Customer Reviews

Star Wars: A Long Time Ago..., Book 5: Fool's Bounty (v. 5)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

To me, this book is like a time machine. When I read it, I'm 12 years old again and eagerly awaiting the theatrical release of Return of the Jedi. What happened to Han Solo? Who is this mysterious bounty hunter named Boba Fett? How will Luke get ready for his inevitable showdown with Darth Vader?

None of these questions are directly answered by this series, but they're alluded to as Leia, Lando, and Luke go on all-new adventures. Like the stupendous volume 4, the art is excellent -- Tom Palmer and Walt Simonson aren't afraid to put our heroes in different clothes, and writer David Michelinie is capable of fleshing these archetypes out into real characters.

Despite the technical differences (the coloring process used in the 80s is crude compared to today's comics), these remain my favorites for Star Wars "graphic novels." If you're into Star Wars and have an open mind, don't miss this run of wonderful stories.

Published between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in these comics we have Leia tracking Boba Fett, Lando tries to con the Empire, Luke is trapped on a water world and Leia sings show tunes.

They are very good.

While the early Marvel Star Wars books were rough, with frequent changes in art and writing, these stories are mainly written by David Michelinie and Jo Duffy with most of the art by Gene Day and Ron Frenz and they all turn in great work.

The stories are also more daring, exploring the back story of Star Wars, setting up multi-issue stories and establishing new worlds. Leia goes to Mandalore on Boba Fett's story and we learn something about his history. There have been some retcons since then to make it fit with the prequels but it's still a solid story with heroism and sacrifice. The bounty hunters from Empire Strikes Back like Denger IG-88 and Bossk get a moment in the spotlight. The new worlds and aliens are a lot of fun. The kitten-like Lahsbees have a dark secret, the water world Iskalon is fascinating and the demonic-looking Stenax are properly intimidating. The final story is set after Return of the Jedi and wisely decides to bring Boba Fett back to life for a rematch with Han Solo.

Even decades later these comics hold up as fun reads, it's worth adding to the collection of any Star Wars fan.

Why didn't this volume include the adaptation of "Return Of The Jedi"? I thought this 7-voulume set collected the ENTIRE Marvel run! I know "Jedi" was released as a separate four-issue series, but I would have like to have seen what it looked like before Dark Horse re-colored it.

Other than that, volume 5 is great, and has characters like Fenn Shysa, Tobbi Dala, and Zeltrons who have survived to the modern day.