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The Star Wars Storybook

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I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I own both the Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back Storybooks. They're actually the first piece of anything Star Wars I ever owned. I had these books long before I ever saw the movies. They originally belonged to my older cousin Josh. He would have been nearly three when Star Wars first came out, and he was really into the movies growing up. But by the time I was a young child, I guess he'd grown out of it, and I found myself the apathetic recipient of these two storybooks. I rarely looked at them. It's not that I didn't like it. I had a vague understanding of it based on the Muppet Babies parodies that I loved. And I'd actually written a parody of Star Wars as a small child (like most of the parodies I wrote, I had little knowledge of the source material and basically just used the title with my name in it (like Lance Wars, Indiana Lance, and LaGuyver for example) and a few iconic images filled in with my own ideas. It wasn't until I actually got the movies in '95 that I actually became interested enough to dig out these old storybooks and read them. I have them with me right now, in fact. They're really interesting. The storybook actually contains the Luke/Biggs subplot, as well as having Luke witness the Tantive IV battle at the beginning, complete with images from the movie, which look really good.

"You don't know ow bad things are, kid," Biggs interrupted. "Only the threat of the Rebellion keeps the Imperials from being even more evil. Out here on Tatooine, you don't hear much about the terrible things the Empire does. The Rebellion is growing, and I want to fight for the side I believe in."

The friends said a sad good-bye. Luke returning to the farm and Biggs going off to fight for his beliefs. Luke couldn't remember ever feeling so alone.

There were plenty of liberties taken with the script, and Darth Vader's violence, as well as most violence in general (the Greedo confrontation wasn't even mentioned, although the picture of his fried body, coincidentally, was in there). I love what they did with the Force choke scene...

On Death Star, the powerful new battle station, the Imperial leaders were holding a meeting. General Tagge, a young man who hated Darth Vader, said angrily, "The Rebels are more dangerous than any of you think. They have good ships and pilots. They also have the plans of the battle station, thanks to Lord Vader, who has not been able to find the data tapes. He has not found the location of the hidden Rebel fortress, either."

Vader was infuriated.

Not as much a man of action, huh? The coolest thing about the books, though, are the pictures. Very high quality images, especially of the end battle (why George ever thought the models needed replacing is beyond me), and a lot of them are from different angles than the images in the movie, which makes for a whole new experience. I'm so glad I have these.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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I have those books too! As well as the "Jedi" book. I never really gave the Biggs stuff in the book much thought until I was older and realized none of that was in the movie. Now it's fascinating to me. You're right about the pictures, too - they're totally awesome. I'm pretty sure all three of them have personalized stickers with my name inside that say, "This book belongs to..." Ah, youth.

http://jgtwo.wordpress.com

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I remember this storybook well. I had a copy as a child, but I'm not sure what has happened to it. In any event, I think the two scenes referred to in the storybook had more right to be returned to the film in some sort of "Special Edition" than the Jabba scene.

Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.

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I have the Return of the Jedi one. And the Return of the Jedi "read-along" audio cassette; i dont know if the two go together.
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Yes I have them also! The storybooks and the read-along cassettes are different. I have the read-alongs as well.

I remember getting the storybooks through school. You could order a crap load of books at a discounted price. One year I got the SW storybook, then as they came available, I got ESB & ROTJ. Wow, memories!

Got to go. I have some reading to do!
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I have it as well but I mutilated it as a child by cutting out my favorite pictures from the book.

I also still have The Story of Star Wars (narrated by Roscoe Lee Browne) & The Empire Strikes Back (narrated by Malachi Throne) story LPs. Anyone remember those?
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Heh, glad to see I'm not the only nostalgia-driven fan out there. Anyway, I noticed some cool things about ESB's storybook as well, for those who are interested. It briefly mentions the wampa subplot by 3PO telling Luke that they had some locked away on the base. It retains the death of General Veers. It leaves out Han and Leia's kiss on the Falcon, but it has some interesting dialogue when Han's about to be put into carbonite:

Leia took Han in her arms. "I love you," she said, her eyes filling with tears. "I wish I'd told you before."

Han tried to be brave. "Remember that, 'cause I'll be back." He kissed her softly on the forehead.

Okay, the forehead thing's kinda weird, but I really liked the line. It's not quite, "I know," but it still retains that Han Solo personality.

The thing I found the weirdest was the revelation scene. It has the radio version's line of, "No, Luke. I am your father" (in bold and italics). But what happens soon after is really weird...

But there was another way. It was the only way for Luke. With the utmost calm, Luke stepped off the platform and let himself fall into the chasm.

Vader rushed forward and made Luke a witness to the Dark Lord's power. He held out his hand and a great wind caught hold of Luke. It swept him back up the shaft. Then Vader gestured again and, as abruptly as it had started, the wind ceased. Vader let him go. Now Luke was falling again--faster and faster.

Um, okay, so Vader had the power to bring Luke back after he escaped. It seemed like Vader was like, "Almost got him! Almost got him! Ah, to hell with this!"

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.