Customer Reviews

Star Wars: Jedi Vs. Sith

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is supposed to relate the tale of how the Sith evolved into a one-master and one-disciple system. But frankly, it [wasn't good] even though the graphics were passable.

In this story, the distinction between the Jedi and the Sith became blurred. The stage was set for the showdown between the Jedi and the Sith, except that readers can't really tell the Jedi from the Sith. The Sith seemed to have diminished greatly in their dark stature from Tales of the Sith etc, while the Jedi were little better than lightsaber-wielding adventurers. The writers reduced both side to engage in purely physical combats without regards to their creeds. The Jedi-Sith showdown became a brawl in the mud.

Jedis were also depicted to be indiscriminate in who they kill, and even more foolish in bringing in untrained and undisciplined children who had little sense of right and wrong into the thick of battles, exposing them to anger, hatred and fear, fuels for the dark side.

This is one of the worst Star Wars story, totally unfit to be part of a critical tale of the Star Wars history.

There's a possibility you fall into one of two groups: you're looking for SW comics about Sith or you just read the latest Darth Bane book and are looking for SW comics about Sith. This comic can either satisfy or dissapoint you depending on what are you looking for. There are a couple of Sith moments in the comic (which the story is supposed to be Sith centered) but is more of a story of how things can be heroic from a certain point of view and when you change it it looks completely different. The comic posses a good question about the nature of evil. As you know, there's pure natural evil, but there's also the slight "maybe it is, maybe it isn't, from a certain POV" evil. If you read the Darth Bane novel this will be a good complement (with some slight changes in the sequence of events), if you're looking for a comic it is a good read that will leave you asking more question than when you began.

Episode 2 got me going with the star wars fever again so I ordered a bunch of star wars comics and books... just getting into the expanded universe stuff, so that's where I'm coming from now about this book... there are some interesting bits in this book, namely Darth Bane who seems like a cool character based on the back-story Lucas came up with and he does deliver here proving to be worthy of the name Darth. Unfortunately, Bane's appearances are all too brief and you're left wanting for more while we have to wade through the story of the great jedi/sith war in which the other Sith quickly prove to be quite inept... no wonder they were all wiped out! Anyway, I will say that this book is darker than any other star wars story I've encountered (which is basically just the movies). I was surprised, honestly, about the fates of the three children. The writer wasn't pulling any punches with these kids that's for sure. I think the author laced the story with the makings of a solid foundation for sequels and I would be interested to see more of Darth Bane and his new apprentice...

all and all... not too bad... decent art and story, but doesn't quite catch the 'star wars' magic IMO. Good read but save your money unless you are an absolute die hard SW fan...

This comic is the mid way point between the more ancient Jedi tales; it's main focus being to explain the nature of the Sith Order's policy of having only two members. From a few paragraphs of backstory in the novelization of The Phantom Menace comes a genuinely creative story arc which builds to the explanation of how the Sith order that spawns the original trilogy's Emperor is born from the ashes of a destructive war. The war is a full blown conflict between the Jedi, and an army of Sith Lords, struggle as much with themselves as with their Jedi enemies. The confict is nicely confined to a single planet, and the emphasis is on the ground battles, and the troops in each army. There is hardly any ship to ship fighting, all the combatants face each other in the open with their lightsabers, making it more personal and easier to relate to. Enter into the confict three cousins, selected by a jedi scout to aid the Jedi cause. Anakin Skywalker had an easier time of it in the Phantom Menace than these three do in this story. Between the three of them they are at different turns naive, noble, and at times unspeakably evil. To say much more would ruin the story, but prepare yourself, this is a very dark story. It makes The Empire Strikes Back look cheerful at times.
The quality of the comic is top notch, in my opinion. The dialogue is so good, especially compared to so many others I've read. The artwork is nice, and the designs of the ships and technology make it seem like a logical halfway point between the other Tales of the Jedi books and The Phantom Menace. But the good news is that this book can be read as a stand alone, and makes no references to other Jedi trade paperbacks. Jedi vs. Sith is a wonderful graphic novel; it is nice looking, it has a really dramatic storyline, and it is self contained and user-friendly for anyone with no prior knowlege of the Star War universe.

This style of drawing is all wrong for the SW universe, especially for the important comic chronicling the final defeat of the ancient Sith. (Doesn't it seem like people ALWAYS thought they were defeated, and they came back about three times?) Round, cutesy faces with trembling eyes and strange facial expressions may be fine for weirdo Japanese cartoons, but they don't cut it for the high standard set by Star Wars. Anyway, the story centers around three sideline characters (kids) who have no bearing on the future galaxy. Why must we read about them, then? The Jedi recruit these three scrawny kids into their army of light. How hard up must they be for help? The young girl turns to the dark side. Why? Because a few Jedi accidentally kill this useless green puff-ball that's been following her around the comic book pages. I need not even comment on that. Darth Bane and Lord Hoth, the only two men relevant to anything, make this comic worth buying. I would buy this simply to own a critical piece of SW history, but its presentation is severely lacking.

On a backwards planet, there lived three children: Tomcat, Bug, and Rain. Tomcat dreams of being a Jedi, so much that when a Jedi recruiter comes, he signs up without hesitation. Bug and Rain come along to be with their cousin.
But on Ruusan, things aren't as pleasant as they always thought. The Jedi are weathered, perilously low on morale, and nearly defeated. In the midst, we see the rise of Darth Bane, the birth of the Rule of Two, and how fine a line separates the Jedi from the Sith.
I enjoyed the story, seeing the events from my recent read, Path of Destruction (Star Wars: Darth Bane, Book 1), from the view of the children. I also found Githany a less annoying character, less Mary Suish. I felt she not only had sex appeal but fighting skill to back it up.
The drawings were childish, but since this story was told "from the kids' point of view", it made since to me and didn't bother me too much. Plus, the "childish" drawings mostly were reserved for the kids. The Jedi and particularly the Sith were drawn much more adult-like (and in the Sith case, very angular).
The other "problem" I had was the fact that without reading Karpyshyn's book, this would have been relatively confusing. I love how the two intertwine, but I can't believe that they weren't written simultaneously (well, there are areas when it is obvious, such as how certain characters die, Bane's motivation, etc.). So people who plan on reading one and not the other are due for a bit of confusion and disappointment.
Foul language is here, but tame. Githany's character is rather sexualized, but nothing explicit. Violence is what really resounds across these pages. Many people die and some of it is quite gruesome...particularly one skeletal character at the end.
If a person has read or is going to read Darth Bane, this comic is a must. If you only want to read this, you will be more than a little confused. Four stars.

Brought to you by
*C.S. Light*

This comic details the story behind the Valley of the Jedi from the Dark Forces computer games and graphic novels. It gives more information about the entire conflict between the Jedi and Sith. The story revolves around three cousins who are transported to the battleground and proceed to follow their different paths. The story itself is rather bland....having read the Dark Forces novel, I can say it provides more information, but it's not really pertinent to the Star Wars storyline....yet. The ending leaves the possibility that we'll see some more of these characters later on, but for the most part, I wouldn't recommend this story on the basis of the plot. The art was ok. It appeared to be more Manga than other Tales books which I didn't particulary care for, but overall, there are some nice shots. If you are really into the Star Wars storyline, it's a nice addition, but otherwise, stick with the novels.

If yoou have read the novels by Karpyshyn, you'll love this TPB. The comic covers all events thru the first Darth Bane book "Path of Destruction", as well as the first few chapters into the second novel "Rule of Two". The roll of main character is shifted from Bane himself, to a trio of cousins, one of whom becomes Banes apprentice Darth Zhanna. This paperback helps to fill in the blanks of the war between the Kaan's Sith Brotherhood of Darkness against Hoths Jedi Army of Light, while Bane is studying on Korriban.

If you're a fan of the Darth Bane Dualogy, you'll love this book.

This book has it all. Do you want to get away from the movies and other books put between a little before episode one and 25-30 years after episode 4, get this graphic novel. The three kids make the comic great. You get to see Tomcat, his cousin, and his little sis have their fate combined. They must chose the sides of which they will stand by. See what happens in the great battle and the surprising ending. Also you get to see whats happening w/ illustrations instead of words. This graphic novel is a must-get. Check it out at a borders near you!

The main point of this story is that the Jedi and the Sith have both hit rock bottom, more or less setting up the fact that the Sith have been gone from the Star Wars universe for a 1000 years by the time of the prequels.

There is a lot of interesting points in having both the Jedi and the Sith loose sight of the basic creeds of their order in favor of their continued fight against one another. Its a great premise, and it makes sense, and sets up the idea of the Rule of Two very well. The problem is that the premise is actually not articulated very well.

First off, its very hard to justify the level of technology in this book, given that its actually a lower tech level then has been shown in the Knights of the Old Republic/Tales of the Jedi era. I almost got the feeling that this was being written as if no previous continuity existed, i.e. this is what the galaxy was like 1000 years ago and there was no "Tales of the Jedi" era in the "new" continuity.

Which would probably be less jarring if the story wasn't presented by Dark Horse comic, which produced the Tales of the Jedi series.

Tech level aside, the comic suffers from two issues. The first one is that the point of the Jedi and Sith loosing their was is brought home with all of the finesse of a sledge hammer, by showing us that the Jedi are a willing to use untrained children (not young adults, actual children) as combatants in a war zone, and killing sentient being because they are annoying and distracting to them.

The second problem is the completely out of the blue introduction of Farfalla and his magical Jedi fairy tale brigade. All of Farfalla's Jedi appear to be creatures out of Earth's myths and fairy tales, and they fly around in a starship that looks like a galleon . . . I mean a galleon, you know, like an "Age of Sail" kind of galleon.

If the Jedi had become as uniformly callous as they appear in this book, I don't even see how the Order would survive enough to reform. Although, I guess this book is one of the few that actually justifies Karen Traviss' view of the Jedi.

The events in this book are retold in a much more satisfying manner in Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, where the author takes the time to let you actually like the Jedi involved, while still communicating that they are loosing sight of who they are. I'd recommend that novel over this TPB without any reservations.