Star Wars: Jedi Knights #2 Review

Written by Marc Guggenheim

Drawn by Madibek Musabekov

Colored by Luis Guerrero

Lettered by Clayton Cowles

Edited by Drew Baumgartner, Mikey J. Basso, Mark Paniccia, Danny Khazem, Grace Orriss and Robert Simpson

Master Yoda and young Knight Vetna Mooncrest are dispatched to the planet Veeros to

investigate allegations of malevolent experiments being done by the planet’s leader. After being stonewalled by the leader’s majordomo droid, Yoda and Vetna decide to investigate outside the bounds of their official capacity, and stumble onto Atha Prime’s dark experiments. Later Obi-Wan Kenobi shares with his master, Qui-Gon Jinn, the vision he had of a mysterious assassin named Corlis Rath killing him, a man who had attacked Qui-Gon in the previous issue.

Guggenheim elects to throw the reader straight into the action with both a familiar and

newer character. Guggenheim’s script is predictable but engaging and allows Musabekov and Guerrero’s art to shine and carry the book. Musabekov’s work has, in my opinion, improved noticeably from his time on the main Star Wars title with Charles Soule. His designs for new characters like Vetna Mooncrest and Atha Prime feel both fresh but also as though they belong in this galaxy. The action that Vetna and Yoda engage in feels both fluid and crisp; there is an intentionality behind their actions that should be there for Jedi Knights.

The biggest potential problem Guggenheim could run into, and what I felt dragged down

the first issue somewhat, is the massive cast of this book (basically the entire Jedi Council, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and a host of new characters as well). So, while the first issue focused on something closer to the entire ensemble, this issue shrank that cast down to be only Yoda, Vetna, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. The main meat of the issue is focused on Yoda and Vetna’s mission, with a sort of epilogue that continues Qui-Gon’s story from the previous issue. Having the main stories focus on different members of the cast is a good way to balance a large ensemble and this seems to be Guggenheim’s plan based on the synopses for the upcoming issues. In the monthly format that the series is being published in, this should keep the stories fresh while also building an overarching narrative at the same time.

It is an interesting time in the galaxy, as this series takes place shortly before The

Phantom Menace, when everything the Republic and Jedi know will change. Atha Prime’s

machinations help to paint a picture of a galaxy that is becoming darker and more chaotic. To be blunt, the Jedi are losing control of the galaxy. In the first issue, a character refers to the Jedi as the Senate’s lapdogs, in this second issue, Atha Prime’s boldness could indicate a growing sentiment that the Jedi are vulnerable. It all feels perfectly inline with the state of the galaxy as we know it at this point without the reader feeling the need to go read other things to understand the context.

This is a strong second issue that continues to lay down the foundation for what the series could build. And on the plus, if the writing and story of the series ever takes a down turn, it seems that Madibek Musabekov and Luis Guerrero can pick up the slack and provide for readers to continue picking up the book.

-Henry Wood