“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. ½ special) should give us bonus scenes from “Episode I” that flesh out the story and provide character insights. However, the execution falls […]
At the time of the original trilogy, when home video was in its infancy, novelizations were a way for fans to experience a movie outside of the theater – many a kid carried a tattered and dog-eared copy of “Star Wars” in their backpack the whole school year in 1977. If the novelization had bonus […]
On my initial viewings of “The Phantom Menace,” it struck me as odd that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan refer to Darth Maul as “it,” rather than “he.” But that pronoun makes sense if you consider (as we learned in the 2012 novel “Darth Plagueis”) that Maul was trained by Darth Sidious from infancy to be a […]
“A Million Ways to Die in the West” is a two-hour string of funny observations about how horrible the frontier was in the 1800s, but heck, I’ve always enjoyed jokes that are taken too far. As such, I think this is a respectable sophomore writing and directing effort in the movie medium from “Family Guy” […]
“Episode I: The Phantom Menace” (1999) introduced us to Jedi at the height of their powers sitting around in a circle and being philosophical. That’s all well and good, especially since we figured to get some serious Jedi action in “Episode II.” But Dark Horse – reflecting the sentiments of fans – couldn’t wait that […]
One of the best parts of the prequel era opened up by 1999’s “Episode I: The Phantom Menace” was the opportunity to see the Jedi doing Jedi stuff at the height of their power and respect in the galaxy. While the film is a decent adventure for Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan […]
“Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine” (2004) is one of the more maligned “Star Wars” novels, but it doesn’t commit any huge sins: It’s well-written in a young-adult novel kind of way, and it portrays the GFFA accurately. It’s quite readable, with a likeable main character and fun cameos, but it’s ultimately rather shallow.
Between Marvel’s original run on “Star Wars” and Dark Horse’s run, as die-hard fans know, there was the oh-so-brief Blackthorne Comics run in honor of the 10th anniversary of the first film: Three issues of “Star Wars 3-D” in 1987-88. (If the 3-D aspect isn’t important to you, you can find these issues collected in Dark Horse’s “Wild […]
The earliest Marvel U.K. “Star Wars Weekly” exclusives — while holding a cachet as “lost” stories due to not being part of the Marvel U.S. numbering system – were at least familiar: More yarns by Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin and Chris Claremont. The Marvel U.K. exclusives from “The Empire Strikes Back Monthly” are another matter […]
When Marvel reclaims the “Star Wars” license from Dark Horse next year, one thing is certain: It’ll start off with better original stories than the first time it had the license. As I noted in my review of the regular Marvel series, Roy Thomas’ early issues featuring Han and Chewie are some of the roughest […]