Product Description
A long time ago (thirty years) in a galaxy far, far away (California) . . .
It is a period steeped in cinematic lore. Rebel filmmaker George Lucas, striking from a base in Northern California, won a tremendous box office victory against all odds with Star Wars, his sci-fi spectacular.
During the ensuing craze, MAD’s “Usual Gang of Idiots” managed to steal a few laughs at the movie’s expense, soon discovering that Star Wars was the ultimate pop culture punching bag.
Pursuing each Star Wars film’s release with more mockery, the MAD men spent the next three decades making a farce of the Force and spreading mirth across the galaxy.
Now, in this special edition volume, you’ll chuckle as the Star Wars saga’s greatest moments are mocked by such MAD greats as Dick DeBartolo, Mort Drucker, Don Martin, and Sergio Aragonés; smirk as the striking similarities between the space battles created by Industrial Light & Magic and by the “Usual Gang of Idiots” are revealed; hum along to the unforgettable Star Wars musical, as penned by MAD’s master lyricist, Frank Jacobs; gasp at the startling insights into R2-D2’s love life; and marvel at the real reason why Lucas’s lawyers never sued MAD.
And that’s just the beginning. . . .
So, pick up this book and see why, when Star Wars gets the MAD treatment . . . Sith happens! It is your destiny.
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 Laugh-out-loud funny! ( kurtajohnson )
Over the years, Mad Magazine has pocked fun at the Star Wars movies, and the entire Star Wars phenomenon - from episode 4 to episode 3...er, you know what I mean. This book contains all of their Star Wars bits, including their wonderful parodies of the movies, their goofy one-liners, their hilarious covers, and even their funny fake posters. As an added bonus, this book contains numerous behind-the-scene anecdotes (did you know that George Lucas was a big fan of MAD's Star Wars' parodies?), interesting coincidences and numerous funny pictures.
Overall, I found this to be a great book. I loved seeing the parodies again, not to mention many cartoons and gags I never saw before! It kept me up late reading, trying to keep from busting out loud laughing (and earning the ire of my wife!). My fourteen-year-old son is a huge Star Wars fan, and like me he loved this book. We both give it our highest recommendations. Buy it!
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 More than a collection ( ttblitt )
Mad Magazine has recycled much of its old content for new paydays in collection books over the years. I think that Mad About Star Wars is one of the better collections - not just because it gathers nearly all things Star Wars that have appeared in their pages since the saga began, but because of the wonderful annotations and commentaries which make this book more like a DVD and a cultural history. It's nice to have all the in-jokes pointed out for those of us who were too slow to catch them the first time around. Learning about some of the whackier merchandising spin-offs was worth the price of admission by itself. The only thing that could have improved this book is hard covers.
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Enjoy it, you will! ( pleasebuymesomething )
The cover says it all... this book contains thirty years of "Star Wars"-related parodies from the pages of MAD, and if you're a fan of either the movies or the magazine, you're in for a treat.
One of the best things about this book is that the writers aren't afraid to really go after George Lucas and the stars of the films; they repeatedly take sharp jabs at Lucas's greed, the stiff acting, the merchandising run amok, etc. In contrast, many recent, high-profile "Star Wars" parodies in other media (i.e., "Family Guy," "Robot Chicken") have tended to have fun with the characters and specific scenes while being careful not to insult Lucas personally, probably out of fear of angering him. Ironically, Lucas doesn't seem to mind MAD's material at all; in fact, he's actually sent fan letters to MAD (which are included in this book), and he even wrote the book's introduction!
However, as the editor points out in several of the entertaining trivia pieces that accompany the articles, there was a good deal of repetition in MAD's "Star Wars" pieces over the years, and as a result, "MAD About Star Wars" can wear kind of thin if you try to read too much in one sitting. It's best to enjoy it a bit at a time.
It's great to have so much "Star Wars" humor together in one place, including parodies of all six movies, "Star Wars"-themed Fold-ins, and even a spoof of the "Star Wars" postage stamps. So go ahead and check it out, and may the farce be with you!
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same old trash ( leadstamp )
This a great collection of recycled trash from the original issues. Since I have long lost what little mind I had, I feel that I am reading this for the first time.
I like the annotations (fancy word for the notes along the sides).
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A pleasant surprise of a book. But what happened to the color? ( elpajaro )
I bought this book as a present for a friend, and I was very tempted to keep it for myself. MAD humor might not be for everyone, and the jokes worked most of the time, except when they didn't (as was to be expected). What I hadn't expected at all was to find the book full of historical information, anecdotes, and other real-world stuff that helped place all the original jokes within the larger context of the Star Wars sub-culture and pop culture in general. Trying not to give anything away from the book, let's just say that at times reality surpassed fiction, and even MAD humor!
I do remember reading some of the original jokes more than 20 years ago, and I distinctly recall some of them being in color. I was disappointed to see many of them reproduced in black and white in this book -and in a somewhat smaller format. It's a minor fault, and I would have given this book five stars had I not seen the original material already. Overall, this is a good book, and it's definitely great for Star Wars fans of any level.
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