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delliomellidom's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
jaredkwheeler's review
3.0
Star Wars Legends Project #135
Background: In Service of the Republic was released in June 2010. It collects the three issues originally released July to September of 2009, plus the one-shot "Gauntlet of Death" that was released for Free Comic Book Day in May 2009. All four issues were written by [a:Henry Gilroy|153690|Henry Gilroy|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and the first three were also cowritten by [a:Steven Melching|3414949|Steven Melching|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. The first three issues were drawn by [a:Scott Hepburn|1953865|Scott Hepburn|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and "The Gauntlet of Death" was drawn by [a:Ramón K. Pérez|8189153|Ramón K. Pérez|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Gilroy was in charge of developing The Clone Wars animated series, and was head writer for Season One, as well as being a producer for the animated Rebels series. However, he has also written a few dozen issues of various comics, including the adaptations of Episode I and Episode II. Melching has also written a few dozen episodes (combined) for The Clone Wars and Rebels. In addition to one other series of Clone Wars comics, Hepburn drew the "Vector" arc from Knights of the Old Republic. Pérez also drew for one or two other Clone Wars comics, as well as providing artwork for several issues of Star Wars Gamer magazine.
In Service of the Republic is set a few months after the Battle of Geonosis (22 years before the Battle of Yavin). The main characters are Jedi masters Kit Fisto and Plo Koon, along with Asajj Ventress and Major Kendal Ozzel.
Summary: In In Service of the Republic, deployed to the icy world of Khorm to secure a valuable resource, Plo Koon and Kit Fisto find the Separatist forces already deeply-entrenched, allied with a local warlord who has some powerful technology at his disposal. Even more important than the Republic's access to the planet's resources is the safety of its people, now threatened by the Separatists, but not everyone agrees with the Jedi's assessment, including a rising commander within their own army.
In "Gauntlet of Death," Kit Fisto employs some unconventional tactics to break a stalemate in a battle with the Geonosians.
Review: There are definitely several things that this comic gets right, starting with giving us an interesting story starring a couple of second-string Jedi characters and giving them some actual personality. There's some solid banter between Kit and Plo, and a running joke involving Plo's real age that works well. The artwork is really good, and the plot keeps moving and shifting when it would have been easy to coast on a lot of action without much substance.
Less enjoyable is the (I presume) somewhat playful attempt to work in some backstory for Admiral Ozzel, the first of Vader's subordinates to be offed for incompetence in The Empire Strikes Back. The writers take those 15 seconds of knowing he'll eventually be executed for minor tactical incompetence and spin it into an open question of how he could possibly have managed to survive multiple decades as a high-ranking officer when literally every decision he makes is the utterly moronic act of a craven. He orders his men into disaster multiple times, nearly gets the Jedi killed multiple times (in fact, nearly kills them himself at least once), cracks instantly under enemy interrogation. He doesn't do a single thing right in the entire story. Actually, that's too generous. He does all of the wrongest things he can possibly do in the entire story and then comes out at the end with the promotion we knew he was at some point destined to get. It's a sledgehammer device that gets trotted out far too many times. We get it. Haha, Ozzel was always a complete dummy. Move on. It's not actually fun or interesting when a story craps all over a character this much.
The "weather control" device that plays a central role in the early phase of the plot is also a bit squirrely, but that's the kind of goofy sci-fi-esque gimmick that anyone familiar with Star Wars is used to shrugging off. There are a couple of things like that here, but they hardly distract from what you're here to read. Overall the end result of this bit isn't memorable, but it is enjoyable while you're reading it.
"The Gauntlet of Death" leaves even less of an impression. It's incredibly slight and barely qualifies as a story, though there was some nice artwork at least.
C+
Background: In Service of the Republic was released in June 2010. It collects the three issues originally released July to September of 2009, plus the one-shot "Gauntlet of Death" that was released for Free Comic Book Day in May 2009. All four issues were written by [a:Henry Gilroy|153690|Henry Gilroy|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and the first three were also cowritten by [a:Steven Melching|3414949|Steven Melching|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. The first three issues were drawn by [a:Scott Hepburn|1953865|Scott Hepburn|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and "The Gauntlet of Death" was drawn by [a:Ramón K. Pérez|8189153|Ramón K. Pérez|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Gilroy was in charge of developing The Clone Wars animated series, and was head writer for Season One, as well as being a producer for the animated Rebels series. However, he has also written a few dozen issues of various comics, including the adaptations of Episode I and Episode II. Melching has also written a few dozen episodes (combined) for The Clone Wars and Rebels. In addition to one other series of Clone Wars comics, Hepburn drew the "Vector" arc from Knights of the Old Republic. Pérez also drew for one or two other Clone Wars comics, as well as providing artwork for several issues of Star Wars Gamer magazine.
In Service of the Republic is set a few months after the Battle of Geonosis (22 years before the Battle of Yavin). The main characters are Jedi masters Kit Fisto and Plo Koon, along with Asajj Ventress and Major Kendal Ozzel.
Summary: In In Service of the Republic, deployed to the icy world of Khorm to secure a valuable resource, Plo Koon and Kit Fisto find the Separatist forces already deeply-entrenched, allied with a local warlord who has some powerful technology at his disposal. Even more important than the Republic's access to the planet's resources is the safety of its people, now threatened by the Separatists, but not everyone agrees with the Jedi's assessment, including a rising commander within their own army.
In "Gauntlet of Death," Kit Fisto employs some unconventional tactics to break a stalemate in a battle with the Geonosians.
Review: There are definitely several things that this comic gets right, starting with giving us an interesting story starring a couple of second-string Jedi characters and giving them some actual personality. There's some solid banter between Kit and Plo, and a running joke involving Plo's real age that works well. The artwork is really good, and the plot keeps moving and shifting when it would have been easy to coast on a lot of action without much substance.
Less enjoyable is the (I presume) somewhat playful attempt to work in some backstory for Admiral Ozzel, the first of Vader's subordinates to be offed for incompetence in The Empire Strikes Back. The writers take those 15 seconds of knowing he'll eventually be executed for minor tactical incompetence and spin it into an open question of how he could possibly have managed to survive multiple decades as a high-ranking officer when literally every decision he makes is the utterly moronic act of a craven. He orders his men into disaster multiple times, nearly gets the Jedi killed multiple times (in fact, nearly kills them himself at least once), cracks instantly under enemy interrogation. He doesn't do a single thing right in the entire story. Actually, that's too generous. He does all of the wrongest things he can possibly do in the entire story and then comes out at the end with the promotion we knew he was at some point destined to get. It's a sledgehammer device that gets trotted out far too many times. We get it. Haha, Ozzel was always a complete dummy. Move on. It's not actually fun or interesting when a story craps all over a character this much.
The "weather control" device that plays a central role in the early phase of the plot is also a bit squirrely, but that's the kind of goofy sci-fi-esque gimmick that anyone familiar with Star Wars is used to shrugging off. There are a couple of things like that here, but they hardly distract from what you're here to read. Overall the end result of this bit isn't memorable, but it is enjoyable while you're reading it.
"The Gauntlet of Death" leaves even less of an impression. It's incredibly slight and barely qualifies as a story, though there was some nice artwork at least.
C+
eddasm's review
adventurous
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
katewans's review against another edition
4.0
I think this might just be one of my favourite tcw comics so far. I can’t pin down my favourite part. The age jokes? Plo Koon and Kit Fisto’s kindness to the clones and their allies? Wolffe lore? All perfection.
Negative points for adding to my pool of uncanny Kit Fisto art.
Negative points for adding to my pool of uncanny Kit Fisto art.
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