Republic #71: Dreadnaughts Of Rendili Part 3

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Script: John Ostrander
Art: Jan Duursema

Reviewed by Andrew Liptak

Summary: The last issue of the Rendili Fleet Crisis Trilogy, picking up during the middle of the battle between Republic and Confederate forces at Rendili. The Jedi have gotten onto the flagship, where they take control of the fleet. With their combine efforts, they destroy the Confederates and return to Coruscant, where the Jedi must now deal with Quinlan Vos, who was captured during the trilogy. Meanwhile, Asajj Ventress continues her own pursuit of Quinlan and Obi-Wan, meeting Anakin Skywalker in a battle above the Coruscant skyline. While this is going on, someone holds a secret.

What Worked: The final issue in the trilogy, and it was an impressive end. This series is probably the most important out of many of the Republic issues thus far, and represents a jump off point for the direction of not one, but two series.

We see some closure to the Quinlan Vos story arch, until the end, which was a real shocker. It is here, that we have a setup for the upcoming storyline from Republic 72 on, and with the Obsession series. Quinlan Vos gives the Republic some information about happenings in the Outer Rim, and from what we have seen with the plot lines, there is going to be some exciting things happening out there. In Obsession, we see Aayla Secura looking into some of Vos's intelligence.

The real highlight of the issue was the battle between Anakin Skywalker and Asajj Ventress, mentioned in Obsession 1. Anakin and Asajj face off in the Industrial Complex, and we see Anakin really beat her, using some highly charged electrical cables and gravity. It would appear that Asajj was gone for good, and we're still up in the air about that one. The fight between them certainly shows a different side to Anakin, who seems to come very close to the Dark Side when Asajj tells him that she will go after Padme next. Story-wise, this issue does a good job at wrapping up the Rendili crisis, and bridging the gap between another series of stories as we prepare for Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. The story does seem to be in two parts though, which breaks nicely at about half way through the issue, with Rendili, then Quinlan's trial at the Jedi Council.

Art-wise, there are some interesting things. During the time that Quinlan is facing the council, we see the fight with Anakin and Asajj interspersed, which is a very cool trick that they do, very cinematic. It certainly adds to the battle a bit.

To top it off, we have a very cool cover with Anakin. It really reflects the balancing point between Dark and Light with him.

What Didn't Work: While I'm a big fan of Jan Duursema's, I believe that her art hit a bit of a peak with this series. I wasn't as impressed with some parts, for the style changes quite a bit from what we're used to in areas, mainly flashbacks, and it really jarred with the other art in the issue, which was more consistent in the beginning.

Secondly, I was hoping for some more closure to Quinlan Vos's storyline, which has been going on for quite a while now, and by all looks, it appears that it will be going on even longer. It's certainly an interesting storyline, but I'd like to see a bit more diversity in the comics with storylines.

Overall, an excellent conclusion to the Rendili Arc and a good starting point for the rest of the last part of the series before Episode III

Rating: 8/10

Related Items:
Jan Duursema Interview Part 1
Jan Duursema Interview Part 2
Battle of Rendili (coming soon)
Showdown at Coruscant (coming soon)
Republic #71 Timeline Entry

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