Dark Horse Comics bookended its 2002-06 phase of “Clone Wars”-era stories with issues that couldn’t be found in comic shops. Four 10-page stories were packaged with Hasbro/Toys R Us “Episode II: Attack of the Clones” toys in 2002, and the 10-page Free Comic Book Day issue, “Routine Valor” (2006), closed out Dark Horse’s first phase of “Clone Wars.” It followed the full-length “Brothers in Arms” from the previous year’s FCBD.
Although they aren’t standard releases, all are easy to find either in their original form or in trade paperbacks. The Hasbro comics are in the “Menace Revealed” omnibus, “Brothers in Arms” is in “Clone Wars” TPB Volume 7 and “Routine Valor” is in “Clone Wars” Omnibus Volume 3.
The Hasbro comics are mostly set before or during the events of “Attack of the Clones.” They are written by Jason Hall, who wrote some of the best short comics in “Star Wars Tales,” but these are intended to inspire kids’ play scenarios rather than venture deeply into the mythology.
Still, there are a few notable moments. In portraying an encounter between the Jedi Starfighter and the Slave I, “Full of Surprises” reveals that Obi-Wan and Jango squared off before “Episode II” (and in an asteroid field, at that!). But since neither knows who is piloting the other ship, they can still have their first face-to-face meeting in the movie.
In a flashback, “Most Precious Weapon” has a panel showing Yoda training Count Dooku in the art of lightsaber combat, marking the only Yoda-Dooku flashback in the comics (although we saw some of Dooku’s Jedi days in “Jango Fett: Open Seasons”). It’s within a wider flashback of Dooku thinking about the Battle of Geonosis as he flies back to Coruscant. The novel “Yoda: Dark Rendezvous” explores Dooku and Yoda’s relationship more thoroughly.
There’s not much to say about, “Practice Makes Perfect,” which finds Anakin being cocky as he mows down battle droids, other than the fact that it’s harder to place on the timeline than the other three stories. It could be set during the Clone Wars or slightly before “Episode II.”
“Machines of War” shows Yoda interacting with clones on the Republic gunship as it enters the Geonosis arena battle. Yoda’s grim look in the movie speaks volumes, but his thoughts are articulated here: “The need for these machines of war can only be the sign of a perilous future.”
“Brothers in Arms” (not to be confused with the same-titled yarn in “Republic” Issue 50, although it likewise explores the brotherhood of Obi-Wan and Anakin) is the only story written by Miles Lane other than the “Revenge of the Sith” adaptation. It’s more adult-oriented than the Hasbro yarns, but still simplistic, like a lot of Free Comic Book Day releases, which tend to be aimed at the broadest possible audience.
It teases the idea of our heroes sneaking up on Dooku and Grievous on a planet called Ruhe to kill or capture them and end the war, but after a bunch of droid-fighting action in a forest, Obi-Wan and Anakin find that the villains aren’t at the citadel after all. The final panel introduces their next mission: going after Nute Gunray, as chronicled in the novel “Labyrinth of Evil.”
“Routine Valor,” written by Randy Stradley, is similarly a slice-of-war tale, but with the focus on the clones. When Obi-Wan’s mission plan breaks down on Sarrish, the clones get the job done anyway by devising their own plan. While this segment of the battle is a Republic victory, the Battle of Sarrish is overall a Separatist victory, as noted in the fifth-season “Clone Wars” episode “Missing in Action” (the only watchable episode of the four-part Meebur Gascon/astromech droids adventure).
Art by Douglas Wheatley (who would become popular among fans for “Dark Times,” which launched later in 2006) is the biggest appeal of “Routine Valor,” but as with all the comics in this post, it’s a collectible curiosity more so than an essential read.