Star Wars Tales Volume 5 Review (Tony Millionaire, Peter Bagge)

I usually don’t bother with Star Wars comics mostly because I’m not a huge fan of the franchise and the writers for it are usually really crappy (Ian Edginton, W. Haden Blackman, Ron Marz? Pee-yeew!). But Amazon was having a blowout, selling Kindle editions of these trades for pennies, and I noticed this book had an amazing line-up of some of my favourite indie creators: Tony Millionaire, Jason, Rick Geary, Peter Bagge, James Kochalka and Gilbert Hernandez, so I bought this puppy. 

This is a book of short stories that range from the classic trilogy to the universally reviled prequels. I was disappointed that these great artists couldn’t do more with the material, though that’s not to say they don’t produce some interesting shorts. Tony Millionaire’s story, George R. Binks, features Jar Jar’s dad, a man who hates his retarded son and tries to kill him on numerous occasions. It was good for a chuckle and I’m glad it got published, Lucasfilm acknowledging the deep hatred fans have for the character. The ending is inspired too.

But really all of the stories are just ok – not good, not bad – and over all too soon. Jason’s Darth Vader flubs his lines “Luke, I am your father”, Rick Geary applies his true crime talents to Luke Skywalker in a tongue-in-cheek crime caper, and James Kochalka’s Melvin Fett looks at Boba Fett’s incompetent cousin who’s also a mercenary – but comically bad at his job. Peter Bagge’s Jar Jar comics are ok as he also goes after the dumb character’s annoying personality and general brainlessness, while Gilbert Hernandez’s Young Lando Calrissian is a nice looking but dull bait and switch story.

I suppose paying 77p for the lot wasn’t bad but I wouldn’t really recommend this even for fans of some of the creators. The novelty of seeing them apply their art styles and narrative voices to these enormously popular characters wears off pretty quick and the stories are, unfortunately, boring.

Star Wars Tales Volume 5