I have to say that my first step into the world of nerdy things was Star Wars. I first saw “Episode IV: A New Hope” when I was about four or five. There were a few years during my childhood I remember watching all of George Lucas’ original trilogy on the original, not special edition, VHS at least once a week. I was hooked.
As time went on, I found myself in a bookstore with my parents and stumbled upon a new drug, if you will: Star Wars fiction, better known as the “Expanded Universe.” My nerd senses were tingling.
My first glimpse into the Expanded Universe was “Shadows of the Empire,” a pretty epic story that takes place between Episode V and VI, detailing the missing pieces that were never really explained in the sixth film. Let me tell you, I was hooked.
From that point on I began to devour Star Wars fiction left and right. From the “Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina” to “The Mandalorian Armor” series, it was like a drug. I was so well versed in Star Wars lore that I could pretty much name most species, vehicle, star ship, you name it, in all the movies.
Then the second trilogy came out.
Due to my disappointment with the new trilogy and my continual love for Star Wars even though I felt George Lucas had ruined it, I began doing perhaps the nerdiest thing of all: Star Wars role playing.
I’m going to assume that most people have heard of Dungeons and Dragons. For those of you who haven’t, basically it is a game where nerds get together, make characters, roll dice, have fun and let their dorkiness run wild. Don’t confuse this with LARPing, however. “Live action role-playing” is an entirely different class of dork, where guys and the occasional girl, dress up and act out a role-playing game. I’ve never actually done it myself, but sadly, I’ve always wanted to try…
So in high school my friends and I began to play Star Wars RPG. Let me tell you, it was awesome. Most of the time we would play in our friend’s garage, drink a lot of soda, eat a lot of chips and roll a lot of dice. And I know what you’re thinking, but I did have a girlfriend back then and she was cute too. Thank you very much.
However, these last few years my interest in Star Wars has waned. I’ve sort of moved on to newer nerd things, like comic books, and I don’t really think I’ll ever read another Star Wars novel. However, to my rather recent discovery, there are some fairly decent Star Wars comics.
Dark Horse, the wonderful comic book publisher, has put out Star Wars comics for the last few years. The biggest two are “Legacy” and “Knights of the Old Republic.” I myself have just read the first story arcs of both of these series, and I must say, they’re really good.
“Legacy” takes place in the future, some 100 plus years after episode VI, with the main character being a descendent of Anakin Skywalker. “Knights of the Old Republic” is the complete opposite, taking place thousands of years prior to Episode I. Each book is full of the force, aliens, lightsabers, blasters and general awesomeness.
So if you’re like me and you miss Star Wars but don’t really know how to get back, then give Dark Horse’s Star Wars comics a try.