Comic Review: Jedi Knights #8

It seems a very long time since the last issue of Jedi Knights. I’m on record saying that this is my favourite current series and I still stand by that. This series is what the Clone Wars series was for the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. It gives us a much-needed insight into the workings of the Jedi Order and its members but not in a way that is bloated. You don’t need to know anything before entering into these issues. Aside from the last two issues that followed on from another, you could pick up any issue and just enjoy. Very similar to Saturday morning cartoons in the nineties. That’s not to say that these stories are forgettable, far from it. Marc Guggenheim has shown incredible depth in the writing of these stories, which will stay with you for weeks or months after. Part of that is with the trust that Guggenheim gives to his artist Madibek Musabekov. Musabekov can translate these stories in the most beautiful ways, because of the trust placed on him. He has never failed to deliver or exceed any expectations. I feel I mention this in almost every review, but issue three of this series is just beautiful from start to finish and if you read just one issue, that would be the one! Where are we heading this month with the story? I have no idea and I love that. I love that most issues are a complete mystery. But just like Guggenheim, I have trust in this duo that it will be something amazing…

And amazing it is. This is another incredible issue, told differently with some very thoughtful moments. While I really want to discuss the artwork, I need to start with the beginning and the premise of this entire comic. This story follows a girl called Soona as she is taken back to the Jedi Temple. While this sounds like such a privilege, Guggenheim quickly shows us that there is a price to pay, one that hasn’t been nearly dealt with enough and certainly not in this way. We see everything through Soona’s eyes, the artwork presents each panel as what the character directly sees. Seeing Soona say goodbye to her parents I think is one of the most heartbreaking things I have witnessed in Star Wars comics. Of course, having an eight-year-old daughter myself, certainly allows me to empathise with the situation even more so, but the look that is on the parent’s faces will melt the iciest heart. While it is a privilege, and you can see that the parents do thing so, the sacrifice of the child but equally of the parents, can’t even be fathomed. While the Jedi do so much good in the world, the fact their parents have to say goodbye to their child – for good- I don’t know if it is something I could do. It shows the Jedi in a lot less favourable light. Not even at all, but that there is a huge drawback to join the Jedi family.

Which brings me swiftly to the artwork. From the first full page panel as you open this story, the colours, the faces, the expressions are breathtaking. But it only gets better and better. Musabekov tells the story just as much as Guggenheim, with everything from a first-person viewpoint. The jump to hyperspace is fantastic, taking up a. Double page. But it is the expressions on all the faces that really draw you in, no more so than with Soona’s parents. The look of utter loss that Musabekov can show is astounding. You can’t help but feel their pain. I mentioned in my introduction about how Musabekov always exceeds expectations and he does it again here. To go from the delicate, emotional turmoil to the fighting towards the end of the issue is incredible and he does it with practised ease.

The Jedi with Soona is killed off, I mean it happens very sudden and is very unexpected. The togruta pirate looks stunning in his evilness. Soona is rescued by Kelleran Beq, the Jedi we see in The Mandalorian but also played by Ahmed Best – who played Jar Jar Binks. I couldn’t help but think why him, why did Guggenheim pick him over other Jedi to be in the story. I might be wrong here, but it feels like this story could equally be about Best. He came to join Star Wars but had to sacrifice a lot to be part of it. He had to deal with hateful fans, and he didn’t feel like he belonged (if you don’t know much about this, the second season of Light and Magic on Disney Plus really goes into detail with it). We know now that he is loved by many fans for his several roles in Star Wars, but he too had to go into the unknown before he got there. Maybe Guggeneheim just wanted to use him because he is cool, but I like to think there’s a bit of Best’s story in this too.

While this might seem like a straightforward issue, the depth of pain that Guggenheim and Musabekov bring to this comic is extraordinary. Telling it through the eyes of a child is a stroke of genius that really gives this story a unique feel. Guggenheim wants you to feel the pain, the sacrifice, that every child and parent go through in order for the child to become a Jedi. It’s a painful side to an order that strives to keep peace in the galaxy. With this storytelling comes the beautiful artwork by Musabekov that sells the whole Thing, that makes you feel what the parents are going through, that frames the pirate, so you are afraid like a child. This story is the perfect example of what this duo do so well and why I will say again, and again why this series is my favourite. It pushes the level of quality to a galaxy far, far away.