Review: Star Wars Omnibus – “A Long Time Ago… Volume 5
Photo: darkhorse.com
Source: darkhorse.com
“The classic-era Star Wars adventures conclude in this fifth and final volume of Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago. . . .All your favorite characters are here-Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewie, the droids, and more! With nearly six hundred pages of material, this massive omnibus collects Marvel Comics’ Star Wars #86-#107, their final US-published issues!”
Dark Horse keeps cranking them out and I am loving it. In previous reviews I’ve stated that I was never a big Star Wars comic book fan. It never attracted me as a kid. I was too busy enjoying the movies over and over again and playing with the action figures. As an adult I have learned to appreciate comics more and thus this fifth volume Omnibus of the classic Star Wars tales was something I definitely wanted to check out. These tales are unique to say the least. Yet at the same time you can see where a lot of the inspiration for the ‘prequels’ came from. The stories are a cross between Planet of the Apes, BeastMaster and Lost in Space. There is little of the Star Wars charm that we remember from the classic Empire Strikes Back. The art at times is very ‘cartoony’, too much so for my taste. But if you look past all that there are some very interesting stories. Much of them take place after Return of the Jedi as our beloved heroes fight to end the last reminisce of the Empire and meet new challenges along the way. We see Luke continue to grow as a powerful Jedi trying at every step not to fall as his father did. The art and style in these tales is very much with the times in which they were created. It’s the 1980′s all the way. It even has a color palate similar to that of Watchmen, however I am by no means comparing the quality of the art or stories to Watchmen.
As a fan I can say that despite the cheesiness at times of this collection, it’s a great rainy day, pajama read. At times you get these “what if” feelings, as you ponder, what if they had made three more movies after Jedi and had the technology they have now. Wow! Wouldn’t it have been cool to see these stories in animated form with all the original actors doing the voices. I geek can only dream. Like I’ve said before, if you are a big Star Wars fan check this out. However this isn’t as much a must read or must have as it is a great way to explore the world of Star Wars before the CGI and Prequels. I enjoyed this for what is is and nothing more. Thank’s again to Dark Horse for collecting these stories for future generations to enjoy.
Photo: darkhorse.com
Photo: darkhorse.com
