May Staff Picks!

Elena's Pick

Lucas Wars by Laurent Hopman and Renaud Roche

Once upon a time, I dressed as Princess Leia for Halloween, with my younger siblings in tow as Luke Skywalker and Master Yoda. Fast forward almost twenty years, and I live in an apartment decked out wall-to-wall with Star Wars Legos and other memorabilia. While I’ve never considered myself a Star Wars superfan, the franchise has followed me throughout my life, whether that be through my dad’s childhood nostalgia or my current partner’s ability to name its spacecraft based on sound alone. With the galactic holiday of May the Fourth Be With You on the horizon, I decided it was about time I did my own deep dive into the tumultuous production of the now-legendary original Star Wars film. Thankfully, Laurent Hopman and Renaud Roche’s Lucas Wars was on my shelf, ready to be the perfect tour guide.

Despite what its title may have you believe, this book is not really about George Lucas. Of course he is its central throughline, being the visionary behind Star Wars, but ultimately this is a story of creative passion. It’s an ode to people who love what they do, and who will put aside all logic and reason to see their passion through to the end. The film’s production was a masterclass in Murphy’s law, with its team battling their way through impossible deadlines, financial disaster, and even weather episodes that can only be described as punishment from God. Looking upon this chaos with the hindsight of how big Star Wars has become, the book is raucously funny. The dry humor of Lucas’s mellow, stoic demeanor clashing with the larger-than-life project and personalities he took on never gets old, and I frequently found myself giggling out loud. That’s not to take away from the creative soul of the book, however; much like the film itself, Hopman’s writing is the perfect blend of camp and heart. Plus, there’s quite a few in-jokes to satisfy superfans without alienating the uninitiated.

I also want to give a major shoutout to Roche’s illustrations- his gestural, minimalistic linework is what truly sells this story! It’s more restrained than classic caricature, but captures a similar loose expressiveness. This is a book with a lot of people and a LOT going on, so this simplified, yet dynamic visual language keeps readers from getting bogged down by the details. Oftentimes, art is more about deciding what to leave out rather than what to include, and both Hopman and Roche nailed it when it came to showing only what’s necessary. For a franchise that can often seem dauntingly endless, this is a relatively quick, complete read that feels accessible to both Star Wars superfans and those who still call him “Dark” Vader.