series. The plot is interesting and Celeste gets to have a little background and some character development in those four issues.
Section 2, intertwined with SW: Dark Times, was pretty good. The artwork is completely different and I don't know any of the characters from that series, but I was interested to see what became of Celeste. Interesting interaction with Vader.
Section 2, intertwined with SW: Dark Times, was pretty good. The artwork is completely different and I don't know any of the characters from that series, but I was interested to see what became of Celeste. Interesting interaction with Vader.
August 31, 2017
Feh.
I can see what they were trying to do with this comic. They were trying to have a single thread to link together the "eras" of Star Wars-- Old Republic, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and that one really weird far-future one with Cade Skywalker getting stalked by his great-great-however-many-greats-grandfather's Force ghost, as one does-- but it didn't really... work.
Granted, this volume only covered the first two, a Knights of the Old Republic story and Darth Vader stumbling across someone from the first story. The writing is fine, I guess, better in the Vader section, but the art isn't very good and the story just didn't hold my attention. Not for me.
I can see what they were trying to do with this comic. They were trying to have a single thread to link together the "eras" of Star Wars-- Old Republic, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and that one really weird far-future one with Cade Skywalker getting stalked by his great-great-however-many-greats-grandfather's Force ghost, as one does-- but it didn't really... work.
Granted, this volume only covered the first two, a Knights of the Old Republic story and Darth Vader stumbling across someone from the first story. The writing is fine, I guess, better in the Vader section, but the art isn't very good and the story just didn't hold my attention. Not for me.
January 2, 2021
So it's kind of got a zombie story feel, although not as bad as some of the actual zombie novels in the SW universe. This plotline was kind of boring, but with Zayne finally deciding to put an end to things with the Masters, maybe the next installment will pick up a bit more. Not my favorite artwork either, a little too cartoony for the seriousness of the story, but it still got the point across.
July 25, 2021
Omlouvám se fanouškům, ale tady bylo všechno špatně. Kresba, příběh, i struktura. Tohle volume mi přišlo pouze jako laciný fanservis (stačí se kouknout na obálku). Ta 1🌟 je za poslední dva sešity a za to, že to nebylo úplně zbytečné. Snad bude 6 opět super.
July 16, 2022
mehhhh
the art style in chapter one was absolutely awful. the crossover-style of the novel didn’t really do it for me. the story felt isolated and disconnected from the main KOTOR narrative. big meh.
the art style in chapter one was absolutely awful. the crossover-style of the novel didn’t really do it for me. the story felt isolated and disconnected from the main KOTOR narrative. big meh.
November 16, 2025
I strongly disliked the art style in the "Knights of the Old Republic" section of the story and found it somewhat hard to follow because I haven't read the other comics in that series. The "Dark Times" portion featured some fantastic moments, but the ending wasn't great.
May 15, 2021
A fantastic story across eras of the Star Wars universe.
October 22, 2021
This story arc was one of the best in the series up to this point. Celeste Morne was a great character and her duel with Darth Vader was pretty cool.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2017
Interesante historia que atraviesa diferentes sagas.
July 13, 2019
I enjoy the idea of doing a story set across all the Star Wars comics' time periods, and got attached to the new character Vector introduced, but most of the four stories (in this and volume 2) weren't entirely gripping, and some of the art was awful.
December 13, 2015
The First of the Cross-Over Comics
20 July 2012
Right at the beginning of this graphic novel there is a discussion about crossover comics and how they are used to generate more income for the various comic book houses and this is one of the reasons that they created this story. It appears that this story crosses four series, beginning with Knights of the Old Republic and ending with Legacy. I can understand how they use crossovers to generate more income and it is generally not from the crossover comic itself but rather by getting readers of one line of comics interested in other lines. In a way by tying the four series together you are bound to get a number of readers going to the other series to see what they are like. You do not make money from the crossover story itself, but from getting readers of one series to begin buying other series.
This is basically a zombie story, though the term they use is Rakghoul. Everything about the Rakghoul screams zombie. They are hideous, mindless, and only interested in food, and if they bite you then you will turn into a Rakghoul. However, an ancient Sith artifact is found on Taris that turns out to not only create, but control, the Rakghoul, and Zane and Gryph get caught up in the hunt for this artifact, as well as introducing the main character in the Vector series, Celeste. She is a Jedi that works for Zane's enemies, but as with many of his enemies, she suddenly realises that he is incapable of being able to commit the crimes that he has been accused of, namely because he is so incompetent.
Anyway, Knights of the Old Republic is set 4000 years in the past, and this series is supposed to be a crossover from the Old Republic era to the Legacy era, which is about 150 years after the events in Return of the Jedi. I have not read the second volume so I don't know how she survives the next 150 years, but we learn here that she survives 4000 years by going into stasis so that the Rakghouls will not break out of the planet and destroy the galaxy. However the catch is that the Talisman has taken control of her and an ancient Sith is trying to control her mind, but she is a strong woman who is able to resist its advances.
Fast forward to post Revenge of the Sith and we discover that her stasis chamber has been discovered but nobody is able to open it. However a group of rebels are attempting to sell it only to discover that the deal was a set up by Darth Vader to get his hands on the box. It seems that in this second series, Dark Times, Vader is looking for a way to sideline Darth Sidius so that he might take control of the empire rather than being forced to serve Sidius. He believes that what is in this box is the key to his plan. However, as typically happens with bad guys, he is wrong, but because he plays a central role in all of the movies he cannot die. Instead he escapes, trapping Celeste and the resurrected Rakghouls on the plant. What happens to Celeste after this? I really don't know, though I may find out one day.
20 July 2012
Right at the beginning of this graphic novel there is a discussion about crossover comics and how they are used to generate more income for the various comic book houses and this is one of the reasons that they created this story. It appears that this story crosses four series, beginning with Knights of the Old Republic and ending with Legacy. I can understand how they use crossovers to generate more income and it is generally not from the crossover comic itself but rather by getting readers of one line of comics interested in other lines. In a way by tying the four series together you are bound to get a number of readers going to the other series to see what they are like. You do not make money from the crossover story itself, but from getting readers of one series to begin buying other series.
This is basically a zombie story, though the term they use is Rakghoul. Everything about the Rakghoul screams zombie. They are hideous, mindless, and only interested in food, and if they bite you then you will turn into a Rakghoul. However, an ancient Sith artifact is found on Taris that turns out to not only create, but control, the Rakghoul, and Zane and Gryph get caught up in the hunt for this artifact, as well as introducing the main character in the Vector series, Celeste. She is a Jedi that works for Zane's enemies, but as with many of his enemies, she suddenly realises that he is incapable of being able to commit the crimes that he has been accused of, namely because he is so incompetent.
Anyway, Knights of the Old Republic is set 4000 years in the past, and this series is supposed to be a crossover from the Old Republic era to the Legacy era, which is about 150 years after the events in Return of the Jedi. I have not read the second volume so I don't know how she survives the next 150 years, but we learn here that she survives 4000 years by going into stasis so that the Rakghouls will not break out of the planet and destroy the galaxy. However the catch is that the Talisman has taken control of her and an ancient Sith is trying to control her mind, but she is a strong woman who is able to resist its advances.
Fast forward to post Revenge of the Sith and we discover that her stasis chamber has been discovered but nobody is able to open it. However a group of rebels are attempting to sell it only to discover that the deal was a set up by Darth Vader to get his hands on the box. It seems that in this second series, Dark Times, Vader is looking for a way to sideline Darth Sidius so that he might take control of the empire rather than being forced to serve Sidius. He believes that what is in this box is the key to his plan. However, as typically happens with bad guys, he is wrong, but because he plays a central role in all of the movies he cannot die. Instead he escapes, trapping Celeste and the resurrected Rakghouls on the plant. What happens to Celeste after this? I really don't know, though I may find out one day.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2014
One* of the reasons I strayed from DC Comics was its insistence on publishing confusing, expensive multi-issue crossovers on a regular basis. When I saw Darth Vader on the cover of this trade, I knew instantly what it meant: the crossover virus had infected Dark Horse. The one redeeming factor, however, is that Dark Horse's editors have no qualms about admitting this was a sales stunt--as evidenced in a column in the beginning of the book. (I couldn't believe what I was reading.)
Not only does the second half of this trade go off on a tangent to satisfy its "Vector" crossover duties, but the art in the first half is absolutely terrible. I don't mind a cartoonish style, but this is poor art hiding behind a cartoonish facade: faces aren't stylized so much as distorted, often with a "smashed in" look to them, as if Celeste Morne just got punched in the face. What is the purpose of this, honestly? I think good scripts deserve good pencils and inks, and this trade's artists didn't do the script justice. (Such as it is...the script wasn't as strong as previous issues.)
It was enjoyable, though, just not on the levels of the previous four trades. I am still impressed by Zayne's insistence on doing the right thing, much in the way of Batman never breaking his "one rule." Celeste is pretty much a paint-by-the-numbers stock character: orphaned female badass with a score to settle. She was pretty one-note and altogether dull. I didn't feel anything towards her as I have other characters in this series (yes, even the Moomo brothers.) It was jarring to see Darth Vader looming about in the second half, but such is the stuff of crossovers: just keep shoving ideas everywhere, even if they don't fit. Hopefully the quality will pick up in volume six.
*Another reason? Celeste is a Jedi who wears a midriff. Please. How is this practical by any stretch of the imagination? This is the kind of nonsensical rubbish I bailed on DC for. (Huntress, I am looking at you...)
Not only does the second half of this trade go off on a tangent to satisfy its "Vector" crossover duties, but the art in the first half is absolutely terrible. I don't mind a cartoonish style, but this is poor art hiding behind a cartoonish facade: faces aren't stylized so much as distorted, often with a "smashed in" look to them, as if Celeste Morne just got punched in the face. What is the purpose of this, honestly? I think good scripts deserve good pencils and inks, and this trade's artists didn't do the script justice. (Such as it is...the script wasn't as strong as previous issues.)
It was enjoyable, though, just not on the levels of the previous four trades. I am still impressed by Zayne's insistence on doing the right thing, much in the way of Batman never breaking his "one rule." Celeste is pretty much a paint-by-the-numbers stock character: orphaned female badass with a score to settle. She was pretty one-note and altogether dull. I didn't feel anything towards her as I have other characters in this series (yes, even the Moomo brothers.) It was jarring to see Darth Vader looming about in the second half, but such is the stuff of crossovers: just keep shoving ideas everywhere, even if they don't fit. Hopefully the quality will pick up in volume six.
*Another reason? Celeste is a Jedi who wears a midriff. Please. How is this practical by any stretch of the imagination? This is the kind of nonsensical rubbish I bailed on DC for. (Huntress, I am looking at you...)
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