From The Old Republic, To The Dark Times...
Vector is the very first Star Wars crossover storyline that expands 12 issues. What makes Vector different from other crossovers is that the story skips generations from Knights of the Old Republic, Dark Times, Rebellion, and Legacy. Volume one covers Knights of the Old Republic and Dark Times.
The story initially starts off after the previous issue of Knights of the Old Republic. The Jedi Covenant sees a vision of an evil Sith from old times named, Lord Karness Muur, who created a powerful Sith artifact called the Muur Talisman, a device that could turn non-Force sensitive beings into Rakghouls. Also In their vision, they saw not only Zayne Carrick in their vision, but other figures (Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Cade Skywalker) that connected them to the Muur Talisman. Seeing how Zayne is somehow connected (and is already a wanted criminal already), The Jedi Covenant send out one of their agents, Celeste Morne to both track down the Muur Talisman and kill Zayne. The story later goes into the Rise of The Empire era (Dark Times) where Darth Vader finds Celeste Morne and tries to take the Talisman for his on gain.
(Now, before anyone gets any ideas, NO, that does not mean that Zayne Carrick is the ancestor of the Skywalker family. He's just the catalyst that started this event).
What's difficult about this crossover is that it's not exactly easy to jump in. What Vector should be is a series that shouldn't affect other series in terms of the story. In Knights of the Old Republic, it almost feels like a waste. Zayne and Gryph are part of the story, but they feel like supporting characters compared to Celeste Morne. The Mandalorians surprisingly play a role as well, as they conveniently find the Murr Talisman. Everything happens so fast in KotOR, that it takes a while to adjust. It's like John Jackson Miller wanted to quickly move out of the Knights of the Old Republic era, and go straight to another era. Also, for those who have been keeping up with the story in KotOR series, there's one part at the near the end that moves the central story forward. Dark Times is the opposite of KotOR, where it's more about Celeste Morne and her struggles with the Muur Talisman as she faces Darth Vader. However, the crossover with Dark Times ends in only two issues compared to KotOR which is four issues.
On one hand, characterization plays a huge role in this event. Celeste Morne is a character that starts out as a one dimensional character, but later grows as a character of her own. She has the most interaction with Zayne and Gryph showing her no nonsense attitude, but slightly, she's quite different from the people who tasked her with her mission. When the story switches to Dark Times, Morne begins to struggle with keeping the Muur Talisman at bay along with the temptations of the Dark Side.
Another problem with crossovers is the different artists. I was surprised that the regular artists from KotOR like Dustin Weaver, Brian Ching, and Harvey Toliabo weren't featured and instead, Scott Hepburn does the artwork. It's unfortunate, because the artwork is terrible. I'm all for cartoony proportions, but Hepburn's pencils are not suited for KotOR. Characters look older than what they appear, their body proportions look unrealistic and it's just goofy. It's not Star Wars material. The only positive about the artwork is how the Rakghouls look. However, Douglas Wheatley and Dave Ross artwork for Dark Times is amazing. Characters look physically appropriate. The overall tone for the series is darker (considering that it takes place during the rise of the Empire).
Overall:
The first part of Vector has a lot of lows due to the first part of the story, but builds up in the second half.