Customer Reviews

Star Wars: A Long Time Ago..., Book 4: Screams in the Void

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I have to admit a bit of a bias since this book reprints some of the first comics I ever bought but I really liked this book.

Reprinting Star Wars 54 to 67 and Star Wars Annual #2 (originally published between 1981 and 1983) Screams in the Void covers the time when Marvel's Star Wars series really hit its stride. The first 3 years were largely hit or miss with artists and writers changing frequently and many of them not putting in their best work. But after Empire Strikes Back we really see more talent and more creativity on the title.

The opening story is a bit weak, it's the second half of an infamous story where Marvel took existing art from their canceled John Carter of Mars book and redrew it as a Star Wars story. But after that stories mainly by David Michelinie and art mainly by Walt Simonson and Ron Frenz. Simonson and Frenz draw heroes who look like their movie counterparts but also bring an incredible amount of creativity to the aliens and worlds in the book.

And the stories, even 30 years down the road are great fun. Leia meets a shockingly cute race of telepathic rodents called the Hoojibs, Lando returns to Cloud City and teams up with an Ugnaught film crew against the Empire, the rebel fleet hides inside a sun, the rebels take on an Imperial Armada in pirated TIE fighters, and on it goes. Even minor characters have strong and memorable roles.

This book is just pure fun for any Star Wars fans and is highly recommended.

I started picking up the Star Wars comics halfway through its run -- right when this book takes off. Compared to the first issues in the series, the art is quite sophisticated and matches well with the imagery seen in the films. Characterizations are remarkably deep considering the plotters were barred from using situations that would pop up in Return of the Jedi.

My favorite bit deals with a young Rebel woman who looks like she could be Luke's first girlfriend, but is actually much more. I won't spoil the surprise here, but let's just say that Mara Jade wasn't exactly a totally original creation.

Most importantly, these stories are FUN and are a great read for all Star Wars fans young and old. I can't recommend them highly enough.

"Screams in the Void" is the fourth in the series of Dark Horse collections of Marvel comics. It contains issues 54-67 of Marvel's Star Wars run, as well as the second annual. In my opinion, these are the best stories to come out of the Marvel comics so far. The stories generally cover multiple issues, which allows for deeper and more complex stories. New characters are introduced, such as Shira Brie, and other characters are explored with more depth, specifically Lando. It's good to see the addition of new characters that do not appear in the movies, on the rebel and Imperial sides. The Shira Brie story arc was the best so far, and even the recurring hoojibs contribute as well. The stories that span a single issue are generally weaker, but they are becoming more uncommon as the series continues. With this collection it seems that the Marvel stories have turned a corner.

Here is as fine a collection of Star Wars tales as you will find anywhere.

After the concluding chapter of Chris Claremont's tale (Princess Leia on Barsoom), the team of David Michelinie and Walt Simonson get into gear. Among their strengths is the creation of fascinating alien races. Examples in this volume include the Hoojib, the Krake (a sort of organic hard drive), and the Teezl or, as the Imperial forces transporting it refer to it, the Screamer.

In this volume, the rebels find a new base, populated by a race called the Hoojib, and foil a plan to turn a creature referred to as the Screamer into an invaluable military asset. It also contains the saga of Shira Brie.

Shira Brie is a brash young female pilot, who gradually becomes quite close to Luke Skywalker (to Princess Leia's dismay). When Luke appears responsible for killing the popular young woman, some of the rebels turn against him and his Jedi ways.

"Screams in the Void" includes a two-part tale of Lando Calrissian's return to Cloud City, strangely deserted except for a crazed Lobot; a bold attempt by the rebels to hide their ships in the sun; a lost tale of Han Solo; R2D2 and C3PO's discovery that something else inhabits the rebel base; and a blast from the past for Luke Skywalker, when he crashlands on a desert planet similar to Tatooine and must defeat the mysterious Water Bandits. Dark Horse includes pinups by Joe Jusko, Bob Layton and Frank Miller.

Recommended not only to Star Wars fans, but science fiction fans as well.

Reprints issues #54-67 of the Marvel Comics series, from 1981-83. Next to comics great Al Williamson, this volume features the second best art the series ever had, most issues done by mainstream comics greats Walt Simonson and Tom Palmer. This was just before Simonson started his work on The Mighty Thor, so you know he was in top form.

When I ordered this, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Surprisingly, considering how long ago this was written in Star Wars' production run, it's very well written.

The stories are highly enjoyable, and often have you glued to the pages. The stories are set after Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, so if you're looking for Han Solo, you won't see much of him, but we have Lando in his place, as well as Chewbacca, Leia, Luke, R2-D2, C-3PO, and the terrifying Darth Vader! There are also many new characters to better flesh out the Star Wars universe. At times, the writing may seem rather cautious, as the writers had to be careful not to contradict anything upcoming from Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The only negative that I can see in the whole collection is that the Ugnaughts seem to be Irish. (?)

What really surprises me though is that the modern books are using some of these stories as source material.

(SPOILER!) Luke Skywalker has a girlfriend of sorts in this story, by the name of Lt. Shira Brie. In an attack on an Imperial Star Destroyer, using stolen TIE-Fighters. Luke's targeting computer is knocked off-line, and he uses the Force to identify friends or enemies. He fires on what turns out to be Shira, and is disgraced among the Alliance. But with Chewbacca's help, he uncovers solid evidence that Brie was in fact a specially trained agent of Darth Vader himself. In a scene with Vader, we also learn that she survived.

In the new "Legacy of the Force" books, Luke's nephew Jacen Solo is corrupted by the appearance of a Dark Lady of the Sith, by the name of Lumiya. She tells Jacen how Luke nearly killed her, a long time ago, and she is out to revive the Sith Order, (considering Palpatine a psychopath who used his powers for his own advantage instead of the good of the Sith Order. Sounds rather like the Jedi, doesn't it?) and he eventually comes around to her way of thinking, becoming a new Sith Lord.

The artwork is well done, and I spent several days enjoying it. It was well worth the price. If you're in the mood for old-fashioned Star Wars fun, this book is well worth buying.
Enjoy!