JTS Recommends
A semi-regular series (meaning whenever I feel like it) where I give my recommendations on Star Wars materials, comics, websites, and so on...

Today's recommendations:
* Revenge of the Sith novelization

* Batman: The Long Halloween

* The Unofficial Clone Wars Site

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Part I: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover (screenplay by George Lucas)

Matthew Stover first appeared on the Expanded Universe scene in 2002, when LucasBooks released the thirteenth book of their epic New Jedi Order series, Traitor. With a few books under his belt, and no prior experience in the EU, many wrote off the book as just another filled before we got to the books by more notable authors like Greg Keyes and Jim Luceno, whose previous fare in the NJO had garnered mostly positive reviews.

Anyone who overlooked that book was foolish, I think. For Matthew Stover's work, while different from many other EU materials, is far and above even the best that most other authors have to offer. Traitor was an astonishing tale of betrayal, friendship, and courage, while dealing with many overwhelming philosophical viewpoints that drove this reviewer mad.

And Shatterpoint, Stover's second book for the Star Wars universe, held the same appeal. An extremely gritty and real portrayal of war in another galaxy, Shatterpoint has been widely acknowledged as one of the best books of the Clone Wars.

With as daunting a challenge as the adaption of Revenge of the Sith, other authors might be tempted to play it safe. Matthew Stover does no such thing here. Crafting a wonderful story around characters we've grown to love, Stover goes beyond what we see in the film to the core of each character, how they're reacting to things, and their motivations for action.

Truly more of a companion piece to the film than a direct adaption of the screenplay, Stover's work here is truly magnificent. Bar none, this is one of the best Star Wars novels on the market. I highly, highly recommend reading this book as soon as possible. You'll never watch Episode III the same way...

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Part II: Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (DC Comics)

As I stated last week, I've only just begun to reintroduce myself to the world of superheroes. For a while now, I've been exclusively a Marvel guy, picking up Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men (which will be the focus of an upcoming Recommends blog), and the Ultimate lines of the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Ultimates (aka the Avengers, in regular Marvel continuity).

But with the upcoming release of Batman Begins, coupled with my enjoyment of Smallville (even though this last season was the weakest by far), I've started reading more and more DC Comics (to the detriment of my wallet). Sticking at first to Superman, I branched out and read a Batman book, Death and the Maidens, by author Greg Rucka. (Death and the Maidens will also be in an upcoming review.)

Having read this Batman trade, I realized I knew very little about Batman's history; for instance, I knew nearly nothing about early Batman. A friend of mine let me read Frank Miller's Batman: Year One comic, which I absolutely loved. Great story, but that's for yet another review. In any case, I found myself very much drawn into the early years of Batman, when he was first starting out. This brought me to Jeph Loeb's Batman: The Long Halloween.

Loeb, who himself is a consultant on Smallville, has written one of the best Batman comics I've ever read with The Long Halloween. The story covers a full year of Batman's career, beginning with the murder of a mobster on Halloween, and following the case as Batman, Detective Jim Gordon, and young District Attorney Harvey Dent work to solve the mystery of the "Holiday" killer.

A true crime and detective story, Loeb also manages to mix in all of the fan favorite psychopaths that Batman has to deal with, from the insane Joke to the obscure Solomon Grundy. And the end of the book focuses on the fall of Harvey Dent, who will become the muderous Two-Face. This story is very well conceived, and left me guessing to the very end. The real killer will surprise you, trust me.

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Part III: The Unofficial Clone Wars Site

I've always been a fan of continuity, and even more than that I'm a fan of keeping things in order. My early dabblings on the Official Site message boards dealt with creating detailed lists of characters and events, from the Jedi of the NJO to the pilots of Rogue Squadron.

So, when a few people from those forums (as well as a few others) got together to create a website devoted to keeping track of the characters of the Clone Wars, especially the Jedi, you could say that my curiosity was piqued.

I've known the guys who run the Unofficial Clone Wars Site for a few years now, and I'm very glad that they do what they do. The TUCWS is a great resource for fans who want to know "what are the Clone Wars all about?" Hosted by the enigmatic Lou "T'bone" Tambone's StarWarz server, the TUCWS has been a great place to read reviews of recent books and comics, find out what battles took place when, and see which characters are still alive and kicking.

Having recently moved to a new web address ( http://www.clonewarz.com/ ), the TUCWS will continue to be one of the best fan websites for Star Wars fans on the Internet, and I will certainly be checking out everything they have to offer even now that the Clone Wars are technically "over."

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So, that's it for JTS Recommends for this week. Tune back next time when I'll be discussing I, Jedi by Michael Stackpole, the first trade paperback of the Astonishing X-Men series, "Gifted", and the Completely Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia by Bob Vitas.

Live Long and May the Force be With You!

~James T. Skywalker