There is a slight chance that you will be able to tell how tired I was when I wrote this column. Just a slight one. But that should definitely not detract from my unbridled enthusiasm for some of these issues because hot damn, KOTOR! Hot damn!
Exalted
Script by John Jackson Miller, Art by Bong Dazo, Colors by Michael Atiyeh, Lettering by Michael Heisler
Another one bites the dust DUN DUN Another one bites the dust DUN DUN Another one gone and another one gone Another one bites the dust!
See your way out of that one, Feln! Actually, it should have been pretty easy… common sense says that blowing up a giant warehouse full of Sith objects isn’t a great idea if you’re going for a contained explosion.
The crazy busy pages seem to be Bong Dazo’s niche for this book. None of the other artists on this book manage to capture the chaos of a fight quite like he can. It’s starting to feel like his trademark.
I really don’t have much to say about this arc. Maybe it’s because I read it while stuck in a never-ending loop of Christmas hold music and my brain just went numb. That’s probably it. No wait! I do want to point out that letting Lucien on the Council is just Dumb with a capital D no matter what Vrook and Vandar think they’re being oh so clever about.
Okay, now I’m done.
Turnabout
Script by John Jackson Miller, Art by Alan Robinson, Colors by Michael Atiyeh, Lettering by Michael Heisler
Two Jedi Masters walk into a skeevy bar… it’s the start of a joke (probably) and this issue! Actually, this is one of my favorite issues thus far. All of our favorite players come back and HEY ALEK LOOK AT THOSE TATTOOS. I SURE HOPE YOU’RE NOT TOO ATTACHED TO YOUR JAW. Look I’m sorry but I love this version of Alek and he’s just SO EASY to poke fun at and I love this preciously little overgrown future rage ball.
Yes, this is an issue where the chessboard’s being set for the next arc but so much happens and I just love it all. Admiral Karath is just batshit crazy and Carth Onasi does not deserve any of this crap that comes his way. Jarael is the real MVP of the team and really deserves more love than I give her in this column. Honestly, I just love everyone in this bar. Except for the crazy Jedi cabal. And Karath. But everyone else!
Vindication
Script by John Jackson Miller, Pencils by Brian Ching and Bong Dazo, Inks by Joe Pimentel, Colors by Michael Atiyeh, Lettering by Michael Heisler
I spent ten straight minutes giggling when I read the arc title and it’s all Brooklyn 99’s fault.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b382/chaosbria/GIF/b99%20vindication_zps6cmvw0jk.gif
Okay. I’m good. I can breath again. Everything’s fine.
This arc is so great and so dang satisfying that I want to review it entirely in gifs. (That’s the highest compliment from me, by the way.) It wraps up the story thus far so nicely that it could easily be a series finale without leaving readers wanting. The entire story also feels pretty darn brilliant too once you realize that the vision were right….except about Gryph. Oh Gryph. He’s crazy and I love him so much.
Speaking of crazy, Haazen is SUPER CRAZY. Like…bro:
Seriously though. We don’t. I mean, I care about the broad story parallels between him and Zayne and how they reinforce how much better of a person Zayne is but beside that?
Have I mentioned yet what a fan I am of Turnabout+Vindication? No? I AM A HUGE FAN. These are some darn good comics.
Prophet Motive
Script by John Jackson Miller, Art by Bong Dazo, Colors by Michael Atiyeh, Lettering by Michael Heisler
Okay so… it’s fine. This is what I hate about comic arcs that knock my socks off: whatever follows inevitably just makes me nod and say, “Okay, what’s next?” That’s not a knock on any writers or artists. It’s just how comic books read to me a lot of the times.
What I can say is that this arc is a nice showcase for Dazo as he gets to do his signature chaos. There’s so much going on in some of these pages and I honestly don’t know how he kept track. These pages must have taken a ton of work.
Oh! I like Zayne’s new outfit. It’s pretty snazzy. Also, Jarael’s storyline definitely has some dramatic promise.
And that’s it for the second omnibus. Two down, one to go! You can follow my progress on Twitter at @chaosbria or via the hashtag #HKExcursion. I’m making attempts to read these further in advanced so I’ll tweet more.
