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Star Wars Read-Through Part 20: Early Clone Wars, Part 2 of 2: A Padawan's Journey

Following the timeline we agreed upon in the Early Clone Wars Part 1 post, we're finishing off everything to do with our main characters, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, ahead of the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars . They were originally meant to be spread across many months or even years, but in the revised timeline we condensed them into a handful of weeks. We end with the story in which Anakin ceases being a Padawan and becomes a Knight, as we see him when he first appears in The Clone Wars .  Therefore, for this post, I read the following stories:     Republic 60: Hate and Fear (comic by Haden Blackman , 2004) Republic 61: Dead Ends (comic by John Ostrander , 2004) Republic 62: No Man's Land  (comic by John Ostrander, 2004) Republic 63: Striking from the Shadows   (comic by John Ostrander, 2004) Republic 64: Bloodlines (comic by John Ostrander, 2004) Republic 65-66: Show of Force (comic by John Ostrander, 2004) Republic 67: Forever Young (comic by Randy Strad
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Star Wars Read-Through Part 19: Clone Wars Adventures: Tartakovsky's Dream

In November 2003, the Clone Wars animated series premiered on Cartoon Network. Composed of at first ten very short (approximately four minutes each) episodes, these cartoons told stories of the Jedi and Sith, of Republic and Separatists, of light and dark set between Attack of the Clones and the then-unreleased Revenger of the Sith . Kids were treated to Star Wars on television for the first time since the 1980s. This cartoon was written and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, an animator with a very distinctive style whose other works included Dexter's Laboratory , The Powerpuff Girls , and Samurai Jack . The new show lines up with his style, and he was able to create truly massive battle scenes between the grand armies of the Republic and Separatists.  Characters of very similar animation style from three Genndy Tartakovsky series: Dexter's Laboratory , The Powerpuff Girls , and Star Wars: Clone Wars . Images from Google Every episode was aired in a five-minute timeslot on Carto

Star Wars Read-Through Part 18: Early Clone Wars, Part 1 of 2: Like fire, the Clone Wars spread

Cover of Jedi: Mace Windu . Master Windu was a prominent figure in early Clone Wars stories. Image from Wookieepedia. The chronology of the Clone Wars era of Star Wars is not as clear as I would like it to be. An initial set of stories set during the conflict, released between 2002 and 2008, were internally consistent with each other and were spread out relatively evenly between Episodes II and III. They included novels, comics, video games, and the 2D animated Clone Wars television series. The timeline, which measured time in "months since the Battle of Geonosis" (the battle which launched the Clone Wars in the third act of Episode II), was printed in every novel.  Rough timeline of the Clone Wars, in the Legends continuity, pre-2008. Units are in "months after the Battle of Geonosis". Homemade. In 2008, Lucasfilm released " Star Wars: The Clone Wars ", a 3D animated movie followed by a TV series. While starting weak, this series would go on to include s

Star Wars Read-Through Part 17: Attack of the Clones: Begun, the Clone War Has

In 2002, the much anticipated sequel to Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace was finally released. People were concerned; the first prequel was not particularly well received, and in the end Episode II got mixed reviews as well. Still, we all knew what was coming. At some point, the prequel movies would depict the Clone Wars, the conflict referenced offhandedly by Luke and Obi-Wan way back in Episode IV. They would also depict a love story between Anakin and Padmé, setting up for the birth of their children, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. And they would depict Anakin's fall to the Dark Side. Elements of each of these plots can be found here in Episode II: Attack of the Clones . Episode II movie poster. Image from Wookieepedia.  For this post, I consumed the following:  Episode II: Attack of the Clones  (film by George Lucas , 2002) Episode II: Attack of the Clones  (novel by R. A. Salvator e, 2002) Episode II: Attack of the Clones 1-4  (comic miniseries by Henry Gilroy , 20

Star Wars Read-Through Part 16: Prelude to Episode II: Before the War

"That may be possible. He's just returned from a border dispute on Ansion."  The Star Wars film saga is full of lines such as this which point to the universe and the characters having a history beyond what we see on screen. In Episode IV, it was something as simple as "You fought in the Clone Wars?" For Episode II, it was the line above, a mission to the planet Ansion in which Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, were participants.  Cover of The Approaching Storm . Image from Wookieepedia. Star Wars novels and comics have long been the ideal medium for exploring these stories in more detail. What happened at Ansion? a viewer might ask after hearing that reference. Look no further than the novel set immediately before Attack of the Clones opens.  Unlike for Episode I, the second prequel did not have as many direct prologue stories. For this post, I consumed the following stories: The Approaching Storm  (novel by Alan Dean Foster , 2002) Jedi Sta

Star Wars Read-Through Part 15: Interquel: Standalone Stories

Not all stories can be grouped thematically. Sometimes I am forced to combine novels and comics that do not fit together into one blog post. It provides variety at the expense of cohesion.  The era between Episodes I and II were full of odd stories. The Phantom Menace had provided us with a setting, explaining how the galaxy worked in this time period. The film and its tie-in stories also offered hooks for telling more tales across the Republic. Furthermore, several novels written in the 1990s made reference to this era, which could now be explored more fully.  This post covers a handful of novels and comics that do not fit thematically in with earlier stories. They do not pertain to bounty hunters. They are not in the immediate years following Episode I. They do not feature Quinlan Vos or any one other unifying character. They are not direct prequels to Episode II.  Nym on the cover of Starfighter: Crossbones 1 . Image from Wookieepedia. For this post, I consumed the following storie

Star Wars Read-Through Part 14: The Story of Quinlan Vos: The Jedi in Darkness

With the 1999 release of The Phantom Menace , Star Wars fans were finally treated to what the Jedi originally looked like before their Order was destroyed. Prior to that, all we had seen were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda after two decades of exile and whatever Luke Skywalker created in the years after Return of the Jedi . Episode I changed that, by showing us the Jedi Order, a group of righteous beings that fought for peace and justice in the name of the Galactic Republic and its Senate. They were wise and fair. They served the Light in all ways. We had not seen much of them yet, but we knew what a standard Jedi was all about.   But going against what is expected is often a great source of drama in a story. In that vein, a Jedi who does not strictly follow the light, but instead worked in the shadows. Not the righteous warrior-monk but the one who lived among the criminals whose efforts he was trying to undermine. That Jedi in Darkness is Quinlan Vos, a Jedi who first appeared in the ninete