I love force wielding action; where the Force was the CENTRAL part of a war. But, can you tell me who's good or evil?
Taking place 37,000 - 25,000 years before the Republic, this is the FORCE WAR! -- A time of power and chaos!! Written by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema with artwork by Duursema and inks by Dan Parsons.
The Good
I absolutely love when writers delve thousands of years in the past when both Jedi and Sith were at the peak of their abilities! When the Force was the most important tool in war; and that both sides were leading the charge against the other using their awesome abilities. That is why I love series like "Dawn of the Jedi Force War!" It combines the right amount of interesting characters from both sides and decent story; that ultimately mold the Star Wars universe as we know it. Even though a lot will change when the Republic hits (i.e. Clones).
What writers John Ostrander and Jan Duursema do in this series, from what I've read, is that the Force entity is being evenly used between both sides -- no ONE side has the upper hand; and it could all fold if someone slips up! Unlike in the Clone Wars where it's obvious that one side has more power than the other (the Sith). This even distribution of the Force is handled extremely well by the writers and I love seeing how in the early days, of both Jedi and Sith, that their main mission was to get more power than the other -- which left a lot of gray areas for both heroes and villains to dabble in both light and dark areas (as opposed to the black-and-white of the Clone Wars era)! You don't see a great measure of that in the Clone Wars because you have the good and the bad and it's obvious who's, who. So kudos to the writers for making me love the early setup of the Force!
The artwork by Duursema is really great! She really knows how to capture what a Star Wars comic should look like.
The Bad
"Je'Daii" or "Rakata?" Who do you choose? What my MAJOR problem with this issue is, is that no matter if you read this series from the beginning all the way up to this point; it'll feel like you are reading it in another language! Maybe that's for me personally because my SW knowledge is very limited outside of the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War, but every time I read an expanded series that takes place either thousands of years before Clone Wars or thousands of years after Galactic Civil War; I feel like I'm missing out on something great! I've read expanded universe stories here-and-there, but when I read this one issue I was questioning a lot in the beginning on "who were the early Jedi and who were the early Sith?" With the writers being in the "gray" areas of the Jedi and Sith -- having them walk the line of both hero and villain; it was extremely hard for me to know who was who! That's not the writers fault, that's the marketing for Clone Wars and Galactic Civil war's fault! We are getting so many interpretations in media of those two eras because they are like the "super era" of all Star Wars stories! If Star Wars went back before "Clones, Luke, Anakin, Darth Vader, Yoda, or Jar Jar Binks" were even talked about (going THOUSANDS of years back to be safe) it'd open up a whole new reader following for their expanded universe books. When reading a expanded universe story, it's like "ugh, gaah, um, were do I start? Do I EVEN start anywhere?" That's how I felt when reading this issue. If problems like that were solved, I think Star Wars fans EVERYWHERE would be happy.
The Verdict
It's an expanded Star Wars universe story. Somewhere in a galaxy far, far, away is material that tells you what is the cornerstone of knowledge needed for tackling the expanded universe giant! Maybe. However, if that doesn't exist (which I hope it does exist), I suggest just picking up ANY Star Wars expanded universe book and reading it. Don't go back to prior issues, just read from that point forward. I'm sure reading enough expanded universe books will increase your SW muscles! Because trust me, outside the 3ft shallow end of the pool of Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War self contained stories -- there is a FREAKING HUGE SW UNIVERSE (deep end of the pool) OUT THERE!!!! Believe me! So I recommend checking out this series and other expanded universe series if you are a TRUE fan of Star Wars. 2 out of 5.
Another Star Wars review I did recently (that is in the Galactic Civil War, don't worry I got your back -- back in the comfort zone we go *insert celebration noises*!):
Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows #4
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