STAR WARS: JEDI QUEST #1 (of 4)

By: Arnold T. Blumberg
Date: Friday, September 14, 2001

Now that all the joy and expectation I ever associated with the STAR WARS series has been beaten out of me by the tribute to Jar Jar that was THE PHANTOM MENACE, I no longer harbor any hopes that any new installment will be entertaining. It doesn't matter what medium it arrives in STAR WARS in all of its forms has become a merry-go-round of clichés and underdeveloped characters. If you think you've seen something in the saga before, just wait a minute and it'll certainly be back around again.

Welcome to JEDI QUEST, yet another boring retread of the same exact plotline, reiterating themes that were old when the original STAR WARS was being shot in the Tunisian desert. This time we're following Anakin (you know, the troubled would-be Jedi who will one day grow to be the galaxy's nastiest dad) and his teacher, Obi-Wan (sporting a gnarly surfer do that couldn't be more inappropriate if it tried) as they struggle against a vicious pirate named Krayn. Surprisingly (no, not really), Anakin has had a run-in with him before when he was but a wee tyke on Tatooine. Isn't that amazing? What are the odds that in a vast galaxy populated by trillions of creatures, one boy and one pirate would cross paths twice? In the land of coincidence that is STAR WARS, one hundred percent.

Anakin harbors bitterness and hatred for Krayn, so naturally his worst tendencies will come to the fore disguised as righteous indignation. When Obi-Wan and Anakin must sneak on board Krayn's ship via an exhaust port (oh, for God's sake) and fight their way through a cavernous cargo deck and countless droids (sigh) to find the weapons systems and deactivate them (!), Anakin decides he should stay behind and help the slaves kept on board. Obi-Wan disagrees, and naturally this leads to predictable tension and a none too shocking cliffhanger ending. If you really want to see a hackneyed collection of archetypal characters going through the motions in a plot cribbed from every other adventure story ever made, go watch the original STAR WARS again and mutter the name Anakin every time Luke shows up on screen. I've just saved you four months of wasted reading time.

The manga-like artwork is distracting but somehow suited to this story of a young boy with promise who seeks a deeper truth. Perhaps that's because all of the elements of Anakin's character have been lifted from countless anime and manga epics as well as other 'boy's own' stories. When it comes to Tatooine's most notorious export, there is truly nothing new under the suns.

STAR WARS: JEDI QUEST

Grade: D-

Issue: No. 1 (of 4)

Author(s): Ryder Windham, Pop Mahn, Norman Lee

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Price: $2.99