Luke Skywalker: "You fought in the Clone Wars?"
Obi-Wan Kenobi: "Yes. I was once a Jedi Knight the same as your father."

These signature lines have tempted Star Wars fans with their possibility since Episode IV bowed in theaters over thirty years ago. Prior to 2002's Attack of the Clones, their meaning was confined to speculation, as Star Wars creator George Lucas forbade his army of Expanded Universe scribes from detailing what was to become the central conflict in the final two Star Wars films.

Over the last several years, the Clone Wars era has morphed from a mysteriously veiled time period in the history of the Star Wars galaxy into a fully fleshed-out, even over-exposed, section of the continuity. From novels, to comics, to the films themselves, hundreds of characters, locations, and vehicles from this time period have been vividly realized, and more are on the way, courtesy of the upcoming CG television series.

Taking its cue from the original Clone Wars television shorts, the multi-volume Clone Wars Adventures series is at once a pleasurable (if brief) read for adults as well as a suitable action comic for the youngling in your life. New in stores this week is Volume 9, written and illustrated by comic veterans the Fillbach Brothers, and, for a retail cover price of $6.95(US) , the mixture of cool art and fast-paced action is hard to beat.

Featuring four separate stories, Volume 9 doesn't stray too far from the formula that made the preceding issues so successful: namely, tight, self-contained stories featuring a mixture of familiar characters and new faces. There's EU veteran and all-around bad-@ss Quinlan Vos, Episode II favorite Dexster Jettster, as well as the titular troopers who almost always figure into the stories in one way or another.

The stories themselves are generally whimsical, as are the visuals, inspired by the series of Cartoon Network shorts by Genndy Tartakovsky that originally aired from 2003 to 2005. This actually works better than you might expect, as the vast majority of Clone Wars material takes itself very seriously, and the humorous change of pace is a welcome one. Occasionally, though, the narrative will take a stab at emotional depth, and by and large, it is a successful one, as exemplified in the poignant 'Salvage' that tells the tale of a good-hearted clone trooper who slept through Order 66, only to awaken and find his world turned upside down.

If you're looking for an action-packed Star Wars quick-fix, or if you've got a youngling who loves Star Wars but isn't quite ready for the darkness of the current Expanded Universe novel line-up, the Clone Wars Adventures series is a high quality production that will give you a rewarding return on both your time and monetary investment. The Force is strong with this one.