Age of Republic: General Grievous: "Burn" by Jody Houser

Age of Republic: General Grievous: "Burn" written by Jody Houser, illustrated by Luke Ross and Java Tartaglia

     Hmmm...I liked the metaphysical Force lore in this issue but overall I found it lacking compared to the other "Age of Republic" issues. There just wasn't much meat in this one and it was very centrally focused on only Grievous with a very short introduction of a new Jedi Knight and her Padawan. Most of the story is told in the form of Grievous' thoughts, but one of the few times when he does talk, he's accompanied with his iconic hacking cough which I thought was wonderful. The best part of this issue was probably the surprising way that it ended, something I will not give away here.
     I get where the title comes from--has to do with the ending--but I don't feel like it fits the overarching story. Something like "Destruction" or "Understanding" would have been much more apt as the entire Force lore-ness of this issue was about how Grievous had brought destruction upon himself. As the Force manifestation he encounters says, "You seek to destroy a power you don't comprehend. You have carved away your own connection to it. Replaced it with parts whose strength you believe you understand. But your understanding is not strength."
     This issue takes place in the middle of season 1 of "The Clone Wars," after "Lair of Grievous" in which Kit Fisto and his former Padawan Nahdar Vebb track the escaped Nute Gunray to Grievous' castle on Vassek 3, and before "Dooku Captured" in which Dooku is captured by Hondo Ohnaka's gang on Vanqor.
     We start on Ledeve with a Padawan running for his life as his master confronts Grievous...as is no surprise, neither survives the encounter. Grievous discovers what appears to be a datapad in the Padawan's possession with schematics for an unknown location that he quickly finds not too far away in the woods--turns out it's a Jedi temple!

     So he enters the temple, ready to wreak havoc on everything and anything in his path and discover whatever secrets he believes the Jedi to be hiding. What he finds is creepy as all get out!! And despite its creepiness, does nothing to change his view on himself or the world around him. He still thinks he's the biggest bad out there and nothing can harm him. In a super intriguing turn of events we actually get to see him as he once was when fully flesh and blood--a Kaleesh warrior (see above). I feel like this representation of a Kaleesh is slightly different than what we've been presented with before. So it's interesting to see what is considered truly canon through this comic book.
     The artists in this issue do a great job with presenting Grievous as menacing and cat-like as he climbs ceilings and walls in his hunched over spidery stance. Just the way he stands shows his dominating, I'm in charge attitude--especially with his cape billowing out behind him. Check out an awesome close up of one of his eyes below!

     So, interesting for what it adds to Force lore, but overall not necessarily a winner. I was definitely disappointed that we didn't get something like a back story for how he became the way he is now. Or maybe even a tale of how he rose through the ranks. There's so much about him that I want to know more of and this issue didn't touch on any of it. Oh well, out of nine issues, one has to be my least favorite sadly. Ugh, I was just hoping for so much more!! Especially since Grievous is one of my all time favorite characters. *sigh* But, like I said, the ending is surprising and the lore is intriguing so it was still worth the read.