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A review by jaredkwheeler
Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 10 by Matt Fillbach, Shawn Fillbach, Jason Hall, Michael Heisler, Chris Avellone
3.0
Star Wars Legends Project #116
Background: Clone Wars Adventures, Volume 10 was released in December 2007. It consists of four stories in the style of Cartoon Network's animated Clone Wars series: Graduation Day, Thunder Road, Chain of Command, and Waiting. The second and fourth were written and drawn by the [a:Fillbach Brothers|5498466|Fillbach Brothers|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. The first was written by [a:Chris Avellone|95272|Chris Avellone|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1389846968p2/95272.jpg] and drawn by [a:Stewart McKenny|20053|Stewart McKenny|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and the third was written by [a:Jason Hall|129419|Jason Hall|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and drawn by [a:Ethen Beavers|95273|Ethen Beavers|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png].
Graduation Day is set 4 months after the Battle of Geonosis (22 years before the Battle of Yavin), and features 3 Jedi dropouts on Dantooine, apparently concurrent to the Dantooine episodes of the show with Mace Windu. Thunder Road takes place around the same time, with Obi-Wan and Anakin. Chain of Command takes place on Hitaka at the same time, starring a newly-minted Jedi Knight alongside Ki-Adi-Mundi and Aayla Secura. Waiting also takes place 4 months after the Battle of Geonosis and features a lone clone trooper.
Summary: In Graduation Day, three former apprentices who were kicked out of the Jedi Temple find a renewed sense of purpose when the Separatists invade.
In Thunder Road, Obi-Wan is forced to rely on Anakin's expert piloting and mechanic skills to escape from a swarm of bounty hunters in Death Canyon.
In Chain of Command, Anise I'zak undertakes her first mission as a Jedi Knight, a task that is of critical importance, though perhaps for different reasons than she believes.
In Waiting a clone trooper tasked with destroying a particular bridge as the Separatist forces cross over is frustrated by the interference of the local fauna.
Review: Please refer to my review of [b:Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 1|35438|Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 1|W. Haden Blackman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403200391s/35438.jpg|35373] for some general thoughts that apply to the series as a whole.
Graduation Day was my favorite of these stories, though I felt it could have been much better. It's a great concept, but they don't have time to fully explore it and the ending is abrupt and confusing. Still, of all the stories from these collections that I've read so far, this has just aobut the most potential for full-length treatment. We need more time to get to know the characters and how they ended up where they are, but as is there's enough for us to fill in a few of the blanks ourselves.
Thunder Road is pretty much the generic "Obi-Wan and Anakin get out of a tight spot while Obi-Wan grouses about it" plot that they've done a half dozen times already. The situation they're in seems quite a bit more contrived than normal . . . How did they end up in Death Canyon? Why is there an abandoned garage in Death Canyon? Where did all the bounty hunters come from? Why can't they lie low and get help from the nearby Republic army led by Master Yoda? None of the answers to these questions is supposed to matter, but obviously those sorts of details bother me.
Chain of Command is decent, though Ki-Adi-Mundi and Aayla Secura kind of come off as snobbish jerks for no particular reason. I think part of the point was the lack of big-picture perspective, but I really could have used a bit more of it here.
Waiting was the most fun of the stories, and it's the kind I always say I want more of. In general, the stories featuring clones have been pretty solid. This one is a good mix of action and humor that doesn't lean too heavily on a big punchline for the ending. And that's a wrap for Clone Wars Adventures . . . at least until I get to Volumes 4-6 later on in the timeline.
C
Background: Clone Wars Adventures, Volume 10 was released in December 2007. It consists of four stories in the style of Cartoon Network's animated Clone Wars series: Graduation Day, Thunder Road, Chain of Command, and Waiting. The second and fourth were written and drawn by the [a:Fillbach Brothers|5498466|Fillbach Brothers|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. The first was written by [a:Chris Avellone|95272|Chris Avellone|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1389846968p2/95272.jpg] and drawn by [a:Stewart McKenny|20053|Stewart McKenny|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and the third was written by [a:Jason Hall|129419|Jason Hall|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and drawn by [a:Ethen Beavers|95273|Ethen Beavers|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png].
Graduation Day is set 4 months after the Battle of Geonosis (22 years before the Battle of Yavin), and features 3 Jedi dropouts on Dantooine, apparently concurrent to the Dantooine episodes of the show with Mace Windu. Thunder Road takes place around the same time, with Obi-Wan and Anakin. Chain of Command takes place on Hitaka at the same time, starring a newly-minted Jedi Knight alongside Ki-Adi-Mundi and Aayla Secura. Waiting also takes place 4 months after the Battle of Geonosis and features a lone clone trooper.
Summary: In Graduation Day, three former apprentices who were kicked out of the Jedi Temple find a renewed sense of purpose when the Separatists invade.
In Thunder Road, Obi-Wan is forced to rely on Anakin's expert piloting and mechanic skills to escape from a swarm of bounty hunters in Death Canyon.
In Chain of Command, Anise I'zak undertakes her first mission as a Jedi Knight, a task that is of critical importance, though perhaps for different reasons than she believes.
In Waiting a clone trooper tasked with destroying a particular bridge as the Separatist forces cross over is frustrated by the interference of the local fauna.
Review: Please refer to my review of [b:Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 1|35438|Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures, Vol. 1|W. Haden Blackman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403200391s/35438.jpg|35373] for some general thoughts that apply to the series as a whole.
Graduation Day was my favorite of these stories, though I felt it could have been much better. It's a great concept, but they don't have time to fully explore it and the ending is abrupt and confusing. Still, of all the stories from these collections that I've read so far, this has just aobut the most potential for full-length treatment. We need more time to get to know the characters and how they ended up where they are, but as is there's enough for us to fill in a few of the blanks ourselves.
Thunder Road is pretty much the generic "Obi-Wan and Anakin get out of a tight spot while Obi-Wan grouses about it" plot that they've done a half dozen times already. The situation they're in seems quite a bit more contrived than normal . . . How did they end up in Death Canyon? Why is there an abandoned garage in Death Canyon? Where did all the bounty hunters come from? Why can't they lie low and get help from the nearby Republic army led by Master Yoda? None of the answers to these questions is supposed to matter, but obviously those sorts of details bother me.
Chain of Command is decent, though Ki-Adi-Mundi and Aayla Secura kind of come off as snobbish jerks for no particular reason. I think part of the point was the lack of big-picture perspective, but I really could have used a bit more of it here.
Waiting was the most fun of the stories, and it's the kind I always say I want more of. In general, the stories featuring clones have been pretty solid. This one is a good mix of action and humor that doesn't lean too heavily on a big punchline for the ending. And that's a wrap for Clone Wars Adventures . . . at least until I get to Volumes 4-6 later on in the timeline.
C