Thursday, April 13, 2017

Modern Disney-Lucasfilm Press

Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy - A Graphic Novel

In March 2016 Star Wars: The Original Trilogy - A Graphic Novel hardcover was published by Disney-Lucasfilm Press for the U.S. market.  The hardcover collects the three original trilogy movie adaptations previously released overseas in graphic novel form.  Disney-Lucasfilm Press specializes in publishing Star Wars books for younger readers and the art is reminiscent of a full-length Disney animation feature.

A companion hardcover, Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy - A Graphic Novel, was just released in March.  Like the first volume, this volume also collects three previously released graphic novels, but this time for the prequel trilogy movies.

Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy - A Graphic Novel a - Disney-Lucasfilm Press, U.S. (March 2017)
Like the first volume, there are entire scenes from the movies that are cut.  As an example, in The Phantom Menace adaptation, Captain Tarpals is not mentioned and the battle between the Gungans and the Trade Federation droid army is summed up in just a few panels.  Instead, during this part of the story, the comic spends time on the confrontations going on in Theed and the space battle above Naboo.  Despite the deletions, the main beats of the stories are present and the cuts allow the remaining scenes to be told without feeling rushed.

Star Wars: The Original Trilogy - A Graphic Novel - Disney - Lucasfilm Press, U.S. (March 2016)
back cover
It is clear these retellings are aimed at kids and I know if my children were younger, I would have no qualms reading this book to them, despite some of the darker parts of the stories.  As an adult, I had fun reading these new depictions, so having children are not necessary to enjoy them.  Interestingly, my familiarity with the Dark Horse prequel trilogy adaptations are not as strong as my familiarity with the Marvel adaptations which I have read countless times and I found myself re-reading the Dark Horse versions so I could compare them.  The Dark Horse versions are superior for packing more of the movies into the comics, but I feel these are a better read because they allow the stories to breath and have a better flow to them.

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