BACK TO SCHOOL
Review by Chad Clark  

Kevin Anderson takes us back to the Jedi Academy with this new comic series from Dark Horse Comics...planets in trouble...students in conflict...wasn't this a series of novels at one point by someone? 

Oh yeah.  Kevin Anderson wrote those.

Star Wars: Jedi Academy - Leviathan #1-2 (of a 4 issue mini-series)  

 In this series, Kevin J. Anderson takes us back to the fourth moon of Yavin and the Jedi Academy he created in the pages of his "Jedi Academy Trilogy," published by Bantam Spectra. While not very well received by some Star Wars fans, the trilogy was a best seller. Anderson brings back some familiar faces from his trilogy including Kirana Ti, Tionne, Streen and the controversial character Kyp Durron. Anderson also brings back the deceased clone Dorsk 81 in the form of his clone, Dorsk 82 who comes to Yavin to learn if he exhibits the same "Force potential" his predecessor possessed. Making brief appearances are Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa-Solo and Admiral Ackbar. They only serve as expository characters leaving the Jedi trainees as the stars of this story. Speaking of which... 

The story seems to be revolving around a disaster that befalls any settlers who try to colonize the planet Corbos. Colony after colony has been destroyed over the centuries with no survivors and no explanations. The latest in these attempts at settling the planet is an experimental mining colony. They too are destroyed after the miners discover a giant fossil, but not before they send a distress signal to the New Republic. Because the NR fleets are still in shambles from all the recent battles (Admiral Daala, the Hutt's Darksaber project, the clone-Emperor) they request a Jedi Knight or two from the Academy to investigate. Kyp and Dorsk volunteer and run into more trouble than they can handle and request the aid of the other students. 

Issue One has a lot of character introduction and story development. It's fairly well paced and even has two brief, if low-key, action sequences. My biggest problem, and one which most fans familiar with the character will have, is Kyp Durron. Many fans were upset with Anderson's handling of the character and his redemption from the "Dark Side" of the Force. In this story we see no regret of his past transgressions but instead "hear" Luke's thoughts comparing Kyp to a younger version of himself. I don't recall Luke ever running off and murdering millions of sentient beings and not showing an ounce of regret. Luke even refers to Kyp as his "greatest enemy." This is a sloppy case of an author rewriting his own work. In Anderson's Jedi Academy Trilogy, Luke never saw Kyp as an enemy but as a student lost to the Dark Side whom he sought to bring back to the good. It's inconsistencies like this that fans will focus on.  

  Issue Two is disappointing. No character development and the plot moves at a ridiculously slow pace with lots of pages simply showing the characters walking around exploring. While that works well in novels to help the reader develop a feel for the environment, it is wasted in the visually rich world of comic books. Also painful was reading page after page of Dorsk 82 fretting and fearing for his life before he finally loses his nerve and calls the Academy to come get him. Of course, it's no wonder he reacts this way with Kyp running off and leaving the relatively inexperienced fellow alone. If this is what Luke is teaching at the Academy, I fear for the future of Jedis in the New Republic. 

One bright shining light in this series is the art. Dario Carrasco Jr. does an excellent job of creating beautiful environments and an interesting and unique look for each character. Unfortunately the bright colors filling each and every page of this series distracts and detracts from this effect. Which wouldn't be a bad thing if the storyline wasn't supposed to be dark and mysterious.  

All in all this is another decent effort by Dark Horse in their Star Wars line of comics. I don't think any other company could match, must less beat, the product they put out. But there is room for improvement, especially if comics are to ever be widely accepted by the increasing numbers of fans in the world. 

(Chad Clark is an aspiring actor and fanatic devotee of Rogue Squadron. When he isn't practicing his heart-melting smile, he writes reviews of the comics he reads while basking in the California sunshine. His agent answers his fan mail at chad@echostation.com)

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