Comic Review: Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon – A New Graphic Novel Adventure!

Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn stars in his first ever graphic novel! What lessons can he teach his young Padawn Obi-Wan Kenobi?

Dark Horse/Youtini Illustration

Writer: George Mann
Artist: Andrea Mutti
Colors: Vladimir Popov

Publisher summary:
From his youth as a gifted Padawan under Count Dooku, to his years as a skilled Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn is one of the most respected Force wielders in the history of the Jedi Order.

Our story spans his life as a series of recurring events slowly ties together over the years to help Qui-Gon complete the puzzle of one of the Force’s many mysterious cults…The Brotherhood of the Ninth Door.

The Brotherhood’s secret Force abilities could make them a great ally to the Jedi, or a powerful enemy. Master Qui-Gon and his eager young Padawan learner Obi-Wan Kenobi, must uncover their secrets before they fall into the wrong hands!

Why it matters: 25 years ago, Qui-Gon Jinn was one of the Prequel Trilogy’s most exciting additions to the Star Wars Canon. Now he’s back with a fun look into his time as Obi Wan’s teacher as well as his years as a Padawan to Dooku. This graphic novel is a fun adventure that expands a character who sadly does not have many stories as a lead player, certain to be enjoyed by anyone who wants to dig deeper into the Prequel era.

Key moments:

• Master and Apprentice: Qui-Gon is best known as the stoic master to Obi-Wan Kenobi, and we see that here in full effect. Like many all-ages stories, Qui-Gon centers around a moral lesson that readers can learn alongside his young Padawan.

• A New Brotherhood: After being teased in The Battle of Jedha, we finally get a deeper look at the Brotherhood of the Ninth Door. While they’re still mysterious, it’s great to see a new Dark Side sect - one that might be more sympathetic than one would expect.

• Familiar faces and places: While this simple adventure gives us a new look at Qui-Gon Jinn, much of its appeal comes from the familiarity of its setting. In addition to the lead characters, we also get to see Jedi-era Dooku and well-known locations like Jedha and Coruscant that are always fun to revisit.

Dark Horse Comics

The big picture: After being announced nearly 18 months ago, it’s finally here! This long-delayed graphic novel adds to the recent Prequel resurgence (see our review of Jedi Knights #1) that we’ve been experiencing in comics by giving a spotlight to Qui-Gon Jinn. Despite being played by the amazing Liam Neeson, Qui-Gon has rarely had his own stories, giving this comic a weight that most all-ages stories don’t carry. Even with that added pressure and the extensive wait time, George Mann delivers an outstanding graphic novel that’s a must read for any Prequel fan.

The story shares a setup with countless Jedi adventures - a call for help leads a pair of Jedi to discover a disturbance in the Force. What follows is a discovery linked back to the Brotherhood of the Ninth Door (first mentioned in Mann’s Battle of Jedha) as well as Qui-Gon’s own past adventures. When he and his Padawan Obi-Wan encounter a mysterious dark-sider, Qui-Gon recounts two tales of his own past in order to both solve a mystery and teach his young student a valuable lesson about jumping to conclusions.

Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon is a fantastic first entry to this line of graphic novels. While I think it would benefit from a few extra pages to fill out the final act a bit, George Mann is able to craft a complete and compelling story in a relatively short book. Andrea Mutti’s art eschews the approach of pure realism in favor of building characters through emotion and reactions, and his storytelling is efficient and exciting. Just like the best arcs from the Clone Wars, this simple Jedi adventure has great characters, thrilling action, and a moral lesson all in one neat package.

If this is a sign of what the Hyperspace Stories branding will bring us over the next eight graphic novels that have been announced, I look forward to what comes next. This is an outstanding way to give individual characters a chance to shine – let’s just hope the next one doesn’t take a year to come out.

Our rating: Incredible

What’s next: The next Hyperspace Stories graphic novel will be Obi-Wan, due out later this year! In the meantime, you can find more Qui Gon stories in the ongoing Jedi Knights series from Marvel (issue #2 out April 9).

For a deeper discussion of this graphic novel, be sure to check out next week’s episode of The Cosmic Force podcast!