Fugitives and the Je’daii clash in this week’s issue of Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi. But will the dark side triumph because good is stupid?
The action heats up in the third issue of the ‘Prisoner of Bogan’ storyline of Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi (DarkHorse.com profile). The two escapees, Master Daegan Lok and Xesh the Force Hound, are searching for crystals and the means to construct Forcesabers, while two teams of Je’daii are hunting for them, as is Xesh’s rival Force Hound, Trill.
Summary: On Tython, the investigation of Xesh’s masters moves forward as Tasha Ryo and Sendon use a holocron to identify the skull of one of them from Xesh’s crash site as Rakata. On the crystal world of Krev Coeur, Master Lok and Xesh obtain some potential saber crystals from one of Lok’s contacts, but before Lok can silence Slug, Je’daii Ranger Bel Zana intervenes. Lok traps Zana in a vision of fire, but the rest of her party arrives: Sek’nos Rath and Jake Fenn. It’s dueling time! Sek’nos and Xesh hack at each other, while Fenn and Lok try to gain the upper hand against each other. The dark-side leaning Lok Force-pushes Zana off the precipice, and Sek’nos leaps off to her rescue, only to lose his own grip, and fall into the chasm below. With Fenn struggling to save Lana and take her to medical care, Lok and Xesh escape to the industrial world of Nox to build sabers with their crystals by highjacking a forge. The Je’daii team on Nox have their own issues with the dangerous fauna, and react upon hearing Fenn’s news of Lana’s injuries and Sek’nos’ apparent death. But he’s been rescued and treated by Trill, posing as a thief.
Review: Jan and John keep the plot moving along well, balancing action and story in this tale of cat and mouse. There are a lot of groups being followed here: the fugitives, two squads of Je’daii, plus Trill and the Je’daii investigators back on Tython. And yet it doesn’t feel too crammed with hopping back and forth. I really liked the scenes with Trill on Krev Coeur, to set up both the feel of the world, but also give her time on her own. In the previous issues, we’ve seen Lok and we know his vision for the future, but this is the first time we really see him using the Force to get his way, and Ostrander and Duursema do a great job of “show, don’t tell” on how dangerous he really is.
Xesh’s motivations also come clearer with his dialogue as he fights against Sek’nos, and there are some great action panels in that fight (pencilled by Jan Duursems, inked by Dan Parsons, colors by Wes Dzioba). The overall mythology of the series also gets some light shed on it, with the Kwa gatekeeper of the holocron referencing the origins of the builders of the Tython ships – and connecting it to the Infinity Gates from the Star Wars: Republic – Infinity’s End.
My favorite panels? Trill fighting a predator on the crystal world, Ranger Hawk taking down his own beast on Nox and the first panel of the foundry on Nox, with Daegan Lok sporting a new look, and another victim of his mind twists.
Thumbs up! I really enjoyed this issue, and am definitely looking forward to the climax.