Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 3

Name: Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 3

Published by: Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Haden Blackman, Ryan Kaufman, The Fillbach Brothers, Tim Mucci

Artists: The Fillbach Brothers

Colorist: Sigmund Torre, Pamela Rambo, Sno Cone Studios

Letterer: Michael David Thomas 

It's been a while since I read the first two volumes of this series, but after starting this third one I was instantly transported into the world this series was inspired by. 

The first story 'Rogue's Gallery' features some of the fan favorite villains of the prequel era fighting between themselves, which was quite fun, but somehow seemed like a missed opportunity.

'The Package' is clearly the best story in this volume (maybe the best is the series so far) and the twist at the ending is such an enjoyable gut punch reminding us of the overall grimness of the situation.

The third story named 'A Stranger in Town' is kind of like a wild west story featuring Yoda and a bit weird with its action scenes.

'One Battle' is a Plo Koon story which is quite mediocre except for the interesting last line.

Overall score - 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 2

Name: Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 2

Published by: Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Haden Blackman, Welles Hartley 

Artists: The Fillbach Brothers, Welles Hartley 

Colorist: Wil Glass, Sno Cone Studios

Letterer: Michael David Thomas 

The second volume continues with the style established by the animated series and the first volume, focusing on specific characters in separate events of the ongoing war. 

'Skywalker' is the first story featuring Obi-Wan telling Luke a tell of the heroics of his father during the height of the clone wars. Anakin does some pretty cool force hijinks and it as a cool ending foreshadowing the future. 

'Hide in plain sight' follows the duo of Luminara and Bariss, as the attempt to stop an invading force of General Grievous's army while also trying to save the civilians. There are some interesting messages and a short little cameo by Grievous. 

The third story is 'Run Mace run', which is a story of the one and only Mace Windu and has another cameo, this time featuring Count Dooku. Windu's drop ship gets destroyed, and he is the only survivor and has to fight through an army of droids to destroy a powerful weapon. Nice little story with an interesting concept. 

This one might be slightly better than the first volume but gets 4 out of 5 stars from me like the first one. 

Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 1

Name: Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 1

Published by: Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Haden Blackman

Artists: Ben Caldwell, The Fillbach Brothers

Colorist: Ben Caldwell, Sno Cone Studios, Ltd. 

Letterer: Michael David Thomas 

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. 

New Comic Review - Star Wars: The High Republic #2

Name: Star Wars: The High Republic #2

Published by: Marvel comics

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artists: Ario Anindito, Mark Morales

Colorist: Frank William

Letterer: VC's Ariana Maher

The pace slows down quite significantly in the second issue of the new High Republic series, as the author tries to set up his team of heroes while introducing readers to some cameos by other characters featured in the works of the other creators. 

Vildar Mac continues his search for his mysterious assailant along with his companion and we get to learn more about the assailant this time. While this issue lacks action compared to the last one, it does end with a cliffhanger that is sure to keep fans of the franchise for the future of the series. 

The art is as strong as last time and it was great to see the landscapes of the fabled Jedha and the various species and races represented on the moon. The depiction of the characters from other creators as cameos was a fine additional enjoyment factor as well. 

All in all, this one lacked the spark and pace of the first issue, but still was certainly enjoyable. I will give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

New Comic Review - Star Wars: The High Republic #1

Name: Star Wars: The High Republic #1

Published by: Marvel comics

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artists: Ario Anindito, Mark Morales, Andrea Broccardo

Colorist: Frank William

Letterer: VC's Ariana Maher

A lot of stuff happens in this issue compared to most modern single issue comic book. My first foray into the comics of the High Republic era was quite enjoyable and interesting. This issue was a great jumping on point introducing readers to the setting of phase II and some of its factions and characters in a fun way. 

We, as readers, arrive with the Jedi Vildar Mac to the pilgrim moon Jedha and immediately get embroiled in the conflicting public opinions and religions while we try to investigate a theft of a religious artifact as well. The perspective of someone new with a traumatic past entering into this place which is as new to him as to the readers was a good way to introduce us to the setting. 

Cavan Scott also kept throwing various factions and species at us at considerable speed, reminding readers of the richness of the Star Wars universe. The plot progression was free flowing and swept us along nicely for the ride, abruptly jolting us with the ending twist and the reveal of the surprise narrator. 

The art by Anindito and Morales did a fine job depicting the beautiful locations and backgrounds while nicely introducing us to this dizzying array of different species in such a short scope. I would have loved a bit more dynamic approach to the fight scenes, though, hopefully this will be implemented in the future. 

The side story 'Peace and Unity' does a brilliant job of introducing us to another new Jedi and showing us a glimpse of the Convocation and yet more new species to sink our teeth into. And the short story also has a nice bit of ironic humor to make it more enjoyable. 

All in all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable entry into the new phase of the High Republic for both old and new readers. 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Star Wars: Visions #1

Name: Star Wars: Visions #1

Published by: Marvel comics

Writer & Artist: Takashi Okazaki

English Translation: Aki Yanagi

Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna

Those who saw and loved 'The Duel' episode from Star Wars: Visions animated series were eagerly awaiting the return of the Ronin and his world. And after the full length, he returns again, this time in a story by the original writer of the episode. 

The story is a short prequel set in an unspecified period before the episode, describes the Ronin's adventures in a snowy mountain as he battles a band of bandits and encounters a mysterious stranger while travelling with his droid. 

The short one-shot has quite an enjoyable plot once again reminding us about the glorious movies and fiction it so beautifully pays homage to. The dialogue is poignant and to the point, the action sequences are stunning and brilliant. And the overall experience leaves any reader desiring more stories featuring these characters. 

The art is almost as beautiful as the original episode minus the vivid and stylized animation. The black and white drawing inspired by Manga and the use of colors only to highlight the weapons and battles works wonders to create a sense of visual motion and makes the detailed art even more gorgeous. 

I left with wishing this was at least a mini-series instead of being just a one-shot. This is recommended to not only to any fans of the original, but also to any fans of Star Wars and samurai inspired fiction in general. 

A well deserved 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #2

Name: Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #2

Published by: Dark Horse Comics 

Writer: Cecil Castellucci

Artist: Megan Huang

Letters: Comicraft’s Tyler Smith and Jimmy Betancourt

Despite not being as good as the first issue, Hyperspace Stories continue to provide fun little one issue stories set in different time periods in the rich history of Star Wars. This time the story focuses on the legendary twin of Luke and Leia as they search for a safe haven for the Rebel Alliance after the destruction of the first Death Star. 

The duo reaches a seemingly harmless planet called Banas, but finds out that this little planet might not be as inconsequential as they first thought it to be and gets embroiled in a new battle for survival against the forces of the Galactic Empire. 

The story, while not adding much to the canon of the overall plot, does provide an all ages adventure introducing a new planet, a new sentient species and some interesting dialogue between Luke and Leia. 

The art was quite unorthodox and definitely not for people who like their characters to look like the live-action counterparts. I myself enjoyed this new look at the familiar characters. The environment and vehicles were done in a unique style also, giving a charming edge to the story. 

Overall an enjoyable experience, despite the low stakes of the battle, I will give this 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

Magazine Review - Star Wars Insider #213

Name: Star Wars Insider #213

Published by: Titan Magazines 

Release Month: September '22

Editor: Christopher Cooper

Fiction Writer: George Mann

While I had watched the original Star Wars trilogy, parts of the prequel trilogy and some of the animated shows previously, my actual fandom with Star Wars started with the awesomeness of' The Mandalorian'. Then I went back and started delving into the world of Star Wars, both media and prose fictions of the expanded universe. 

This issue is my first foray into 'Star Wars Insider', which I mainly decided to check out for the fiction piece starting 'High Republic: Phase II'. This was a pleasant experience, as while I didn't like everything, I did enjoy many of the contents on offer. 

The two interviews were great. I liked learning of the unused scenes and his experiences from the original trilogy from Garrick Hagon. Loved to read about the story behind Warren Fu's designing of General Grievous. 'Joining the Quest' piece was a nice introduction for the creators of Phase II of the High Republic. The Book of Boba Fett companion was a nice refresher of the story of that series and made me intrigued about the future of the characters. 'A certain point of view' feature about the ships was another delightful little piece. 

Now lets come to the fiction, "Tales of Enlightenment: New Prospects" is a short story set during the High Republic Era, written by George Mann. Only part one is published here and readers have to wait for the next issue for part two. 

The story is set on the tapbar called Enlightenment, where a human prospector named Saretha von Beel tells her story to some regulars of this establishment in exchange for a drink. In her story she details her experiences as a prospector. Her encounters with pirates, a Jedi and monsters.

The prose was quite enjoyable and the method of establishing the setting and the characters also gives us some insight into this time period in the history of the Republic. The short little piece is clearly intended as a jumping on point for new readers as well as to entice anyone interested to start their journey into this era and does a commendable job serving its purpose. 

As a whole, I liked this issue and will definitely check out other issues of this magazine in the future. 4 out of 5 stars. 

New Manga Review - Star Wars Rebels, Vol. 1

Name: Star Wars Rebels, Vol. 1

Based on the series created by: Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg & Carrie Beck

Art by: Akira Aoki

Published by: Yen Press

I can't seem to get enough 'Star Wars' in my life at the moment. On a whim, I even decided to check out a manga based on the franchise. This first volume of 'Star Wars Rebels' manga doesn't really do anything new or groundbreaking, but it felt kinda good to see these characters and the universe in this new format. 

There is not much to say about the story, as this volume mostly follows exactly the plot of the first one hour television film 'Spark of Rebellion' barring a few minor changes. Although it's been quite a long time since I saw the first season of the show, this brought back some fond memories. We also get introduced to the main characters and their ship. Some more changes or a bit of depth in storytelling might have been better though. 

The art was the main reason for my interest in this, and while I didn't like all of the character drawings, the environment and the ships were done quite beautifully in the style of manga art. The action sequences were also done with enough charisma to make readers recheck for missing bits and pieces. 

The short side story featuring 'Darth Vader' at the end was very interesting, and as far as I can tell it adapts a small part of the novel 'Lords of the Sith'. This features some delightful drawing of Vader and made me interested to check out the novel. 

Overall, I liked this short read despite the lack of originality or innovation in the plot and will probably check out the next two volumes for the art and for refreshing my memory of the animated series before I watch the later seasons. 

I will give this, 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

New Book Review - Star Wars: Be More Obi-Wan

Name: Star Wars: Be More Obi-Wan

Writer: Kelly Knox

Published by: Dorling Kindersley Limited (DK) 

My first experience with the Star Wars Be More series is just what I expected, a fun little self-help book with Star Wars humour thrown in for good measure.

The book is divided into five chapters with each containing five mages with a title line followed by a small paragraph. Even the tragedies of Obi-Wan's life are made fun of through bits of wisdom and quotes from the various characters dispersed throughout each page of the different chapters.

It was a short and enjoyable read. Any fan of Star Wars will surely love to revisit these pieces from the past history of the Star Wars universe and the unique sense of humour present throughout the texts is always sure to cater to the taste of the fans of the series. The choice of the dialogues picked were also top notch and right on point.

There were many screenshots from both the live action and animated features from the Star Wars franchise. I just wish there were a few illustrations present, which would have made me enjoy this even more.

4 out of 5 stars from me, for this short little title.

Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars: Allegiance

Name: Star Wars: Allegiance 

Writter: Ethan Sacks

Artist: Luke Ross

Colorist: Lee Loughridge

Cover Artist: Marco Checcheto

Letter: VC's Clayton Cowles 

'Allegiance' is the only one of the three 'Journey To Star Wars' mini-series for the sequel trilogy that focuses on the main three protagonists and even the main antagonist Kylo Ren in cameo appearance. Maybe that is why it was so hard to pull off, especially considering despite the presence of all the major players the conflict was quite minor and the outcome was so obvious from the start. 

The plot follows Leia, Rey, Chewie and Rose as they travel to Mon Cala to forge a new alliance while aiming to acquire some new spaceships for the resistance. While in a side plot Finn and Poe attempts to find a secret cache of weapons that can be of great use to the plight of the forces of the resistance. 

The plotline following Leia and Rey seems to contain a bit too much dialogue and the characters seemed a bit too off at times. I liked the subplot involving Finn and Poe much better in comparison with its banter and humorous bits, but this might be due to fact that Finn is one of my favourite characters in the sequel trilogy. 

There was nothing wrong with the art, in fact the alien characters were drawn quite nicely and the action sequences were well done too. But it lacked the grandiosity of drawing on offer present on the first two miniseries. As a matter of fact, the spectacular covers by Marco Checcheto makes this even more apparent.

I did enjoy reading about these characters and I am sure it served its purpose of enticing fans before 'The Rise of Skywalker'. But I can't give this more than an average score of 3 out of 5 stars.

Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars: Captain Phasma

Name: Star Wars: Captain Phasma

Published by: Marvel Comics 

Writter: Kelly Thompson 

Artist: Marco Checcheto

Colorist: Andres Mossa

Letter: VC's Clayton Cowles 

One of the minor characters that I was intrigued by in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' was the character of Captain Phasma. I found here design quite unique and interesting, and was kind of disappointed by her fate towards the end. This story picks up after where we left her in the movie moving her part of the plot forward and the art by Marco Checcheto was as delightful as ever. 

The story starts with Captain Phasma, just after where we left him in the movie, follows him as he erases the evidence of his involvement in the destruction of Starkiller base and his pursuit of the only one who is aware of this secret. This 4 part mini-series introduces a few new characters and a new planet with some backstory. 

While the story wasn't particularly bad, the story of the planet and its occupants wasn't much interesting. I would have liked to learn more about the past of Captain Phasma rather than this, which was only barely hinted at. The main focus is on the present and the ruthless intensity of Phasma to tie up loose ends to ensure her own survival. 

I have become a fan of Marco Checcheto's art in the recent months, and once again he delivers with delightful precision. His beautifully detailed drawing of the spaceships and the environment is complemented adequately by the equally capable Andres Mossa. I also liked Checcheto's designs for the various inhabitants of the planet Luprora. Once again, this artist duo is impeccable in their execution and their world of Star Wars is a joy to behold. 

Frankly, I wanted to give this collection a lower score, but on a second thought I did enjoy the story and was quite invested in the character of Captain Phasma throughout her struggles. And the drawing deserves full marks. So I decided to give this 4 out of 5 stars in the end. 

Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars: Shattered Empire

Name: Star Wars: Shattered Empire 

Published by: Marvel Comics

Writer: Greg Rucka

Artists: Marco Checcheto, Angel Unzueta and Emilio Laiso

Colorist: Andres Mossa

Letter: VC's Joe Caramagna 

I picked this up because what was advertised about this miniseries, I wanted to find out what happened just after 'Return of the Jedi' and based on the cover and my previous experience with Marco Checcheto I was quite enthusiastic about how he would draw this iconic characters and action scenes. I got almost exactly what I was expecting. 

The main viewpoint character is Shara Bay, the mother of Poe Dameron, from the sequel trilogy. The stories present in the main four issues are kind of like anthologies, tales occurring just after the final battle of the third movie and the week following it, she interacts with the trio of heroes from the movie with cameos from other beloved characters. 

There never is any real danger or momentum in the stories presented here, and dialogues are very cheesy quite often. At times, this almost felt like deliberate and cheap attempt at introducing Dameron's parents in the main story chronologically without adding much to the plot other than establishing that the battle with the Empire is not over yet. 

But the art by Marco Checcheto is even better than I expected. His brilliant drawings of these iconic characters and visually astounding action sequences is bound to create nostalgia in the fans of this franchise. With his truly remarkable drawing of the epic Star Wars universe, it was almost impossible to stop from keep on turning the pages just to watch the brilliance unfold. If this was solely based on art, I would have given this full marks for sure. 

The extra two issues featured here are, Mark Waid's Princess Leia #1 and Star Wars (1977) #1. I didn't really care much for the first one, as the story was very bland, and the drawing of the main two characters was too similar. The second issue is the start of Marvel’s adaptation of the original movie, which was some nostalgic fun, despite having some peculiar drawing. 

Overall, I'll give this one, 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

New Comic Review - Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #1

Name: Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #1

Published by: Dark Horse Comics 

Writer: Amanda Deibert

Artist: Lucas Marangon

Colorist: Michael Atiyah

Letters: Comicraft’s Tyler Smith and Jimmy Betancourt

Well, I didn't know this was coming out this week. Before yesterday I wasn't even aware that 'Dark Horse' has gained the rights to publish Star Wars comics again. Although I was a bit sceptical before picking this up, the first issue of this new series turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise.

This story takes place sometime during the Clone Wars and features all the main trio of characters from the prequel trilogy as they are one rescue mission. Amanda Deibert seems to have a good understanding of these characters and she even includes some cameos and one of the fan favorite villain from the era.

The most interesting part is that this is 'done in one' all-ages adventure. In this age of multi issue and multi series stories, this feels quite refreshing. And the author manages to flesh out the story quite well in just one issue. I really loved the emotional side story of the Wookiee family.

Lucas has quite a unique style in his art. The drawing seems like a mash up between 2D cartoons and mangas. His unique take on this iconic characters were quite eye catching, although it took out some of the characteristic flashiness out of the action sequences at times.

I wish this issue had at least a small paragraph on the credits page detailing when it takes place regarding the Star Wars timeline. That would have made this a bit more newbie friendly, then again, not many people who is not an invested Star Wars fan will pick this up.

All in all, this gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.