The Star Wars by J.W. Rinzler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have a harder time reviewing comic books than regular books, in no small part because I feel like there’s more to review, but I don’t have enough experience in the genre to do it.
The art in this book was excellent. Certainly evocative of the look and feel of early Star Wars (i.e., McQuarrie) concept art. At times, I thought that the art could have been used for more effective pacing (the story seemed to move far too quickly, and part of that was Lucas’ original writing, but it could have been allayed by clever artwork).
Speaking of the writing, it’s lacking in a few areas. A relationship that begins abusive progresses through wishing death upon the other person and proceeds to, within a few days (at most), professions of love. (Lucas’ quality of writing in “Episode I” really shines through in the romantic subplot of the story–and, in general, in regard to relationships.) For example, when Kane Starkiller leaves his son Annikin in the care of a stranger, Annikin says, “So long, Dad!” and departs. (Recently, it had been revealed that Kane was dying.) Later, Captain Whitsun and Princess Leia have a conversation about her feelings for Annikin while their ship is exploding. This sort of thing is very unrealistic and subpar.
It’s definitely not Star Wars, but it also is–kind of. There are a lot of familiar names and places, similar imagery, and so on–but it’s not the Star Wars of the films by any stretch of the imagination.
It’s entertaining, especially for long-time fans of Star Wars that are looking for something a little different, but with the original films behind us, this is no longer revolutionary or incredible.