Entertainment Earth
[TF.N Main] [Contact Us]
[Comics - Main]
[Comics -  More]
[Dark Horse Comics]
Dark Horse Comics Reviews

[Marvel Comics]
Marvel Comics Reviews

[Fan Comics]
[Popular Stories]
CEII: Jabba's Palace Reunion - Massive Guest Announcements

Star Wars Night With The Tampa Bay Storm Reminder

Stephen Hayford Star Wars Weekends Exclusive Art

ForceCast #251: To Spoil or Not to Spoil

New Timothy Zahn Audio Books Coming

Star Wars Celebration VII In Orlando?

May The FETT Be With You

Mimoco: New Mimobot Coming May 4th

[Jedi Council Forums]
Republic #80

The new series of the Sith Wars

How can I read the Marvel comics?

Upcoming Release Dates
[Poll]
There are no polls
currently operating
in this sector.
Please check
back soon.

View Poll Archives


SW A New Hope - The Special Edition TPB
Story: Bruce Jones
Pencils: Eduardo Barreto
Colors: Cary Porter
Editor: Bob Cooper

Summary

To celebrate the releases of the Special Edition, Dark Horse decided to do an all new comic adaptation of the first film. It was made available in four monthly issues or as part of one collected book along with reprints of the Marvel ESB and ROTJ adaptations.


EnsViews Comic Review
Reviewed 06/08/97

Story
It's obviously a significant challenge to attempt to adapt a story as familiar as Star Wars. Not every line can be included, so what do you keep and what do you throw out while attempting to maintain some pace and tell the whole story?

I felt the pace in this series was very uneven. The first issue absolutely blew through details at such a pace that I don't think it would be followable to someone who hadn't seen the film. The second and third were a little better, but the fourth kept so much from the films that I felt that it really dragged and didn't work well as a comic.

Of course, Dark Horse felt obligated to include panels showing most of the changes to the special edition film. (See a complete illustrated annotation of these film changes at the SW:SE Annotations) This further slowed down the pace in a few places, just to get the movie tie-in.

Art
For film adaptations, I like to see a good mix of film frame reproductions, as well as shots from different angles. As a series, I get that. However the first issue has mostly new shots (because the script demanded such compression) and issue four has mostly reproductions.

Barreto is pretty good at biologicals. The heroes weren't dead likenesses, but nor was he trying for it. Tarkin and Chewie were well done. I was impressed with the care taken to maintain the likenesses of the many background characters. (Wolfman's still in the cantina!)

Where this book is VERY weak is in the technology. Vader, 3P0 and the Stormtroopers consistently look wrong. I always thought that TIE fighters were the easiest ships to draw, but they look terrible here.

Summary
Generally inconsistent. 5.5/10. Not recommended.

Cover Image

Dark Horse Profile


"EnsViews" are copyright ? 1997-8 by Paul Ens. They are posted to rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc, emailed to Dark Horse Comics and archived on theForce.net. With the exception of Dark Horse Comics Inc, they may not be reprinted without permission.

Titles, Cover images, Dark Horse Comics, and the Dark Horse logo are trademarks of Dark Horse Comics Inc. and its respective Licensors.

Entertainment Earth
[All Posters]
Star Wars - Episode III - Yoda - Stand Up
AllPosters.com
Search For Posters, Cardboard Stand-Ups & T-Shirts!
Upcoming Birthdays
(next 10 days)
10/10 - Bai Ling
10/17 - Sandi Finlay
10/17 - Felicity Jones
10/18 - Gerald Home
10/20 - Sam Witwer
[Rebelscum.com - Star Wars Collecting]
[TheForce.Net - FanFilms]
[TheForce.Net - FanForce] [TheForce.Net - Fan Art]
TheForce.Net - Your Daily Dose of Star Wars Entertainment Earth
THEFORCE.NET IS NOT ENDORSED BY LUCASFILM, LTD. PLEASE READ OUR DISCLAIMER. © 2024 COPYRIGHT TF.N, LLC
The Galaxy is Listening
Entertainment Earth
[TF.N Main] [TF.N FAQ] [Contact Us]