The Best Blades (Star Wars: Clone Wars, Vol. 5) (Paperback)

by John Ostrander (Author), Tomas Giorello (Author), Hayden Blackman (Author), Jeremy Barlow (Author) "FOR SIXTEEN MONTHS, THE CLONE WARS HAVE RAGED ACROSS THE GALAXY..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Volume 5, The Best Blades, is one of the best installments of the Clone Wars graphic novel series. The action takes place on multiple fronts. Senator Bail Organa tries to keep Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from acquiring still more power, while on Merson, a self-described "ordinary Jedi," Ron-Har Kim from Naboo, discovers the folly of having entered into a trust with Palpatine. On the more positive side for the Republic, a hero thought lost makes a return in "Hate and Fear," which also reveals the back story of the vicious Asajj Ventress. But in the title story, Yoda's trip to Thustra severely tests his resolve for nonviolent resolution and his belief that "the best blades are kept in their sheaths." The dynamic stories originally appeared in Star Wars Republic issues 61, 64, 60, and 62 and in Star Wars: Jedi--Yoda and were written by John Ostrander, Haden Blackman, and Jeremy Barlow, and illustrated by Brandon Badeaux, Armando Durruthy, Tomas Giorello, HOON, Ramiro Montanez, and Stacy Michalcewicz. --David Horiuchi

Product Description
The darkest days of the Clone Wars have arrived, when even victories are cause for abiding sorrow; when the hopes for a brighter future are lost in the turmoil of a divided galaxy; and when friendships are tools of convenience and the reason for betrayals. From political intrigue within the Senate to bloody battlefields on exotic worlds, the war has left its mark on the bystanders as well as the combatants, and the events in this wide-ranging volume reveal the extent of the damage. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker battle for survival, Senator Bail Organa struggles to preserve freedom within the Republic, and Master Yoda strives to prevent an old friend from plunging a system into war in four exciting stories from the Clone Wars!

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (December 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593072732
• ISBN-13: 978-1593072735
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,955 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 5 in The Star Wars: Clone Wars Graphic Novel Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pretty Good Clone Wars Comic, December 3, 2005

A Kid's Review

I am a major Star Wars fan. I intially learned about Obi-Wan's "death" and his escape from Asajj Ventress with Alpha in a Extended Universe Databank entry for him on the Star Wars website. Afterwards, I practiclly tore through everything Clone Wars looking for this incident. When I finally got this comic in my hands (I rented it at the library) I was beyond excited.

Here's what I can tell you:

The first story in the comic is about Senator Bail Organa, and his struggles in the Senate. It is well-illustrated, and shows how far some of the corruption from the war has gone. I give it a 5-star rating (it's not every day that you get to see Senatoral action!)

The second comic is about a friend of the Chancellor's who had died fighting...the friend was a Jedi. This story deals with how the two met, and shows a bit of background info on the chancellor. The art is good, and I also give it a 5-star rating.

The next two comics are about Obi-Wan and Alpha's escape from captivity. The first comic deals more with Obi-Wan and Alpha getting off the planet, whereas the second is more about Anakin and how he finally finds his "dead" master. The art in the first one is so-so...some pictures look weird, and Alpha looks funny in about 95% of them. The art in the second comic isn't that great...the pictures of Alpha get REALLY weird, and the other characters aren't looking that great either. I give it 4.5 stars...I'd give it less, but the first part gives some very vital info about the notorious Asajj Ventress (and the plot is pretty darned good).

The final part of the comic is a story about another battle in the Clone Wars, this one with Yoda. The art, suprisingly, is done Japense-animae style (minus the sweat drops, swirly eyes, and other things that make Magna and such so funny). Despite this, the art is still appealing (though some pictures look weird), and the storyplot is very good. I give it 5 stars.

All in all, this is a pretty good comic book. If you want more info on the Clone Wars, then you should get this out at the library, or, if you want to spend around 15 bucks, buy it. I give this comic book 4.5 stars overall.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best thing I've read in a while..., March 8, 2006

By	Arsoth (Green Bay, WI) - See all my reviews

Even though this is a done in a comic book format, it flows and captivates you as much as a real novel. The story covers some important occurrences in politics dealing with Organa, Valorum, and Palpatine. There is also good stories including Obi-Wan, Anakin, and an excellent one with Yoda. Not to mention some great background on Asajj Ventress. It fills in a lot of gaps in the story and has plenty of action along with great artwork. Every Star Wars fan needs to read this.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptionally good, December 18, 2005

By	Brian J. Willis (Pico Rivera, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been pretty majorly disappointed with the entire line of Clone Wars tie-ins. For such a major event in the Star Wars chronology, one would think that it would yield a great storyline. Instead, we've been feasted to yawn-inducing new characters and a majority of storylines only marginally featuring the main characters. This volume of the graphic novels is the exception to that rule.
Instead of the usual cliches about war, this graphic novel gets into essential events and scheming. Without spoiling anything, it features Bail Organa, the emerging Rebellion(!), a great Palpatine story, the origin of Asajj Ventriss (!!) - the only good character to come out of the fiction, and developments with the main characters as well as the peculiarly dodged central figure of Yoda. In other words, character development that has been missing from the novels. If you only get a few Clone Wars tie-ins, I would recommend this as one of them. Pretty good stuff. And this comes from a sceptic.