A New Star Wars Adventure.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....that's really not an understatement when it comes to this series. John Jackson Miller goes back 4000 years, taking place a before the events of the video game. Speaking of the video game, if you have never played KOTOR, you're in luck! It's not necessary.
The story takes place on Taris (where have I heard that before?) during the beginning of the Mandalorian War. Zayne Carrick is a clumsy Jedi Padawan that's dedicated to the Jedi Order. After being late to attend the ceremony of Knighthood with his fellow Padawan friends, he finds his friends murdered by his Jedi Masters leading him to run to avoid being killed. Now on the run, Zayne goes on an adventure to clear his name.
The story is completely different from any Star Wars tale so far. The Jedi, the group that are usually seen as heroes, are the villains! Well, not the entire Order. The Jedi Covenant is a group of Jedi that are suppose to prevent the Sith from returning by any means necessary. They rely mostly on visions to help carry out their goal. So, when they received a vision of a possible disturbance in the Force of the Sith returning caused by one of their Padawans, they strike them down. Another great factor is how Miller captures the elements from the movies. Along with the drama, suspense, and the action, there's a nice blend of comedy.
Alongside the story, the characters are what make this volume exciting to read. Zayne Carrick is a different protagonist that not seen in Star Wars. Let's just say he's....special in the Force. He has a very likeable characterization thanks to John Jackson Miller. In a interview a while back, Miller states that Carrick goes through The Five Stages of Grief (DABDA), and by the time this volume is over, he's a bit different from when he first appeared. Another character that keeps Zayne in check is Marn Hierogryph. A con man err, Shnivvian, he's a great character for comic relief.
Jarael is a new take on the female deuteragonist role. She's an Arkanian offshoot with a fiery personality, and a great fighter. There's more to her hot-headed personality that she hides, especially when she interacts with Zayne.
The Jedi Covenant are a cast of characters that really makes the story different from any other antagonist group like the Sith. As I as wrote previously, it's because they're Jedi. The Jedi Order during this era had different ideals compared to Yoda's era and the New Jedi Order (Luke Skywalker's era). In some ways, they're more arrogant than usual. If you played the video game, you know that Revan leads a group of Jedi to fight the Mandalorian wars while others just watched. The Leader, Lucien Draay, Master of Zayne Carrick, just wants to do what's best for the order. And while they don't see it, you can tell that the Dark side is clouding their judgment.
Also for fans who played the game, they are cameo appearances of some characters.
For the most part, the artwork is fantastic. Brian Ching does the majority of the first volume's artwork. Characters are vividly detailed, along with the fantastic background environments. Michael Atiyeh's coloring also helps bring out Ching's work. Travel Foreman is another artist in one small part, and while most of his work is not on par with Ching's work, he has his moments.
Overall:
This a new chapter (or old considering when this series came out) for Star Wars. An engaging story, Commencement is a good start for this series.