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Star Wars New Canon: Comics Between Episode IV and V: The Adventure Begins

When Disney first acquired Star Wars and announced the production of new content, one of the settings they would explore first is those first few weeks, months, and years after Episode IV: A New Hope. There would be novels for adults, teens, and children released that would cover that period, but one of the most comprehensive stories was that told by Marvel Comics.  In January 2015, two new comic series would begin, Star Wars and Darth Vader . The former would run for 75 issues and lead directly into a prologue to Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. The latter would run for 25 issues and tell the tale of Darth Vader as he establishes his own power base with the help of new character Dr. Chelli Lona Aphra (who would get her own ongoing series after Darth Vader ended). Marvel would also launch multiple five-issue miniseries focussing on individual characters, beginning with Princess Leia but then also having stories for Chewbacca, Han Solo, and Lando Calrissian.  For this article, I co
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Star Wars Read-Through Part 21: Republic Commando: Seeing Through the Eyes of the Clones

So far, most of the Clone Wars stories we have read have focussed on the adventures of the Jedi, especially Anakin Skywalker as he journeys toward his promotion to Jedi Knight, and his master Obi-Wan Kenobi. But not all Clone Wars stories are stories of Jedi heroism. The video game Republic Commando puts us in the armor of a particularly well trained clone and the rest of his commando squad. Accompanying this well received game was a series of novels which also went on to further develop lore surrounding the training of the clone army and the culture of the Mandalorians.  For this post, I read the following stories:  Republic Commando (game by LucasArts and Aspyr Media, 2005) Republic Commando: Hard Contact (novel by Karen Traviss, 2004) Omega Squad: Targets (short story by Karen Traviss, 2005) Republic Commando: Triple Zero (novel by Karen Traviss, 2006) Odds (short story by Karen Traviss, 2006) Republic Commando: True Colors (novel by Karen Traviss, 2007) I read the paperback ve
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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
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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
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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
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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
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