The first page of this book says it all…”A Different Galaxy”. That is the concept and that is the promise that issue #0 works to be sort of a primer for the reader to get a feel for this upcoming story based off of the original rough draft of George Lucas’ iconic story. As you read through this book of concept art and description, you will find that the rough draft of Star Wars was a whole lot different from the finished product. Whether it is a good or bad thing remains to be seen. I am what you could pretty much call a Star Wars fanatic. I saw the first movie (Episode IV) when I was 7 at the theatre and loved it so much that I spent an entire summer watching it… 27 times to be exact. I likewise watched the two other successive movies with equal fervor. Star Wars was an integral part of my childhood and always will have a place in my very essence of being.  I can’t say that I have been too happy with outcomes of efforts since Episodes IV through VI however, but with those other efforts; I have always given them a try. For the most part, I have been very pleased with Dark Horse’s treatments of the franchise. They have done a good job in expanding the galaxy and have helped me to keep my faith that good things can come from each new Star Wars endeavor.

With this experiment here, I believe we may be in store for some really entertaining stuff, or some horrendously disappointing garbage.  This upcoming story has George Lucas’ blessing and the art and design concepts by Mike Mayhew, Scott Kolins, Sean Cooke, Kilian Plunkett, Stephanie Roux, and Ryan Kinnaird look quite nice. They apparently have taken Lucas’s original concepts which seem greatly influenced by the old Flash Gordon serial movies, and have given them a fresh and modern feel.  It looks good.

I think the big surprise here as how different (yet the same) the story is. Luke in this telling is a Jedi general, and “The Man”, Darth Vader is not a Sith Lord. The Sith are here, but different. Emperor Palpatine looks more political than evil. And Coruscant has been replaced by something that resembles the Bespin Cloud City. Oh yeah, Han Solo is a green-skinned alien.   It is quite different, but in one respect, it is kind of cool to see how George Lucas’ original design ideas evolved into the finished product of Episodes IV to VI and I guess I to III too.

This is a bold undertaking and I think that this Issue #0 is being released to help the reader become acclimated to the idea that this story will be different from what we are used to. It may make us angry, or it may be a new chapter in the lore of a great franchise, but I for one am glad that they decided to release this Issue #0 so we can at least be prepared for what will see in the coming future rather than being completely caught off guard. My interest is perked; hopefully it can deliver on what it is trying to do.

Score: 3/5

Writer: J.W. Rinzier Artists: Mike Mayhew, Scott Kolins, Sean Cooke, Kilian Plunkett, Stephanie Roux, and Ryan Kinnaird Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 12/31/13