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Mad About Star Wars: Thirty Years Of Classic Parodies by Jonathan Bresman
01/03/2008 . Source: Tomas L. Martin 
Pub: Del Rey/Ballantine Books/Lucas Books. 152 page softcover. Price: $21.95 (US - cheap), $27.95 (CAN). ISBN: 978-0-345-50164-6. Buy Mad About Star Wars in the USA - or Buy Mad About Star Wars in the UK  check out website: www.delreybooks.com
It's a meeting of two colossi of modern culture. On one side the mammoth SF sextet that is George Lucas' 'Star Wars', on the other the 56 year-old satirical comic 'Mad Magazine'. In this 150 page book, editor Jonathan Bresman collects together many of the strips the magazine has produced about the films over the years.
Spanning back to the original release of the classic 'A New Hope' in 1977 to the more middle of the road third prequel 'Revenge Of The Sith' a few years ago, each page includes a number of strips and panels poking fun at the SF series.
Some of the highlights include satirical renditions of the stories of all six episodes, as well as a number of great political analogies between 'Star Wars' and the real world. 'Mad's slapstick, irreverent style is inconsistent but when it gets it right, the effects can be hilarious.
The artwork is also varied, with many artists displayed here although chaotic caricature is the norm. Some of the characters are depicted with hilariously exaggerated likenesses but occasionally it gets a little over the top.
I enjoyed this collection up to a point. Most of the time the humour is more clever than it is actually funny. It didn't provide me with a lot of genuine laughs, only wry smiles. Some of the jokes fell flat whilst others were bitingly witty.
If you're a fan of 'Mad Magazine' or British satire paper 'Private Eye' I recommend you take a look. Most 'Star Wars' fans needn't pick this up unless they are absolute completists, however. I probably wouldn't re-read much of this volume.
Tomas L. Martin
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