Making matters worse, Gilroy – who went on to be a fine “Clone Wars” TV and comic writer - can’t get a handle on Yoda’s cadence. Henry Gilroy’s “Obi-Wan” is completely pointless, as Obi-Wan recounts the events of the film to Yoda, who makes unnecessary side comments. A bug steals a battery from Anakin’s pod and the duo from Naboo chases the creature to a secret water-filled quarry and finally retrieves and re-installs the battery just before the race begins. We’re supposed to believe that in the time between Anakin’s Pod arriving at the arena hangar and the start of the race, Padme and Jar Jar have a wild side adventure. However, that’s nothing compared to Mark Schultz’s “Amidala” comic. The series is starting to feel like it’s delving into “Infinities” territory with the “Qui-Gon” assassination plot. Watto hires some hapless thugs to kill Qui-Gon so he won’t lose Anakin’s services. This issue squeezes its plot into the time between the end of the Podrace and the group’s departure from Tatooine. Second-best is Ryder Windham’s “Qui-Gon,” which includes Brooks’ scene where Anakin fights Greedo and the Jedi master teaches his young charge to tolerate the a–h-s of the universe.
With solid art by Steve Crespo, these feel like deleted scenes from “Episode I.” In fact, Timothy Truman adapts or riffs on Brooks’ bonus scenes, as Anakin is given a hard time by his buddies Amee, Kitster and Wald finds a cooling unit for fruit vendor Jira accuses Sebulba of getting one of their fellow Podracers killed shoots the breeze with an old spacer is yelled at by Watto sees the queen’s ship fly overhead and daydreams about space right up till Watto calls him into the shop for his movie debut. The best is “Anakin,” because as we saw in Brooks’ novelization, there’s room for bonus scenes of the young slave in the time before the queen’s ship comes to Tatooine. If the writers were given the caveat that each yarn must take place precisely within the timeframe of “The Phantom Menace,” that would explain the shallow stories. However, the execution falls utterly flat, making me wonder if the writers were given enough time and leeway to pen these stories. ½ special) should give us bonus scenes from “Episode I” that flesh out the story and provide character insights. “Episode I: The Phantom Menace Adventures” has a solid concept: Like the bonus chapters in Terry Brooks’ novelization, these five issues ( “Anakin Skywalker,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “Qui-Gon Jinn,” “Queen Amidala” and the Wizard No.
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