The Star Wars universe is one of the most memorable movie universes of all time. Within this large world is a host of characters that have become cultural icons with far reaching appeal. In Star Wars Episode 1 Adventures, readers are given an even bigger glimpse into the lives of Anakin, Queen Amidala, Qui Gon and Obi Wan. The additional storylines included very well could have been deleted scenes from the Episode 1′s film.

Excellently written by Henry Gilroy, Mark Schultz, Timothy Truman and Ryder Windham, the characters are vibrant and engaging. Penciling was done by Steve Crespo and Martin England, while Inking was done by Chris Chuckry and P. Craig Russell. The colorist and cover artist are respectively, Chuck Chuckry and Tim Bradstreet. There are in fact a large number of people involved from each individual issue who contributed to making this Trade Paperback a rousing success.

Fans of Sith Lord Darth Vader will find out how he was as a young boy. The included storyline for him is a prequel style comic done to reflect Anakin’s innocent nature before his meeting with Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn and Padme Amidala. The few scenes in the movie of him and his pod racer before the start of the actual race is rather rare but in this comic Anakin can be seen scavenging for parts in the most unlikely of places.

The scene is a great use of foreshadowing when Anakin says he somehow just knows where to find parts for his pod racer. It gives clues to his already strong connection with The Force.

Towards the end of the Pod Race, the scenes involving Qui-Gon Jinn and Watto are particularly involving. The Jedi master comes under attack due to Watto’s treachery and greed. The Jedi Master clearly survives, much to Watto’s amazement, and yet the slave owner still  tries to make a deal with Qui Gon. Watto is outsmarted in the end when Anakin’s Pod Racer rival, Sebulba, buys Anakin’s Pod Racer.

however, the more important part of the story is when Qui-Gon teaches Anakin about tolerance and consequences as well as trust. It is tolerance that calms Anakin’s temper and makes him think instead of fight. It is his lessons on consequences that make Anakin grow up a little bit and learn the ways of the world.

Lastly, it is trust that Anakin has for the Jedi Master and the ideals of the Jedi, such as when Qui-Gon reassures Anakin that Watto will always treat his mother, Shmi Skywalker, properly. There are far reaching consequences that neither can foresee when this trust is eventually broken.

In between the Pod Racer construction and the end of the pod race is Queen Amidala, still under the guise of a simple handmaiden. Her exchanges with Anakin are like those from the movies, but the additional storyline actually comes in with her conversations with Jar Jar Binks. Queen Amidala has seen something great in Jar Jar, something of potential as the storyline will later indicate in the second and third films. The sentiment is reciprocated by Jar Jar in passing, indicating that the funny Gungan from Naboo is also more than meets the eye.

The feeling for fans is that this storyline with Padme reveals hidden skills she did not showcase in the first film. Whether she sees that Jar Jar is simply loyal or something else remains to be determined, but she knows that he will make something of himself one day. It would seem that Padme herself, far from being only a Queen, is at least Force Sensitive. She has equal skill with handling Jar Jar as Qui Gon, and if her reaction to stopping Jar Jar from eating everything in sight is similar to that of Qui-Gon, that’s all the better.

Sadly, the parts where Obi-Wan Kenobi is most present are only in a wrapping up of the first film. Here, he is seen speaking to Master Yoda and has a small part where he is conferred his Jedi Knight status.  Throughout the first movie there was little for Obi-Wan to do except babysit the ship and fight Darth Maul. This is reflected in his portion of the comic and seems to be a facsimile representation and nothing more.

This is somewhat disappointing since the other 3 major characters all had pieces that enticed fans to learn more about each character. Obi-Wan as a favorite character who will eventually be more heavily featured in the movies and therefore in the comics, but the little that is evident in this Trade Paperback, while emotionally evocative, is merely a rehashing of what has already happened.

The overall sentiment behind Star Wars Episode 1 Adventures is that the heroes featured in the Star Wars Universe always have another depth of character to tell, another angle of storyline that can flourish outside of the traditional film medium. As a whole, the entire Trade Paperback is a success as a companion piece to Episode One.

Available now through Dark Horse Comics.

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Since the first Star Wars film was re-released on VHS in 1981, director George Lucas has changed at least one element of every film with each new release, often causing a stir among the most loyal fans of the franchise. With the release of the 9-disc special edition Blu-Ray of episodes I-VI on September 16, Lucas has upset fans once again by making a number of changes to episodes IV, V, and VI.

Some of the most controversial changes are the addition of the word “NO!” two times to Darth Vader’s dialogue when he throws the Emperor over the edge in Return of the Jedi, the Ewoks’ eyes now blink, and Obi-Wan’s fake “Kryat Dragon” roar has been changed.

Not since Lucas decided to make Greedo shoot Han first in the Cantina in episode IV for the 1997 Special Edition have fans been so upset about the changes made to one of film history’s most popular series. Twitter has exploded with commentary on the subject, and there are even a number of Facebook pages dedicated to voicing their dissatisfaction with a number of Lucas’ decisions.

One of the most upsetting aspects of the changes is the fact that the original versions won’t be available on Blu-Ray. In 2006, after years of strong protest concerning the 1997 revisions, the original trilogy was released on DVD, but the quality of the picture was not improved.

Lucas has made it clear that he does not want the originals to be preserved. In a 1997 interview with American Cinematographer he stated that “[a] hundred years from now, the only version of the movie that anyone will remember will be the [Special Edition] version.” This view has left fans looking to purchase old copies of the original VHS tapes as a part of their protest against this mentality.

Despite the strong dissatisfaction with many of the content changes, there are still a number of additions and revisions that have been mostly accepted by fans. Notably, the decision to change the puppet version of Yoda in episode I into a CGI version that more closely resembles the original trilogy has met general approval, both for continuity and visual appeal.

George Lucas has been on a quest to make his films better than they were originally, and to include aspects of the film to help make his newer Star Wars films match more closely with the original trilogy. The problem with this mentality is the huge number of fans that liked things the way they were, even with all of the flaws and mistakes.

Who knows, perhaps t-shirts protesting Darth Vader’s comical “no!” will become just as popular in a few years as “Han shot first” t-shirts are today. But unless Lucas makes a sudden change of heart, or loses the creative rights to his films, fans will have to accept whatever creative decisions George Lucas makes.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.facebook.com/StarWars

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