For those who have not yet read the first issue of this series, I’ll give a small recap:  The time is set well before the formation of the Galactic Republic, and the great Schisms that have torn apart the Jedi Order have not yet taken place.  On the planet Typhon, within the Deep Core, beings from several species throughout the galaxy have come to better understand the ways of the Force.  Lightsabers are not yet known to these users of the Force, and balance between Light and Dark in all things is taught to the Je’Daii (Jedi).  And then, the Infinite Empire catches wind of these mystical users and set their eyes on Typhon.

MINOR SPOILERS

While I don’t want to spoil things for those of you who wish to read the issue for yourselves, I will tell you this much: if you’re looking for quick-and-gritty action between the Rakata and the Je’Daii, you won’t find it in this issue.  What you will find, however, is more exposition, more details, and more history.

I’m a very large Star Wars fan and have been reading the comics since the ’90s, and the one thing I’ve always enjoyed that Dark Horse has done well are origin stories involving the Jedi and the Sith.  In the films (even the prequels), there is some exposition concerning the relationship of these two sides of the Force, but the Expanded Universe has done a great job of giving details as to how the animosity has come about; however, this series is the first time the actual origins of the Jedi are shown, the glimpse of the legendary conflict that has dominated Star Wars for eternity.  For the die-hard EU fans, this is an enjoyable read.

Even so, I’m not so sure about this particular issue’s development.  There are several points of the issue that I would have handled differently, and given the creative team behind the series, I honestly expected more and was slightly disappointed with what I saw.  Overall, I believe the issue was a good installment for the series and provided more information for the plot as a whole, but it didn’t seem to push forward the way I felt it could have.  The issue felt slow, and focused extensively more on individuals and character development—which is fine, as I hate Mary Sue characters with no depth or difference about them—but it made the overall storyline feel as though this is an issue that one could skip and not necessarily lose any vital information for the series.

The artwork, however, was superb and very visually stimulating—not a surprise, given Jan Duursema’s previous work on Star Wars: Legacy and Star Wars: Republic.  For me, the plot makes-or-breaks a comic, despite how good or bad the artwork is, but Duursema’s work is fantastic and truly beautiful.  It’s quite interesting to see Typhon and the Infinite Empire (outside of video game graphics) rather than just trying to picture it in my mind whenever I’ve read about them.

For the most part, I would recommend this issue to anyone who is invested in Star Wars comics, and especially this series, but it’s not an issue that a non-Star Wars fan can easily melt into; it requires previous knowledge of the series at least, and probably Star Wars as a whole.