Rite of Passage (Star Wars)

Rating:
Summary: A blast of a read
Review: Buckle your belts, hold on to your hide, Rite of Passage is a blast. The team that gave you Twilight and Darkness are back, just as good, and showing why Dark Horse comics have never been better.

The quality of art is what you've come to expect from the Duursema-Kryssing team: fanciful illustrations, vibrant colours, you won't be disappointed. With Aayla looking like a bundle of cuteness in the opening scenes, and Villie back to grinning again, even if his page time was less than prior comics, it's back to old times.

Dialogue varies between the cast, though the Morgukai syntax limits creativity with their short sentences. Even the Jedi get some good lines, and for once aren't the usual wimps they seem to be. The Morgukai want Vos and Secura dead, they'll have to work for it. Which, of course, just gives room for some good snappy one-liners.

What is it with comics, that full names must be mentioned almost each time? Readers know who Quinlin Vos and Aayla Secura are; what need is there for characters to address each other with both names? Crimson Empire, the TOTJ and Ongoing series, they all did this.

There's nothing extravagant about the plot. The comic introduces Nat Secura, the young Twi'lek fans will remember Bib Fortuna making a fuss over in Tales from Jabba's Palace. His abduction has Vos and Secura in hot pursuit, and a father-son duo of Morgukai hunters not far behind. A race against time to avert interclan war, with the life of their master hanging in the balance as well. One will ascend to Jedi Master, the other to Knight, and the fun begins.

The only issue of contention was how the Morgukai son survived to appear later, as readers last saw him stranded in the middle of a lava flow. How he could possibly get out of that could easily have been clarified with a line or two, and not spoil anything. Meant to surprise the reader, it taxed credulity, compounded again in the last pages.

Overall, Rite of Passage is another great comic by the talented team you know can deliver the goods and more. And with character development continuing to evolve in new directions, avid fans are sure to follow them as the new stories come.