Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 1

Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures #1

by W. Haden Blackman, Ben Caldwell (Artist), Matt Fillbach (Artist)

Inspired by the Cartoon Network's Clone Wars cartoons, this series uses the television show as a jumping-off point to tell new stories of heroism and villainy in the same stripped-down visual style.

On the night-world of Nivek, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker must first overcome the limitations of fighting in the dark before they can take on the dreaded Shadowmen! Meanwhile, Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Saesee Tiin discover that push can come to shove when using the Force to fight battledroids. And, fresh from leading an underwater assault against Separatist forces on the water planet of Mon Calamari, Jedi Master Kit Fisto and his remaining clone troops reach the surface to find a new threat awaiting them! Incredible action, hot art, and lightning-fast pacing are coming your way in this take on the Star Wars galaxy!

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

96 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2004

About the author

W. Haden Blackman is a writer who has long worked in the Star Wars universe. He is also the project lead on the MMO Star Wars: Galaxies and the video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Reviews

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of these comics back when I first got into Star Wars, which is strange because I only ever watched the movies - I actually watched The Clone Wars for the first time this year. But I enjoyed it so much that I knew I had to go back and reread these books.

This has three stories in it. The first one is about Obi-Wan and Anakin fighting on a darkness planet. I have to say, I quite love the Obi-Wan & Anakin dynamic in any case, and seeing the stark differences between them. The second comic is about Mace and Tiil - it's not too bad, and it's entertaining. The last one features Kit Fisto, which I love. I could see any of these being fleshed out into full TCW episodes.

4/5 stars. These were fairly basic, but still so much fun. I know that some deeper stories are coming.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed Tartakovsky's series when it first came along, and I'm still sad at how much it was sidelined in favour of the CGI cartoon. It's nice to see a comic book series that draws more from my favourite... but the art style really doesn't work nearly as well in static form.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 22BBY

Fun times with the Jedi during the Clone Wars!

[Graham Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Read in 2004, review from 2024)

As a kid Star Wars fan in the early 2000s, Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars "microseries" was great, as simplistic as it could be (i.e., bare minimal plot). These comics were an extension of the series, with some volumes being better than others. This one was fine, not a definitive Clone Wars experience/comic but entertaining enough. The best story in the volume was the Mace Windu one which was just non-stop action.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 cute stories in the style of the Clone Wars (2003) show.

[Drew's ambitious reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I have read in one sitting. And that's the first time in a long time.
The pictures in here was amazing.
There wasn't a lot of words. Just amazing pictures.
All of my favorite characters in the star wars saga was in this one!(:

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

not quite sure what i just read but it was quick and easy. thought it would help me understand stars wars better but it was just confusing.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love to read stories about Star Wars and this is a great one for kids!

[Diego]

i think this book was very adventures and it showed many stories of of star wars charchter from the clone wars going on to adventures and fighting

[Julieta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great. I really like the art style

[Rider]

it was pretty good, I will read the series

[Jared · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 Haden Blackman, with the first pencilled by Ben Caldwell and the other two by the Fillbach Brothers. 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-

[Adam · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Cartoon Network Clone Wars series is fondly regarded by fans, but on revisiting it, I find it as flawed in its own way as the later Clone Wars show. It just doesn't overstay its welcome. The Clone Wars Adventures comics work on a similar principle--these are short stories even by comic standards, and a lot of them spend much of their run time on action sequences that fill pages without much writing. The flip side, though, is that they explore a wider range of perspectives on the conflict than the main arc of the show has narrative space to, and their bite-size nature means they never overstay their welcome. In theory, these stories are no better than many of the disposable Star Wars stories I've been complaining about in other comics, but for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, they feel different. The bad ideas, the ones that don't really work, aren't as offensive. And there are plenty that feel genuinely sharp. Part of that comes in the willingness to go for fairly dark tones. These are ostensibly kid-oriented comics, unlike the Republic arcs, eg, but there's a shockingly high percentage of Order 66 comics here, and some gutting irony. They're extremely quick reads and I'd say more worth it than not.

This particular volume, though, doesn't really achieve any of that. These stories feel most in line with the worst tendencies of the show, shallow banter and breezy Jedi action with absolutely no friction or interest. The third story introduces a weird scifi ecology construct and then abandons it on a trite piece of Jedi wisdom.

The art is not necessarily to my liking, in the cartoon or the comic, but it works well enough.

[Rakib Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this just after watching the Volume One of the 'Clone Wars (2003)' series, maybe that's why I enjoyed reading this quite a lot. The simplistic nature of storytelling in short form with drawings similar to the show and enjoyable dialogue make this a fun read for any Star Wars fan.

The first story is 'Blind Force' which features Obi-Wan and Anakin on the planet Nivek on a special mission. The story has enjoyable banter between the master and padawan duo, an interesting new species of alien enemies and some unique action sequences.

The second story titled 'Heavy Metal Jedi' has Mace Windu and Saesee Tiin battling against the droid army in Iktotch. Both tries to establish the superiority of their own fighting style which creates an interesting scenario.

'Fierce Currents' is the third story which despite featuring Kit Fisto is rather weaker compared to the other two. It tells of Fisto's encounter with an unorthodox enemy, but the ending was a bit too philosophical for my taste.

This was a fun little graphic novel and gets 4 out of 5 stars from me for its nostalgic style.

For more reviews and stuff check out my blog -
http://ihate00critics.blogspot.com/

[Renn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember pulling this off the family bookshelf thinking I was just gonna read a few pages (just to see what it was about, of course). No surprise that I completely lost track of time while reading it.
Nine years later and I still lost track of time when I read it.

Two things I enjoyed:

1). Seeing Anakin and Obi-Wan interact as master and apprentice. That isn’t a vibe we get in Dave Filoni’s Clone Wars.

2). I just love and appreciate Mace Windu in general.

However (just like when I was younger) I’m still not a fan of this art style because:

- What the f*ck happened to Anakin’s chin? It doesn’t even look close to Hayden Christensen. Sometimes it’s a butt chin? Sometimes it’s square-ish and sticks out from his face? Who’s responsible for this?

- Obi-Wan looks alright in the design department, but why does he always look super cranky? He looks like a battle-weary dad who hasn’t gotten a full night’s sleep for a week. That actually makes sense now that I think about it.

- They really should’ve worked harder at not making Kit Fisto into Aquaman.

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roughly 5 months after Attack of the Clones, this includes 3 comics (marketed as full of Jedi action) with the artstyle seen in Gendy Tardykovsky's Star Wars Clone Wars (2003) miniseries. Tonally, it is also pretty similar to the show, a lot of action and sparse on dialogue. Compared to the paragraphs of dialogue that fill up Star Wars Republic comics, this is a brisk read. Unfortunately, it also severely lacks the philosophy and nuance of the Republic Novels, where the force is not so much a superpower, but instead manifesting superpowers from the universe itself and where misuse of it can easily lead to a moral decay.

Blind Force
Obi-Wan and Anakin are fighting a bunch of shadow people. The dialogue is minimal and is well drawn.

Heavy Metal Jedi
Mace Windu and Saesi Tiin battle an army of droids with their incredible force powers.

Fierce Currents
The Moappa gone to war with the Mon Calamari on the side of the Separatists. Now there are three sentient species on Mon Cala, that's surprising

Overall I enjoyed the stories, but they lack the substance of other series published around the same time.

[Alisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This comic contains three new stories in the Star Wars: Clone Wars universe. The first is Obi-Wan and Anakin fighting a group of Shadowmen in the night-world of Nivek. What can they do if they can't see their opponent but they can see you? Second is Mace Windu and Saesee Tiin fighting a droids and arguing over which type of lightsaber is best. The last is with the Mon Calamari and an underwater hunt for the Separatists' secret base.

This volume pre-supposes that you already know and love the show. This is not meant to be an introduction to the series. The art style is very similar to the series as well.

Unfortunately, the three stories seem to have no connection. The stories are so short there isn't much character or plot development either.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars fans might be excited to get new material but this mostly just left me cold.

[Jedi Sunni · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Blind Force":

This was a pretty good read although it lacked in depth as is was written for a grade school kid. I will say this book made me want to read in my Obi and Anakin voice. This was still a fun read although it was rather short. I also liked the moral of the story which can be carried over to a real life situation. My overall rating for this issue is a 4.2 out of 5.0.

"Heavy Metal Jedi"

These stories are built for the young and I mean very young. They have a lesson that relates to the real world and the message does not seem to be that thought provoking. In this story the concept is strength versus precision. This is was tough because both were needed at different times during the story. I will say the art remains interesting and I liked the jedi they chose for this issue. My overall rating for this issue is a 4.2 out of 5.0.

"Fierce Currents"

This was my least favorite out of the three stories in this book as I did not even get the point of the story and from where I stand they left the story unfinished. We had a fight between to species and out of no where another species shows up and demands that the planet be shared with them. This was just a strange story, but I did like seeing Kit Fisto. This story could have been a lot better with a few add pages. My rating for this issue is a 3.8 out of 5.0.

[Rivulet027 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute! It was nice to get three short action packed stories. The first one is about Anakin and Obi-Wan realizing that they can't always trust their eyes and must rely on the force.

The second is Windu and Tiin working together and comparing methods. Tiin say, "The rapier versus the broadsword. I've heard that argument before."

"But you still prefer the broadsword," Windu says.

"I'm hard-headed. It's my greatest strength," Tiin jokes.

In the end they decide that working together is best.

The third story is Kit centric! He's trying to find the Quarren leader. He finds out that the Quarren are taking telepathic orders. Then he finds some Moappa. When several Moappa form together and attack him he realizes that they are another sentient lifeform sharing the ocean. He escapes and urges the Mon Cala to find a way to share the planet with the Quarren and the Moappa.

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm only rating this low because in the grand scheme of all books written, this is very simple.

That being said, it is really only meant to be simple and fun and STAR WARS, and it does those things incredibly well. The Mace Windu story is good with action and verbal sparring and a nice lesson at the end. The Kit Fisto story does a smililarly nice lesson at the end after a little mystery.

It's not life-changing or challenging, but it was a couple minutes of fun. Worth checking out if you enjoy Star Wars, especially the Gendy Tartakovsky Clone Wars series, and good for kids finding their way in reading.

[Taren · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this book. my favorite character was the fish dude. i totally forgot his name. i liked him because he was so brave even in tragic moments he cared only about peace and others. he is a character to look up too. i think this is a good book if you want to read something but don't have tons of time. i finished it in about 30 minutes. it's a super short comic and a good book to take advice from. the storys in the book had great meanings. there are many great stories with good outcomes. they have amazing lessons and mean a lot. i think the author is trying to target young kids who love star wars. and yes i'm sure i was a great target and i loved the book.

[Yvonne Alf · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are nicely done and show the Jedi very well in character. Like the TV show the stories are very short, so each book contains three short-stories. They are great for a quick read, it took me like 15 minutes to read through the first volumne. So my main qualm with these books that the cost-benefit ratio just doesn't add up. Let's see if later volumnes start to build a story arch, that would be nice.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The graphic novel anthologies of Tartakovsky-era "Clone Wars" short comics are short and sweet; ninety pages containing maybe thirty pages of material because of how open and minimalistic the Tartakovsky visual style is. The Kit Fisto story, for once, is the best in the bunch, with its unexpected use of a hive-mind.

[Mairéad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of 3 short stories told in graphic novel form based on the Clone Wars animated TV series. Suitable for readers aged 8+ this book (and other in the series) is sure to be a firm favourite with any child who enjoys the broader Star Wars franchise and could be a great way to encourage reading for pleasure among reluctant readers!

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in a series of comics with further adventures based on the original Clone Wars cartoon series. While the stories may not be all that deep, it was nice to not only see more of Anakin and Obi-Wan but also other Jedi adventures, like Kit Fisto and Mace Windu. The stories certainly looked just like the cartoon and had enough of a feel like those in the animated series.

[Sofi (Bitácora de sofi) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aproveche que mi hermano los tiene todos y decidi leerlos. Nunca leí nada de Star wars así q disfrute este. es super corto, me lo termine en 15 minutos mientras viajaba en el colectivo. Me pareció re divertido 😂

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly captures the spirit and style of the first Clone Wars series - I'd even go so far as to say that the three tales included here might even be better than some of the episodes. But if it's a story arc you're after, this is not the TPB you're looking for.

[Paula Greenfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for those who love Star Wars. The books take place during the Clone Wars and different situations that Jedi and droids get into. They are fun and exciting and can be a bit sad.

[Matthew Sampson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An appropriate read for today (May 4).

[Nathan Boyack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it

I love it because it is awsome and of gets better and better so I love it so much super.