This is huge in every way.
The second volume in the popular “fanthology” Star Wars: Tales from the Far, Far Away is available and it’s 100% free! That’s right — over one hundred pages of professionally made comics created “by the fans for the fans”. This is the truest form of fan fiction, complete with a short prose story at the end, but created by expert writers and artists that elevate the overall quality and then some. This is Volume Two, so be sure to check out our review for Volume One too, which also contains a free link.
Star Wars is the kind of thing that makes fans want to contribute to the stories they love so much. Star Wars is also perfect for building on since it’s always been told in a manner that outright suggests there’s more to the story then we’ve been told so far. So a bunch of professional comics makers got together to produce some rock solid comics with their fellow fans in mind. On the one hand these folks are having a blast, it’s obvious, but on the other hand, they’re taking this serious and you can tell it’s a sincere work of love and not just for novelty’s sake. Honestly, Star Wars: Tales from the Far, Far Away rivals the mainstream “official” comics big time.
Included within this second anthology are eight stories total, each with it’s own creative team. There are over twenty artists, colorists, and letterers, all pros, working together to bring this stuff to life. That’s a lot of talent in one book and the writing all comes down to just two writers Tim Daniels and Michael Moreci, both of which do some seriously heavy lifting. Just think of the responsibility in staying true to the source material while also having fun with the playground that the Star Wars universe is. No matter the challenges, the results are truly magnificent. This collection’s offering packs a lot into its pages, and each story contributes to the overall value.
You can’t have this much content without taking responsibility and ownership for some of the new threads the writers have set in motion. Fortunately, that’s exactly what they’ve done. Here you get the best of both worlds: existing universe, and all new stories that are free of any constraints imposed by a big publisher, but not without a sense of uniformity that makes the entire project worth reading. More than just being fun or interesting, this is a brand of Star Wars unique to the creators behind the anthology. No, they don’t stray so far from the things we appreciate most about Star Wars as to alienate fans and no, they don’t abandon any of the classic elements. The branding is in their ability to meld new stories into current ones, spanning generations and skipping around without relying on gimmicks, inside jokes or anecdotes. These are well written fully realized tales that might as well belong in this universe already, and make this anthology work as a complete package. Maybe you’ve read the Dark Horse stuff, and maybe you’re reading the Marvel stuff, but Tales from the Far, Far Away is something else. Best part is, the stuff is free and that’s as much proof as anything, that the intent here is to give back, both to the franchise and to the fans. When they say this fanthology is a passion project they genuinely mean it.
Eclectic artistic styles, with a diverse group of artists and colorists working together on a subject they each appreciate equally, is a rare thing to find. See, this comic isn’t a traditional work for hire, and one could easily assume that it’s a great honor to get the chance to contribute to such a project. It’s Star Wars and it’s comics, and it’s as much about being a fan as it is about having something to be a fan of. For a world so far, far away, this one really hits home. What are you waiting for? Click the link below and see what’s in store!
https://app.box.com/s/9couy2g05hir5ij5lazl7cmgp12aiuui
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