Let me start off by talking about this amazing cover. Benjamin Carré’s cover art for issue one was quite spectacular, but he really outdid himself with this issue. It is simply the most awesome rendition of Darth Marr, or any other Sith Lord for that matter, that I have ever seen. But beauty aside, it does do that one thing that annoys me more than anything on a comic cover: featuring a character that has basically no relation to the story. Darth Marr shows up in total of one panel (maybe two, assuming that’s his hand in the next panel) during a flashback and doesn’t even speak. But really, that’s my only major gripe about this issue.
Most of the problems from the first issue have been fixed. The writing seems to flow better from panel to panel. The one exception is the flashback at the beginning of the issue. Like issue one, the first several pages are Master Zho telling a story. But this time we just get a rehashing of the story of how the war started and progressed, far less exciting than the Battle of Rhen Var from issue one, and with a lot more exposition. But Zho does give us a very interesting revelation at the end of his tale, providing some hints as to why the Sith demanded certain planets in the Treaty of Coruscant.
The art has also improved from issue one. The artists seem to be more familar with the characters and manage to keep a more consistent look throughout the book. The only time consistency was any sort of problem was during the training flashback from Theron’s childhood. Which is too bad, because I found this to be the most interesting part of the story. It’s during this sequence that learn more about Zho and Theron’s relationship and that maybe Satele Shan was wrong to trust this man with raising her child.
During that flashback and throughout the whole issue, Zho’s character is finally fleshed out. We learn that he’s turned into a vagrant because he’s lost a bunch of his memory and we find out why he was out in Sith space in the first place. At least, we learn why he thinks he was out there. Teff’ith, however remains a pointless contrivance in this story. Except for one page she continues to do nothing but stand around in the background, leaving me to wonder why she was included and if she is even needed. Here’s hoping she does more to shine in future issues.
With Mekhis’ plans starting to coalesce and the appearance of the Sith Knights, things are finally starting to pick up steam and both the artists and the writer seem to have finally found their grooves. I was a little worried after issue one, but my worries have (mostly) been dispelled. If you were on the fence before and skipped the first issue, I can now tell you that this is a series worth buying.
-Leo Andre