Reprinted from three six-issue
comic-book miniseries (1995, 1998, and 1999) based on the prose
novels by Timothy Zahn (1991-1993), adapted by scripter Mike Baron
and various artists
I was
there, nigh on two and a half decades past, when Star Wars
seemed a fad of the past after a dearth of several years in the late
1980s after the completion of the “trilogy” with the appearance
of Return of the Jedi
in 1983. Little if any merchandising was being published when
suddenly there appeared in 1991 a new novel, Heir to the
Empire. I was there … but I
didn't actually pick it up until it appeared in paperback the next
summer, and read it during that bit of a lull in my graduate studies
between finishing up my M.A. thesis and beginning my doctoral
studies. I thoroughly enjoyed it, of course, picked up the
paperbacks of the sequels – Dark Force Rising
and The Last Command –
as they appeared in paperback the next two summers. Together, they
told one long, fast paced, intricate story that basically created
what came to be known as the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
Characters, worlds, concepts, a history
spanning millennia would be elaborated by many other creators in both
prose and comics – some even being “canonized” by incorporation
into the revived film series, most notably the Imperial Capital of
Coruscant, which was first named and described in Heir to
the Empire.
