Attack of the Clones Graphic Novel Adaptation Review

Originally published in 2017 as part of IDW’s Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy – A Graphic Novel, Attack of the Clones Graphic Novel Adaptation now gets a standalone publication following July’s release of The Phantom Menace Graphic Novel Adaptation. What worked with the former works once again with the latter with age-appropriate pacing, beautiful art, and Anakin’s march towards the dark side.

The creative team lead by writer Alessandro Ferrari (credited with manuscript adaptation) and creative director Roberto Santillo are firing on all cylinders and for good reason! The prequel trilogy, love them or like them, are much beloved canon entries in the Star Wars universe. With a fan base that spans generations, there is always a lot at stake when a film so close to millions of hearts gets adapted to a new medium. The creative team treats the source material with tons of love while adapting it to a comic book format that aims at younger readers as its main audience. That’s not to say that older readers won’t appreciate the clever character designs (Palpatine being a standout), gorgeous backgrounds and necessarily quicker story pacing. There is something to be said about a reader being able to take as much time as they want to really soak in a particular scene. In a film, viewers are at the mercy of the director and/or editor, but in comic books, readers can take all the time they want to soak in all the details a page has to offer. And boy are there some gorgeous details here. The color work in particular is a standout. From the variety of locales to lightsaber battles, the story told by the colorists is filled with the action and emotion the story deserves.

My only gripe with the Attack of the Clones Graphic Novel Adaptation is the lack of an impactful splash page. It’s understandable that there are only so many panels and pages that can be dedicated to adapting an entire film to a comic book, but the art here is so stunning that I can’t help but want an entire page dedicated to the work of the artists.

Whether you’re a seasoned Star Wars lover or want a fun way to introduce these stories to the younger readers in your life, Attack of the Clones Graphic Novel Adaptation will be a welcome sight under anyone’s tree this holiday season.