Gary Collinson looks at Fanhome’s Star Wars Encyclopedia…
2021 has seen the emergence of a fresh new face on the collectibles scene in the UK, with Fanhome introducing a range of officially licensed action figurines, busts and model kits to fans from iconic brands such as Marvel, Fast & Furious, Street Fighter, Naruto, Knight Rider, and of course, the granddaddy of pop culture collectibles, Star Wars.
Regular readers to Flickering Myth may recall that we’ve already looked at two of Fanhome’s Star Wars offerings in the Star Wars Bust Collection and Star Wars Build Your Own R2-D2 kit, and now we have the launch of a third with the Star Wars Encyclopedia, which covers the entire chronology of the most famous saga in sci-fi history as well as exploring in depth the heroes, villains, creatures, droids, locations, ships, weapons and battles that define the Star Wars galaxy.
Star Wars Encyclopedia is billed as “the most comprehensive Star Wars work ever published”, and after reading through the first six volumes, I have to say that may very well be the case. Naturally, it covers the entire Skywalker Saga from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace through to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, along with the Anth0logy movies Rogue One and Solo, the TV series The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, and even the wider Disney Canon books and comics. And it does so to such a level of detail that “comprehensive” is certainly not hyperbole.
The Star Wars Encyclopedia is broken down into volumes of fully illustrated, high quality hardback books, each about the size of your standard annual here in the UK. It works on a subscription basis with four new volumes delivered direct to your door each month, and the books are spread across six different themes – ‘Characters & Creatures’, ‘Weapons & Technology’, ‘Galactic Atlas’, ‘Starships & Vehicles’, ‘History & Events’, and ‘Droids’ – ensuring plenty of variety in each package as you go about mastering your knowledge of the galaxy far, far away.
The first shipment, available with a 71% discount, consists two books: Darth Vader from ‘Characters & Creatures’ and The Millennium Falcon from ‘Starships & Vehicles’. In the case of the former, the bulk of the book is an in-depth character study of the Dark Lord of the Sith, from his birth in Chancellor Palpatine’s office in Revenge of the Sith through to his redemption and death upon the Second Death Star in Return of the Jedi. Vader’s story will of course be familiar to fans of the Saga, but it’s presented as well-written and engaging prose, punctuated with shorter technical breakdowns on his suit, breathing apparatus and so on. The Millennium Falcon book on the other hand flips this on its head and focusses primarily on exploring the technical aspects, capabilities, modifications and features of the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, whilst also touching upon the key roles the iconic ship has played throughout the saga.
The second selection of books introduce us to the ‘Galactic Atlas’ with Naboo, covering every inch of the home world of Padme Amidala, Sheev Palpatine and Jar Jar Binks from the majestic capital of Theed to the wonderous and ancient underwater city of Otoh Gunga. Continuing the Characters & Creatures theme we also have The Story of Rey, as well as everyone’s favourite astromech R2-D2, who – as he should do – launches the ‘Droids’ section of the Encyclopedia, before what I have to say is my favourite book so far, Imperial Troops, from ‘Characters & Creatures’. This differs from the Vader and Rey books as it’s not so much a narrative, but rather an overview of virtually every type of Imperial Trooper imaginable: Stormtroopers, Snowtroopers, Scout Troopers, Death Troopers, Death Star Troopers, Jet Troopers, Range Troopers… they’re all here, and there are some excellent images showing the different armour and equipment which are sure to please fans of the Empire’s finest troops.
In my 40 years of fandom, I devoured everything Star Wars through to the end of the Prequel Trilogy (and a fair amount since, although only dipping in and out with the main movies and TV shows since the Disney takeover), but still found plenty of new material and previously unseen images and illustrations within the pages of the Star Wars Encyclopedia. The Darth Vader book for example does an excellent job in filling in some of the gaps in canon for someone like me who simply hasn’t had the time to keep on top of all the various prose novels and Marvel comic book series following Vader between trilogies. That may not be the case so much for super hardcore fans who’ve pored over every canon release for continuity errors and spent many a late night trawling Wookiepedia and the Star Wars Databank; however, even those fans may want to consider taking a look at the first couple of books available with an introductory price offer, as there is much to enjoy (the Vader book will set you back just £0.99!).
For more information on the Star Wars Encyclopedia, you can access the digital version of the Series Guide here, but if you’re already keen to start mastering your knowledge of the Force and all things Star Wars, you can begin your journey by heading over to the Fanhome website with the code ‘SW’ to sign up now. In addition to the books, subscribers will also receive a number of free gifts including concept art prints from legendary illustrator Ralph McQuarrie, a Sith Trooper mug, and two Stormtrooper bookends to protect your collection – and, if you act fast, there’s also an Early Bird offer running through to the end of November where you can also get your hands on an exclusive Kylo Ren T-shirt.
The Star Wars Encyclopedias were provided by Fanhome for review purposes.
Gary Collinson
