Yesterday, for the very first time in my life, I stared at the title “Star Wars” long enough to break it away from all childhood and cognitive associations to see it for what it really is:
Utterly ridiculous.
I broke it down for you in the title of this post. It’s a war–in the stars! Imagine seeing that title for the very first time in 1977, before you knew anything else about the movie. You’d laugh. You’d just have to laugh. It’s Snakes on a Plane obvious. It’s a title and a plot summary all in one. Try applying that title logic to other films and see how far you get before cracking up.
The Godfather? Mob Wars. Citizen Kane? Man Rich and Sad. Lawrence of Arabia? White Man Saves Dark Men. Armageddon? Michael Bay Makes You Cry and Hate Yourself for Being a Sap.
I take it back. Star Wars is not a stupid title at all. It’s just good ol’ truth in advertising.
With the release of the entire Star Wars saga (And it really does get to be called a “saga”–which is defined as a “cross-generational story” Sorry, Twilight. You don’t count. Stop trying.) on Blu-ray next week, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how my relationship with Star Wars has changed over the years and why in the world I put $100 down on a movie series I’ve already purchased at least three times.
My earliest Star Wars memory? Begging my father to leave the theater because Empire Strikes Back was too scary. I was 3-years old. That’s my first memory–a negative one. I was born the year A New Hope came out, so I didn’t see it in the theater, only on VHS. My favorite Star Wars movie has always been Return of the Jedi, which, I know, is blasphemy. I mean, Ewoks. But I saw Jedi five times in the theater in 1983. And my dad took me each and every time, the last after I’d been stung by a bee on my thumb. I’m allergic to bees. We sat, in order from left to right–my dad, me, and my giant thumb on a pillow in the seat next to me. For those two and a half hours, it didn’t hurt.
Flash forward to 1997 and the Special Editions come out. I’m on a mission, so I can’t see ‘em. So, no, I’ve never, ever seen A New Hope on the big screen. I get home a year later and I see the weird new stuff, but it’s still Star Wars.
You all know what happened after that with the prequels and the disappointment that was. It seemed the older I got, the younger Star Wars got. I guess that makes sense when you’re talking about a space adventure aimed at kids, but the prequels aged me faster than necessary. By which I mean, Jar Jar.
So, I kind of fell out of love with Star Wars. A lot of us did. There’s still a lot to like there and I will always think the aesthetic of it is BRILLIANT (I even own a custom made storm trooper suit–good luck telling me apart from the real deal when I wear it), but the bloom is off the onion at this point.
And still I pre-ordered the Blu-rays to the tune of $100. (Mind you, it was $100 entirely financed by the sale of a bunch of my old DVDs–I’m neither rich nor loco.) And, I think, the simplest explanation as to why is this: my kids.
I have three little girls and a couple of them have seen all six movies many times, but it’s been a while. They don’t remember them all that well. And they LOVE Blu-ray as much as I do. (Seriously–Cami, who is six but developmentally delayed, can say all of six words and one of them is “Blu-ray.”) They see with very different eyes than I do and through their eyes I can watch the movies again, fresh.
I’ve heard about the changes. The Yoda puppet in The Phantom Menace is gone and replaced with the CGI Yoda (good). A lot of the lightsabers have been color corrected (good), but not all of them (whatever). The Ewoks have pupils and can blink now (fine). Darth Vader says “No. Noooooo!!” before tossing The Emperor (very bad).
I can live with all of that. More importantly, my kids aren’t going to care and won’t know it’s any different. They’ll watch the movies in wonder and awe and the new stuff will just fly right by. I wonder if they’ll enjoy the movies. I think they will. I hope they will.
And if they don’t?
Well, then, of course it’s all George Lucas’ fault for adding “Jedi Rocks” and taking away “Yub Nub.” Seriously, never let George Lucas DJ your party. His taste is just the worst.
Wow. This…is going to be awesome.
And, is that a Jorbon fetus in the jar?
Whoa! Do the heads up top change every Friday now??
Jorbon fetus… Chip?
Heads changing every Friday… yes.
Thanks. Brock’s script inspired me. No, not a Jorbon fetus (though to be honest, I don’t even know of such a thing & Google was no hope).
The Jorbons are the race of aliens that abducted Dr. Rocket and Captain Spectacular when they were kids. I think the name “Jorbon” was first used here: http://superfogeys.webcomicsonline.com/2008/12/11/187-the-origin-of-captain-spectacular-and-dr-rocket-pt-4-new-clothes/
Well, then yes, that is a Jorbon baby. Retcon! Aren’t I clever?
1: Is that Hitler’s head??
2: Oh nose!! Did something happen to Harvey?! ô,0
Hitler head… yes.
Something happen to Harvey… I don’t see how that’s possible. We know that in the present day he appears to be alive and well. So, that’s weird.
Yep, that be ole Adolf’s pumpkin. Something happened to Harvey?! No way!
I’ve to say that those speech bubbles should be little bit more gray because they seem to be little bit out of place with that coloring. They jump little bit too much to eyes. (I just woke up though)
Otherwise very excellent.
Agreed and the change has been made! Thanks!
You say Chip’s big on moody art?
Yes… yes, I can see that.
Bloody hells, this is looking to be a cracking little story. The scripting fits the art perfectly; a touch of chronologically apt melodrama.
Si Civa is right though – the text bubbles/boxes need to be dulled down a little, because the whiteness makes it look too much like they were added years later (unless, of course, this is a tale of the past being narrated by someone in the future).
Looking forward to the rest of this!
Yeah, you and Si Civa are right about that. I was debating it when I lettered it, but toning them down to fit the art is definitely the way to go. Thanks!
Soooo… how many lucky rabbits feet has DocRock gotten from Harvey over the past bazillion years?
Also, I love the mood Chip has created with his art. Awesome, awesome.
Are you suggesting there’s more than one Harvey?
Again, thanks Brock’s script. But thanks.
Heh, my first encounter with Chip was when he tore my comic apart in a review. (Liked the writing, hated the art so much that he didn’t like the comic). He does an excellent job with the art here though, perfect for mad scientist stuff. And that’s either hiltler’s head or… someone else. I could swear he looks like one of the past Origins cast.
Wow, didn’t know Chip had ever done a comic review. You don’t seem to harbor any hard feelings about it though, so that’s good. I tend to be pretty harsh when I review comics as well. Why I don’t do it that often.
Heh. Tact has never been my strong suit, especially when asked my opinion. I vaguely remember that review. So hope I wasn’t a buttmunch about it. If so, I apologize. I’m glad you like the art despite our spotted past. Thanks.
I love the look!
Thanks! Chip really crafted something special here. Having seen many of the succeeding pages, I can tell you it only gets better.
Thanks a ton.
Thanks again for letting me muddy up the waters of this wonderful world you’ve created. I’m a HUGE fan, and I’m having a complete blast working on another story with DR.
I read the first pages of “Broken” years ago when I stumbled over it really late at night. The next morning, I had forgotten the name and location of the comic (I don’t remember why I didn’t look it up in my browser history). Now, thanks to today’s comic and link, I can follow it again.
Very cool, Marj. Do let me know what you think.
Wow, Chip, you are now officially my second favorite SFO artist (after T.L. Collins, who helped Brock start the SFO franchise).
Uber thanks, Greg, though I bow to Brock’s marvelous artwork. Hopefully the remaining pages of this piece will not dissuade you from your opinion.
Doc here sure has some strong tezukian influences in his design. At least looking from behind. I’m looking forward to this!
I’ve always liked how he just happens to randomly have Hitler’s head in a jar. You know. For kicks.