Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars – Battle Tales is an upcoming miniseries from IDW comics which sees many fan favorite clones, like Rex, Cody, and more, including a new one, swapping stories featuring other familiar characters like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé, and even General Grievous. It’s similar in style to the Tales from/Return to Vader’s Castle miniseries, where each issue contains a new Battle Tale while advancing a larger framing story. We were lucky enough to speak with The Clone Wars – Battle Tales‘ writer, Michael Moreci, about what to expect from the miniseries as well as where it all came from, which you can read below in our latest interview!
The Clone Wars – Battle Tales was originally meant to release weekly throughout April, but after major comics distributor Diamond halted shipping due to the growing pandemic, IDW came out on record to say they won’t be releasing any series digitally unless it’s also making it to store shelves (UPDATE 3/31/20: It looks like the series might be out in June now instead, per the always trusty Florian of Jedi-Bibliothek). UPDATE 5/1/20: The first issue of Battle Tales will finally release on May 20, with the second issue out in June. UPDATE 5/20/20: In the mean time, check out my review of the first issue! This interview was done prior to the delayed release, so while we unfortunately won’t have Battle Tales releasing as scheduled, you can get a sense of what will all be in it thanks to this interview with Michael Moreci:
What’s the origin and evolution of Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars – Battle Tales? Did you pitch the project, did they come to you? How did you settle on the “clones tell battle stories” conceit?
Michael Moreci (MM): This was a rare time where I actually pitched this book. Once I knew Clone Wars was coming back for its final season, I knew it was time to seize a great opportunity to tell more Clone Wars stories. I’m a huge, huge fan of the show, and telling war stories from the clones’ POV is just something, as a fan, I wanted to see. So, the whole thing has been my baby from the start, so seeing it come together now is pretty amazing.
You’re writing tales with very familiar The Clone Wars characters, like Captain Rex, Commander Cody, Padmé Amidala, and General Grievous, to name the few we know of, while also introducing a new clone. Is there any pressure writing such well-known, fan-favorite characters? And what can you tell us about the new clone?
MM: Always, if only just pressure I apply to myself, as a fan, wanting to get every character and every detail right. It’s deeply important to me. But, it’s also just fun–I love these characters, I love this world. As much as anyone can love anything, so to be so fortunate to tell stories like this–you have to enjoy it, too.
The new clone…hmmm…I don’t want to reveal too much. His name is Heater, I can say that. And his story is pretty unique. It might be my favorite issue of the series.
If you had to describe the 5 Battle Tales with only three words each, which would you use?
MM: Clones recollecting war.
Many of your works, like the Black Star Renegade novels or your Wasted Space comic series, have been described similar to Star Wars, considering you’ve been a longtime fan. Was it harder to write in the vein of Star Wars or actually write a story within Star Wars?
MM: Not really, strangely. I feel like–I grew on Star Wars. It’s in my DNA. I just understand, through years of passionate fandom and reading everything and watching everything, I just understand how the stories work. It’s a clock I can take apart and put back together blindfolded. So, telling stories like Star Wars or Star Wars proper, it comes kind of naturally to me. Not easy–but natural.
Somehow The Clone Wars gets another final season and Lucasfilm wants to adapt only one of your Battle Tales. Which would you choose and why?
MM: Good question! I would go with issue #4–the Heater issue. Not just because it’d be great to see my own clone brought to life in that way, but I think something new would be pretty awesome for us all.
Did you get any feedback or interactions with persons involved with the show when writing the event series, like say Dave Filoni, Dee Bradley Baker, etc.?
MM: Not directly, no. I know Dave looked everything over, particularly at the outlining stage–which is pretty thrilling, knowing he’s part of the comic series in some way–but as far as I know, that was really it. Luckily, it met his approval!
The clones spinning the tales means their veracity might be in question, so did this give you a greater sense of freedom when concocting the stories, allowing you to explore your favorite aspects of the time period? Did you run into any road blocks, like say the Story Group telling you can’t touch this character or place, regardless of the tales’ canonicity?
MM: I thought about this, the veracity idea, and personally, I don’t see the clones as being capable of telling tall tales like that. If they’re going to tell a story, it’s THE story. It’s what happened. At least that’s how I see it. They’re very literal people, the clones. As for road blocks, there’s always stuff that’s off-limits or conflicts with other upcoming or potential stories. That’s pretty typical, but it’s why the Story Group–bless them–is there. They keep the universe running.
You have quite the fleet of artists to work with on Battle Tales! Derek Charm lends his skills for the framing story, while Arianna Florean, Megan Levens, Valentina Pinto, Davide Tinto, and Philip Murphy provide their talents for interior tales each issue, respectively. What’s it been like working with so many different artists? Have you adapted any of your tales depending on their styles? Any panels from each artist you can’t stop thinking about that you can tease us a little on?
MM: It’s terrific. I feel like each artist has their own unique voice, yet they all capture Clone Wars perfectly in their own way. That’s what’s so great about these comics–we get to see what we love in a slightly different way. I love that, and I love what each artist brought to their issue.
I didn’t get to really write for their style, unfortunately; I was pretty much done by the time they were all assigned. But, that hasn’t stopped them from doing killer work. There’s some panels with Grievous that are just spectacular, and one with the Wolfpack that I adore. And some Waxer and Boil moments that I just adore. There’s many to choose from!
You’re an incredibly busy guy and it doesn’t look to change anytime soon. What other projects can fans find you involved with this year?
MM: I’ve got a few. Let’s see…there’s Hexagon, my Last Starfighter-inspired all ages comic that’s about a young boy who plays a forbidden video game and triggers an alien invasion. Archangel 8 is my Punisher meets Hellblazer special ops thriller. Both those series just launched. The Lost Carnival: A Dick Grayson Story is about, you guessed it, your favorite Nightwing/Robin as a teen; it’s a YA graphic novel, coming out in April. And then I’ve got my two Vault Comics series, Wasted Space and The Plot, going through the year!
Thanks for the interview, Michael! And thank you, dear reader, for stopping by and checking it out. If you’d like to find out more about our guest, visit his personal site (where he’s been posting some great writing courses!), reach out to him on Twitter, and check out all the work he mentioned above!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.