Review – Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – War #3 of 5

Script: John Jackson Miller
Pencils: Andrea Mutti
Inks: Pierluigi Baldassini
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Lettering: Michael Heisler
Cover Art: Benjamin Carre

As a recruited member into the Mandalorians, Zayne reaches out to his worst task yet… to make a move for the group toward his home world of Phaeda. His options are an invasion or optionally finding an alternative in the manner that only he can muster up, it’s not an easy moment for the Jedi but with the clock ticking and the options so limited he has to pull the ultimate ruse to keep those he loves safe.

The crew sets off to Phaeda on their next invasion goal, Zayne plays the only card he has to grant safe passage through the Republic walls with a ruse of biological contamination decimating their forces since their departure. With a little assistance from Kace he’s able to sell the plot and spare his people for now, instead their destination will serve as a suitable consolation prize giving them even higher reward than originally planned without the casualties and bloodshed that might have come from a frontal assault. It’s a tough road for Zayne in this issue, still trying to balance mercy with all the things on his plate when those in battle with him would rather see their enemies fall in bloodshed and Zayne with them.

Unfortunately even the best plans have their weak points, Zayne hoping to preserve life and get everyone to cooperate is a great idea but if any snag hits that chain of events it can all go south, with the Mandalorians as such an impatient group those snags turn fatal at the slightest inclination of trouble. We see a calculating side of Zayne and even a slightly understanding version of Kace as well, stepping into his past and finding what drives him into battle and what fired up his rejection of the Republic in this battle. Even more we get a taste of what Kace has in store for this fight and how the Mandalorians will gain their edge to take them to victory under his watch, with this revelation we see Zayne start to form his own resolve in this fight and the turning point kick up in the War series.

KOTOR War #3 has brought the series forward quite a bit, the character gestures and positions are no longer strange or unrealistic, in fact they’re shaping up out of the more cartoon-like tones they once had. Watching Morvis and Zayne showdown doesn’t feel strange, it’s understood of the clash of Zayne’s new attitude vs Morvis raging out about being left behind after making an attempt at the Mandalorians. The Color balance is smooth using lots of transitions to sell each panel as a crafted piece of work and the ink shading allows for this to show through as it’s not overly used. This series has never had a moment to rest so it’s not surprising to see this mid-point hammer down the story and pave the road for the next issues, the next two books should be a very interesting ride for those following it so far.

Release date: March 14, 2012

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