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Star Wars: Infinities - A New Hope  2002 (SC TPB) 96 pages

Written by Chris Warner. Pencils by Drew Johnson, Al Rio. Inks by Ray Snyder, Neil Nelson.
Colours: Dave McCaig, Helen Bach. Letters: Steve Dutro. Editor: Dave Land.

Reprinting: The four issue mini-series

Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Published by Dark Horse Comics

Alternate reality stories have long been a staple of science fiction, postulating that if familiar historical events had not occurred the way we know they did, our current reality would be different. Only comics, though, have applied that narrative formula to their own, fictional realities.

In the 1960s, DC Comics occasionally spiced up its regular titles with so-called "imaginary" stories in which Superman died, or got married, or became disfigured. In the 1970s and 1980s, Marvel Comics presented a regular title called What if...?, re-imagining key adventures with alternate resolutions. In the 1990s and continuing to today, DC returned to the concept with its "Elseworlds" banner, taking things farther afield by reimagining its stories in different times and places: what if Batman was really 1930s gangbuster Eliott Ness? What if Superman was raised in medieval Europe?

Science fiction television has explored the alternate reality concept (Star Trek's classic "Mirror, Mirror" episode) and even more realist series have occasionally played with it (a Magnum, P.I. episode where the hero imagines himself in the 1930s). But in such cases it still ties into the established reality: the familiar Star Trek heroes cross over into a parallel universe; Thomas Magnum is dreaming, etc. The novelty of just willy-nilly doing a one-shot special unconnected to the regular continuity is still an alien idea to most -- What if the West Wing was set during the Civil War? What if the E.R. staff operated a M.A.S.H. unit during a war?

Now Dark Horse Comics is applying the formula with its new Star Wars Infinities stories. The first mini-series, Star Wars: Infinities - A New Hope, kicks things off. It begins with a simple question: what if...at the end of Star Wars, Luke Skywalker failed to blow up the evil Death Star?

Admittedly, calling this "A New Hope" is misleading. This isn't a reimagining of the story of the first Star Wars movie since the crucial change is something that occurred at the end of that movie. Rather, it's a reimagining of the subsequent movies. With the Death Star left intact, the rebellion is shattered. Luke and Han barely escape and Leia is captured by the empire. What follows is a mix of familiar and unfamiliar scenes. Luke still goes to Dagobah to meet Yoda -- but this time, with Han and Chewie in tow. And there's a familiar climactic confrontation with Darth Vader and the Emperor.

The result, for this initial foray, is a whole lot of fun.

Part of the appeal is simply reliving the excitement of the original movies. Lucasfilm Licensing have nixed the idea of setting stories in and around the original movie trilogy, so that most of the novels and comics published in recent years feature a Luke, Han and Leia that are markedly different from their movie versions: older and no longer fighting an evil government. Many of the stories don't even feature those characters at all! Happily, Dark Horse has re-released comics that were first published by others from before Lucasfilm insisted on these new rules: the various Classic Star Wars collections reprint a popular 1980s newspaper strip, and the Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... series reprints Marvel Comics 1980s series. And now "Infinities" adds to that. Here is Luke and Han and Leia as fans remember them, fighting the fight that made them cinematic icons.

Writer Chris Warner has a tough job. Write a story that is both different, and yet similar and can touch on familiar scenes. And create a tale that seems like a good story in its own right, as if this really could have been a sequel to Star Wars, instead of just a story whose only appeal is its novelty.

Playing the what if...? card can lead a writer to take his material too seriously, exploring the doom and gloom of a bleak alternate future for the heroes. But Warner keeps the personality of the characters and the flavour of the movies in mind. Although dark and brooding at times, it's also fun, with plenty of Han Solo quips to keep things bouncing along. Warner pays enough attention to character that, as Leia is wooed by the darkside, he can justify her waffling (she is assured that the Empire, now that the rebellion is quashed, wishes to devote itself to peaceful reconstruction). Warner also avoids swinging too much the other way, avoiding indulging in too many knowingly self-reflective gags -- though there are a few (a scene with Han Solo and a snake seems like a joke on the ophiciophobia of actor Harrison Ford's other popular movie role, Indiana Jones).

Admittedly, the story doesn't push its premise to any extremes. The story could have diverged far more radically from the established history than it does. But it's still enormously enjoyable.

The art chores are handled by two teams, which may have been intended to emphasize a time jump in the middle. Drew Johnson has a slightly cartoony style, common today, but there's lots of atmosphere created by brooding shadows. And he has a nice eye for composition, selecting the right angles to portray a moment. And you can certainly tell who's supposed to be who. Al Rio has a more realist style -- not, perhaps, as strong as Johnson in creating mood, nonetheless I liked it for its restraint and the stronger evocation of the actors. After all, if this is meant to be an alternate version of the movies...it should look like scenes from a movie. Both men do a nice job with the portrayal of spaceships. Rio, in particular, does a nice job of showing a cluttered sky over Coruscant. The sombre colours by Dave McCaig and Helen Bach, though a little too brooding at times, also add to the atmosphere.

Ultimately, if you're the sort of person who has worn your VHS copy of Star Wars raw watching it repeatedly over the years and can recite half the lines in sync with the actors, Star Wars: Infinities might be just what the doctor ordered. A chance to relive the excitement of the trilogy again...but this time, where you don't know what's going to happen next.

The Force is with us...once again.

Cover price: $19.95 CDN./ $12.95 USA.

Star Wars: Infinities -- The Empire Strikes Back 2003 (SC TPB) 96 pages

Written by Dave Land. Pencils Davide Fabbri. Inks by Christian Dalla Vecchia. Colours: Dan Jackson. Lretters: Steve Dutro. Editor: Randy Stradley, Phil Amara.

Reprinting: The four issue mini-series

Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Published by Dark Horse Comics

This is the second of Dark Horse Comics stabs at alternate reality Star Wars tales.
After the genuine delight of Star Wars: Infinities - A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back version is less successful -- ironic, given that scripter Dave Land served as the editor on the first series. Beginning with the premise that Luke dies on Hoth, the story tends to meander a little, throwing in some key sequences -- like going to the Cloud City -- that seem to exist simply to provide a slightly different take on familiar scenes, rather than because they aid this story.

Even the basic cause-and-effect at the root of alternate reality stories is vague. Technically, Luke's death isn't really where the realities diverge; Han Solo's tauntaun dying is the key event that makes him arrive too late to save Luke -- but we don't even see the tauntaun's death. And how all that means the Empire can strafe Hoth with tie-fighters, or why it causes Han not to seek sanctuary in an asteroid's tunnel, is vague.

Admittedly, this can be nitpicking. Presumably writer Dave Land saw his story as a chance to just imagine various differences, rather than necessarily restricting himself to making them all evolve from one incident. But, if so, like with the re-imagined "New Hope", he doesn't really stretch things much. The story doesn't go off into radical alternatives. Han, for instance, thinks he is meant to become a Jedi, but then subsequently, learns it is Leia who is called...kind of as the reader could guess. Maybe it would've been more interesting to really have roguish Han become a Jedi-in-training.

Land's story isn't that interesting -- although it clips along well enough. Nor does he quite evoke the characters as well as Warner did with his version. Han thinking he has been tagged to become a Jedi isn't convincingly portrayed for that character (after all, Han didn't even believe in the Force!) Perhaps that all stems from the fact that Land almost can't seem to decide who his main characters are, with sequences devoted to Lando Calrissian, Yoda, or Darth Vader, with Leia and Han nowhere around. Granted, Land is stuck going over well-tilled ground since, as noted, Infinities - A New Hope also covered the Yoda-Dagobah scenes.

Davide Fabbri's art is certainly not bad, with some nicely rendered backgrounds. But it's slightly cartoony -- not really evoking scenes from the movie because of that -- yet without creating that much in the way of notable mood or atmosphere. Though, to be fair, you can certainly tell who is who.

Infinities - The Empire Strikes Back is more what you might expect from the project -- a story that acts more as a novelty than anything. Not badly done, but hardly that memorable. On the other hand, Infinities - A New Hope was a truly enjoyable romp, capturing much of the spirit of the films. But if Dark Horse really wants to do an alternate version of the first Star Wars film, I can think of some ideas that would live up to the name better.

Cover price: $19.95 CDN./ $12.95 USA.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones  2002 (SC TPB) 112 pages

Written by Henry Gilroy. Pencils by Jan Duursema. Inks by Ray Kryssing.
Colours: various. Letters: Steve Dutro.

Reprinting: The four issue comic book mini-series

Adapted from the movie written by George Lucas.

Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Published by Dark Horse Comics

Attack of the Clones adapts the big budget movie that was, um, the second instalment of the prequel trilogy, second movie chronologically, fifth in order of production, and, um... Well, anyway. You know what I mean.

And I'm not quite sure how to review it.

It's a fairly straight forward, faithful translation of the movie to comics, with not too much left out for space reasons (the action scenes are frequently truncated, but the talky scenes seem reasonably true to the movie)...but, there's nothing much added, either. Obviously, when you read an adaptation of a movie, you want it to stay true to the movie, but sometimes it can be nice to get an "expanded" version, either by including extra scenes, or using richer, more textured text captions.

The notion of text captions have largely fallen out of favour with modern comics practitioners, preferring a straight cinematic style of comic storytelling to one with a toe still in a literary stream. But here, writer Gilroy does in fact employ captions not infrequently...but it's generally there just to clarify a scene or an action ("Meanwhile, back at the ranch..." sort of things). Although that's welcome, it also means the captions tend to be rather flatly written, as if Gilroy includes them as a last resort, rather than because he was putting any effort into crafting them.

Ironically, even with these purely serviceable captions, some of the action scenes still remain a bit confusingly staged if you haven't seen the movie for a while (as I hadn't when I read this).

The art by Jan Duursema (no stranger to Star Wars as I think she even drew some comics back when Marvel published the comics) is solid enough, and with Ray Kryssing's inks, and the brooding colours, tends to try for a bit more sombre mood than did the movie. Of course, doing a visual adaptation of a movie/TV show can be tricky, as there tends to be a lot of talking heads and people just standing around stiffly. But though the art is decent, it can also be a bit undynamic. She does a decent enough job evoking the actors...with the exception maybe being Natalie Portman (perhaps a reflection of the fact that Portman's features tend to be, I dunno, unblemished for lack of a better word -- an artist can't exactly emphasize distinctive lines or creases because she doesn't really have any).

Interestingly, although the art is in many respects more detailed than the art employed in The Phantom Menace, I think I found the simpler style in that earlier adaptation more appealing.

But, ultimately, I'm not quite sure how to review this -- it was faithful to the material and competently drawn. But, I'll admit, it didn't fully hold my interest. That may be a problem with the adaptation but, I suspect, it's also a problem with the source material. I tend to be a Star Wars fan...who tends to like the idea of the Star Wars movies more than I do some of the movies themselves. In fact, the story in the comic picks up during the sequence when Obi Wan is investigating and goes to the clone planet...precisely where I recall finding the movie becoming more intriguing, as a "plot" began to emerge. But in both versions, it's a fairly brief interlude.

Bottom line: a competent, but perhaps uninspired translation of the movie.

Cover price: $__ CDN./$17.95 USA

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace  1999 (SC TPB) 100 pages

Written by Henry Gilroy. Pencils by Rodolfo Damaggio. Inks by Al Williamson.
Colours: Dave Nestelle, Harold McKinnon. Letters: Steve Dutro. Editor: David Land.

Reprinting: The four issue comic book mini-series

Adapted from the movie written by George Lucas.

Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Published by Dark Horse Comics

This is the comicbook adaptation of the hit movie that serves as the beginning of the prequel to the Star Wars trilogy. Set decades before Star Wars, it chronicles a galactic dispute resulting in a sinister force occupying the planet Naboo, and a couple of Jedi Knights encountering a young boy with a powerful connection to the Force...Anakin Skywalker.

It's a decent enough representation of the movie. Sometimes I used to be frustrated reading novels or comics adapting movies, because of the way they would sometimes diverge from the source material. This was either because the writer was embellishing with his/her own creativity or, as was often the case, working from an earlier draft script (in order for the release of a comic or novel to coincide with the movie, the writers would have to start work before the movie itself was completed). Yet here what's almost disappointing is how faithful the adaptation is! At 100 pages, they can basically fit in the whole movie (maybe trimming a scene here or there) but there are no extra scenes, no novel interpretations that might make things fresh or exciting. At the same time, because of its length, it doesn't fall into the trap of some other, shorter adaptations I've read where the story can be rendered incoherent at times because crucial scenes and lines are left out will-nilly. At least, for the most part. There are still spots in The Phantom Menace that, I'll wager, will be confusing for someone unfamiliar with the movie -- even someone familiar with it -- particularly in the climax. And occassional subtlties might be lost, like during the pod race. In the movie, the point was that no human had ever won a pod race before, adding significance to the line reproduced in the comic "You have brought hope to those who have none."

But for those familiar with it, it does a nice, evocative job, even imbuing the scenes with a little more atmosphere than the movie had thanks to the colours and inking. At the same time, there is a kind of "Classics Illustrated" approach (to use the cliched, and perhaps unfair, put-down of adaptations). Artist Damaggio does capable work, and evokes the actors well enough (maybe not so that you'd recognize them if you didn't know who starred in the movie, but well enough if you do). Al Williamson, who illustrated comic book adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi so lushly, is on hand as an inker, but can't bring much to the proceedings in that capacity. Likewise, scripter Gilroy sticks to reproducing the dialogue from the film -- no extra thought balloons, and the few text captions are treated as just bridging text, with no attempt to use them to create mood or to embellish a scene.

Still, with all that being said, better to have a faithful, if safe adaptation, than a bad one. I had mixed feelings about the movie itself, and those remain here (thin characterization, and a plot that contains at least a few holes). But this was an enjoyable enough comic that, in its own way, I enjoyed as much as the movie itself.

This is a review of the story as it was serialized in the mini-series.

Cover price: __

Star Wars: Episode III - The Revenge of the Sith  1999 (SC TPB) 144 pages

Written by Miles Lane. Art by Doug Wheatley.
Colours: Christopher Chuckry. Letters: Michael David Thomas. Editor: Randy Stradley.

Reprinting: The four issue comic book mini-series

Adapted from the movie written by George Lucas.

Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Published by Dark Horse Comics

This adapts the third and final of the prequel films, as the machinations of the would-be emperor come to a head, Anakin Skywalker fully succumbs to the Dark Side, and the stage is set for the original Star Wars trilogy.

When reviewing these comic book adaptations, I'm trying to review the adaptation but, inevitably, how well it works will also depend a lot on the source material. That is, I think this is one of the better comic adaptations...but a lot of people would argue the Revenge of the Sith was one of the better movies (at least of the prequel trilogy), so the comics folks are working with more compelling material. The prequel trilogy had the fatal flaw that it didn't really have a compelling "hero" -- the story more focused on anti-hero Anakin's transformation into villain Darth Vader (which, itself, wasn't especially intriguingly teased out). But neither Anakin...nor Obi-Wan, nor most of the characters, were really that compelling. But the third movie, by focusing on the machinations, and the culmination of plans, at least works more effectively as a plot-driven story. And, with that being said, does generate some emotional moments of suspense, and tragedy.

I also tend to try to review these comics from the point of view of how well they tell the story regardless of whether you've seen the movie -- something that, admittedly, is hard to do (since I have seen the movies). But in this case, though I had seen Revenge of the Sith, I hadn't seen it for a while before reading this, and I found the comic reasonably coherent and comprehensible. There were a few scenes here and there that might be a bit confusingly staged, or a scene where it's not as obvious as it could (visually) be which character is in a scene. But in general, I think writer and artist capture the flow of the narrative fairly well.

The art style keeps evolving from adaptation to adaptation of these prequel films, from the effective but Spartan-lined style of the Phantom Menace, to the more detailed and shadowed look of the Attack of the Clones, to this, which goes for a more stylish, painted look, as though colourist Chuckry is colouring over Wheatley's original pencils. It gives the book the most lush and ambitious visual look of any of the comic adaptations. Granted, the art can seem a bit stiff at times, but in general it works more than it doesn't. The likeness of the actors are captured well (including Natalie Portman, who in an earlier book I commented seemed to be tricky to evoke), and though there is some bland composition, at other times, Wheatley does capture some effective mood through his visual choices, his close up and angles. As with all the comics, there's actually probably a bit more visual mood in the comics than the movies generated.

Like with Dark Horse's other Star Wars movie adaptations, this sticks pretty faithfully to the source, making this, perhaps, more a translation to comics than an adaptation. Scenes and dialogue adhere pretty close to the source, with one or two minor changes -- such as having Count Dooku lose only one hand in the opening battle (which, I think works better, as does his more emotive expression).

Ultimately, as I say, reviewing these is a bit tricky as there are different factors to be considered: is it enjoyable on its own? Does it capture the source material? If so, are you really reviewing the comic...or the movie? Etc.

But bottom line: I found this a pretty compelling, visually lush SF thriller.

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $12.95 USA.

Star Wars: Visionaries 2005 (SC TPB) 136 pages

Writers/artists: various

Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Published by Dark Horse Comics

An aspect of filmmaking that probably isn't that well known to the general public is the "concept artist" -- probably most wildly employed in science fiction, fantasy and horror films (anything that requires depicting things that don't otherwise exist) but also used for historical and even mainstream films. A scriptwriter can casually write "the heroes land on a strange planet" or the director can say "let's have a few extra space ships in this battle scene"...but it's the concept artists who visualize the planet and the space ships for the set builders and model makers. And on movies like the Star Wars films, apparently hundreds of drawings, paintings and concepts are done by artists that are never used, with the artists often coming up with their own plot ideas and character backgrounds to inspire their illustrations.

So Dark Horse Comics, current holder of the Star Wars comics license, thought why not give these guys a forum where they could let these unused ideas play out in comic book form? Hence this anthology of comic book short stories by the concept artist bullpen that worked on Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (and some of the other movies). Perhaps because they're used to thinking in terms of movie storybords, most take to the sequential panel narrative reasonably well, and all but one act as their own scripter (one artist co-scripted with another writer).

And the result, though visually interesting, is also uneven. For one thing, this isn't just aimed at Star Wars fans...but Star Wars fans, with stories meant to play off scenes and characters in the films in a way that requires more than casual familiarity, as planets are referred to and character names uttered that, I suspect, the reader is supposed to recognize and derive resonance from. But as such, some of the stories just kind of leave you scratching your head, unsure of the references.

And some stories will leave you scratching your head...period. As the concept artist will present a tale full of weird and wild imagery...that doesn't quite seem to gel into a coherent narrative. (A couple of them make no preretense at narrative and just supply, as their contribution, various still paintings).

The collection starts out with one of the best: "Old Wounds", by Aaron McBride, which is told in a clear, comic book style and though it plays on events from the movies, they were significant enough events that I was able to follow it. Though the problem with doing such stories in comic book form is that sometimes the artist expects instant recognition of a character...who only vaguely ressembles the actor who portrayed him! But it's an effective tale, mixing mood, action, and characterization.

Alex Jaeger's "Entrenched" (co-scripted by M. Zachary Sherman) is a straight-forward, but reasonably effective, "letter to the homefront" tale of a rebel soldier on Hoth (the only story here that is set during the original trilogy). It builds to a touching epilogue that, admittedly, will only have resonance if you recognize the scene and characters, but at least it isn't an obscure scene. Sang Jun Lee's story set on the Wookiee planet, "Deep Forest", is also decent, as is Warren Fu's more continuity heavy "The Eyes of Revolution", which provides background to a character in the movies that was otherwise rather ill-defined.

The art styles vary throughout, from straight comic book line work, to fully painted panels, from realist to strange and cartoony. Visually, the book is certainly interesting to leaf through. And storywise, it has its ups and downs. Unfortunately, the downs -- or at least the "huh?" -- seem to dominate. And very few of the stories actually involve significant characters from the movies.

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $17.95 USA.

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