Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars: Battle Tales #1 by Michael Moreci
Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars: Battle Tales #1, written by Michael Moreci, illustrated by Derek Charm & Luis Antonio Delgado (framing story), Arianna Florean, Mario del Pennino, & Valentina Taddeo (story within a story)
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While not a knock down, bang out mind-blowing tale, this was still most certainly an enjoyable comic. We get some of our old favorite clones, plenty of Anakin action, two new planets, and a brand new beastie--I would love to know its species! There's plenty in this story to keep the reader engaged and I'm definitely intrigued to find out what happens with the main story going forward.
The set up for this comic is much like "Tales from Vader's Castle" and "Galaxy's Edge" in that there is a frame story (that will continue for each issue in the series) surrounding an independent and singular story within a story. I absolutely love this kind of set up as it gives us more bang for our buck and provides a creative avenue for teaching "the moral of the story" by allowing the people within the framing story to learn the lesson along with the reader.
This comic starts off not only with the quintessential "Clone Wars" proverb, but also an intro paragraph that the reader can easily hear the TV show's narrator proclaiming dramatically. It's the perfect opening! The proverb is, "Loyalty is not a virtue given; it is earned." This is a fantastic description of the moral of this story as Anakin earns his troopers' loyalty by being loyal to them first.
We start out on the planet of Hisseen before the Battle of Christophsis--so before the beginning of the TV show itself! Cody, Rex, and Wolffe are ALL there! See an image of the three below.
Cody makes a wonderfully on point comment, "which might depend on General Skywalker sticking to the plan. I understand he's a bit of a loose cannon." Clearly the two are just beginning to get to know each other. But Rex, who's had more experience with the young knight, responds with, "He can be...unconventional at times. But, believe me...he always comes back for his men." And this leads into the story within a story which takes us even farther back into the past--on the planet of Benglor.
Benglor is apparently swelteringly hot and Anakin and his men can barely think straight for the heat. Hardcase discovers a sort of bright green goo that leads them to a giant scary beastie who eats a clone named Bellow! And the rest of the story is a risky battle against the drooling behemoth.
After giving orders to Rex to take all the other men to safety, Anakin makes sure his clone-in-command knows, "You're more than soldiers, Rex. You're men. Men whose lives are in my hands, and I do not take that lightly." I love Ani so much, he's such a deeply good-hearted person...too bad he gets caught up in a savior complex leading him down the dangerous path of the Dark Side.
The frame story's artwork has the feel of the original "Clone Wars" TV show, dramatic and over-the-top, romantically depicting the Jedi as angelic heroes bursting into battle (check out the image below).
The story within a story's artwork is a bit more childlike and playful, but has some truly wonderful moments including this image of the beastie antagonist vibrating under the power of Anakin's Force powers. And no, the fuzziness is not from the photograph, it is actually drawn and colored that way which blew my mind when I first saw it!
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More from Michael Moreci:
"Star Wars Adventures: Flight of the Falcon" - an extended comic
More like "Battle Tales" (extended story within a story format):
"Tales from Vader's Castle" by Cavan Scott - a comic miniseries
"Galaxy's Edge" by Ethan Sacks - a comic miniseries
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I'm so happy this exists as it allows me to continue enjoying my favorite TV show just in a different format now that the series itself is off the air. I definitely felt the action, felt the brotherhood, and felt the danger and urgency of the fight with the Separatists. I am so excited to see where this goes from here.
The set up for this comic is much like "Tales from Vader's Castle" and "Galaxy's Edge" in that there is a frame story (that will continue for each issue in the series) surrounding an independent and singular story within a story. I absolutely love this kind of set up as it gives us more bang for our buck and provides a creative avenue for teaching "the moral of the story" by allowing the people within the framing story to learn the lesson along with the reader.
This comic starts off not only with the quintessential "Clone Wars" proverb, but also an intro paragraph that the reader can easily hear the TV show's narrator proclaiming dramatically. It's the perfect opening! The proverb is, "Loyalty is not a virtue given; it is earned." This is a fantastic description of the moral of this story as Anakin earns his troopers' loyalty by being loyal to them first.
We start out on the planet of Hisseen before the Battle of Christophsis--so before the beginning of the TV show itself! Cody, Rex, and Wolffe are ALL there! See an image of the three below.
Benglor is apparently swelteringly hot and Anakin and his men can barely think straight for the heat. Hardcase discovers a sort of bright green goo that leads them to a giant scary beastie who eats a clone named Bellow! And the rest of the story is a risky battle against the drooling behemoth.
After giving orders to Rex to take all the other men to safety, Anakin makes sure his clone-in-command knows, "You're more than soldiers, Rex. You're men. Men whose lives are in my hands, and I do not take that lightly." I love Ani so much, he's such a deeply good-hearted person...too bad he gets caught up in a savior complex leading him down the dangerous path of the Dark Side.
The frame story's artwork has the feel of the original "Clone Wars" TV show, dramatic and over-the-top, romantically depicting the Jedi as angelic heroes bursting into battle (check out the image below).
---
More from Michael Moreci:
"Star Wars Adventures: Flight of the Falcon" - an extended comic
More like "Battle Tales" (extended story within a story format):
"Tales from Vader's Castle" by Cavan Scott - a comic miniseries
"Galaxy's Edge" by Ethan Sacks - a comic miniseries
---
I'm so happy this exists as it allows me to continue enjoying my favorite TV show just in a different format now that the series itself is off the air. I definitely felt the action, felt the brotherhood, and felt the danger and urgency of the fight with the Separatists. I am so excited to see where this goes from here.
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