Dark Horse has something new for Star Wars fans—but it’s actually very old.
This week they published the first issue of The Star Wars, which is based on George Lucas’s first draft of the screenplay for the iconic film. It’s a little disorienting to read, as many of the familiar characters are there but their roles and relationships are different. As the Dark Horse folks explains, Annikin Starkiller is the hero . . . Luke Skywalker is a wizened Jedi general . . . Han Solo is a big green alien . . . and the Sith . . . Well, the Sith are still the bad guys.
There are no light sabers, but the Jedi and the Storm Troopers both carry laser swords. And Darth Vader doesn’t have his helmet. The setting of the story is also very different; it begins on the fourth moon of Utapau, a desert battleground, then shifts to the city of Alderaan, the capital of the New Galactic Empire.
The eight-issue mini-series is based on Lucas’s 1974 script and was produced with his blessing; the script was adapted by J.W. Rinzler, the executive editor of Lucas Books, and illustrated by Mike Mayhew. It is available for the web, iOS, and Android via Dark Horse’s digital service.
A former book editor and newspaper reporter, Brigid Alverson started MangaBlog to keep track of her daughters¹ reading habits and now covers comics and graphic novels for Comic Book Resources , School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly Comics World, Robot 6, and MTV Geek. She also edits the Good Comics for Kids blog at School Library Journal. Brigid was a judge for the 2012 Eisner Awards. Send her an email to wordballoons@gmail.com
