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A review by jaredkwheeler
Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 1 by W. Haden Blackman
2.0
Star Wars Legends Project #110
Background: Clone Wars Adventures, Volume 1 was released in July of 2004. It consists of three stand-alone stories inspired by Cartoon Network's animated Clone Wars series of 2003-2005 (not to be confused with the animated series The Clone Wars, 2008-2014): Blind Force, Heavy Metal Jedi, and Fierce Currents. All three were written by [author:Haden Blackman|16071920], with the first pencilled by [author:Ben Caldwell|20039] and the other two by the [author:Fillbach Brothers|5498466]. Blackman, of course, has an extensive list of Star Wars credits. This is Caldwell's only Star Wars credit, though he has done quite a bit of work for both DC and Marvel, among others. The Fillbachs (Matthew and Shawn) did the art for most of the Clone Wars Adventures stories.
Blind Force is set 5 months after the Battle of Geonosis (22 years before the Battle of Yavin), and features Obi-Wan and Anakin. It takes place on the planet Nivek (and there's no way that's just accidentally "Kevin" spelled backwards). Heavy Metal Jedi takes place on Iktotch around the same time, with Mace Windu and Iktotchi Jedi Master Saesee Tiin. Fierce Currents also takes place around the same time, on Mon Calamari, and stars Kit Fisto.
Summary: In Blind Force, Obi-Wan and Anakin face more trouble than expected when they arrive on a Separatist planet that is shrouded in perpetual darkness, which seems to pose no problem for the hostile native Shadowmen!
In Heavy Metal Jedi, Mace Windu and Saesee Tiin debate the merits of their vastly different lightsaber fighting styles as they bring the battle to the droid army attacking Master Tiin's homeworld.
In Fierce Currents, Kit Fisto hunts for whoever is giving orders to the Separatist-aligned Quarren as they make war on the Republic-aligned Mon Calamari, and makes a surprising discovery.
Review: If you've seen any of the animated Clone Wars series, you pretty much know what you're in for here. Like the first two seasons of that show (which consisted of 3-5 minute episodes), these stories are incredibly brief, almost just little vignettes based on one simple idea and not much more. The art is highly stylized, and you may love it or hate it . . . I don't have particularly strong feelings about it one way or the other. It does the job, and I just got used to it almost immediately and didn't really notice it after that. There is a certain quality to its simplicity that lends itself very well to a certain type of storytelling, and these stories are at their best when they can tap into that.
As to the stories themselves, as I say, they barely qualify as such. Very few of them are actively bad, and some are even pretty good, but most are just forgettable. One thing that I find kind of enjoyable and kind of annoying about them at the same time is how over-the-top they are. There's very little attempt at realism or internal consistency. The words "suspension of disbelief" aren't even in the vocabulary here. There's not question of the absurdity. My favorite of these three, despite its having the worst title, was Heavy Metal Jedi for the interplay and banter between the two Jedi masters, even though it falls prey to the "Jedi defeat entire armies single-handed and with incredible ease" trope that I hate the most about this series. Also, Fierce Currents is mildly interesting as a follow-up to one of the episodes of the TV show. There's not much more to say here.
C-
Background: Clone Wars Adventures, Volume 1 was released in July of 2004. It consists of three stand-alone stories inspired by Cartoon Network's animated Clone Wars series of 2003-2005 (not to be confused with the animated series The Clone Wars, 2008-2014): Blind Force, Heavy Metal Jedi, and Fierce Currents. All three were written by [author:Haden Blackman|16071920], with the first pencilled by [author:Ben Caldwell|20039] and the other two by the [author:Fillbach Brothers|5498466]. Blackman, of course, has an extensive list of Star Wars credits. This is Caldwell's only Star Wars credit, though he has done quite a bit of work for both DC and Marvel, among others. The Fillbachs (Matthew and Shawn) did the art for most of the Clone Wars Adventures stories.
Blind Force is set 5 months after the Battle of Geonosis (22 years before the Battle of Yavin), and features Obi-Wan and Anakin. It takes place on the planet Nivek (and there's no way that's just accidentally "Kevin" spelled backwards). Heavy Metal Jedi takes place on Iktotch around the same time, with Mace Windu and Iktotchi Jedi Master Saesee Tiin. Fierce Currents also takes place around the same time, on Mon Calamari, and stars Kit Fisto.
Summary: In Blind Force, Obi-Wan and Anakin face more trouble than expected when they arrive on a Separatist planet that is shrouded in perpetual darkness, which seems to pose no problem for the hostile native Shadowmen!
In Heavy Metal Jedi, Mace Windu and Saesee Tiin debate the merits of their vastly different lightsaber fighting styles as they bring the battle to the droid army attacking Master Tiin's homeworld.
In Fierce Currents, Kit Fisto hunts for whoever is giving orders to the Separatist-aligned Quarren as they make war on the Republic-aligned Mon Calamari, and makes a surprising discovery.
Review: If you've seen any of the animated Clone Wars series, you pretty much know what you're in for here. Like the first two seasons of that show (which consisted of 3-5 minute episodes), these stories are incredibly brief, almost just little vignettes based on one simple idea and not much more. The art is highly stylized, and you may love it or hate it . . . I don't have particularly strong feelings about it one way or the other. It does the job, and I just got used to it almost immediately and didn't really notice it after that. There is a certain quality to its simplicity that lends itself very well to a certain type of storytelling, and these stories are at their best when they can tap into that.
As to the stories themselves, as I say, they barely qualify as such. Very few of them are actively bad, and some are even pretty good, but most are just forgettable. One thing that I find kind of enjoyable and kind of annoying about them at the same time is how over-the-top they are. There's very little attempt at realism or internal consistency. The words "suspension of disbelief" aren't even in the vocabulary here. There's not question of the absurdity. My favorite of these three, despite its having the worst title, was Heavy Metal Jedi for the interplay and banter between the two Jedi masters, even though it falls prey to the "Jedi defeat entire armies single-handed and with incredible ease" trope that I hate the most about this series. Also, Fierce Currents is mildly interesting as a follow-up to one of the episodes of the TV show. There's not much more to say here.
C-