Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Volume 1: Commencement

When you read this novel it will begin to give you a fuller story of Star Wars, its not as simple as Bad and Good.

I played the KOTOR game and loved it, So when I heard they were making a comic book that was going to take place during the mandalorian wars I was very excited. This comic is different enough from the game to be a separate story, but still have that KOTOR feeling. I really enjoyed reading it and will probably start collecting the comics.

It seems no one is able to come up with a fresh angle on Star Wars. Here we have a new series set four millennia prior to the Anakin/Luke saga, a wonderful opportunity to do something different, to try on some new clothes, to even do an extensive makeover. What we get is a rearrangement of the essential elements: a Jedi-centric story featuring a white teenage boy set in the midst of a galaxy-wide war populated with the same old species playing the same tired roles. The story is the film prequel in reverse. Our "hero," Zayne Carrick, is the evil chosen one, a padawan feared by a secret group of Jedi seers to be the next Sith Lord. Framing Carrick for murder, the Jedi cabal intends to arrest and then liquidate him - and all on a very flimsy pretense. In a seance-like trance, the seers have a joint vision of a Sith in a red suit. And, by gosh, Garrick has a red environment suit that looks eerily similar, in a trance induced dream-like way. Even George Bush had more credible evidence for his adventure in Iraq. Zayne turns the tables by escaping and promising to hunt down every last one of the seers in order to clear his name. So rather than a chosen one who turns out to be the Jedi's nemesis, we have a supposed Sith Lord who appears set to save the Jedi - and the universe. Admittedly, this is a clever plotting twist and not the only surprise writer John Jackson Miller has up his sleeve. In fact, given the warmed-over flavor of the concept, it's Miller's scripting and plotting chops that rescue the series from utter mediocrity. Besides a sharp wit and deft sense of comic timing, his writing is crisp and cinematic, with no exposition to slow the pace of events. He's aided and abetted by Brian Ching's pencils, some very sharp art that is sorely missed in Travel Forman's anime-style fifth chapter. To be fair, Dark Horse and Miller may not be entirely to blame for the repackaged characters and plot devices. With two best-selling video games built around this era, Lucas Arts no doubt also had a say. While you need not have played the games to enjoy these comics, it might help if you haven't read or watched too much Star Wars. For those that have, you can play spot-the-retread: + Jedi obsessed with the reappearance, after a long period of inactivity, of the Sith + A Jedi council that despite its collection of big brains doesn't have a collective idea of what goes on among its members + Yoda leading the Jedi academy (actually, he has another name and a little more hair, but otherwise he's Yoda) + The Jedi council chamber looking the same as 1000 years later + A junk heap of a ship that breaks down at inopportune moments + Spaceships escaping pursuit in asteroid fields + Self-absorbed drifters and shady merchants who abandon the hero, only to return to rescue him from certain death While Star Wars fans have come to expect this kind of patchwork storytelling in the EU, it would be of great service to the Star Wars universe as a whol

As a fan of Star Wars I was not disappointed by this book. Without giving much away, it really captured the feel of Star Wars for me with high action, comedy, some drama, and the occasional serious overtones. It both entertained me and made me think a little. It has some interesting plot points which make you think and creates a mystery type feel to the book. I'd highly recommend this to anyone: casual fans and hardcore addicts will find plenty to enjoy here. (Also, if you've ever been disappointed with other Star Wars books which seem a little too serious or sad (Tales of the Jedi), this one does a good job of not being too sad while still being true to the 'realistic' (bad things happen sometimes) feel of Star Wars. P.S. It collects issues 1-6 of the series.

I just recently started playing KOTOR again, and saw this book at my local comic shop and decided to pick it up. I got home that same evening and was going to browse through it while I waited for the game to load. Instead, I ended up reading it cover to cover and forgot all about the game! It's great! I became so totally immersed in the story that the next day, I went out and picked up issues 7-12. I recommend it even if you've never played the games.