Republic #72 Trackdown Part 1 (of 2) Story: John Ostrander Art: Jan Duursema Inking: Dan Parsons Coloring: Brad Anderson Lettering: Michael David Thomas Cover: David Michael Beck, Brad Anderson Released: 12/29/2004 Reviewed by: JF Boivin (04/18/2005) SUMMARY: Quinlan Vos reveals his personal agenda: he is determined to uncover the Sith master. To get a clue, he uses his psychometric powers on the body of Senator Viento, the person he was led to murder believing he was the Sith. The clues point to one planet: Anzat. Meanwhile, Master Tholme goes to Anzat himself with Aayla Secura to find the wherabaouts of Sora Bulq, a former Jedi turned Separatist. While Aayla stays at the spaceport to find her own clues while undercover, Tholme goes to meets an old Anzati mentor named Akku Seii. They both find information that leads to the planet Saleucami, and that apparently the Morgukai are back.

[final cover] [preview cover]

THE STORY

This seems to be a bridge story, setting up the last major story arc before Revenge of the Sith which will be titled "The Siege of Saleucami." The issue opens with a flashback to some time after the Battle of Geonosis, to an event that was referred to way back in Jedi: Mace Windu: the meeting of Count Dooku and Sora Bulq. We find out Tholme was also there, receiving his facial scar during the fight and being left for dead. Back to the present, to a nice continuation to the exploration of Tholme's relationship with T'ra Saa that was started in Republic #65. We also find out more about Tholme's background, when he goes to meet his old master on Anzat. These scenes feel very much like some of the old Kung Fu/Shaolin movies. Very oriental.

Meanwhile, Aayla is attacked by a Nikto which she thinks is Bok, a Morgukai she fought way back in "Rite of Passage" (Republic #42-45). This reveals to her that the Morgukai are still around, which will probably be a major plot point in the upcoming issues.

The Quinlan stuff is kind of creepy, him digging up a cadaver that he killed himself. When he "read" the object, he sees himself killing the guy! I wonder how that feels. But the body is not the decomposing kind; for some reason, bodies of Senators are kept frozen in carbonite (!?!) in the Senatorial Tombs below Coruscant. Also creepy is the Anzati assassin lady he sees in his vision. Never mind that Anazati are the monsters of the Star Wars universe, this one looks like she's dressed to kill. To find out more, Quinlan and his girlfriend go to see Dexter Jettster, which we haven't seen since Attack of the Clones. Apparently, Obi-Wan wasn't Dex's only old Jedi friend.

As usual with John Ostrander, there is a lot of story in just one issue, with a very nice mixture of character development, action and intrigue.

THE ART

Duursema's art is always good, but sometimes for some reason it looks better in some issues. This is one of them. Maybe she had some more time to work on it, maybe she was more inspired. Who cares? It's great. Ms. Duursema didn't do the cover this time, which is not to say it's not good. On the contrary, Beck's reprensentation of Aayla is impeccable, and that thing Anderson does with the color, kind of pastel-looking when you check up close, is pretty nice too. Only thing is, I never noticed that Nikto in the background until I really looked closely. He's the same color as the background, and his face is hidden by the Dark Horse logo!

CONCLUSIONS

Another winner. If you've been following the series this far, you don't want to miss it. For the new fans, this may not be the best start-off point.

Rating: 7 / 10 Recommended