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geekwayne's review
4.0
Taking place sometime during the 4th season of The Clone Wars, this story starts out with Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi Wan taking a breather on a leisure planet. When Obi Wan runs across a fugitive from his past, he pursues him. During his journey, he runs across an unscrupulous Corellian named Rook Pryce that he enlists for aid. The problem is Rook is in the game for the best price offered to him.
It's a fun light story, meant for younger readers, but it's still very enjoyable. There are lots of strange creatures and the beach and jungle setting makes for a nice, brighter color palette. There are good messages about the importance of staying true to your friends.
The artwork by Eduardo Ferrara is very much in the style of The Clone Wars and it's lively and fun. I would definitely recommend it for Star Wars fans who are also fans of The Clone Wars who are ages 7 and up.
It's a fun light story, meant for younger readers, but it's still very enjoyable. There are lots of strange creatures and the beach and jungle setting makes for a nice, brighter color palette. There are good messages about the importance of staying true to your friends.
The artwork by Eduardo Ferrara is very much in the style of The Clone Wars and it's lively and fun. I would definitely recommend it for Star Wars fans who are also fans of The Clone Wars who are ages 7 and up.
jaredkwheeler's review
3.0
Star Wars Legends Project #148
Background: The Smuggler's Code was released in June of 2013, the last in a series of 11 graphic novellas connected to The Clone Wars animated show. It was written by [a:Justin Aclin|2763591|Justin Aclin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1383063161p2/2763591.jpg] with art by [a:Eduardo Ferrara|5049403|Eduardo Ferrara|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Aclin wrote this and one other title in this series. This is Ferrara's only Star Wars work.
The Smuggler's Code takes place during season 4 of The Clone Wars (20 years before the Battle of Yavin). The main character is Obi-Wan and a couple of one-0ff characters, with minor appearances by Anakin and Ahsoka.
Summary: While vacationing on the tropical beach planet of Wielu, Obi-Wan crosses paths with T'mott Zoat, a notorious Shistavanen criminal who was responsible for Obi-Wan's failure on a mission decades before. Leaving Anakin and Ahsoka behind, Obi-Wan desperately chases Zoat across the island, but is soon in over his head, even with the dubious help of a down-on-his-luck local smuggler named Rook Pryce.
Review: The art style in this story is more cartoonish than I'm used to, but it works pretty well in combination with the story's non-stop action. And yeah, it's that kind of story . . . paper-thin but never slows down enough for you to worry about the details. Why are Obi-Wan and Anakin lying on a beach relaxing in the middle of the Clone Wars? Why does this wealthy resort world seem to mostly be ruled by warring rival crime bosses? What are Rook Pryce's actual character motivations beyond supplying random reversals to keep extending the plot through the next round of action? Who cares?
Well, I kind of do. There are way too many of these one-off stories with no context and no substance and no sense that anyone thought deeper than what would look cool on the page in the moment. And it gets pretty tiresome after awhile. Also, Obi-Wan spends this whole story acting like Anakin, and it doesn't make any sense, plus the "lesson" he learns at the end is perfunctory and not something Obi-Wan has issues with anyway.
Sometimes its fun to switch off your brain and enjoy some cartoon action and adventure, and this delivers that along with some entertaining ideas and visuals. If you want more, look elsewhere.
C+
Background: The Smuggler's Code was released in June of 2013, the last in a series of 11 graphic novellas connected to The Clone Wars animated show. It was written by [a:Justin Aclin|2763591|Justin Aclin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1383063161p2/2763591.jpg] with art by [a:Eduardo Ferrara|5049403|Eduardo Ferrara|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Aclin wrote this and one other title in this series. This is Ferrara's only Star Wars work.
The Smuggler's Code takes place during season 4 of The Clone Wars (20 years before the Battle of Yavin). The main character is Obi-Wan and a couple of one-0ff characters, with minor appearances by Anakin and Ahsoka.
Summary: While vacationing on the tropical beach planet of Wielu, Obi-Wan crosses paths with T'mott Zoat, a notorious Shistavanen criminal who was responsible for Obi-Wan's failure on a mission decades before. Leaving Anakin and Ahsoka behind, Obi-Wan desperately chases Zoat across the island, but is soon in over his head, even with the dubious help of a down-on-his-luck local smuggler named Rook Pryce.
Review: The art style in this story is more cartoonish than I'm used to, but it works pretty well in combination with the story's non-stop action. And yeah, it's that kind of story . . . paper-thin but never slows down enough for you to worry about the details. Why are Obi-Wan and Anakin lying on a beach relaxing in the middle of the Clone Wars? Why does this wealthy resort world seem to mostly be ruled by warring rival crime bosses? What are Rook Pryce's actual character motivations beyond supplying random reversals to keep extending the plot through the next round of action? Who cares?
Well, I kind of do. There are way too many of these one-off stories with no context and no substance and no sense that anyone thought deeper than what would look cool on the page in the moment. And it gets pretty tiresome after awhile. Also, Obi-Wan spends this whole story acting like Anakin, and it doesn't make any sense, plus the "lesson" he learns at the end is perfunctory and not something Obi-Wan has issues with anyway.
Sometimes its fun to switch off your brain and enjoy some cartoon action and adventure, and this delivers that along with some entertaining ideas and visuals. If you want more, look elsewhere.
C+
eoghann's review
3.0
Dark Horse publish a wide variety of Star Wars licensed comics aimed at different audiences. This 80 page graphic novel is done in the style of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series on Cartoon Network.
And when I say in the style of, I mean both the art and the story. While not identical (The Clone Wars is 3D animation) the artwork here clearly apes the designs and mannerisms of the show. It's very cartoony, very expressive and full of movement.
And this story absolutely feels like a one and done cartoon episode, starting with Anakin and Obi-wan relaxing on a tourist world, only for Obi-wan to head off on his own trying to track down a wanted fugitive from his past.
There's not much in the way of deep characterization here. The violence is kept very PG and most of the story is played more for laughs than anything else. Plus, like so many cartoons there's a message to the story. It's all about learning to trust your friends and learn from your mistakes.
Obi-wan does come out of it looking like a bit of an ass, but that seems to be pretty common when it comes to modern Star Wars material.
It's all very amiable stuff if not particularly challenging and it's certainly very suitable for younger readers who enjoy some Star Wars adventures. Just don't expect anything too deep from it.
And when I say in the style of, I mean both the art and the story. While not identical (The Clone Wars is 3D animation) the artwork here clearly apes the designs and mannerisms of the show. It's very cartoony, very expressive and full of movement.
And this story absolutely feels like a one and done cartoon episode, starting with Anakin and Obi-wan relaxing on a tourist world, only for Obi-wan to head off on his own trying to track down a wanted fugitive from his past.
There's not much in the way of deep characterization here. The violence is kept very PG and most of the story is played more for laughs than anything else. Plus, like so many cartoons there's a message to the story. It's all about learning to trust your friends and learn from your mistakes.
Obi-wan does come out of it looking like a bit of an ass, but that seems to be pretty common when it comes to modern Star Wars material.
It's all very amiable stuff if not particularly challenging and it's certainly very suitable for younger readers who enjoy some Star Wars adventures. Just don't expect anything too deep from it.
jljaina's review
3.0
This book was ok. That is the best I can say for it, and barely okay at that. VERY much a children's comic. This is not all ages. It is a life lesson, kids book, using star wars. The art coloring and drawing seems geared toward a 6-7 year old. So young children's at that.
While it was okay for children, for adults or Star wars fans like myself, this was a bit annoying. Besides our heroes names and basic looks, there is no lingering star wars galaxy feel to it. The creatures an not known Star Wars creatures, in fact I think the author made them all up and not very well either. They were quite cheesy. The plot line for Rook, the smuggler, was fine but I feel like they butchered Obi-Wan's personality. He goes on a vengeance kick through the whole thing. Having read the books on Obi-wan, including his childhood, this makes no sense to his character. That really dragged me down. It served a lesson purpose for children but was so out of place the who they choose as the hero. Anakin chasing someone he knew from childhood would have made more sense. Plus, they never explained why he was so set on giving chase.
Overall opinion, great for your elementary age child as they are likely too young to read the other books. Very simple to read with LOTS of color (reminded me of Lilo and Stitch). But not for teens, adults really. I think for the older audience, this drifts too far from the Star Wars that we know and love.
I received a copy of this book from Diamond Book Distributors and Dark Horse so a special thanks to them. I received this in exchange for a fair and honest review.
While it was okay for children, for adults or Star wars fans like myself, this was a bit annoying. Besides our heroes names and basic looks, there is no lingering star wars galaxy feel to it. The creatures an not known Star Wars creatures, in fact I think the author made them all up and not very well either. They were quite cheesy. The plot line for Rook, the smuggler, was fine but I feel like they butchered Obi-Wan's personality. He goes on a vengeance kick through the whole thing. Having read the books on Obi-wan, including his childhood, this makes no sense to his character. That really dragged me down. It served a lesson purpose for children but was so out of place the who they choose as the hero. Anakin chasing someone he knew from childhood would have made more sense. Plus, they never explained why he was so set on giving chase.
Overall opinion, great for your elementary age child as they are likely too young to read the other books. Very simple to read with LOTS of color (reminded me of Lilo and Stitch). But not for teens, adults really. I think for the older audience, this drifts too far from the Star Wars that we know and love.
I received a copy of this book from Diamond Book Distributors and Dark Horse so a special thanks to them. I received this in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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