I had plenty of praise for the first volume of these Clone Wars cartoon-based digest, but the third volume is probably the strongest one so far. A bridge between cartoon/comic bad guys Asajj Ventress and Durge and movie bad guy General Grievous, a cynical take on misuse of military loyalty couched in Star Wars universe terms, a hilarious and action-packed Yoda standalone and a visual tribute to Jedi effectiveness make up the four stories in this volume, and they all have the same lively pacing and action focus that the Cartoon Network shorts had.
One of my concerns about the use of Asajj Ventress and Durge was that we were getting so much of them in the comics that by the time the movies came out, the fans would be bored of them. However, it has started to look like Durge and Ventress aren't even in the movie, and the role of evil badass has been given over to the egregiously named (but kind of cool looking) General Grievous. The first story in this volume, while putting the focus on action over plot development as all of the Clone Wars adventures stories has, also serves as an important transition between these bad guys. It's always fun to watch the bad guys tear into one another, with neither side showing the restraint common to the good guys, and the knockdown dragout between these three villains is no exception to this.
However, my favorite story in this volume is in fact "The Package," a story that focuses on the clone troopers in action. The cartoons were the first place where we saw the clones as really effective special operations soldiers, and while that has become the default characterization of them since, they always seem just a touch cooler in the "animated" milieu. Ryan Kaufman turns in a tale that has particular relevance in these days of military misadventure, showing that soldiers are dedicated and selfless warriors, giving over their lives because they believe in the cause, even when the politicians don't appreciate or even know about the sacrifices being made because of their machinations. It's a tragedy, but there's an element of heroic triumph as well, as the soldiers' devotion to their duty comes across as noble and heroic despite the almost comedic level of irony in the ending.
For the younger readers who are the real target audience of these digest size stories, I suspect that "Stranger in Town" will be the favorite. This is the story that most clearly resembles the work of Clone Wars creator Genddy Tartakovsky, notably it resembles his work on Samurai Jack, with strange creatures and the notion of one noble warrior taking on ungodly odds and winning. The true contents of the crate Yoda carries makes for a great visual gag, and Yoda's effectiveness in the face of an invading army makes for a very funny story that also reinforces Yoda as Jedi badass, an aspect of his character that was highlighted when he pulled out his lightsaber for the first time in Attack of the Clones.
The last story is in the same vein as "Stranger in Town," showing off the effectiveness of one Jedi against an overwhelming force. It's played more for action than for laughs, starting off as a visual tribute to the story of the 300 and then putting a Jedi into play to present them as dangerous and powerful. This story is probably the one that most allows The Fillbach Brothers to show off, as that double-page splash of the clone troopers holding off a robot army is pretty spectacular and the handiwork of the Jedi master likewise makes for great action storytelling. However, the Fillbach Brothers, who provide the art on all the stories in this volume, never really disappoint, and there are some very memorable moments in the fighting of the opening story, a terrific sense of a military operation in progress in "The Package" and of course a terrific sense of comedic giant scale in "Stranger in Town." 8/10
