Based on George Lucas’ original rough draft of Star Wars, this comic reminds us how crazy the man could be. Yes, the story works its way to the scene where Luke Skywalker, who was renamed Obi-Wan Kenobi in later drafts, is riding on an armored emu. So, let’s take the awesome insanity as a given.

The story picks up from the last issue with our heroes trying to get to a spaceport, so they could meet Han Solo and escape. Predictably, they run into trouble and, just as predictably, the trouble is no match for Skywalker and his young charge, Annikin Starkiller. I should mention that Han Solo is not a charming, but dangerous, Han Solo-type character. He is a big, green alien who looks more like Swamp Thing than Indiana Jones.

The story moves along at a good clip. J.W. Rinzler’s script resists the temptation to stop the action and show off the cool, little details in this alternate version of the universe that we all know and love. At the same time, these details are there for you to notice. A lot of the credit for this should also go to the wonderful art and colors by Mike Mayhew and Rain Beredo. The two of them brought this fabulously weird version of Star Wars to life.

The most impressive thing about this comic is that I would be recommending it even if it had nothing to do with Star Wars. The Flash Gordon-inspired sci-fi and interesting characters would be enough to hook me. The fact that it is also tugging at my nostalgia just makes it more irresistible. If you like Star Wars or enjoy sci-fi with some humor and action, then you owe it to yourself to check out one of the most original stories out there.

Five Emu Knights out of Five