Published: March 5, 2025
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Written by: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: Madibek Musabekov
Colour Artist: Luis Guerroro
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Rahzzah
The synopsis;
FIRST ISSUE IN THE PREQUEL ERA!
• It begins here: Marvel’s first series focusing on the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy: THE JEDI KNIGHTS!
• Featuring your favorite Jedi like QUI-GON JINN, OBI-WAN KENOBI, YODA and MACE WINDU alongside BRAND-NEW JEDI sure to become fan favorites!
• And who is the mysterious villain targeting Qui-Gon Jinn?
The review;
It has been rather sparse when it comes to Star Wars comics recently. Yes, we’ve had the Jakku trilogy, but for regular ongoing series, we have been awaiting the void to be filled from the ending of many long running series. In steps Jedi Knights, a series set before The Phantom Menace. The time of the Jedi, the time before democracy was stripped away by the Emperor. It is an era that has had lots of small tales here and there in the current canon, although one of the most notable was the Dark Horse series Republic from the Legends era. It was an incredibly well written series and stunningly illustrated. Not that this series will have big shoes to fill or anything! For those that come now, it is a task to try and show what this new era of Star Wars can offer us. So, who is so brave to take on the challenge? Writer Marc Guggenheim, that’s who. The man who did an incredible job with the Han Solo and Chewbacca series, the man who did an incredible job with D-Squad and the man who did an incredible job on several issues of Yoda. So, someone who has proven himself time and time again. Republic had some fantastic artists, most notably Jan Duursema. Trying to live up to that expectation is artist Madibek Musabekov. I have reviewed Musabekov’s work on the recently ended Star Wars series, and I can’t think of anyone better to bring such incredible work to this series. This looks like it could be good… very good! Before I delve into the actual story, I do want to mention something I don’t usually with my reviews, the cover art. The work for this issue by Rahzzah is astounding, it’s worth the price of the comic just for what is simply a jaw-dropping image of the Jedi. It really elevates those expectations for this opening issue even more!
As I have already mentioned the art, I will start with the work by Musabekov. This artwork is some of his very best, and that is saying something! The story opens with an incredible double page spread of a battle taking place and then comes to individual panels showcasing each Jedi. The detail in both is different yet both show just how versatile Musabekov is with his work. This gets reflected throughout the issue. The sabotaging near the end of the issue by the Jedi is stunning and is almost my favourite piece of the entire issue. Yet there is a small panel of Qui-Gon surrounded by smoke. It is a small panel piece with no real background. Somehow Musabekov is really able to capture something special here, something that made me go wow. I can’t wait to see where he goes in the next few issues.
Onto the actual story itself and I was originally thinking this would be a conflict that would continue through the series. Yet I think this may be a one shot of a story. It is about two planets that we have not heard of and neither have the Jedi. They rush into a situation and find that nothing is quite as it seems. One can’t not think of patience and why it is such a fundamental teaching of the Jedi. Guggenheim doesn’t need to come out and say it straight out, but he is able to make you think of it. The actual story here is perhaps the catalyst of what Guggenheim is trying to do. He doesn’t want to get embroiled in galactic politics, instead he wants to open with what the Jedi are doing and who they are. Yoda is seen instantly, and this is a refreshing change. Yoda is usually held back, kept out of battle or simply not in a story. He is someone who is certainly best used sparingly but I love that he is placed immediately in this story, fighting and sharing his wisdom with his fellow Jedi. Mace, Shaak Ti, Ki-Adi Mundi, there are lots of familiar faces that are here for fans. I imagine we will be seeing a lot of them in future issues.
What I really like is that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are here and Guggenheim makes great use of them. It appears Qui-Gon is going to be the focal point of the series, or at least of this arc. It is fascinating to see him interact with the other Jedi. He is always seen as a Rebel for the brief time we see him in Episode One. Here there is a level of trust that Qui-Gon can lead a mission of negotiation. To hear Obi-Wan comment on Jinn’s expertise in the area brought a smile to my face as Kenobi has no idea that he will be renowned for this himself. Qui-Gon works with a Jedi – Berem – who I already dislike. I’m sure this is intentional. He is too hot headed and copies the words of Qui-Gon without giving credit to the other Jedi. While I don’t like him, I hope we see him again with Qui-Gon – I think we will. Guggenheim seems to be using him as an Anakin type character so we as readers will be able to see how Qui-Gon might have gone about handling Skywalker if he handed have perished. It could certainly make for some interesting reading.
While we don’t get to see too much of Kenobi in this issue, what we do see is outstanding. Guggenheim fills in some little gaps that didn’t need filling but I’m certainly glad that they were! Obi-Wan is having some training from Yoda, which in of itself is great to see. But the training he is receiving is the same training that we will see him give to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back. It’s a very poignant moment between the two characters, particularly when we know that this gets retaught to another generation. Musabekov does a fantastic job of illustrating the visions that Kenobi has. Of course, we know that the visions he has is wrong, but that is also part of the lesson that Yoda is trying to teach the padawan. It is a fascinating set-up by Guggenheim and one that I’m very much looking forward to seeing how it plays out.
This is a very strong opening story from Guggenheim and Musabekov. Guggenheim has given us a story that doesn’t have a huge impact on the characters but by doing so, he frees up the space to show us the characters, ready for the continuation. There is some mystery surrounding Qui-Gon that really has me intrigued and I can’t wait to see where we may be heading next. The fact that Qui-Gon is the focus of at least this story arc makes me excited, as he is one of those characters I always like to find more about. This has a solid foundation with which to build a story up from. Along with the incredible artwork by Musabekov that really does just higher expectations, you have the start of a series that promises to deliver an amazing prequel series to fans.
Availability;
Star Wars: Jedi Knights is an ongoing series published by Marvel Comics. This issue retails at $4.99 and is available online from Amazon (comiXology) and your local comic book store.
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