The Force Lives on with Qui-Gon

I was saddened last week when I realized the only Star Wars comic book I find worthy of collecting was coming to an end. For almost five years I followed the adventures of Cade Skywalker, and with the end of his era I felt it was the end of me collecting Star Wars comics for a while. Little did I know an old master was about to teach me something new.

Qui-Gon Jinn returns from the dead in a new mini-series Star Wars- Jedi: The Dark Side. In this tale by writer Scott Allie we see Qui-Gon before Obi-Wan Kenobi was his apprentice. In fact Qui-Gon has another apprentice named Xanatos who seems just as emotionally unstable as Anakin. Perhaps this is a look into what it would be like if Qui-Gon had actually been Anakin’s master.

The two are sent on a mission to Xanatos’s homeworld, Telos Four. Along with Master Tahl and her apprentice they must find out what is happening on Talos Four. Xanatos believes the council is sending him back to his home because he doesn’t have what it takes to be a Jedi. Qui-Gon assure his apprentice he is mistaken, but something is definitely up on Talos Four when their ship is shot down and the head of their rescue party is Xanatos's father. My guess is he may be the planet’s leader as well, but we don’t know that for sure.

I love in-depth character stories with familiar faces and this one seems to be setting up for a good one. Xanatos’s fate is in motion, and since he’s not in any of the prequel films or other media I’m guessing things don’t go well for him soon. I also think Master Tahl and her apprentice, Orykan, could go some place good as characters. Either way I’m just glad to see Liam Neeson’s character live on through what I hope is a min-series.

There are few Star Wars books that I enjoy reading, but I’ve always enjoyed collecting Star Wars comics. It started with Dark Empire, then the Clone Wars years, followed by Legacy. Although I feel Dark Horse has come out with some bad Star Wars comics lately, and are letting others slip away, I think The Dark Side could be something great. The Force is strong with this one, I can feel it.