Star Wars Clone Wars Vol 4: Light and Dark

Star Wars Clone Wars Vol 4: Light and Dark 

By Various (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN 1-84576-360-2

I’ve already declared my disinterest elsewhere, but I’ll briefly reiterate here. I’m not a great a great fan of the films, so any review will be based solely on what I see in a graphic novel. I will say however, that the Star Wars cast are not “great characters”. Rupert of Hentzau is a great character. Sherlock Holmes is a great character. Ozymandias, the Spirit and Dr Doom are great comic book characters. Let’s not labour under any illusions here.

The latest book reloaded from the Dark Horse franchise collects Star Wars: Republic #54, Star Wars: Jedi – Aayla Secura, Star Wars: Jedi – Dooku and Star Wars: Republic #63. Creators throughout are the usually excellent John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, who I must admit produce some of the best writing and art I’ve seen in quite a while as they trace the long story of Jedi Master Quinlan Vos as he goes deep, deep, deep undercover in an attempt to infiltrate the growing Confederacy rebellion instigated by the ever-so-evil Count Dooku.

There’s plenty of double-dealing, subterfuge and high octane action. Shadowy faces ponder aloud whether Vos is really undercover or actually turned to the Dark Side and whole bunches of exotic characters abound, but it feels like a Chinese menu: One from column A, two from column B, must have a veggie dish, and we’ll have a passable night out. I needed a scorecard to keep all the elements in play, and as any fule know, at a really good restaurant they take the damned menus away when the food arrives.

But enough metaphor. What we’ve got here is a competent piece of comic work in the old tradition of keeping a licence fresh while the mainstream product prepares its next outing or dwindles from public notice, and I’m sure on that level those who slavishly follow the films and bother to read books will be more than satisfied. There are many more layers and textures than you’ll find in the average action movie, but I can’t help feeling that, as an attempt to get more people to read comics, this can only bewilder not enlighten.

© 2004 Lucasfilm Ltd & ™. All rights reserved.