Comics – Star Wars Clone Wars Vol 2

Clone Wars Vol 2 – Victories & Sacrifices Collects #51 – #53 of Star Wars: Republic and Star Wars: Jedi – Shaak Ti

After the excellent Clone Wars Vol 1, I gave in to the dark side and bought Clone Wars Vol 2. Subtitled as ‘Victories and Sacrifices’, it brought together the stories of the continuing struggle to turn the tide of the war and how some Jedis fell.

The first story titled ‘The New Face of War’ probably referred to the introduction of Durge. Well, this is the issue that introduced this machine of a brute. I was disappointed with the pencils of this story. It turned me off because the resemblance of Obi Wan and Anakin was not there. Obi Wan looked like traditional drawings of Jesus in some pages. Asajj Ventress looked like a nun. Nuff said.

Another irk was how the action was drawn. I was reading about how this Jedi was warning a Padawan of the enemy they were fighting and in the next frame… I mean the immediate next frame… it showed the enemy with hand over his face. And I am wondering if I had missed something in between. Well, if it was meant to convey the swiftness of the enemy, it did not. I thought the bad guy was saying, “Tell that to the hand” or something. Or maybe he was helping to stop a nose bleed he supposedly had caused.

The second story ‘Blast Radius’ was much better. Asajj Ventress had been transformed into a babe by the penciller. Durge looked pretty cool too. Obi-Wan looked more like himself. Story-wise, it seemed like one designed to cut down more Jedi on the pretext of obtaining an antidote.

The final story ‘Catspaw’ was probably the best story of the three. The pencils were comfortable and you have Shaak Ti, Plo Koon, Agen Kolar, Quilan Vos and a wookie all thrown into it. Being a story to showcase Shaak Ti, it was refreshing to find out more about this Jedi Master. It also conveyed how this Jedi responded despite being betrayed.

I would not recommend picking up Clone Wars Vol 2 unless you are a Star Wars fan or you have an unnatural curiousity for Durge and Shaak Ti. I felt disappointed after I closed the final page. After the high of the first volume, this was the roller-coaster ride down.

But I will still get all volumes of this series. Talk about the power of the dark side of the force!