Name: Star Wars: Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir
ISBN: 9781616555511

Matt Michnovetz

Jeremy Barlow

Aida Mashaka Croal

"Darth Maul wages war against Darth Sidious and his generals Count Dooku and General Grievous with his allies in the Shadow Collective"--

Star Wars: Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir

Kireth Sandhu

WHY: Continuing my Clone Wars TV show full chronological experience and coming off the back of Dark Disciple, Son of Dathomir is the final stop before the much-hyped Siege of Mandalore ending arc.
STORY: Whilst it initially seemed intriguing to follow Lord Maul's perspective at a critical gap in his timeline (between his S5 capture by Palpatine and S7 return to power with the Shadow Collective), the graphic novel instead contained leaps from action set-piece to action set-piece. With Maul's Mandalorian forces quickly freeing him and Dooku giving chase, the plot unfolded to become a tactical game between the incorporeal Mother Talzin and Darth Sidious fighting for revenge and dominance of Separatist forces. Grevious, crime bosses and Jedi masters Obi-Wan, Tuplee, Windu and Secura all make brief appearances as well. 
ART & WRITING: The art was great, with tight and expansive action panels covering space battles and saber duels. Some faces were a bit rough, but for the most part there was enough detail on the page. The writing really did feel like a compressed 4-episode TV show arc, with stripped dialogue and a focus on action. The typical comic book stylistic features of speech bubbles and sound effects worked well here.
WHO: Again, this companion piece is really for the die-hard Clone Wars fans. Although it is more accessible than any of the other accompanying material simply due to its format, it doesn't make much sense if you haven't watched the show all the way through and fails to deliver any new insight on the character of Maul or the Clone Wars conflict.