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(More customer reviews)As a kid, Marvel's Star Wars comics were just as important to me as the original movie trilogy. Beginning publication in mid-1977 with a 6-part adaptation of Episode 4: A New Hope, the Star Wars comics provided a much-needed monthly fix for the fanatical devotees of George Lucas' nascent vision. Current license holder Dark Horse Comics is now in their second round of reprinting the classic Marvel series, this time using its affordable digest-sized omnibus format to collect 27-or-so issues per volume. It's a great deal and a much appreciated break for this struggling comic reader.
Anyone demanding stories that fit perfectly with today's Star Wars universe should pass on STAR WARS OMNIBUS: A LONG TIME AGO... VOLUME 1, as Lucas' only plan at the time was that there was no plan, no matter how much he'd like us to believe otherwise. Nevertheless, writers Roy Thomas, Don Glut, Archie Goodwin, and Mary Jo Duffy do an admirable job of adapting and continuing the adventures initiated in ANH. The movie adaptation was put together from an early draft of Lucas' script, so it contains scenes that were deleted from the original theatrical release and offers interesting expansion on certain elements. After that, it's a wild ride that continues to focus on the original group of heroes while bringing in a huge supporting cast of colorful characters. Multi-part stories include an adventure in the vein of Seven Samurai, an excursion to "Doomworld", and the life-or-death stakes of The Wheel. These are broken up with some welcome one-shots that focus on specific characters. Whether they feature a talking humanoid rabbit, delusional Jedi knight, self-loathing cyborg, smart-alecky droids, gaily attired space pirates, aquatic dragons, or even an unintentional precursor to Lando Calrissian, these stories fascinate me. Maybe it's simply due to their making such a huge impression on me as a child, but whatever the reason, I have no problem reconciling these stories with the original trilogy. The Star Wars universe was wide open in the late `70s, and this series simply made it that much more interesting.
As for the art chores, it's a very solid lineup. Howard Chaykin pencils the first 10 issues with inkers of varying quality. After that, the majority of the art is provided by the legendary Carmine Infantino. Infantino had already shifted to a more distinctive style in the '70s that really brought these stories to life, and being inked by the great Terry Austin never hurts. Herb Trimpe fills in for one issue, and Walt Simonson, who would eventually go on to become the regular series artist, provides his initial contribution.
This release encourages me to try some of the Omnibuses that feature Dark Horse's own contributions to the Star Wars legacy, and there are plenty of those to keep me occupied for a while.
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Collecting the first twenty-six issues of the Marvel Comics Star Wars series that launched in 1977 (the same year as the first film), this first volume of Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago . . . . is a must have for any Star Wars fan!Future volumes will include material not previously collected along with the consecutively numbered Marvel run: the comics adaptation of Return of the Jedi, material from Marvel UK, the Droids and Ewoks series, and other rare Star Wars comics.
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