STAR WARS OMNIBUS: TALES OF THE JEDI VOLUME 2
December 8th 2008 22:02
Category: Graphic Novels/Comics
“A Long time ago….”
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics.
Production Team: Kevin J Anderson & Tom Veitch – script, Steve Ellis – cover art, Chris Gosset et al – art, Willie Schubert – letters, Pamela Rambo et al – colours & Jordi Ensign et al – inks.
Cost: US $24.95.
Until picking up this particular work at the local library I had never come across a compilation of various works that was as thick as this, I kid you not when I say this particular volume is as easily as thick as War & Peace and Anna Karenna combined. Ok maybe there is a little bit of exaggeration there, but not much this is one substantial work, it collects all the various issues of the Tales of Jedi series starting from the Freedon Nadd uprising and ending with the Redemption story arc. Set approximately several thousand years before the events of Star Wars IV: A New Hope these tales take place a thousand years after the Great Hyperspace War between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic as told in the Fall of the Sith Empire.
As far as things go this is an era when the Galactic Republic is at its zenith, it is a strong vibrant institution fostering a sense of community, peace, stability and justice throughout the myriad systems and worlds within its confines. Of course not everyone is happy with the way things are, the rule of the Republic and the fact that the Jedi are its guardians and champions. The Sith may have been defeated a millennia ago in the last great interstellar conflict but there teachings and the influence of the dark side still exist within the galaxy at large waiting once again to make their mark upon affairs. On one such planet, Onderon, it seems that there are those who adhere to the teachings of Freedon Nadd, a Sith Lord and former ruler of the planet.
A task force of Jedi Knights lead by the famed Jedi master Arca Jeth are sent to the troubled system to try and bring an end to the conflict only to discover that all is not as it seems and that the seemingly feeble and aged king has become a force to be reckoned with, wielding the dark side with as much gusto as the Sith Lords of old. But you know what they say, treachery is the way of the Sith and all that King Ommin ends up being is the cats paw of a centuries old scheme by his ancestor Freedon Nadd. There are other beings in the galaxy who wish to wield the dark side and use it to further their own particular agendas and it is these whom Nadd is most interested in. Unfortunately for the Republic at large the Jedi are unaware of such schemes, they do not quite grasp that the Naddist uprising on Onderon is but the first spark of a far greater conflagration.
In the Lucasarts computer game Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) one of the characters that becomes a member of your party, the aging Jedi Jolee Bindo talks of the Exar Kun war and his involvement in that great galaxy wide conflict, this volume effectively covers the events of that war. And it began with the Freedon Nadd uprising on Onderon and eventually spanned the length and breadth of the galaxy, from the Core to the Outer Rim seeing carnage and death rained down upon various worlds, people and locations. Satal and Aleema Keto, scions of the noble families of the Empress Teta system are the ones to fan the conflagration by willingly dabbling in dark side teachings and eventually coming into contact with the dark side shade of Nadd himself on Onderon at the height of the uprising. Their presence and eventual escape goes unnoticed by the Republic and the Jedi, and for a while no one knows exactly what they are capable of until they stage a coup d’état in their home system.
Its ironic that the system that provided the leadership and force to fight against the Sith invasion in the Great Hyperspace War a thousand years ago should end up falling to the dark side due to the decadence and stagnation of its own society. But even here things are not quite what they seem, even though the Krath, as the cabal of dark siders call themselves consolidate their power in their home system Freedon Nadd searches for others who hear the call of the dark side, its seductive whispers and promises of forgotten lore, one such individual is the Jedi Knight Exar Kun who currently resides on Dantooine under the tutelage of Master Vodo-Siosk –Baas another is Ulic Qel-Droma, one of the Jedi under Master Arca’s leadership who fought in the Freedon Nadd uprising. It seems that the dark side has in one way or another marked these two for great things although they themselves are not fully aware of the roles that they are to play, nor for that matter is Nadd, his shade thinks he is pulling the strings but he is as much a puppet of circumstance as well as those whom he believes he is manipulating under the ruse of ‘mentoriing’.
To round things off the volume finishes with the tale Redemption, an aftermath tale illustrating events some years after the Exar Kun War or Sith War as some call it. This is very much a slice of life piece rather than any particular action packed drama with the fate of worlds and species in the balance. Although the fact that what is in the balance are the souls of several characters is probably just as important in the scheme of things, here in this story we are given a glimpse into the impact of the recent war on several key characters who participated in that episode in galactic history. We see how Sylvar, the female Cathar Jedi, Nomi Sunrider and her daughter Vima Sunrider, Tott Doneeta, Twi’lek Jedi and Ulic Qel-Droma former Jedi knight and apprentice to Exar Kun the Dark Lord of the Sith each fare in the aftermath of the war. It seems that despite surviving the battles, horrors and carnage of the chaos unleashed by Exar Kun there is scarring upon each of the characters – some of whom have managed to deal with these scars far better than most.
Actually the artwork in this particular section of Tales of the Jedi Volume 2 was interesting in its use of perspective, conveying a sense of action and motion through different angles and shots of the same object or person. It was like a manga in its style and the emphasis on facial expression and eyes. For any Star Wars or comic fan in general this omnibus is well worth reading and even though I had read these various issues as separate comics all those years ago when they were first released it was still an enjoyable experience reading them again.
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics.
Production Team: Kevin J Anderson & Tom Veitch – script, Steve Ellis – cover art, Chris Gosset et al – art, Willie Schubert – letters, Pamela Rambo et al – colours & Jordi Ensign et al – inks.
Cost: US $24.95.
Until picking up this particular work at the local library I had never come across a compilation of various works that was as thick as this, I kid you not when I say this particular volume is as easily as thick as War & Peace and Anna Karenna combined. Ok maybe there is a little bit of exaggeration there, but not much this is one substantial work, it collects all the various issues of the Tales of Jedi series starting from the Freedon Nadd uprising and ending with the Redemption story arc. Set approximately several thousand years before the events of Star Wars IV: A New Hope these tales take place a thousand years after the Great Hyperspace War between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic as told in the Fall of the Sith Empire.
In the Lucasarts computer game Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) one of the characters that becomes a member of your party, the aging Jedi Jolee Bindo talks of the Exar Kun war and his involvement in that great galaxy wide conflict, this volume effectively covers the events of that war. And it began with the Freedon Nadd uprising on Onderon and eventually spanned the length and breadth of the galaxy, from the Core to the Outer Rim seeing carnage and death rained down upon various worlds, people and locations. Satal and Aleema Keto, scions of the noble families of the Empress Teta system are the ones to fan the conflagration by willingly dabbling in dark side teachings and eventually coming into contact with the dark side shade of Nadd himself on Onderon at the height of the uprising. Their presence and eventual escape goes unnoticed by the Republic and the Jedi, and for a while no one knows exactly what they are capable of until they stage a coup d’état in their home system.
Its ironic that the system that provided the leadership and force to fight against the Sith invasion in the Great Hyperspace War a thousand years ago should end up falling to the dark side due to the decadence and stagnation of its own society. But even here things are not quite what they seem, even though the Krath, as the cabal of dark siders call themselves consolidate their power in their home system Freedon Nadd searches for others who hear the call of the dark side, its seductive whispers and promises of forgotten lore, one such individual is the Jedi Knight Exar Kun who currently resides on Dantooine under the tutelage of Master Vodo-Siosk –Baas another is Ulic Qel-Droma, one of the Jedi under Master Arca’s leadership who fought in the Freedon Nadd uprising. It seems that the dark side has in one way or another marked these two for great things although they themselves are not fully aware of the roles that they are to play, nor for that matter is Nadd, his shade thinks he is pulling the strings but he is as much a puppet of circumstance as well as those whom he believes he is manipulating under the ruse of ‘mentoriing’.
To round things off the volume finishes with the tale Redemption, an aftermath tale illustrating events some years after the Exar Kun War or Sith War as some call it. This is very much a slice of life piece rather than any particular action packed drama with the fate of worlds and species in the balance. Although the fact that what is in the balance are the souls of several characters is probably just as important in the scheme of things, here in this story we are given a glimpse into the impact of the recent war on several key characters who participated in that episode in galactic history. We see how Sylvar, the female Cathar Jedi, Nomi Sunrider and her daughter Vima Sunrider, Tott Doneeta, Twi’lek Jedi and Ulic Qel-Droma former Jedi knight and apprentice to Exar Kun the Dark Lord of the Sith each fare in the aftermath of the war. It seems that despite surviving the battles, horrors and carnage of the chaos unleashed by Exar Kun there is scarring upon each of the characters – some of whom have managed to deal with these scars far better than most.
Actually the artwork in this particular section of Tales of the Jedi Volume 2 was interesting in its use of perspective, conveying a sense of action and motion through different angles and shots of the same object or person. It was like a manga in its style and the emphasis on facial expression and eyes. For any Star Wars or comic fan in general this omnibus is well worth reading and even though I had read these various issues as separate comics all those years ago when they were first released it was still an enjoyable experience reading them again.
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