Star Wars Omnibus: Quinlan Vos - Jedi in Darkness [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

This graphic novel, which is a collection of comics from the Star Wars: Republic series, is really fantastic. I gave it four stars not because it is not a good book, but because its material involving Quinlan Vos is not as good as it could have been.

This omnibus does cover his first encounters after losing his memory, and how he meets Aayla Secura for the first time, as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi. The stories that feature him are pretty good. However, he appears as only a minor character in several stories. That was my only disappointment with the Omnibus, and the reason for the four star rating instead of five.

More obscure Jedi are mentioned in this Omnibus, like Oppo Rancisis, Tholme, and even Tyvokka. If you're curious about the Stark Hyperspace Wars, this omnibus will answer most of your questions. It really is very good, but I was just hoping it would have more to do with Quinlan.

Either way, it is still a purchase I would make again if I had to. If you are, like me, a great Quin fan, then check out Star Wars: Clone Wars Volumes 4,6,8, and 9. They all have great stories about him.

The issues collected in this Omnibus are from the comic series "Republic," which was re-branded as "Clone Wars" when it was released in 9 trade paperbacks. These stories in particular take place prior to those TPB's. Having read through the entire series myself, this Omnibus is the start of one of my favorite expanded universe characters. It captures the genuine fun and excitement many Star Wars fans crave and breathes new life into the stale, boring era of the prequel trilogy.

Republic centers around the members of the Jedi Council, and answers the simple question "why should I care about these Jedi?" You learn bits and pieces about what makes each council member tick throughout the series. A few of the Republic stories have been collected in past Omnibuses (Prelude to Rebellion, Outlander, and Emissaries to Malistare), but this is the one to start with if you want to read the best of the series--the struggles of Quinlan Vos.

"Quinlan Vos-Jedi in Darkness" follows the story of the troubled Jedi, Quinlan Vos, who upon getting his memory erased and left for dead on Nar Shaddaa, must gain back his lost knowledge and avoid the temptation of the dark side of the force. Throughout the story, Quinlan Vos meets the Devaronian smuggler "Villie" who serves as his occasional sidekick, who attempts to profit from Vos' misfortunes. He's got some groan-worthy dialog occasionally, but nonetheless is an intriguing character who compliments Vos well. Also among the main cast is Quinlan's pupil, the fan-favorite Aayla Secura, and Vos' former master, Tholme.

The best stories in this collection are without a doubt Twilight, Darkness, and Rite of Passage, primarily for John Ostrander's pulp-writing and Jan Duursema's brilliant visuals. Although written by Ostrander, "The Stark Hyperspace War" feels like a failed experiment in storytelling. Everything is told in past-tense like a campfire story and never really picks up because you're constantly reminded of that, and as you read, you'll be aching for it to be over. Fortunately, skipping it doesn't have any impact on the main storyline. "Infinity's End" serves as a nice little side-story between Twilight and Darkness, but you will quickly miss Duursema's art. "The Devaronian Version" is a humorous take on Twilight from Villie's point of view. Any fan of the "Tag & Bink" stories will enjoy this one.

Overall, this collection is worthy of a 4.5 star review and shouldn't be missed for any Star Wars fan. Here's hoping Dark Horse releases the rest of Republic in Omnibus format! These books are top quality, low-priced, and look incredible on your shelf!

3.5 if that was an option.

I just finished reading Star Wars Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi, Vol. 1 and Star Wars Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi, Vol. 2 which were set during the Old Republic era. They provided and inspired much of the KOTOR lore. I was extremely impressed with the quality of the writing in both volumes and enjoyed the art style.

So, I decided to purchase this volume and was less pleased than with TOTJ 1 & 2 but in the end I'd still say it was worth purchasing for any SW fan.

Other than his brief appearance in the prequel trilogy, I wasn't that familiar with these Quinlan Vos. In case you aren't either, let me give a brief overview. QV is a Jedi Knight (later a master) who wakes up with no memory. He can read impressions off of objects and is often drawn to the dark side for various reasons. He has some unresolved tension between him and his Padawan Aayla. Great premise for pulp sci-fi.

Unfortunately many of these stories fail to live up to that premise and are sometimes merely a pretense for splash pages of Quinlan Vos kicking someone in the face and using force lightning. The characters, with the exception of his sometimes sidekick/sometimes betrayer Villie are woefully underdeveloped and at times there's far too much exposition (anytime Mace Windu showed up, things took a rapid turn for the boring). Still it's fun stuff at times. Except for one arc, the art is also quite good and matches the material.

The volume starts off quite strong with QV having a bout of amnesia and escaping from pursuers in "Twilight". The mystery is part of what makes it fun and the next 2 arcs deal in similar themes.

"Infinity's End" is good but not as good as the first arc and has QV dispatched to a planet with evil witches and various intrigue. It's a good pulp adventure. After that is "Darkness", which is as good as the first adventure and delves into QV's past and power to read objects when he is investigating a prison planet and meets up with Aayla once more.

In "The Stark Hyperspace War", far too much is told in flashback, when it should be shown. It's awful and none of the characters act anything like they have previously. Also, the art is much more "cartoony" than elsewhere in the book, which mostly has a grittier look to it. The "Devaronian Version" is a Villie arc, which deals with his own recounting of "Twilight" from his perspective to a group of fellow degenerates at a bar. It's extremely funny and well done and probably the best thing in the book along with "Twilight". The same cartoonish pencils that didn't work in TSHW work wonderfully here.

The last arc in the book, "Rite of Passage" is much better than TSHW, but also a bit of a letdown since "The Grey Jedi" seems to play by the rules a little too much, going against character. Also, kick to the face + force lightning is the order of the day. The art in this arc is especially good.

This omnibus is extremely uneven, but a lot of pulp sci-fi fun. Recommended, but not the best of the SW omnibus lot. Read TotJ omnibuses first.