Dawn of the Jedi : Force Storm 1 Dawn of the Jedi : Force Storm 1 was the first issue of the five - issue miniseries " " , the first arc in the " " comic book series . Published by Dark Horse Comics on February 15 , 2012 , " Force Storm 1 " was the first " Star Wars " material to be set in the Before the Republic era , a new publishing era that includes all galactic history prior to the founding of the Galactic Republic . " Force Storm 1 " received generally positive reviews , and both it and the series ' sold out in stores across the United States by the end of February 2012 , with 18 , 797 copies sold in comic shops worldwide on February 15 . The issue ' s success prompted Dark Horse to issue a second and then a third printing of " Force Storm 1 " with special variant covers by Gonzalo Flores and Jan Duursema . An introductory issue , " Force Storm 1 " largely focuses on the history of the Je ' daii Order on the planet Tython , as retold by Je ' daii Master Ketu to two young Je ' daii , Harun and Resi . Ketu ' s story spans from the year 36 , 453 BBY , when the eight Tho Yor pyramid ships brought the Force - sensitive pilgrims to Tython , to the Despot War that occurred in 25 , 805 BBY , twelve years prior to the issue ' s setting of 25 , 793 BBY . " Force Storm 1 " concludes with the introduction of Xesh , a Force Hound of the Infinite Empire , setting up the rest of the arc . Plot summary . In the year 36 , 453 BBY , the Talid monks of the Order of Dai Bendu on the planet Ando Prime feel the call of the Tho Yor , a massive pyramidal starship that has been buried in the Andobi Mountains for centuries . The Dai Bendu monks board the Tho Yor as seven other Tho Yor across the galaxy call out to the natives of the planets upon which they rest ; the Tho Yor then travel the galaxy and visit other planets , gathering Wookiees , Humans , Twi ' leks , Selkath , Cathar , and a number of other Force - sensitive species , before all eight travel to the planet Tython in the Deep Core . There , the eight Tho Yor gather around the ninth and largest Tho Yor , which floats above a pinnacle of stone , and the starships scatter themselves across Tython as the planet is engulfed in a ferocious Force Storm . The pilgrims come to realize that they have been brought to Tython to study the Force , and they form the Je ' daii Order — an order of warriors and scholars whose name is a Dai Bendu word meaning " mystic center . " Tython is a planet that reacts violently to imbalance in the Force , so the Je ' daii develop a philosophy of balance between the light and dark sides of the Force , which they name after the twin moons of Tython : bright Ashla and dark Bogan . However , the Je ' daii eventually come to realize that Tython is unsafe for those who are not sensitive to the Force , and so all those who cannot touch the Force migrate out across the Tython system , settling the ten other planets in the star system . However , resentment of the Je ' daii grows over the millennia , and in 25 , 805 BBY the Twi ' lek Despot Queen Hadiya of the planet Shikaakwa begins the Despot War in an attempt to conquer the Tython system . Hadiya is defeated at Tython , but the scars of the Despot War remain fresh for some even twelve years later in 25 , 793 BBY . Across the galaxy , the Infinite Empire of the Rakata species conquers the planet Tatooine , which was discovered by the Force Hound Xesh in the service of his master , Predor Tul ' kar . Tul ' kar ' s superior , Predor Skal ' nas , requests Xesh ' s services in locating a Force - strong planet in the Deep Core that his own Force Hound , Trill , is unable to locate . Development . Randy Stradley , Vice President of Publishing at Dark Horse Comics , began lobbying for a comic story regarding the origins of the Jedi as early as 2003 . In that year , a was commissioned of two characters — male and female Humans — by artist Rodolfo Migliari . At Celebration V in August 2010 , John Ostrander and Jan Duursema , longtime collaborators and the author - artist pair behind " Legacy " , announced that they were working on a new comic that was different from anything they had written for " Star Wars " before . Their current series at the time was " " , a six - issue miniseries that ran from December 2010 to May 2011 and was a follow - up to their popular " " series . " Dawn of the Jedi " was first announced to the public at the 2011 on October 13 . Ostrander stated that the series is intended to be epic in scope , while personal in storytelling , and he and Duursema are working closely with Expanded Universe continuity while also attempting to make " Dawn of the Jedi " accessible to casual " Star Wars " fans . At Comic Con , it was announced that like " Legacy " , " Dawn of the Jedi " would feature a large cast of species - diverse characters , but would primarily focus on the Tython system instead of the larger galaxy . A , serving as an official guide for readers much like " " , was announced with a release date of February 1 at Comic Con , and the release date was set for February 15 . John Ostrander and Jan Duursema wrote the story for " Force Storm 1 " , while Ostrander penned the script and Duursema pencilled the artwork . Dan Parsons was the inker for the book , Michael Heisler the letterer , and Wes Dzioba handled coloring duties . Duursema was the artist for the final version of the issue ' s cover , though a variant cover by Gonzalo Flores was also released , and a second version of the cover by Duursema featuring Xesh was released for the issue ' s third printing . Continuity . " Star Wars : Dawn of the Jedi " authors , John Ostrander and Jan Duursema , intend the series to be rooted in pre - existing " Star Wars " continuity , while also being accessible to newer readers . The series is set in an era that was largely unexplored — " Dawn of the Jedi " necessitated the creation of an entirely new publishing era , the Before the Republic era — and builds off what little information existed before hand : namely , the fact that the Jedi Order was established on the planet Tython in the Deep Core , the conflicts known as the Force Wars began in the year 25 , 793 BBY and the early Jedi left Tython after the Force Wars and migrated to Ossus . " Dawn of the Jedi " also expands on the Rakata , a species that ruled the galaxy before the Republic and was introduced in the 2003 " " video game . " Dawn of the Jedi " has encountered relatively few contradictions in continuity , but there are elements in the " " video game , which was released shortly before " Dawn of the Jedi " , that contradict the series . Specifically , " Force Storm 1 " contradicts the Mother Machine , which is a Rakatan computer that claims to be responsible for the creation of a number of Force - sensitive species in its efforts to restore the Force - sensitivity of the Rakata species during the Rakatan Civil War . Among those species it claims responsibility for are the Twi ' leks and the Zabrak , but " Dawn of the Jedi " depicts a relatively advanced Twi ' lek society on Ryloth as well as numerous Zabrak in 36 , 453 BBY , thousands of years before the collapse of the Infinite Empire . When developing the ships , characters , and environments for the series , Jan Duursema was forced to virtually work from scratch , as very little of the Before the Republic era had been depicted previously . Duursema purposely differentiated the Je ' daii from the Jedi in their appearance , exchanging lightsabers for the swords they were known to use at the time and replacing the traditional robes with more individualized armor and clothing . Unlike her work on " Star Wars : Legacy " , Duursema was unable to build on existing designs for ships and technology , and instead she worked from a " retrofitting " mindset , developing ships and technology that would eventually give rise to the technology of the modern " Star Wars " era . Duursema and Ostrander also created the worlds of the Tython system from scratch , choosing to focus only on the Tython system instead of using pre - existing locations from across the galaxy . Reception . " " and " Force Storm 1 " sold particularly well in stores , and both issues were sold out across the country by the end of February . This prompted Dark Horse Comics to order a second printing of both issues , followed by a third printing with special variant covers by Jan Duursema . However , some critics believe that the series caters more to serious " Star Wars " fans and is not particularly well - suited for the average fan of the films . " Dawn of the Jedi " has received generally positive reviews , and while some have criticized the writing , many praise Duursema ' s artwork .