Knights of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Volume One) [Paperback]

Tom Veitch (Author), Chris Gossett (Author), Janine Johnston (Author), David Roach (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dark Horse Comics Collection | Publication Date: July 11, 1995

Four thousand years before Luke Skywalker stood as the final Jedi, his predecessors wandered the universe, each playing his own role in keeping the peace and holding back the forces of the dark side. This 136-page collection focuses on Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider, two young novices training to become Jedi warriors. Their training, however, turns into a trial by fire when they prematurely have to face off against reigning crimelord Great Bogga, a Hutt who has killed one of the universe's most powerful Jedi Knights.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Some 4,000 years before Leia bared her midriff in Jabba's palace, another Force-sensitive woman was doing the same for the good of the plot line: Jedi prodigy and lightsaber-wielding Nomi Sunrider, one of the featured Knights in this two-story collection from Dark Horse's quality Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi miniseries. Sunrider begins her training reluctantly, both to avenge the death of her Jedi hubby at the hands of Bogga the Hutt's minions and to realize her enormous potential in the art of "Jedi Battle Meditation." The other story in this volume also involves Battle Meditation, which Jedi Master Arca uses to save the hides of his young charges Ulic Qel-Droma and friends, who are sent to forge a peace between the beastmaster warlords and walled-city defenders on war-torn Onderon.

With plenty of twists, tons of action, and monsters and bad guys at every turn, these two stories are fully worth checking out, although purists be warned: the Ulic tale especially tends more toward the Jedi-as-superhero school of storytelling. It's saberin' time! --Paul Hughes

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (July 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569710201
• ISBN-13: 978-1569710203
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #957,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction, February 16, 2001

By 

Nathan (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knights of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Volume One) (Paperback)

Knights of the Old Republic is the first story published in the Tales of the Jedi storyline. Written by Tom Veitch, the guy who also did the Dark Empire comics, the characters and situations herein are pretty much taken from the backstory he created for his prior Star Wars jaunt. Overall this is a pretty good comic, and it paves the path for what will be one of the most exciting epics in Dark Horse's Star Wars publishing run. Knights of the Old Republic is not one story, but two that will tie together in later Tales of the Jedi books. The art is a mixed bag (more on that later), but the stories told are vintage Star Wars.

The first chapter, `Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon,' tells the story of several young Jedi given their first task by their Master - a diplomatic/peacekeeping mission to a world that is petitioning to join the Republic. Ulic Qel-Droma is a rash, brash Jedi who despite his impulsiveness is a skilled Jedi and strong in the Force. His companions are his brother Cay and the Twi'lek Tott Doneeta, neither of whom are as good with a lightsaber as Ulic, but both of whom are more cautious. There are no real surprises in this story - there is of course the obligatory brush with the Dark Side and lots of fight scenes, but it does serve very well to introduce these characters, their skills and personalities. Chris Gossett's art is very good here, but the coloring seems somewhat dull.

The second chapter, `The Saga of Nomi Sunrider,' is a much better story even if the art stinks. Nomi is a Force-sensitive woman who is too timid to be a Jedi, although her husband, Andur, has followed that path. While they are en route to deliver some adegan crystals to Andur's future master, some thugs who want the expensive crystals kill Andur. Nomi, without thinking, takes Andur's lightsaber, kills the thugs, and then proceeds to deliver the crystals to Master Thon. For months she is reluctant to learn the ways of the Force, and absolutely refuses to touch a lightsaber, but when the Hutt whose hoodlums she killed shows up looking for vengeance, she has no choice but to take up arms. This story was much more enjoyable than Ulic's, and all around much better. The art, however, is pretty weak and ugly.

While these stories are not terribly exciting as standalones, when looked at in the context of the rest of the series they are a worthy introductory chapter with lots of lightsaber fights, a few new Force techniques, brash students, wise masters, cruel enemies, and decent artwork. Recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad. Not bad at all., March 4, 2004

By 

Sibelius (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knights of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Volume One) (Paperback)

This graphic novel provides a decent way to kill an hour and a half or so, and for those interested in the Star Wars Mythos and universe this book has added value in expanding on earlier generations of jedi.

For those of you who have played the superb XBOX RPG - 'Knights of the Old Republic,' it is interesting to note similar story elements found in that game within this 1995 book. For example - Battle Meditation, construction of lightsabers with crystals, etc. The artwork is decent and the story flows at a nice pace. All together a snappy read but not quite a classic.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More of a story prequel than a stand-alone story, June 9, 2000

By 

"fenderguy84" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knights of the Old Republic (Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Volume One) (Paperback)

I can't stress this enough - you can't expect to read this book alone and be entertained, you must read the later books in the Tales of the Jedi series. Alone, this book lacks action and focuses more on the beginnings of the exciting events that would take place later. If you're looking for early Nomi Sunrider, Ulic Qel-Droma, or especially Exar Kun stories, this is as early as they come. Otherwise, don't read this unless you plan to spend plenty of money on the other titles in the series.