Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi: Prisoner of Bogan #4 of 5
Dark Horse Comics
Ostrander, Duursema & Parsons
Dawn of the Jedi is simply not the kind of comic series that a reader can jump into in any given issue. Unlike Ostrander and Duursema's Legacy series, this series offers a look at a universe that has very little that the common Star Wars fan might be accustomed to. However, once you get used to terms like Je'Daii, no hyperdrives or lightsabers you have a series every bit as good as the Legacy one. This is a great issue that is building up to something special in the mini-series finale next issue.
The two rogue force users, Lok and Xesh, begin to piece together their army to attack the Je'Daii world called Tython. The plot is a good one. The duo is gathering up the generals of their former enemy that already attempted an invasion of Tython but failed. However, Lok's plan is not to wipe out the Je'Daii, but to conquer them and then lead them against the other impeding invasion that no one except Lok seems to believe is about to occur. It's a nice complex plot that is spinning quickly into a great one.
The book is layered with subplots and potential love interests as well as various characters getting lost, thought dead, captured, re-deployed and everything in between. This universe seems to have a wider range of characters than that of Legacy and Ostrander and Duursema keep adding to the list with each issue.
The drawback here is some of the plot threads were introduced and last mentioned in the previous mini-series and a few since the zero issue handbook, specifically about the despot Queen. It's not a huge problem but it is noticeable and this corner of the Star Wars Universe is new and much different from Darth Vader and Princess Leia.
The artwork is tremendous. Some of the characters definitely resemble those from the Legacy series, but they have some uniqueness sprinkled in. The battles stand out and the verbal confrontations are memorable. Duursema is at the top of her game in this issue.
Dawn of the Jedi is a great concept and Ostrander and Duursema are taking their time mapping out the universe. This issue lurches the plots forward while building up several of the regular characters. When you add in the subplots and the action you have yourself a great issue. This is just another day at the Ostrander/Duursema Star Wars office.
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
