Star Wars: Prelude to Rebellion

Rating:
Summary: Return of the Conehead
Review: 'Prelude to Rebellion' is the first story-arc of Dark Horse's ongoing Star Wars series. This book introduces us to Jedi Knight Ki-Adi-Mundi (the conehead on the Jedi Council in 'The Phantom Menace'), before he's been raised to the Council. It is an interesting story of political intrigue, corrupt Republican senators, the criminal underworld, and the trials of a Jedi. It is fairly well illustrated, and quite well written too.

In the days before The Phantom Menace, the Republic is trying to convince Ki's backwater homeworld of Cerea to become a member. The elders of the planet, including Ki, do not want this change - they like the peaceful, beautiful, idyllic nature of their world. But the youth, of course, see the fancy offworlder technology, and they want it. When Ki's daughter's boyfriend accidentally kills another, the boy goes into hiding in one of the Republic's "Outsider Citadels" on Cerea to hide from local justice. There, Ki's daughter and several of her friends are "befriended" by Ephant Mon, an associate of Jabba the Hutt, and proceed to get into even more trouble. Ki finds himself having to track down his daughter, while dealing with domestic disputes and a world that's tearing itself apart.

As I've said, the art in this comic is pretty good -- while I've seen better, I've also seen much worse. The writing and dialogue are fairly crafty and effective, and this book presents an interesting take on the Republics politics that I'd not considered before. There is a fair amount of action - hand to hand, ship to ship, and some lightsaber slaying of some stupid creatures torn out of the movie 'Aliens.' Some of the scenes in this book came as close as a Star Wars comic ever has to tearjerker status (not that any has come *that* close). We get to see a little of Ki's background, we are introduced to some semi-interesting new droids, and we finally see a human, fallible Jedi. My biggest gripe about this book is that the beginning is too boring. I often have tried to re-read this comic, only to be dissuaded within a few pages by the slow moving opening. Unfortunately, this "collected edition" fails to collect the special online Issue #0, which had been promised by then-editor Peet Janes, a promise that was reneged because they didn't want to go to the trouble of reformatting it to fit the printed page. :(

In addition to the main story, we get a mini-comic entitled 'Vow of Justice.' Originally included in the releases of the comics to take up some extra space, this short tells a bit about Ki's youth (which contradicts some of what we learned in the main story), and introduces us to a mysterious Jedi known only as the Dark Woman, a Jedi who we will see more of in future comics.

Overall, 'Prelude to Rebellion' is a big, satisfying story. Fun to read, and introducing various ideas and concepts to the Star Wars mythos, this is a good addition to your Star Wars library. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The New Face of 'Star Wars' comics
Review: I'll start out by saying I was a huge fan of Stackpole's ongoing 'X-wing Rogue Squadron' comic series and I found the fact that it was cancelled due to low sales to be shameful. And by no means am I a fan of the New Jedi Order series, especially its beginnings. So you can see why I wasn't quite going into this with an open attitude.

In any case, this start to the new ongoing SW series its obviously different than the XWRS one. I'm pretty sure its the first Episode-I era comic, and it holds its own. It's a small-scale story, wich I tend to like, ostly based off of the planet Cerea. Its a pretty good glimpse into Ki Adi Mundi and makes him into more than a coneheaded freak. I was familiar with Strnad from the XWRS comics, and the overall writing is the same as it was in his arc there- good but not great. The art is a bit too jerky for my tastes, but it, too, holds it own overall.

One flaw I have here is that so much of it is action. The new ongoing series based on the Jedi are very different from the XWRS series in this aspect. In here you get whole pages devoted to single shots, whereas in XWRS they litereally crammed in everything they could to make it all work out and move along numerous storylines and characters.

The Jabba-Ephant Mon connection is pretty good also, and helps set up for the next piece of the Ongoing series. The main reason to read 'Prelude to Rebellion' would be to set up Ki Adi Mundi for his roles and learn more about what was once a background character. (One of the things I really do love about 'Star Wars.') The next installment, 'Outlander' is very good, so I reccomend this as a prelude to that. Not anywhere near the quality of the XWRS series, buts it just starting out. 'Outlander' points it in the right direction.

Rating:
Summary: The New Face of 'Star Wars' comics
Review: I'll start out by saying I was a huge fan of Stackpole's ongoing 'X-wing Rogue Squadron' comic series and I found the fact that it was cancelled due to low sales to be shameful. And by no means am I a fan of the New Jedi Order series, especially its beginnings. So you can see why I wasn't quite going into this with an open attitude.

In any case, this start to the new ongoing SW series its obviously different than the XWRS one. I'm pretty sure its the first Episode-I era comic, and it holds its own. It's a small-scale story, wich I tend to like, ostly based off of the planet Cerea. Its a pretty good glimpse into Ki Adi Mundi and makes him into more than a coneheaded freak. I was familiar with Strnad from the XWRS comics, and the overall writing is the same as it was in his arc there- good but not great. The art is a bit too jerky for my tastes, but it, too, holds it own overall.

One flaw I have here is that so much of it is action. The new ongoing series based on the Jedi are very different from the XWRS series in this aspect. In here you get whole pages devoted to single shots, whereas in XWRS they litereally crammed in everything they could to make it all work out and move along numerous storylines and characters.

The Jabba-Ephant Mon connection is pretty good also, and helps set up for the next piece of the Ongoing series. The main reason to read 'Prelude to Rebellion' would be to set up Ki Adi Mundi for his roles and learn more about what was once a background character. (One of the things I really do love about 'Star Wars.') The next installment, 'Outlander' is very good, so I reccomend this as a prelude to that. Not anywhere near the quality of the XWRS series, buts it just starting out. 'Outlander' points it in the right direction.

Rating:
Summary: Good blend of action and character development
Review: Okay, I do not normally read SW comic books, as they are now too complex and too tied to the books. I've read the old "classic books" and I treasure my TPM book. Now, finally they've churned out a good one!

It follows the Jedi Knight Ki-Adi-Mundi from the planet Cerea, who has some definite differences to other Jedi Knights: for instance, he has multiple wives and daughters. (Some of the scenes make me wonder if that's why some Jedi don't marry) This isn't all that's occupying Ki-Adi's very tall brain--a rebellious bunch are stirring on Cerea, and the treacherous Trade Federation from TPM is included in the mix. Worst of all, his daughter is swept up as well.

This particular author managed to create an unusually enjoyable adventure--action and character development (Ki-Adi and his bond-wife and daughter) are balanced very well. The drawings are slightly sub-par, but I'm willing to overlook that as some of the previous comic book stories have been rather grimly drawn.

It's not a lost chapter in the SW saga, but it is an enjoyable story that gives you the writer's insight into an important Council member. Wonderful!

Rating:
Summary: Good blend of action and character development
Review: Okay, I do not normally read SW comic books, as they are now too complex and too tied to the books. I've read the old "classic books" and I treasure my TPM book. Now, finally they've churned out a good one!

It follows the Jedi Knight Ki-Adi-Mundi from the planet Cerea, who has some definite differences to other Jedi Knights: for instance, he has multiple wives and daughters. (Some of the scenes make me wonder if that's why some Jedi don't marry) This isn't all that's occupying Ki-Adi's very tall brain--a rebellious bunch are stirring on Cerea, and the treacherous Trade Federation from TPM is included in the mix. Worst of all, his daughter is swept up as well.

This particular author managed to create an unusually enjoyable adventure--action and character development (Ki-Adi and his bond-wife and daughter) are balanced very well. The drawings are slightly sub-par, but I'm willing to overlook that as some of the previous comic book stories have been rather grimly drawn.

It's not a lost chapter in the SW saga, but it is an enjoyable story that gives you the writer's insight into an important Council member. Wonderful!

Rating:
Summary: Much, much better than the movie it precedes
Review: Okay, I'm the author, of course I'll give it five stars!

Anthony Winn's artwork is great, and I'm proud of this story about the battle between hi-tech and low-tech, especially as it plays out in the heart and mind of Jedi Knight Ki-Adi-Mundi, at war with his own strongly-held beliefs to save his daughter, kidnapped by Jabba the Hutt's minion, Ephant Mon.

Jar-Jar Binks does NOT appear in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Uneven artwork but still worth a read.
Review: This is 32.5 years before NH on my timeline Dark horse originally called this part of its Republic series. Republic series 1 through 6 was the Prelude to Rebellion TPB and takes place at -32.5 years before NH. Dark horse Republic series is now up to individual issue #58. Every 4 to issues is then made into a TPB combining the individual issues into one story. I usually wait for the TPB (don't know what it stands for). This comic is about Ki-Adi-Mundi (cone head) from the planet Cerea.

Prelude to Rebellion is the main story, and Vow of Justice follows. Prelude starts out very slow and the coloring and inks are all over the place. As for the story - It starts out like a childs Disney story. But when people start losing their heads, we know we are in the high violence world of comic books. The story slowly draws you in and I enjoyed having wadded through the beginning. It is a story about Ki the father of 9 daughters and no sons. Because on 1 child in 20 is born a boy, Ki has several wives. (Gee and Anakin couldn't even have a girl friend?). Seems Ki is having trouble with his teen age daughters, especially one who joins a rebellious group that supports technology coming to Cerea. The Cerea Council is anti-technology.

A secondary story, VOW starts when Ki is 4 years old and picks up 21 years later when he is 25 and returns from training with Yoda to seek revenge for his family.

These stories give us an personal look at Ki and his life and family. I wonder how he dies when Vader wipes them out, all of them.

This is not unusual for Darkhorse to not take the time to do a good job. It seems too bad, that the "talent" people write a story, and then the artistic people do what they are told, but then the bosses don't bother to put out a quality finished product. What I don't know is that if they took greater care and produced a higher quality product, would it sell more? Either way, understand what you get for your [money] evenly produced final product. They may have an excuse this time. The production dates on Prelude are from 1998 to 2000. Darkhorse may not have had the higher quality production techniques that became available later. But still, on the same page you have one picture of the old style, and one in the new style. Some of the art work is 2 (as in fair) but some is a 4 (as in very good). None of the artwork is a 1 (poor).

Rating:
Summary: Uneven artwork but still worth a read.
Review: This is 32.5 years before NH on my timeline Dark horse originally called this part of its Republic series. Republic series 1 through 6 was the Prelude to Rebellion TPB and takes place at -32.5 years before NH. Dark horse Republic series is now up to individual issue #58. Every 4 to issues is then made into a TPB combining the individual issues into one story. I usually wait for the TPB (don't know what it stands for). This comic is about Ki-Adi-Mundi (cone head) from the planet Cerea.

Prelude to Rebellion is the main story, and Vow of Justice follows. Prelude starts out very slow and the coloring and inks are all over the place. As for the story - It starts out like a childs Disney story. But when people start losing their heads, we know we are in the high violence world of comic books. The story slowly draws you in and I enjoyed having wadded through the beginning. It is a story about Ki the father of 9 daughters and no sons. Because on 1 child in 20 is born a boy, Ki has several wives. (Gee and Anakin couldn't even have a girl friend?). Seems Ki is having trouble with his teen age daughters, especially one who joins a rebellious group that supports technology coming to Cerea. The Cerea Council is anti-technology.

A secondary story, VOW starts when Ki is 4 years old and picks up 21 years later when he is 25 and returns from training with Yoda to seek revenge for his family.

These stories give us an personal look at Ki and his life and family. I wonder how he dies when Vader wipes them out, all of them.

This is not unusual for Darkhorse to not take the time to do a good job. It seems too bad, that the "talent" people write a story, and then the artistic people do what they are told, but then the bosses don't bother to put out a quality finished product. What I don't know is that if they took greater care and produced a higher quality product, would it sell more? Either way, understand what you get for your [money] evenly produced final product. They may have an excuse this time. The production dates on Prelude are from 1998 to 2000. Darkhorse may not have had the higher quality production techniques that became available later. But still, on the same page you have one picture of the old style, and one in the new style. Some of the art work is 2 (as in fair) but some is a 4 (as in very good). None of the artwork is a 1 (poor).

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: This was an extremly interesting story. A pleasure to read, this makes a delightful addition to an Star Wars collection. It works as an extension of Episode I, yet still makes for a good time on its own. My verdict: if you've got the money, buy it!

Rating:
Summary: Return of the Conehead
Review: `Prelude to Rebellion' is the first story-arc of Dark Horse's ongoing Star Wars series. This book introduces us to Jedi Knight Ki-Adi-Mundi (the conehead on the Jedi Council in `The Phantom Menace'), before he's been raised to the Council. It is an interesting story of political intrigue, corrupt Republican senators, the criminal underworld, and the trials of a Jedi. It is fairly well illustrated, and quite well written too.

In the days before The Phantom Menace, the Republic is trying to convince Ki's backwater homeworld of Cerea to become a member. The elders of the planet, including Ki, do not want this change - they like the peaceful, beautiful, idyllic nature of their world. But the youth, of course, see the fancy offworlder technology, and they want it. When Ki's daughter's boyfriend accidentally kills another, the boy goes into hiding in one of the Republic's "Outsider Citadels" on Cerea to hide from local justice. There, Ki's daughter and several of her friends are "befriended" by Ephant Mon, an associate of Jabba the Hutt, and proceed to get into even more trouble. Ki finds himself having to track down his daughter, while dealing with domestic disputes and a world that's tearing itself apart.

As I've said, the art in this comic is pretty good -- while I've seen better, I've also seen much worse. The writing and dialogue are fairly crafty and effective, and this book presents an interesting take on the Republics politics that I'd not considered before. There is a fair amount of action - hand to hand, ship to ship, and some lightsaber slaying of some stupid creatures torn out of the movie `Aliens.' Some of the scenes in this book came as close as a Star Wars comic ever has to tearjerker status (not that any has come *that* close). We get to see a little of Ki's background, we are introduced to some semi-interesting new droids, and we finally see a human, fallible Jedi. My biggest gripe about this book is that the beginning is too boring. I often have tried to re-read this comic, only to be dissuaded within a few pages by the slow moving opening. Unfortunately, this "collected edition" fails to collect the special online Issue #0, which had been promised by then-editor Peet Janes, a promise that was reneged because they didn't want to go to the trouble of reformatting it to fit the printed page. :(

In addition to the main story, we get a mini-comic entitled `Vow of Justice.' Originally included in the releases of the comics to take up some extra space, this short tells a bit about Ki's youth (which contradicts some of what we learned in the main story), and introduces us to a mysterious Jedi known only as the Dark Woman, a Jedi who we will see more of in future comics.

Overall, `Prelude to Rebellion' is a big, satisfying story. Fun to read, and introducing various ideas and concepts to the Star Wars mythos, this is a good addition to your Star Wars library. Recommended.