Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan: The Aurorient Express #2 (of 2) Story: Mike Kennedy Art: Lucas Marangon Inking: Howard Shum Coloring: Dan Jackson Lettering: Steve Dutro Cover: Lucas Marangon Released: 06/12/2002 Reviewed by: JF Boivin (11/22/2004) SUMMARY: Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are aboard a luxury liner along with a core bomb, renegade droids, and crew members who could be responsible for either or both. It's up to them to find out the motivation behind this complex plot to take over a Tibanna gas magnate's mining station.

[final cover] [preview cover]

THE STORY

The plot unfolds to its conclusion, and and it confirms exactly what I saw coming from last issue. So the spoiled wife is trying to kill her rich husband and run away with her personal trainer. And there's a disgruntled crew member who betrays his employer to make his fortune. Nothing I haven't seen dozens of times before. The Jedi don't seem to care too much, as they practically do nothing in this issue. They just watch the characters reveal their plans, and sometimes state the obvious. At the end, even though they get confessions from the perpetrators, some of which risked innocent lives, they just walk away from them doing nothing. Is that really Jedi philosphy, to be content in saving a ship and let the people who put it at risk go free? It's a pretty disappointing story overall, and one that lost steam coming out 3.5 months after the first issue, with Attack of the Clones released in-between.

THE ART

Last time I didn't comment on the color, which is pretty trippy. The ship and backgrounds are okay, but I don't like Marangon's characters. It's not cartoony enough for a cartoon, and too cartoony for a standard adventure comic book. I do like the two-piece squid orchestra and the insectoid conductor, though. They should have a series of their own!

CONCLUSIONS

I still don't get the humor, if it's supposed to be funny. But Kennedy is no Kevin Rubio. If you're looking for a cool Jedi adventure, you're better off reading the Jedi Apprentice series.

Rating: 4 / 10 Not Recommended