The Star Wars #0 (Dark Horse)

(via CBDB)

writer: n/a

artist: Mike Mayhew

I'm kind of a sucker for Star Wars.  I say "kind of" because like every other fan, I have my limits.  Most fans seem to have had their limits right around 1999, when the prequels began to be released.  Me, most of my limits come from the Expanded Universe material.  It's just not for me.

So that includes, as a rule, Dark Horse comics.  But rules are made to be broken.  The Star Wars breaks all of them.

The Star Wars, as you may or may not know, is based on George Lucas's original draft for the saga.  Most of the names are the same.  Virtually nothing else is.  In his original vision, Lucas kept things in an incredibly mutable state.  This is true for any creator.  It's just, when something becomes truly iconic, it can become an exercise in the bizarre to see it in any other form.

This comic has made that seem like an entirely moot point.  It's been fascinating to read.  

This particular issue is a behind-the-scenes look.  Most of the early issues already took peaks behind the curtain.  This one just happens to delve more deeply.  The whole thing's laid out: characters, designs, even a look at the demo reel that was presented to Lucas to gain his approval.

I love it.  The version of the saga as presented in this project is fascinating not just because of its quasi-familiarity, the associations that naturally spring forth while reading it, but because it really does take on a life of its own.  It follows its own logic.  

Granted, in addition to Star Wars, I'm also kind of a sucker for background information.  I like to see the nuts and bolts.  I'm one of those people who enjoys the bonus material in home video releases.  So all around, this project has been right up my wheelhouse.

Definitely including this issue.