A Must Read For The Star Wars Enthusiast

I don't really count myself as a big Star Wars fan. I say this for a variety of reasons, the two most important of which are:

1) I only saw each of the original movies once at the theatre. Having seen each chapter, and enjoyed it as mindless entertainment, I had no desire to go back and see it again anytime soon. Your own experience, if you're old enough to have been around in the '70s and early '80s, may have been different. ;-)

2) I actually enjoyed the later 3 installments more than the original trilogy! Yes, blasphemy... I know! But there's just no comparison, in my mind. The effects are much better, the stories are more interesting, and the acting's better. People slam Episode I through III's dialogue, but I say: go back and watch the originals and stop mouthing along with the actors long enough to actually listen to the words being spoken! Most of it's campy as Helll! So basically that's a tie in my books. Similarly, complaining about Jar Jar Binks while gleefully loving the Ewoks - cute, cuddly teddy bears who also happen to be master warriors with hearts of gold! - just smells like denial to me! I also never gave a crap about Darth Vader, either as a villain or as someone who could find redemption, until I watched Anakin Skywalker's story unfold in Episodes I to III. That affected me! And to be honest: I don't really get all that excited about either trilogy, beyond (as PeterJ might call it) the popcorn fun they provide. None of them are likely to ever make my Favourite Movies of All Time list, but they're all just fine for what they are.

Having said all that, I do have a certain nostalgic fondness for the Marvel comic series that adapted and continued the original stories. For one thing, I had a letter published in one of the first six issues - the issues that provided the adaptation of the first film - and that provided a tie that I've never forgotten. Also, as the published letter describes, the only reason I ever wanted to see Star Wars at the theatre was that the comic had seemed interesting. The first two issues came out before the movie premiered, and considering the line-ups to see it in my hometown, I may've actually owned three or four of the comics prior to seeing the entire story on the big screen. Whatever the case, I definitely had more love for the comic version than the movie, and that's always been true (not surprising, considering my love for the genre).

With that as background, I read with rapt attention this article by comic writer Roy Thomas, as he recounted his own experiences leading up to providing the script for Marvel's comic adaptation of the first film. I think any die-hard Star Wars fan would find some of the early bits fascinating, unless of course they're common knowledge already. I'll leave that up to you to decide...