Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Volume 2 (Hardcover Library Edition)

Another volume from my school library's extensive Star Wars graphic novel collection, brought home by the Kiddo.

Title: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Issue: Volume 2
Publisher: Lucas Books, Dark Horse Comics, Spotlight
Date: 2010
Writer: George Lucas, Bruce Jones
Penciler: Eduardo Barreto
Inker: Al Williamson, Carlos Garzon
Colorist: Cary Porter
Letterer: Steve Dutro
Cover: Dave Dorman
Additional Art: Adam Hughes, Matthew Hollingsworth

This volume, adapting the original Star Wars film, begins with the Death Star's arrival at Alderaan, and covers all of the subsequent action that takes place aboard the Death Star, up to the Millennium Falcon's escape into space.

With the addition of Princess Leia to the combination of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, the snappy dialogue gets upped a notch, as Han finally has someone who can match his snark. The comic script is hit-and-miss with this, keeping some of the best lines, but noticeably cutting others for space. It's effective in terms of keeping the pacing of the action, but serious fans are going to want to read every good line.

The action feels a bit choppy within the limitations of the graphic novel. The Stormtroopers never seem like a major threat to the heroes, although that's really the case in the movie too.

This volume makes better use of occasional bigger panels than some others in this series, but still suffers from the limitations of trying to get all of the action into a limited page count.

Eduardo Barreto and Al Williamson do a nice job with the look of the characters, and their work of the setting and scenery of the Death Star is spot-on. Dave Dorman's cover is fantastic, and the extra pin-up art by Adam Hughes and Matthew Hollingsworth is a nice bonus.

Rating: 6/10

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Volume 3 (Hardcover Library Edition)

The library at the school where I work has a surprisingly extensive collection of Star Wars graphic novels, much to the delight of my son, who brought this one home today. He previously brought home Volumes 1 and 2 of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which I reviewed here and here.

Title: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Issue: Volume 3
Publisher: Lucas Books, Dark Horse Comics, Spotlight
Date: 2010
Writer: George Lucas, Bruce Jones
Penciler: Eduardo Barreto
Inker: Al Williamson, Carlos Garzon
Colorist: Cary Porter
Letterer: Steve Dutro
Cover: Dave Dorman

My first experience with Star Wars was not the original film in the theater, although I did see it somewhat late in its initial release. My first Star Wars experience was with the Marvel Comics adaptation of the film, and specifically, with the third issue, since I had missed the first two.

This new adaptation (also volume 3) covers almost the exact segment of the film: The flight from the Death Star to Yavin and the opening moments of the final battle with the Death Star.

In terms of story, this has some great interactions between Luke, Han, and Leia, plus some of the truly iconic Star Wars visuals ("Lock s-foils in attack position!"). There is a surprising amount of character development in these scenes, considering the frantic pace as the Rebel Alliance prepares for impending doom.

The artists do a good job with the characters. They look like the actors, which is not always the case in movie/TV adaptations. Facial expressions and body language are effective. The initial space battle between the Millennium Falcon and the TIE fighters falls short of capturing the pacing and action of the scene, but the lead-up to the final Death Star battle looks pretty good.

Dave Dorman's cover is gorgeous, and his three bonus pin-up pages look great too.

I still feel like a hardcover edition of a single issue of a comic is a bit of a waste, but library editions are odd beasts, and this does have the advantage of being durable when bounced around in my son's bookbag.

It was fun to see a new take on this story in the comics medium.

Rating: 7/10

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Voume 2 (Hardcover Library Edition)

Another item that the Kiddo brought home from the school library.

Title: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Issue: Volume 2
Publisher: Lucas Books, Dark Horse Comics, Spotlight
Date: 2010
Writer: George Lucas, Miles Lane
Artist: Douglas Wheatley
Colorist: Chris Chuckry
Letterer: Michael David Thomas
Cover: Dave Dorman


This is the second volume of Dark Horse Comics' adaptation of Episode III. My son brought home the first volume in this series from his school library a few weeks back and I reviewed it here.

This issue focuses heavily on the political intrigue within the Republic and the conflicts that are beginning to tear Anakin Skywalker's loyalties apart. The dialogue builds on this idea nicely, with all of the forces around Anakin manipulating him, and the persistent voice of Chancellor Palpatine sowing doubts about the nature of the Jedi Order in Anakin's mind.

When the book finally returns to some action scenes at the end, the battle between General Grievous and Obi Wan Kenobi feels rushed although the art does make some good use of larger panels, especially in the opening moments of the fight. The climax of the battle could have been given more space and more attention, though, and a cut back to Palpatine and Anakin hurts the impact of the scene.

The artwork is generally faithful to the film, and this issue contained some of what I thought were the stronger script elements. Adapting a film into multiple comic book issues is challenging, but I do think the pacing of this volume could have been improved.

Rating: 5.5/10

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Volume 1 (Hardcover Library Edition)

Brought home from the school library by my son.

Title: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Issue: Volume 1
Publisher: Lucas Books, Dark Horse Comics, Spotlight
Date: 2010
Writer: George Lucas, Miles Lane
Artist: Douglas Wheatley
Colorist: Chris Chuckry
Letterer: Michael David Thomas
Cover: Dave Dorman

My son is rapidly learning to love all things Star Wars. Today, he brought this graphic novel adaptation home from the school library (which has a pretty decent graphic novel selection, considering the library is relatively small overall).

This is a 24-page hardcover edition that was originally released as a standard-format comic book. The hardcover treatment is because this is a library edition, although it still seems a bit excessive. They couldn't wait and at least put all four issues in one hardcover to give the complete plot of the movie?

It is a nice-looking book, with a classic-style painted cover by Dave Dorman that evokes the Tim Hildebrandt Star Wars movie poster.

The story, well, it is what it is. None of the Star Wars prequels were all that good, and this one is generally considered the best of a bad bunch, but the action here comes off as either lacking in drama or having drama that is overly forced. Palpatine and Anakin have not subtlety, and no nuance, and the background political discussions form a kind of dull, droning infodump.

Interior artist Douglas Wheatley does a good job of adapting the look of the film, but his reliance on small panels makes the story feel rushed and misses opportunities to play up dramatic moments.

Without some big splash-page art, my son was ready to wander off before we finished this.

Rating: 4/10