Star Wars Episode 1: Adventures

This Dark Horse compilation pulls together some of the formerly top-secret files of Project Smellhound, the snickering code name that series editor Peet Janes gave to all of DH's Phantom Menace-related comics (à la Blue Harvest). The Episode I Adventures flesh out background on four of the film's main characters--Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Amidala, and Anakin--in four separate one-shots, all concurrent to the movie but sometimes catching action that the camera "missed." All four stories revolve around Anakin in some way (for better or for worse), but the quality of the writing and art keeps the series on fairly solid footing. Of particular note are the dancing lightsabers of Martin Egeland (Adrenalynn) and the always slick stylings of Robert Teranishi (Xena, Star Wars Tales). A nice bonus: Adventures also includes the ancillary short stories first released in the premium Wizard Episode I #1/2 issue. --Paul Hughes