Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (comics)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, abbreviated as KotOR,  is an ongoing comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The first issue was released on January 25, 2006. As of 2008, it is one of the four ongoing Star Wars comic series produced by Dark Horse.

Set in the Old Republic era, the series is a sequel to Dark Horse's earlier Tales of the Jedi comics and a prequel to the video games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. It takes place during the Mandalorian Wars and nominally focuses on a Padawan named Zayne Carrick, who has been framed for a crime he did not commit, suddenly finding himself on the run from the Jedi Order.

With a solid fanbase and robust sales, Knights of the Old Republic is to start its 2008 run with four issues laying the foundation for Star Wars: Vector, an upcoming crossover event going through all four ongoing Dark Horse series.

Conception
Dark Horse's involvement with the Old Republic era began with the Tales of the Jedi series, which also marked the first appearance of the name "Knights of the Old Republic" in the history of Star Wars, in the form of the first trade paperback subtitle, Tales of the Jedi: Knights of the Old Republic. The name was later applied to the video games, conceived as relatively distant sequels to TotJ. (The last TotJ story, Tales of the Jedi: Redemption, takes place in 3,986 BBY, while the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is set in 3,956 BBY, 30 years later.)

From 1999 to mid-2005, Dark Horse produced no Old Republic era stories until the release of issues #23 and #24 of the Star Wars Tales series, the last ones so far; each had a story tied with the KotOR games (Shadows and Light and Unseen, Unheard, respectively). Shadows and Light, set in the year 3,993 BBY, between Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War and Redemption, was notable for the involvement of penciller Dustin Weaver, letterer Michael Heisler and colorist Michael Atiyeh, all of whom later became involved with the KotOR comic series.

According to writer John Jackson Miller, the series was conceived when Dark Horse editors Randy Stradley and Jeremy Barlow approached him looking for writers for the 2006 relaunch of the company's Star Wars line, which was tied to their 20th anniversary celebration. At that point, Miller and artist Brian Ching had just finished Star Wars Empire 35. One of their objectives was "boiling down" the Star Wars films to their core aspects and recapturing them in print; one of these concepts was the "camaraderie feel" of the original trilogy, while another involved the heroes becoming involved by being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

One of Miller's original ideas was to make the core conflict of the series understandable to all Star Wars fans, including those who had seen nothing but the films, and the idea was to reverse the roles: while, according to Miller, the films involved a student betraying his Jedi Master, his series was about a student betrayed by his Masters. Another role-reversal revolved around a Jedi becoming a scoundrel (based on the imaginary idea of Luke Skywalker becoming a smuggler with Han Solo and Chewbacca). After a discussion with Stradley, this idea formed the basis of the first story arc, developed under the working title Renegade; eventually, it became Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Commencement.

Production
The Knights of the Old Republic series was officially announced at Comic-Con 2005 in July 2005, as part of Dark Horse's 20th anniversary celebration; the official StarWars.com newsletter Homing Beacon called it "the biggest and most welcomed surprise" from Dark Horse, while John Jackson Miller reported that the announcement was met with a "great response," which signified "a lot of pent-up demand" for the Old Republic era.

Before issue #1 was released, the year 2006 had already been "completely plotted and approved," which allowed Miller to plan an overarching story further ahead. However, there were two unforeseen disruptions that affected the 2006 "season."

2006
With the first few issues still in production, Miller came up with the idea of a short prologue story that would serve as an introduction to the setting for unfamiliar readers, addressing continuity issues that the regular issues, focusing on Zayne Carrick's personal story, did not cover. When he approached Dark Horse with the idea, Jeremy Barlow suggested integrating it in a 25-cent special proposed earlier. Thus, the prologue, titled Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 0: Crossroads, was integrated into the Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion flip-book, the other half of which served as a preview to the then-upcoming series Star Wars: Rebellion.

Ultimately, the unplanned special, which was released after regular issues #1 and #2, drew some of the creative team's time away from the regular issues. Penciller Brian Ching, who was working on the Commencement arc, provided the art for Crossroads, but this switch necessitated bringing in a guest artist, Travel Foreman, for issue #5. This move was generally ill-received by fans, especially those who got the trade paperback version of Commencement, complaining about the inconsistent art.

For the Flashpoint arc, which involved Mandalorians, Miller collaborated with Star Wars writer Karen Traviss for information about the Mandalorian culture and their language, Mando'a. He intended to "shift gears immediately after Commencement," from Zayne's conflict with his Masters to its background event, the Mandalorian Wars. However, as artist Dustin Weaver could not finish the intended KotOR #9: Flashpoint: Part 3 in time, the order of the issues was swapped, and it became issue #10. Meanwhile, the original issue #10, Homecoming, was released ahead of schedule as issue #9, with an unusual title, Flashpoint Interlude: Homecoming. The originally intended order was restored for the Flashpoint TPB.

2007: Days/Knights
For 2007, Miller conceived a singular story, a "meta-arc" broken down into four smaller arcs: Days of Fear, Nights of Anger, Daze of Hate, and Knights of Suffering. These interconnected, wordplay-based titles (Days/Daze, Nights/Knights) came to be referred to collectively as Days/Knights, first unofficially by Miller himself and later officially, as part of the publisher's summary for issue #23.

The second parts of the arc titles (Fear/Anger/Hate/Suffering) are a reference to Yoda's warning in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace: "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." Miller maintains that "they very much fit the moods of the individual sequences."

With many different characters involved, Miller used a dry-erase board to track every individual character's path and knowledge of the others' actions. Eventually, this came to a payoff in issue #19 (unofficially named "Arrivals") during the big meeting on the Arkanian Legacy, for which Miller worked with galaxy maps to ensure that everyone was "in the logical proximity" needed for the arrivals to occur as presented.

Days/Knights saw the regular involvement of Glass House Graphics, with its pencillers Harvey Tolibao and Bong Dazo (Tolibao was previously involved with issue #12 as a guest artist). Work on the final arc, Knights of Suffering, drawn by Dustin Weaver, had begun before Nights of Anger was finished, and continued simultaneously with Daze of Hate.

A handbook dedicated to the KotOR series was released on November 7, 2007, during the run of the Knights of Suffering arc.

Zayne Carrick


Zayne Carrick, the only male offspring of the banker Arvan and the gardener Reiva, is also their only Force-sensitive child, with a proficiency for the Force that Vandar Tokare identifies as "marginal." As the worst Padawan of his class, he is initially worried about his chance to receive the rank of Jedi Knight, but when he is framed for the Padawan Massacre of Taris, a crime committed by his Masters, his life and good name become his primary concerns; and even when Zayne does discover the truth about the massacre, he still has to find someone to believe him.

Zayne is the protagonist of the Knights of the Old Republic series. An overarching theme is his quest to clear his name, which he hopes to accomplish by getting one of the Masters to confess. His grasp of the Force strengthens gradually as the plot progresses.

Lucien Draay


The son of Barrison and Krynda Draay, Lucien spent his apprentice years on Coruscant training under Haazen, an aide of his mother. He was eventually assigned to the four seers of the Jedi Covenant as their protector, but retained a sense of inferiority for not being a seer himself. After witnessing a troubling vision on the rogue moon, Lucien, along with the other Jedi Masters with him, murder those they were protecting. When Zayne, his Padawan on Taris, was the only one to escape the Padawan Massacre, Lucien initially did not consider him the threat foretold in the vision on the rogue moon, but has since come to regret underestimating his apprentice and made Zayne's capture his top priority.

Lucien is one of the main antagonists of the series, as well as Zayne's personal archenemy.

Marn Hierogryph


"The Gryph," as he was known on Taris, was a small-time Snivvian black marketer in the Upper City whom Zayne used to chase. On his ninth attempt, Zayne finally caught Gryph, but the unexpected turn of events&mdash;the Padawan Massacre, for which Zayne was blamed&mdash;put them both on the same side of the barricades. Even on the run, Gryph never missed an opportunity, which eventually backfired on Serroco when he, obsessed with running a profitable business, refused to listen to Zayne's plea to leave the planet that would soon come under Mandalorian attack.

During his adventures with the Last Resort crew, Gryph was used as a comic relief character, as well as the mastermind behind their cons.

Gorman Vandrayk


Vandrayk used to work for the Arkanian company Adascorp on Project Black Harvest, dedicated to the research of the spacefaring species known as the exogorths. When he heard about the possible uses of the exogorths proposed by Argaloh, the Sixth Lord Adasca, Vandrayk went into hiding in the Lower City of Taris under the alias "Camper," under Jarael's care. Eventually, his health failing after having had to leave Taris on The Last Resort forced Jarael to take him to Arkania, where he was unexpectedly reunited with Adascorp&mdash;the very company he used to run away from.

During the ventures of the Last Resort, Camper was the mechanic of the team and the "fix-it guy," whose abilities were probably best demonstrated when he rebuilt the droid T1-LB from scrap and gave him the previously-nonexistent ability to speak.

Jarael


Little is known about this Arkanian offshoot, except that her birth name was Edessa, given to her by parents she does not remember. Her pointed ears, a feature unseen in other Arkanians, are often brought to attention.

Jarael, throughout the series, proves herself to be a master of disguise&mdash;so far, she has disguised herself as the Sith Lord from the Jedi Masters' vision, as Q'Anilia, as "Baron Hyro Margryph"'s aide Chantique and as a pure Arkanian. Sometimes, however, the disguises have resulted in her being captured. She has a love-hate relationship with Zayne, moving towards the "love" end of the spectrum in Days/Knights, and a few other characters, such as Rohlan Dyre, Alek Squinquargesimus and Arkoh Adasca, also seem to be at least somewhat romantically interested in her.

Alek Squinquargesimus


Alek, nicknamed "Squint," is a pragmatic, stoic Jedi Knight with a certain, sometimes inappropriate, sense of humor. He travels with The Revanchist, whom he calls his "Master". Alek believes that the Jedi Order should take immediate action against the current threat, the Mandalorians, instead of focusing on the phantom menace of the Sith. After briefly meeting Zayne on Taris, the two quickly forge a friendship, which is further reinforced when Zayne rescues him from Flashpoint Station, after Doctor Demagol's experiments result in Alek completely losing his hair, and apparently becoming slightly taller.

Rohlan Dyre


Commander Rohlan Dyre is nicknamed "Rohlan the Questioner" for his tendency to question the Mandalorians' motives behind their war against the Republic and their unusual tactics. Determined to find the truth, he has often deserted, but was always put back on the front lines once recaptured. Eventually, after a failed attempt to hijack the Last Resort, he sides with its crew in their effort to rescue Jarael from the Mandalorian-controlled Flashpoint Station. Later, he parts with them, but secretly boards the Last Resort again and reveals himself after Zayne and Gryph leave the ship, and plays a significant role in the exogorth negotiations aboard the Arkanian Legacy by summoning his superior, Mandalore the Ultimate.

Arkoh Adasca


Arkoh, the Eighth Lord Adasca, is the owner of Adascorp and its ultimate planetary-destruction weapon: the slug-like exogorths. Having set up an auction for these creatures aboard his flagship, the Arkanian Legacy, he hopes to use them as a tool of political manipulation to receive his own due from all involved sides.

It is Adasca's plotting that is responsible for bringing most of the previously-introduced characters together in a restricted environment in Daze of Hate, including Zayne's forced reunion with his former Master Lucien, which serves as a catalyst for the forthcoming events.

Commencement
On the city-planet of Taris, Jedi Padawan Zayne Carrick attempts to catch Marn "Gryph" Hierogryph, a small-time con man. He fails and nearly falls to his death, but is rescued in time by a mysterious Jedi who identifies himself as Squint. As Squint leaves to join his Master on the way to the Mandalorian Wars front lines, Jedi Master Q'Anilia feels a disturbance in the Force, and Zayne's Master Lucien Draay decides to investigate it.

Alerted by Q'Anilia's warning, the Masters conduct a final survival test of the Padawans on the rogue moon in the Taris system. The Padawans remain ignorant about the real purpose of the test: allowing the four Jedi Consulars among the Masters to open themselves to the Force. This subsequently presents the Masters a disturbing vision of a menacing red figure, apparently a Sith Lord, bringing doom to the Jedi Order and the Republic.

Some time after returning from the test, the Masters announce an upcoming knighting ceremony. Here, it would be revealed which Padawans were selected to receive the Jedi Knight title. Shortly before it starts, Zayne finally catches Gryph and intends to bring him to justice, but, noticing he was late for the ceremony, instead rushes to the Jedi Tower. When he arrived, however, Zayne witnesses the other four Padawans lying on the floor dead, and the Masters standing right there with lightsabers drawn.

Zayne immediately retreats, Gryph following closely, away from the five pursuing Masters. The two fugitives find a way to the Lower City. There, they discover that Zayne had been tagged as a criminal, framed for the murder of his fellow Padawans, with Gryph was listed as his "accessory." Though the Masters were still attempting to track the escapees, they were misled into the dangerous Undercity of Taris. Zayne and Gryph move into a refugee camp outside Machineville, where they approach a pair of Arkanians&mdash;the aging mechanic Camper and his protector Jarael. Unfortunately, soon after they are discovered by the Taris Civil Authority, led by Constable Sowrs. When ordered to surrender, however, the group heads into space on Camper's old starship, The Last Resort.

Zayne contacts Master Vandar Tokare on Dantooine and tells him what happened, only to find that Vandar does not believe him, and instead believes the word of the elder Jedi members. Meanwhile, in seeking escape from Taris Civil Authority, Jarael drives the ship into the Taris system debris field; she decides to land on the rogue moon, the last place where the Masters and Padawans were together before the ceremony, in the hope to get some answers. On the moon, Zayne and Jarael find the remains of T1-LB, nicknamed "Elbee"&mdash;a bulk-loader droid that was with the Masters during their stay while the Padawans were away taking a survival test. Soon after they repair Elbee and watch his holorecords, which reveal the true reason behind the Padawan Massacre, the Last Resort is captured by Captain Valius Ying of the Oroko, who intends to bring Zayne back to Taris and receive the bounty for him.

Valius brings Zayne back to the Jedi Tower, dragging him through a triumphant mob. There, Master Lucien reveals what happened before Zayne's late arrival to the murder scene. As Lucien prepares to execute his former Padawan on the spot, Zayne is suddenly saved by a figure in a red spacesuit, like the one the Masters saw in their vision&mdash;the figure turns out to be Jarael in disguise, allowing Zayne to escape once again.

Three weeks later, as riots ensue all over Taris, the five Masters are recalled to Coruscant. As they are preparing to leave, a messenger from the Lower City delivers a holorecord from Zayne, who tells the Masters that he had a vision of one of them clearing his name, and intends to hunt them down and only spare the one who confesses.

Flashpoint
The Last Resort, in search for supplies, lands on the planet Vanquo, where the crew tricks the nearby miner camp into believing that the Mandalorians are landing. However, once the camp is abandoned, the Mandalorians do attack Vanquo, kidnapping Jarael, who was disguised as Jedi Master Q'Anilia. During Jarael's capture, Mandalorian Commander Rohlan Dyre tries to steal the Last Resort, but is instead captured by Zayne, Gryph and Camper. As the Mandalorians engage in a space battle with Captain Saul Karath, the detained Rohlan agrees to guide the Last Resort to Flashpoint Station, where Mandalorian scientist Demagol is experimenting on Jedi, including Squint, and where Jarael (mistaken for a Jedi) was taken.

With Rohlan's help, Zayne infiltrates Flashpoint and disguises himself as scientist Demagol. Together with Gryph, disguised as a Republic admiral, he tricks the Mandalorians into believing that the Republic is attacking and that the captured Republic starships are rigged with explosives. This forces the Mandalorians to evacuate quickly, leaving the Republic vessels behind. Squint, Jarael, and the other captured Jedi head for Coruscant with Demagol in tow, as he had been captured. Rohlan, unknown to everyone, boards the Last Resort as a stowaway.

Meanwhile, Lucien and the other four Tarisian Masters arrive on Coruscant, only to find the gates of the Draay Estate closed to them. They are summoned by the Jedi High Council, blamed for the disorders on Taris, and therefore separated, barely avoiding the exposure of their secret organization&mdash;the Jedi Covenant, led by Lucien's mother Krynda Draay and Haazen. The rogue Masters continue their attempts to capture Zayne.

After the showdown at Flashpoint, the Last Resort arrives on the banking planet of Telerath, where Camper tries to take money from one of Gryph's accounts by posing as "Baron Hyro Margryph." Unknown to the crew, the banker assigned to them is Zayne's father, Arvan Carrick, who ends up captured by two Ithorian bounty hunters, the Moomo Brothers. These two hunters were contracted by Jedi Master Raana Tey in an attempt to use Arvan as bait. When Zayne learns about both developments, he begins an operation, aided by Gryph and Camper, to rescue his father and investigate the actual occurrence. This operation consists mainly of Gryph pitting the two Ithorians against each other and planting false information, while Zayne infiltrates the Moomo Brothers' ship and eventually results in Arvan being freed; as he is convinced that Zayne did not commit the Padawan Massacre, he assists his son in unlocking the account and withdrawing the funds. In return, Zayne directs his father to a safer workplace&mdash;the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine.

Days of Fear, Nights of Anger
The Last Resort leaves Zayne and Gryph on Ralltiir, where Gryph contracts Slyssk, a Trandoshan ship thief, in order to secure another ship. Unfortunately for them, the vessel that Slyssk steals, the Little Bivoli, turns out to be a provisioning ship for the Republic Navy, and as such is noticed by the Republic fleet above Ralltiir. Zayne, Gryph and Slyssk are forced to join the fleet, as it moves to the planet Serroco, and pose as fringers, so as to avoid suspicion.

At Camp Three on Serroco, Zayne has a Force vision of the Mandalorians devastating the planet and tries to alert Gryph, but the latter dismisses his warnings, being too concerned about his own profit from the Little Bivoli fringer business. Desperate to alert Saul Karath, now a Rear Admiral, Zayne stows away on Lieutenant Carth Onasi's ship when it heads for Karath's flagship, the Courageous; however, he is not believed and is detained on the Courageous as a suspected Mandalorian spy. Shortly thereafter, the Mandalorian fleet seen in Zayne's vision appears out of hyperspace. Strangely, though, the Mandalorian fleet does not engage the Courageous, instead launching missiles around it towards the planet's surface.

While Carth manages to get seventeen of the Stereb cities evacuated underground, the Battle of Serroco results in a major disaster for the Republic. The Little Bivoli is destroyed among most of the Republic fleet; Gryph's and Slyssk's respective fates were unknown after the battle. Later, the Courageous itself is boarded and destroyed by Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. Admiral Karath, Lieutenant Onasi and Karath's second-in-command Dallan Morvis were left with no other choice but to evacuate through Zayne's prison cell, having to rely on him to get to the cargo bay and escape on Carth's ship, the Deadweight.

Meanwhile, having parted with Zayne and Gryph, the Last Resort heads for the Arkanian homeworld, Arkania, where Jarael hopes to find a cure for Camper's illness. They are engaged by an HK-24 assassin droid sent after Camper, hidden inside a shipment crate. After attempting to help Jarael (whom the invader does not care about) and Camper, T1-LB proves to be no match for the HK-24; however, Rohlan Dyre, hiding aboard the ship, reveals himself and destroys the droid.

On Arkania, whose society is in a state of segregation between pure Arkanians and offshoots, Jarael disguises herself as a pure specimen to get an analysis of Camper's blood. However, this move attracts the attention of Adascorp, which recognizes Camper as one of its former employees; as such, the Last Resort is captured by the Adascorp flagship, the Arkanian Legacy, and Jarael and Camper are brought before Arkoh, Lord Adasca. After Rohlan's unsuccessful attempt to free Jarael, she is kept close to Adasca to ensure that Camper finishes the secret project he used to work on before fleeing and hiding on Taris.

It is aboard the Arkanian Legacy that Jarael learns about the past life of "Camper", actually named Gorman Vandrayk. His past research has attracted Adascorp's attention to giant space slugs, or exogorths, which it intended to use as weapons of planetary destruction. As Vandrayk has now finished his debt to the corporation, giving it full control over the exogorths, Adasca intends to use the newfound weapons as means of political pressure.

Daze of Hate
The interested parties arrive on the Arkanian Legacy to discuss this new Arkanian development, each at a different time. First, Admiral Karath of the Republic arrives; however, his appearance is disrupted by a sudden kiss from Jarael to Zayne, resulting in his removal from the area being carried away. Alek arrives next, representing the Revanchist Jedi faction in the absence of his Master. Lucien appears next, taking Adasca by complete surprise. Adasca then has to resort to a poisoned drink ploy to dispose of Lucien.

Finally, Mandalore the Ultimate arrives with his Neo-Crusaders, summoned by Rohlan on the grounds that he promised safety for Jarael. After giving Rohlan a new suit of Neo-Crusader armor to change into and seeing a live demonstration of the exogorths' power, Mandalore proposes a military alliance to Adasca, asking his corporation to supply the Mandalorian war effort in exchange for eliminating its competition a proposal which Adasca prefers to Admiral Karath's offer of a seat in the Senate.

Meanwhile, Lucien awakens in a prison cell, tied up back-to-back with his former Padawan and sworn enemy, Zayne. After some unpleasant discussion, in which Lucien accuses Zayne of drifting further toward the dark side and reveals his family's former business ties to Adascorp. The two cooperate long enough to destroy the HK-24 droids holding them captive and free themselves. However, this cooperation does not last long&mdash;when Lucien recovers his lightsaber, he immediately attempts to murder Carrick. However, when he fails and his lightsaber is disabled by Zayne's vambraces, Lucien decides to deal with Adasca first, with Zayne's help, and settle his score with the Padawan later.

In the observation dome, Mandalore further extends his offer to Adasca by granting him stewardship of the Mandalorian war effort which Admiral Karath countered by offering Republic territory for Adasca's own state. Adasca muses that perhaps he could the Mandalorians his army and create his own Jedi Order. After destroying the HK-24 units assigned to guard them as well as the units in the security room, Zayne and Lucien watched in shock as Adasca allied with Mandalore. Carth soon joined in, bringing Zayne's lightsaber with him. Seeing Jarael guarded by HK-24 units, Zayne realizes that she is being use as leverage to force Camper to cooperate and control the exogorths. Lucien suggested killing Jarael to stop Adasca when out of nowhere, Rohlan appears with a blaster at Lucien's back saying to the Jedi Master that he will be dead before he can get near Jarael. Once Rohlan calmed down, Zayne made a plan in order to save Jarael. Using Rohlan's spare armor as a disguise, Zayne started short fight with Carth as well as distracting both Adasca and Mandalore until he was close enough to decapitate the droids guarding Jarael, surprising everyone in the vicinity. Zayne then removed his mask at the same time Lucien emerged from the crowd seemingly to arrest Mandalore. Assuming that Adasca was allied with the Republic and had planned this from the beginning, Mandalore ordered his forces to fire on both Adasca's and Republic forces alike. During the fight, Zayne freed Jarael, contacted Camper on Jarael's bracelet to tell him that Jarael was safe. Meanwhile on board the Last Resort, Camper managed to transfer the ship's systems to a laptop and destroyed the assassin droid assigned to him as well as taking control of the exogorths. Back in the observation dome, the Mandalorians retreated back to Mandalore's shuttle. Enraged, Adasca ordered the Jedi to be killed but one of Arkoh's underling's told him that the exogorths were attacking the Legacy. On Camper's command, the exogorths tore the observation dome apart and killed Adasca. Meanwhile, during the brawl, Admiral Karath was wounded and carried back to the Deadweight by Command Morvis who ordered Carth to Zayne with them but Carth let the Padawan go saying that Zayne wasn't a criminal and he didn't want to be a bad officer. In the hangar bay, Zayne, Jarael, Rohlan, and Alek were contacted by Camper who told them that he was taking the exogorths and removing all of their implants. Despite Jarael's protests, Camper told her that he was going alone, after a tearful goodbye, Camper left with the exogorths for Wild Space. After Camper's departure, Lucien appeared and informed him that there was enough room in his shuttle for all of them but would only take them if Zayne came along. Zayne agreed but suddenly the Moomo Williwaw came out of nowhere and down the ramp came Dob Moomo and to Zayne's surprise Slyssk who informed him that Gryph was still alive and joined the local resistance on Taris. Lucien overheard them and escaped on his shuttle.

Knights of Suffering
After hearing Gryph is alive and well on Taris, the group, along with Alek and Dob Moomo, return to the planet, now under Cassus Fett's control. Using the Mandalorian armor being given originally to Rohlan, Zayne dives into the lower city from above. Once there, he manages to find the Hidden Beks in one of the alleys, and reunites with Gryph. After returning to the Beks' base, Zayne learns of the peculiar situation on the lower city: the Constable refuses to cooperate with the Beks, believing they've kidnapped her children. Moreover, Gryph is involved with Jervo Thalien, the head of Lhosan Industries, who hired Gryph to find the Tarisian senator Goravvus in the Lower City. In return, the bounties on Gryph and Zayne's heads will be removed.

During their stay in the Beks' base, Constable Sowrs's children are found, and it's decided that they should return them to the Constable and become a part of the official resistance. In the Constable's base, Zayne meets Shel Jelavan, sister of the murdered Padawan Shad Jelavan and a onetime friend of him. Unfortunately for Zayne, Shel believes that Zayne was responsible for Shad's death; Raana Tey, Shel's mentor and influencer, encourages her to kill Zayne. A fight ensues between Raana and Del Moomo, who distracts her with blaster shots as Gryph disarms Shel. At this point, Senator Goravvus steps in, stopping the fight and ordering Raana to suspend her pursuit of Zayne&mdash;while at the same time relieving the tension between the Beks and the Taris Civil Authority officers by pointing the Constable to her children.

After the encounter, Gryph tells the Senator about Jervo searching for him. Using Gryph's briefcase communicator, they contact Jervo on Coruscant&mdash;but at the same moment, Del Moomo captures Goravvus. It is revealed that, after the Senator threatened to expose Lhosan Industries' illegal practices following the company's decision to abandon Taris, Jervo decided to dispose of him by placing a bounty on him for the Moomo Brothers to pursue. Raana appears and orders Del to release his hostage, which he does; Jervo, presuming that she was sent by the Chancellor to find Goravvus, and proceeds with a backup plan by activating a bomb in Gryph's briefcase. However, the bomb does not detonate due to the briefcase having previously taken a blaster shot. Using the situation to his advantage, Goravvus blackmails Jervo&mdash;and Lhosan Industries&mdash;into offering military aid for the Tarisian Resistance.

Meanwhile, Zayne has a heated argument with Shel, during which he unsuccessfully tries to convince her that he did not murder her brother, while Raana tries to convince her that Zayne has fallen to the dark side. Goravvus interrupts the debate, informing them that Cassus Fett has come to Taris and is residing in the former Jedi Tower. When the Resistance members&mdash;including the Beks and Constable Sowrs's officers&mdash;gather in their headquarters, devise a plan to destroy the Tower, using parts recovered from Jervo's bomb in conjunction with the Resistance's own stockpiles of explosives. Zayne, Raana and Shel volunteer for this mission, the latter treating it as little more than an opportunity to fulfill her revenge against Zayne. Raana discreetly provides her with her brother's lightsaber crystal, which she wants her to install in the lightsaber itself&mdash;which is locked in the Jedi Tower&mdash;and then use it against Zayne.

Still meanwhile, on the orbit aboard the Moomo Williwaw, Jarael, Rohlan and Alek wait for a signal from below. Noticing that Jarael is distraught over Camper's loss, Rohlan offers to "occupy her mind" by putting her in a sparring duel against Alek, which Jarael wins. However, afterwards, Alek's pursuit for a more romantic relationship, which Rohlan secretly observes, makes Jarael even more troubled, prompting her to leave.

Back on Taris, Zayne and Sehl infiltrate the Jedi Tower. After seeing him cry over her brother's death, Shel can't bring herself to kill Zayne. After Zayne leaves to see if Cassus Fett is in the building, Raana enters. She is enraged that Shel didn't kill Zayne, and runs after him. Zayne finds out Fett moved out to attack the Taris Resistance, but his way out is blocked by Raana, who intends to kill him while no one can see them. Despite Zayne's improved skills, Raana ultimately disarms him. As Raana is about to deliver the killing blow, Shel uses her brother's lightsaber to stab her in the back. Shel then tells Zayne she no longer believes he killed her brother. As the resistance arrives to rescue Zayne and Shel, Zayne offers Raana help to get back to a medic. Raana, amazed that Zayne would try to help her, tries to cut herself free. But Gryph, seeing Raana's raised weapon as an attack on Zayne, blows the bombs set at the Tower's base. Raana is able to ask Zayne to tell her master Krynda that she is sorry before plummeting to her death. Somewhere else, both Lucien and Q'Anilia sense Raana's death, but Q'Anilia is more concerned that Zayne now knows who leads the Covenant.

Continuity
The comic series is set in the years 3,964 BBY and 3,963 BBY, at a midpoint between the Tales of the Jedi comics and the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game.

References to the video games and Tales of the Jedi
The planet Taris and the Mandalorian Wars, which the series heavily revolves around, were first described in the first Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game. Much of the game's backstory was revealed by two participants in the war from both sides: the Republic officer Carth Onasi and the Mandalorian warrior Canderous Ordo. Carth, along with his superior and mentor Saul Karath, were characters originally introduced in the game, who later went on to play a significant role in the Days/Knights meta-arc.

In the second video game, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Canderous appears as the new Mandalore of the Mandalorians, having inherited the helmet of the previous Mandalore, introduced in Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War and mentioned in the first game. According to the game backstory, Mandalore the Ultimate led his people during the Mandalorian Wars, and he later appeared in the KotOR comics in that role, starting with the Flashpoint arc. However, the helmet Canderous wears in the game is different from the version seen in TotJ and the KotOR comics, casting doubt on his claim that he has the same helmet. Overall, the Mandalorian aesthetics presented in the ongoing series (including armor designs) are in a transitional state between TotJ and the games and more diverse than in either.

Other references to Tales of the Jedi include mentions of such characters as Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas, his former student and later Dark Lord of the Sith Exar Kun , and Jedi Master Arca Jeth. In addition, Alek references the Great Sith War in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 0: Crossroads.

The design of the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine and the composition of the Dantooine Jedi Council and the Jedi High Council on Coruscant are taken directly from the games, with one exception: Master Dorak is not yet a member of the Dantooine Council, and his place is occupied by Bala Nisi. This character debuted as a Dantooine Council member in the comic story Shadows and Light from Star Wars Tales 23, which also featured the Jedi Enclave and served as a backstory to a certain quest featured in the first KotOR game.

Both Alek and the Revanchist are revealed in Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force to be one and the same with future Dark Lords Darth Malak and Darth Revan; however, the comic series has yet to reveal this fact.

Continuity errors and peculiarities
Until issue #10 was released, it had been presumed by some fans that the depiction of Arkanians Camper and Jarael with five-fingered hands and evident eye pupils was a continuity error or a deliberate attempt to retcon the look of the species. However, this later turned out to be a plot point as Mandalorian scientist Demagol clarified Jarael's status as an Arkanian offshoot, and when pure Arkanians were featured on their home planet in issue #16.

One actual continuity error that was left unaccounted for, even in the Commencement trade paperback, was the mention of bacta before it was invented, in an era where bacta's niche was occupied by kolto. Miller acknowledges this and suggests "a number of remedies," including the idea that the name "bacta" coincidentally referred to as "something Mama Hierogryph used to make." Presumably this is not canon.

Star Wars: Vector
On September 10, 2007, it was announced that KotOR writer John Jackson Miller would collaborate with Star Wars: Legacy writer John Ostrander on Star Wars: Vector, an upcoming 2008 crossover between all four of Dark Horse ongoing series: KotOR, Rebellion, Dark Times, and Legacy.

Vector, whose storyline starts with KotOR issues 25-28, tells the story of a "monstrous, ancient threat" unleashed in the Tarisian Undercity following the events of the Knights of Suffering arc. According to John Ostrander, the crossover will influence the events of all four series, as well as define the future direction of Legacy.

Reception
Reviews of the pilot issue have been mixed. ComicCritique gave KotOR #1 a 2/5 rating, citing it as containing "a lot of stereotypical fiction and dialogue that will work for most fans of the series, but not for comic book readers looking for their money's worth." IGN gave it a "Check It" rating and said that "for a first issue, this isn't a bad start," despite adding that "KOTOR is a pale shadow to the original Tales of the Jedi, which remain among the best Star Wars comics of all time." User reviews on the Jedi Council Forums have been consistently positive.

Comments about trade paperbacks, on the other hand, have been largely positive. Grovel rated the Commencement TPB as 4/5 overall, with 3/5 for the story and 4/5 for the artwork. As of December 15, 2007, Amazon.com lists a 4/5 rating for the Commencement TPB, with 7 customer reviews, and a 4.5/5 rating for the Flashpoint TPB, with 6 customer reviews.

The sales figure estimates for the series are based on John Jackson Miller's calculations performed for Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest comic book distributor in North America. These estimates place the KotOR sales consistently between 21,000 and 25,000 copies for each individual issue, with the position in the overall comic sales chart for the particular month varying between 80 and 120, but generally staying in the 90s. According to these figures, Knights of the Old Republic is Dark Horse's third-best selling title, after Star Wars: Legacy (roughly 33,000 copies on average) and Conan (roughly 26,000 copies), with high consistency.

John Jackson Miller interviews

 * EU Cantina.net
 * Newsarama
 * The Lightsabre
 * Dark Horse Comics
 * Silver Bullet Comics
 * Broken Frontier
 * Comic News I
 * TwitchGuru

Knights of the Old Republic (seria komiksów)