Age of Republic comic: Qui-Gon Jinn: "Balance" by Jody Houser
"Age of Republic: Qui-Gon Jinn: Balance" written by Jody Houser, illustrated by Cory Smith, Walden Wong, and Java Tartaglia
So this is the first of the "Age of Republic" series that will be eight issues long. Darth Maul's story is up later this month as the villain entry. I'm super excited about the idea behind the series as a whole, but, well...
Hmmm...this was a pretty good issue but I would've loved more--more depth, more action, more backstory, more plot in general. It just felt really unfinished to me. This issue sets us up for Qui-Gon's "obsession" with balance and therefore the Chosen One, but it doesn't explain the story itself very well. It's like a character study of Qui-Gon that leaves the plot by the wayside. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed but am still thankful to have gotten a purely Qui-Gon issue full of musings and ponderings on the Force and its balance.
We do start off with a bang on the planet Bri'n with Qui-Gon deflecting dozens of blaster bolts, protecting a woman named Mistress Th'er of an unknown species standing behind him. She is blue with salmon-colored spots, has what appears to be white hair, has two protrusions coming out from the sides of her face, and has hooves--her legs bend like a horse's! An exciting new sentient species to behold...but what are they called?? Additionally, there's even a cute lizard and little flying dragons in this first panel! (See the image below.) So the issue definitely starts on the right foot with incredible visual interest.
We come to find out Mistress Th'er is known as the Priestess of Wood and there is a dispute ongoing about the Metal Clan cutting down the trees of her planet. Qui-Gon has been called in to manage the confrontation peacefully but Mistress Th'er would have him fight for her. Qui-Gon is distraught by her calling the Jedi great warriors and shares his concerns with Yoda once he, Obi-Wan, and Mistress Th'er escape to Coruscant. He says, "Even here on Coruscant, the home of the Jedi Council, there is little understanding of our purpose. We are seen as soldiers. Servants of politicians. With little mention of the Force itself." What a powerful statement and one that foreshadows the Jedi's fate during the Clone Wars after Qui-Gon's untimely death. I have a feeling he would have never wanted to be called "a general."
Later, Qui-Gon uses the Force to input hyperspace coordinates, willing wherever he ends up to give him understanding. He finds a beautiful planet that is charted but uninhabited and discovers darkness in wait. But amongst the darkness, he discovers the light and goes on to say, "Violence sows the seeds of the Dark Side. Unchecked, the Jedi could become that which we fight against." This echoes very strongly Luke's lesson to Rey about powerful light, powerful dark and harkens back to the title of this issue, "Balance." Qui-Gon brings this new-found understanding to Yoda, but Yoda seems to just be afraid of the Dark Side and any influence it might have on Qui-Gon...really weird.
Problems with this issue: 1) There are a couple of panels in which Mistress Th'er's spots are gone...super miss in editing! 2) I have no idea what the dispute on Bri'n is really about! I know it has to do with chopping down trees but don't understand the history or context behind the dispute. Absolutely nothing was explained in regards to this and I am left completely hanging.
I'm not all that impressed with this first one shot of the "Age of Republic" series. Hopefully it's not an indication of the quality that's to come. Jody Houser is a fabulous author...she wrote the Rogue One comic adaptation which was stellar for goodness sake. But this story just didn't give enough background or explanation for it to feel like a complete tale. It just felt like something was missing in the end and while we get a conflicted Qui-Gon and his musings on the Force and the Jedi's place in the world, we don't get context for that conflict. Fingers crossed the Maul issue will correct these missteps.
Hmmm...this was a pretty good issue but I would've loved more--more depth, more action, more backstory, more plot in general. It just felt really unfinished to me. This issue sets us up for Qui-Gon's "obsession" with balance and therefore the Chosen One, but it doesn't explain the story itself very well. It's like a character study of Qui-Gon that leaves the plot by the wayside. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed but am still thankful to have gotten a purely Qui-Gon issue full of musings and ponderings on the Force and its balance.
We do start off with a bang on the planet Bri'n with Qui-Gon deflecting dozens of blaster bolts, protecting a woman named Mistress Th'er of an unknown species standing behind him. She is blue with salmon-colored spots, has what appears to be white hair, has two protrusions coming out from the sides of her face, and has hooves--her legs bend like a horse's! An exciting new sentient species to behold...but what are they called?? Additionally, there's even a cute lizard and little flying dragons in this first panel! (See the image below.) So the issue definitely starts on the right foot with incredible visual interest.
Later, Qui-Gon uses the Force to input hyperspace coordinates, willing wherever he ends up to give him understanding. He finds a beautiful planet that is charted but uninhabited and discovers darkness in wait. But amongst the darkness, he discovers the light and goes on to say, "Violence sows the seeds of the Dark Side. Unchecked, the Jedi could become that which we fight against." This echoes very strongly Luke's lesson to Rey about powerful light, powerful dark and harkens back to the title of this issue, "Balance." Qui-Gon brings this new-found understanding to Yoda, but Yoda seems to just be afraid of the Dark Side and any influence it might have on Qui-Gon...really weird.
Problems with this issue: 1) There are a couple of panels in which Mistress Th'er's spots are gone...super miss in editing! 2) I have no idea what the dispute on Bri'n is really about! I know it has to do with chopping down trees but don't understand the history or context behind the dispute. Absolutely nothing was explained in regards to this and I am left completely hanging.
I'm not all that impressed with this first one shot of the "Age of Republic" series. Hopefully it's not an indication of the quality that's to come. Jody Houser is a fabulous author...she wrote the Rogue One comic adaptation which was stellar for goodness sake. But this story just didn't give enough background or explanation for it to feel like a complete tale. It just felt like something was missing in the end and while we get a conflicted Qui-Gon and his musings on the Force and the Jedi's place in the world, we don't get context for that conflict. Fingers crossed the Maul issue will correct these missteps.
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