Star Wars: The Clone Wars Graphic Novellas #9–11

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters

Published: 2012
Acquired: November 2012
Read: January 2026

Scripts: Henry Gilroy & Stephen Melching, Justin Aclin
Art: Vicenç Villagrasa & Vicente Ibañez, Ben Bates, Eduardo Ferrara
Colors: Marlon Ilagan, Michael Atiyeh
Lettering: Michael Heisler

With these three graphic novellas, I finally come to the end of my journey through all of the Clone Wars–related content of the old Star Wars "Expanded Universe." (Well, EU content that I care about; there were many more tie-ins I'm sure!)

Of these three, I found The Sith Hunters the least interesting. This is about a recently resurrected Darth Maul and his brother (who, even by standards of Star Wars villain names, is a bit obvious: was "Savage Oppress" ever going to work in logistics?) going on the run from both Jedi and Sith while Obi-Wan leads a Jedi task force to hunt him down. It seemed to be a fairly close sequel to a Clone Wars episode I hadn't seen, which isn't really the book's fault, but negatively impacted my enjoyment nonetheless. As result, the story doesn't really begin... but it also doesn't really end, either, I'm assuming because things had to be left open for if Maul ever reappeared in the tv show. 

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Defenders of the Lost Temple

Published: 2013
Acquired: June 2014
Read: January 2026

A lot of these novellas will send a set of familiar Jedi characters on a mission (usually, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and someone from the movies) along with one original character. In theory, I appreciate the introduction of original characters... but the one in this story is plainly just Bruce Lee as a Jedi, and usually that's the issue with these original characters: there's so little to them it feels pointless. 

Of these final three, Defenders of the Lost Temple was my favorite. No familiar characters in this one (at least protagonist-wise); it's about two Jedi and a squad of clones sent to secure an ancient artifact. Justin Aclin's story has some nice beats, with a strong character focus, as the story's padawan befriends a dopey clone who thinks he might have the Force in him. Decent art from Ben Bates, a bit more expressive than is the norm for this series.

It does suffer a bit from being clone-focused: four identical characters in identical outfits are a tough thing to pull off in comics, and I sometimes lost track of which one was which. But this is the kind of one-off action-focused story this series excels at at its best.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Smuggler's Code

Published: 2013
Acquired: July 2014
Read: February 2026

The Smuggler's Code is somewhere in between the two, quality-wise. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka are on a beach vacation when Obi-Wan notices a criminal who eluded his grasp years ago. He won't let Anakin and Ahsoka help, but ends up gaining the assistance of a suspicious smuggler.

It's basically fine. There's little to do with the "Clone Wars" here, but the story is competent enough, though a bit predictable. I didn't care much for the art style; I do think the 3D The Clone Wars show had a much less comics-friendly art style than the 2D Clone Wars show, but I also think Eduardo Ferrara hasn't really made it work. Too jagged.

All in all, this is a fun enough series, if not as good as the Clone Wars Adventures series it supplanted. They work well enough on their own; I will probably give them to my kid to read during the gap between Episodes II and III as we make our way through the Star Wars saga.