Star Wars: Clone Wars, Volume 8: The Last Siege, the Final Truth

Star Wars: Republic #16

by John Ostrander, Jan Duursema (Artist), Dan Parsons (Artist)

While both the Republic and the Separatists have suffered staggering losses during the Clone Wars, nothing could have prepared them for the battle they face on the desert world of Saleucami. Beneath the surface of this Outer Rim planet, the Dark Jedi Sora Bulq has begun cloning an army of Morgukai assassins. Unwilling to leave this grave new threat unchecked, the Jedi and their armies soon find themselves entrenched in a five-month siege. Now, time and resources have run out, and it's up to a crack team of Jedi, led by Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura, to infiltrate the Separatist base.

• Collecting stories from Star Wars: Republic #72-77.

• A betrayal will be revealed and the ultimate sacrifice made in this volume of Star Wars: Clone Wars, chronicling events that tie directly into Revenge of the Sith!

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Fiction, Bande Dessinée

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

John Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.

Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).

Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Quinlan Voss storyline comes to an end in this volume and it wraps up about as well as I could possibly have hoped. Despite being a little tentative when I initially began this series I can only conclude that this is about as good as Star Wars Space Opera is going to get without going philosophical. This is no-ideas, no-brainer sci-fi just like the original trilogy and characters constantly battle with the light vs dark side for no other reason than that they exist in fundamental black and white terms. Quinlan's "Am I good, am I bad? struggle" is not emotionally profound (like Ulic's in the Tales of the Jedi series) but it's just such fun and such a blast to be a part of that I was reading this stuff on the edge of my seat.

The art is terrific and the writing is terrific. This volume in itself has great high melodrama contained within but the 5 stars really goes to the planning and thinking throughout the series. Storylines have interconnected from the beginning (where I initially thought they may be disparate) and Ostrander shows a perfect command of good comic book writing. This series is terrific.

[Iset]

Two final stories and we’re less than a month away in chronology from Ep III: Trackdown and Siege of Saleucami.

Both stories closely tie into one another, and continue to follow the plot thread of Quinlan Vos, his former master Tholme, and his former apprentice Aayla, as we head towards the end of an era. I have to laugh, at this point, at the sheer number of sudden reversals in Quin’s tale. Is he working for Dooku? Does he earnestly wish to rejoin the Jedi? Does Quin even know the answer to these questions?! I’m sure this would’ve kept me on the edge of my seat upon first reading. It was always different with Anakin because we already knew how his story would end. With Quin, we didn’t, and the writers milked that uncertainty to the max. Re-reading it, I can chuckle at how the story deliberately tugs at the tension. It’s not exactly poignant or profound stuff – don’t expect the heartfelt reflections and shattering revelations of The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi here – it’s more straightforward action fare. But it isn’t done too badly at all, and as I’ve said before, I prefer it to the humdrum predictability whenever Anakin takes centre stage in the Clone Wars stories. There are better entries in this particular series, but there are also worse ones too.

7 out of 10

[DiscoSpacePanther · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another five star read - these Clone Wars graphic novels have been really good, and Star Wars: Clone Wars, Volume 8: The Last Siege, the Final Truth, the penultimate volume, has been no exception.

As the cover would suggest, this one is pretty much all Quinlan Vos, all the time - and that is no bad thing. Vos's arc has been convoluted to say the least, and it is good to get some closure on it. The plotting, pacing and action are good, and as has been typical of these books, the artwork has been great.

It was fun to see Dexter Jettster again, and I could practically hear Ronald Falk's voice acting in my head during his brief appearance.

I hope the final volume can live up to what has come before!

(A final aside - there have been so many bare midriffs in these comic books that it is worth making a note of a female character who, however temporarily it may turn out to be, bucks that trend. Sian Jeisel, we salute you.)

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Wars Legends Project #160

Background: The Last Siege, The Final Truth, released in March 2006, collects issues 72-77 of the Republic series: Trackdown (2 issues, December 2004-February 2005) and Siege of Saleucami (4 issues, March-July 2005). All 6 issues were written by John Ostrander and drawn by Jan Duursema 2 of the most prolific collaborators across all eras of Star Wars comics.

Trackdown is set 30 months after the Battle of Geonosis (19 years before the Battle of Yavin). Siege of Saleucami is set 6 months later, shortly before the Battle of Coruscant. The main characters are Quinlan Vos, Aayla Secura, Tholme, and their usual various allies and enemies. The setting is mostly Anzat and Saleucami.

Summary: In Trackdown, Master Tholme, feeling guilty for his role in Quinlan Vos's dangerous flirtation with the dark side, ventures into the field himself on a dangerous undercover mission with Aayla Secura. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, Vos is tugging at a connected thread on his own. The Separatists are brewing a dark new plot involving fallen Weequay Jedi Master Sora Bulq, the Anzati assassins, and a deadly Nikto warrior cult, and the Jedi are about to stumble right into the middle of it. Whether they will survive the discovery is another question.

In Siege of Saleucami, Dooku's Shadow Army stands ready to be unleashed on the galaxy unless the force of Jedi and Republic troops can stop it at its source. First a double-agent, now a triple-agent, and maybe even more, Quinlan Vos has slipped so far into the darkness of his own espionage games that even he may not know exactly which side he's fighting for anymore. And that could be a problem, because victory on Saleucami may depend on which one he chooses.

Review: This is the explosive conclusion to the Vos Undercover storyline of the past dozen or so issues centered around my favorite Jedi character of this era, and it pulls out all the stops. There is so much going on and almost all of it is awesome but I feel like I can't talk about it without giving stuff away that you really should experience for yourself. There are major character deaths, surprising reversals, high-stakes drama, near-non-stop action . . . Ostrander is so good at weaving together complex character relationships and developments with an ongoing plot and then paying them off in genuinely epic fashion like this. I think Duursema outdoes herself here, particularly with the character design. The art is in perfect harmony with the themes and tone of the story, and the result is really something special.

I'll leave it at that. Go read this.

A

[Kalle Vilenius · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I made a promise to you once – as you were there for me when I was lost in the darkness, I will be here for you.”

(Spoilers to follow)

After Quinlan Vos returned from his undercover mission, he still maintains a contact with Count Dooku’s forces, playing the triple agent. His goal is unknown to the Jedi: he seeks the identity and the death of “the other Sith”, whom the readers know is Palpatine but no one outside of Count Dooku is aware of this. Vos believes that by killing this other Sith, all his sacrifices and misdeeds will have been worth it, and his obsession with redemption through this killing drives him to the point of irrationality, he digs around for proof of this Sith’s identity by desecrating corpses – a corpse he created himself – and endangering his lover’s life for a chance meeting with an assassin, he refuses to go to his superiors with anything he learns so he can be the one to finish everything, he needs his redemption so badly that even obvious evidence that disproves his conclusions is ignored. He’s desperate.

Another investigation is being performed at the same time. Master Tholme, now quite open about his affections to T’ra Saa, and Aayla Secura, playing the airheaded Twilek more comfortably than ever before, find themselves following leads that loop back to characters from Ostrander’s run on Star Wars even before the Clone Wars era, and eventually to the discovery of the Separatist’s newest plan, which involves resurrecting an extinct warrior race to be trained as assassins. So it’s clone assassins against clone troopers. This is now truly a Clone War. At least for this one battle.

These clones are being grown and trained on Saleucami, where the rest of the book’s action takes place, as everyone converges there. Quinlan Vos is stuck between a rock and a hard place, as he believes Sora Bulq, one of the Jedi corrupted by Dooku, to be the other Sith and the target of all his rage, but to get near him must keep playing his role as a triple agent and providing the Republic’s battle plans to Dooku to stay in his confidences.

Master Tholme himself is hiding beneath the bowels of Separatist facility, sabotaging it in a one-man guerrilla war, occasionally entertaining himself by retreating into a peaceful mindscape, a veritable paradise where he imagines himself in the company of his peers or T’ra Saa. This is more than just an indulgence on his part, because the mindscape serves two other functions: firstly, it shows him sensing Vos’ presence as a dark, violent storm that breaks away the harmony he surrounds himself with, and secondly a similar mindscape becomes an important battlefield later in the book.

Dooku orders Vos to go after Tholme, and this forces the poor Jedi into yet another impossible scenario. Former master and pupil cross blades and words, and just as before when he fought Aayla, Vos makes a good show of it in the fight but fares worse with words. He is left with the choice between killing his master or returning to Dooku without having done so, neither of which he can bring himself to do.

Tholme chooses a third path by falling to his apparent death. It doesn’t stick, though. Tholme has saved the day by feigning death before, so his doing so here again is great payoff for a set-up that at the time seemed to just be a solution to Aayla’s turmoil. The old master gets much love in these pages, from his affair with T’ra Saa and how Jedi can love without the “dark side of love” brought by attachments, like jealousy and resentment, or his visit with Anzat assassins, his meeting with the blind, soup-making master Zao who helps him find balance once again, to his flashback with Sora Bulq and duel with same corrupt Jedi. Mace Windu once warned Quinlan Vos that Vaapad, the lightsabre form he and Bulq developed comes dangerously close to the Dark Side. We see here a raving, cruel, constantly furious Sora Bulq, consumed by the fires within. His was a downfall brought about by Dooku’s manipulations, and throughout the final battles, Dooku is constantly present as a hologram, taunting the heroes and gloating over the victory the Sith are bound to win. It’s a cold comfort that at least he doesn’t live to see it himself.

There are more characters involved in this book than can really be spoken of in the confines of a review. There are Jedi who resent Vos, Jedi who forgive and accept him. There’s Khaleen, who ought to be spoken of more, a thief and a spy, once sent by Dooku to infiltrate Vos’ own network and seduce him, but now a lover in truth, a woman filled with doubts but never once straying from his side, never once wavering in her feelings for him. There’s Oppo Rancisis, leader of the Republic forces, a Jedi master with four arms, a snake tail for a lower body, a hair-covered face and battle plans so secret he shares them with no one until it’s time to execute them. Sagoro, the prisoner Quinlan Vos helped to freedom, now a captain in the Republic fleet. Dex, the fat alien from Attack of the Clones who runs a diner. So many, and they all feel like old comrades by now. There are deaths, and they are mourned.

In the final battle, entering his own mindscape, Quinlan Vos confronts his Dark Side personified, a Jungian shadow, really. Not an enemy he can win against. But he is not alone. The connections he has formed in the past come to his rescue, as Aayla Secura joins him in that mindscape, fulfilling the promise to be there for him as he had been for her, a fountain of light, and Quinlan Vos embraces that light. He embraces the darkness that was in him as well, without letting it consume him, just as in a previous story Aayla had accepted her femininity and Twilek heritage without compromising her identity as a Jedi, the two once again mirroring one another. In the end the connections he formed prove strong enough to redeem him, and with that redemption victory on Salecumi is achieved for the Republic at last. After all the fighting, Aayla puts it in words best:

“So this is what victory feels like. After all this time – all this blood – so… hollow.”

She’s righter than she can know. Would that this were the end. So much has been resolved, villains created for the comics defeated, bases touched with characters from the past almost like an honour lap around the cast built up across the comic’s run, the internal conflict resolved and a happier future awaiting Vos and Khaleen and their child to be, as he chooses his attachment to her over being a Jedi and announces he will leave the order after the war. Would that this were the end. But we all know it isn’t. We all know these Jedi, these comrades and friends we’ve come to know and love, are all doomed, that all their victories will amount to nothing as the Sith have their revenge. But we live while we can, right?

With Ostrander & Duursema on top form and telling the story in this book from beginning to end, this is easily the best part of the Clone Wars comic run I’ve read. By some strange alchemy everything just comes together perfectly. I haven’t really been much of a Star Wars fan since the prequel trilogy was in theatres, and I was a child then, but reading these books it has had an impact on me. I took Star Wars seriously because the book took Star Wars seriously. This is a feat. Volume 8 is the culmination of so much, it justifies so much, that it’s impossible for me to be moved by it. And to dread the final volume…

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO the great story arc is now complete - on one had I am pleased, It was a great read, an interesting story and an interesting insight in to the clone wars which are only vaguely touched upon in the films. However on the other hand you have the feeling of so what. You know what happens and fate awaits so many of the characters you have followed and rooted for, you almost feel let down that regardless of what ever victories they have there are greater defeats awaiting them. Its a bitter sweet moment which I think on retrospect makes this story all the stronger - yes you know their own come or at least you feel you do and yet you still root for them. There is one more book to read - which ironically I have already read. It closes off many of the characters and shows their fates so in some respects it is not part of this arc yet you just know you need to see how it all ends.

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is told over two stories that link to each other so smoothly that they’re better described as two chapters. This story very much felt like the beginning of the end in that certain character arcs come to their conclusions as well as Quinlan finally realised just who he’s going to be.
I won’t say more than that, to avoid revealing spoilers. The artwork is first-rate again and I very much enjoyed the story. It was also fantastic to see one Jedi who done little more than sit about, show just what he can do.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was a good wrapup of the Quinlan Vos storyline. It also has the fortuitous combination of a great writer AND a great artist.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

These two arcs move seamlessly into each other so I'll review the whole thing together.

This is where Quin's story hits its big conclusion, with everything after just a postscript. It brings back a lot of the elements established early in the series, from the Anzati to Master Zao to Bok the Nikto. The justification for the siege itself, the Anzati-trained Morgukai clone army to counter the Republic clones, is incredibly dumb. But dramatically it most closely looks back to the best arc in the series, Darkness, diving into that triad of Quin, Aayla, and Tholme, and aspiring to take them to the heights of RotJ throne-room scene drama. There are tragedies and betrayals and revelations and weighty choices and it just never quite lands. Quin's story is trying so hard to match the Skywalkers', yet there are weird discrepancies, and his companions aren't developed well enough for me to care about these relationships. Like, why do Quin and Khaleen get to openly plan a family in front of other Jedi while Anakin could never? It seems like they're trying to show Quin as a "What could have been" for Anakin if he was less of a brat, which is I guess a good concept but it isn't executed well enough. The biggest moment here for me was the death of Oppo Rancisis. The battle itself is kind of sidelined and not very interesting.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good grief, I'm tired of Quinlan Vos and his ever-revolving carousel of loyalties. Why did they have to drag this out so much? Just let the dude do his job. This series is beginning to lose my interest, but at least there's not much left.

[Zyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Épico!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story, but totally focused on secondary characters.

[WyrmbergSabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knowing how this ends almost makes reading these final stories worse.
One long tale covering a significant turn of events and answers.

[R. Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got from school library

Quinlan’s arc is SO GOOD I can’t wait to read on how Cavan Scott recanonized it (before it uh, got decanonized again, but it can be canon in my mind ❤️)

[Tyler Blevins · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love Quinlan Vos in this house. We are not worthy.

[Ben Kimsal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Siege of Saleucami and the epic climax of Quinlan Vos' story. Fantastic.

[Shadab Siddiqi · Rating 5 out of 5]

While both the Republic and the Separatists have suffered staggering losses during the Clone Wars, nothing could have prepared them for the battle they face on the desert world of Saleucami. Beneath the surface of this Outer Rim planet, the Dark Jedi Sora Bulq has begun cloning an army of Morgukai assassins. Unwilling to leave this grave new threat unchecked, the Jedi and their armies soon find themselves entrenched in a five-month siege. Now, time and resources have run out, and it's up to a crack team of Jedi, led by Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura, to infiltrate the Separatist base. This comic is drawn very well and inked and penciling is great. But wait, there's more!

SPOILER: READ NO FURTHER IF YOU'RE PLANNING ON READING THIS: The best part of this graphic novel is when Assajj Ventress is about to expire and Anikan overhears her saying to Obi Won the same words Darth Vader uses when he's about to cross over to the netherworld. And it is: can anyone guess? "Tell her you were right about me...YOU WERE RIGHT!!!" And then she dies...but does she? No, she's on a ship and wants as far away from the clone wars as possible. Maybe we'll see her in some new story line in the upcoming computer generated shows next year!

[Daniel Batcheler · Rating 3 out of 5]

why did i decide to read this book?
I decided to read this book because it caught my eye and it looked interesting. I used to read some star wars books and short stories and i like the movie series.

which category on your bingo board did this book complete? This book filled the science fiction section of my bingo board although it is a comic book and could fit into other categories i placed it there so i can use the other spaces for other books i can read is the library.

what did i like about this book and why?
i liked this book and got a small sense of where it and the series was going because it is the eighth book in its series and i found it entertaining and remembered the characters from the movie series.i enjoyed reading this and would like to read more in the series.

what didn't i like about this book?
the fact that i had not read the other books in the series and i found the first starting to be a bit weird.

who would you recommend this book to and why?
i would recommend this book to children who are interested in fantasy and like the star wars series.

[Ritinha · Rating 2 out of 5]

O Count Dooku é o sith mais auto-encantado e peneirento que já se viu na Galáxia. E nem o conforto que é pensá-lo humilhantemente eliminado pelo Mannakin consegue amainar o desprezo imenso que o senhor Conde reclama de qualquer pessoa dotada de normal sagacidade.
Como entra na trade, esta desce logo de nível.
Mas não se fica por aqui, a temática pouco apelativa: semi-dark-jedis. Um dark jedi, só por si, já é parvo q.b., mas um semi-dark-jedi merece usar permanente, para que se saiba sempre onde reside a patetice da Força.
Por fim, a adição de um Mestre Jedi com traços e estilo de velho índio amerciano é... estranha.

Valha-nos o ponto forte em reviravoltas. Não sendo dotadas de surpresas soberbas, sempre agradam pela vertente da insidiosidade sith e modo coito-interrompido.

A arte merecia melhor argumento. Mas toda a arte que exibe mulheres-objecto dispensa avaliações mais cuidadas que a materialização do seu respeito pela igualdade de géneros. Por isso nada mais se regista quanto a todo o trabalho dos artistas.

[Yves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Après son retour chez les Jedi, Quinlan Vos continue ses recherches pour retrouver le second Sith. Pour cela, il est prêt à tomber lui même du côté obscur de la Force s'il le faut. Ce Sith se trouverait peut-être sur la planète Seulecami. Une offensive de Jedi est lancée par Vos et ses plus fidèles compagnon pour le retrouver.

Cette bande dessinée propose action par dessus action. Il y a des combats de sabre-laser à la tonne. Quinlan est confronté à son plus grand défi à vie, soit de ne pas sombrer dans le mal pour atteindre son but. Évidemment, lorsqu'on a vu les films, on sait qu'il se trompe de cible et c'est ce qui rend l'histoire dramatique.

Pour ce qui est des dessins, Jan Duursema est à son meilleur. Les dessins sont parfaits.

[Jonathanm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started out really good. As it got to the middle though, it started talking about politics and food and it got a bit boring, but when it got to the ending section, it was really interesting. I was hooked throughout the book, and hated it when I had to stop reading. I liked this book because I am a huge Star Wars fan.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vos story finally ends, his mission over. This covers a siege, lots of people questioning the dark force and Dooku coming up with clones of his own. Not entirely satisfying character wise but the end does kind of work. A good read.

[Victor Orozco · Rating 4 out of 5]

The coming end of the Clone Wars and we see the downfall of many of Dooku's acolytes. Quinlan Vos finishes his espionage mission against Dooku with the possibility of him betraying the Jedi still high. In the end a wonderful story leading up to the conclusion. B+

[machado · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

Mestre Jedi e ex-Padawan lutando até a morte, cercados de lava e rochas, enquanto o Padawan prega sobre levar paz à galáxia etc e dá ao Mestre o ultimato de se juntar a ele ou morrer? Acho que já vi isso antes...

[M Pereira · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wraps up the Quinlan Vos storyline. I quite enjoyed it. It was a bit too slow going for a story, though.

[Chad Hansen-Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far the best story arc in the series. A bit poignant since we know most all of the characters will be dead very soon.

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, but the plot didn't get really good until the end. Nice art (but could us girls please have some clothes on?) and interesting characters.

[Celestia · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was cool its about jedi vos who sekritly works for ducu he prtens he wants to find 2cd sith the hi point wen hes dueling

[Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

SW clonewars v.8