Seeking balance in an unbalanced galaxy.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jody Houser
Art: Cory Smith, Walden Wong
Colors: Java Tartaglia
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
What They Say:
JEDI ORDER…OR CHAOS? Considered one of the greatest Jedi Knights or the one who led them to their doom, maverick QUI-GON JINN is one of STAR WARS’ most controversial heroes. The JEDI MASTER is known to bend the rules and it’s gotten him into plenty of trouble with the COUNCIL. Now, in the face of a mission that goes awry, he’s forced to confront his conflicting beliefs. What will Qui-Gon uncover about his loyalty to the Jedi vs his loyalty to the FORCE? Guest-starring MASTER YODA!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Marvel has managed to explore a little bit of the prequel era since taking on the Star Wars comics license but nowhere near as much as I would like. That applies to the novels as well as they’re being very cautious overall in playing there, which I understand. The Age of the Republic section of this expansive series of one-off books kicks off with Qui-Gon Jin and has Jody Houser writing. With her work on some adaptation material recently, I’m glad to see her being able to do something more creative and paired well with Cam Smith and Walden Wong on the artwork. While you can hear Liam Neeson’s voice easily in this, the combination of the creative as a whole is what allows that and makes the forward push engaging.
This single installment story takes place what feels like a few years before The Phantom Menace as Obi-wan is a bit younger. He and Qui-Gon are handling a mission involving a dispute between two species on a world where he’s trying to find a solution but unable to do so as both sides are basically all in for war. With no real options in the short-term, he opts to take the naturalist leader back to Coruscant to figure something else out. That doesn’t fly well with her considering the nature of Coruscant but also because of her views of what the Jedi are. She believes they had chosen her side in helping her and should fight for her victory. It’s little surprise that this makes an impact on Qui-Gon as he’s already questioning a lot of what the Jedi are and have become.
This is an area that does populate The Phantom Menace but was never explored well. The touches here are nicely done with Yoda talking some of it through with him, especially the signals it sends by residing here on Coruscant and so close to the seat of government itself. For Qui-Gon, the chance to get away and explore the Force a bit – something he finds little talked about even among fellow members of his order in certain regard – and that lands him on a world charted ages ago where there’s a mix of light and darkness. The philosophical side of this character was an appealing part of him since he was a wise master type and his exploration of it here with flashes of a distorted future works well to highlight his unease with the Jedi in their current form. Of course, they’ve changed a lot over the centuries and are very different from millennia ago, but his sense of unease about where everything stands now is well played and he parlays it well into encouraging a path for others.
In Summary:
The opening installment of this series that covers the three main eras of the Star Wars universe is off to a solid start. Qui-Gon Jin is ripe for a lot more exploration but it’s one that will be a challenge to do something lengthy with as there’s that expectation of action. I really like what Jody Houser does here to work on his unease toward the state of things, something that a number were starting to sense as darker forces are moving around them unknowingly. The story moves at a brisk pace as a single installment requires but we get a good handle on our title character and a nice visit from Yoda as well, which always delight.s Cory Smith and Walden Wong captures the feel of the era just right, especially with Qui-Gon himself. I’d love to see more of this.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 5th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
