Written by John Ostrander
Illustrated by Jan DuursemaOn the planet Tython, in the center of the galaxy, an order of warrior monks strives to maintain peace and to balance the mysterious power known as the Force. But a stranger is coming–one who will destroy both peace and balance, and open the galaxy to exploration and conquest. This is where it all begins!
John Ostrander and Jan Duursema of Star Wars: Legacy fame reveal the mythic age of the Jedi’s beginnings!
After going as far as they could into the future with Star Wars: Legacy, veteran Star Wars writer and acclaimed comics scribe John Ostrander and artist Jan Duursema are snapping back in the opposite direction. Even the oldest bits of Star Wars lore tend to be after the formation of the iconic Jedi Order, but the Legacy team is here to change that.
Follow the cut for my thoughts on the book of Genesis for the Star Wars Universe.
This first issue opens with a semi-mythic telling of the origin of the Je’daii, precursors to the organization that we now know as the Jedi. This kind of opening is common in fantasy comics – and, after all, Star Wars is more or less fantasy at its core with science fiction trappings – but rather than be content with three or five pages, John Ostrander makes the risky move of allowing his introduction to take up half of the issue. Such a structure runs the risk of boring the reader, who might be distracted by thoughts of “When does the actual story start?” Ostrander, though, has a handle on his prose that makes the history lesson of sorts plenty interesting – personally, I preferred it to the second half of the issue. Ostrander’s theological background really shows in this section of the comic, as the tale smacks of old creation myths not only in the way events take place, but in the manner of “telling” that is equally entertaining in the oral or written word.
The legend and the one page following it make it clear where the core conflict of this series is going to be. The Je’Daii, as opposed to the Jedi, are all about the balance of the Force. The Jedi in the films talk about “Bringing balance to the Force,” but they represent the Light Side. If, as in the prequels, they vastly outnumber the Sith – so much so that they were believed extinct – then clearly the Force was anything but balanced. This underlying flaw behind the “good guy” logic of Star Wars isn’t necessarily a brand new concept – it’s a major theme in perhaps my favorite Star Wars property, The Sith Lords – but the introduction of some moral grays to the typically black and white world of Star Wars definitely serves as a way to freshen up a franchise that sometimes can find itself repeating itself, especially when it looks like this theme is going to become a major focus of conflict, rather than just something in the background.
The second half of the issue introduces the faction that will most likely be our primary antagonists, the Rakata. The Rakata also have their roots in the Knights of the Old Republic video game series, and any Star Wars fans familiar with the Starforge will probably take this as a hint that this story is going to get very big, very quickly. Unfortunately – and surprisingly, considering the nature of the first half – the second half drags quite a bit. While some of this may be attributed to a fault in Ostrander’s scripting, there is something about artist Jan Duursema’s penciling that really slows down the book. It’s not that he’s a bad artist – his figures and backgrounds are fine, and even his Wookies look pretty good (no easy feat!) – he just doesn’t seem to have the best grasp on panel-to-panel motion. The more talk-heavy sections are a bit dull because of this, but it’s that action scenes that truly suffer; not only do they seem to be a series of static images, rather than one united piece, they are also very difficult to decipher. This isn’t as noticeable in the first half of the issue, as the images are more disconnected in order to match the narrative, but it really becomes apparent once the two Force Hounds begin their duel.
The first issue of Dawn of the Jedi has me interested in what’s to come, but I am also already a fan of the expanded Star Wars universe. I admit that I’m primarily excited about this series because I think I have some idea where this is going, which I have long been interested in, and that same sentiment might not be held by people who are just interested in learning a bit more about Star Wars outside of the films. Still, Dawn of the Jedi is at least worth checking out, and might be worth a purchase, depending on your love of the franchise.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – Browse
