Brrrrr, briiiinnnngggggg, errrrrrr, dak, dak, dak, errrrrr, beeeeeppppppp, taaakkkkaaaaa, taaaaakkkaaaa, buzzzzzzzz, bbbbrrrrrrrrr…. Apart from annoying my editor (Hi Steve!), these sounds that I have tried to replicate will, I hope, remind many of us of the joyous days of dial up internet connection. Clicking on the connect button to be greeted by a minute or so of strange sounds emitting from our modems that sounded more like communication with an alien race than that of the world wide web. And after such an ordeal connecting, to then wait for pages to load up slowly over the course of another minute. And God help you if you wanted to watch a video! Hours, literal hours, waiting for such things to download. And that’s if you were lucky to not have someone call your house telephone because if they did, it would cut your connection to the internet, cancel the download and you’d have to start the download from the start. Only twenty years ago and for some, it might sound like we were living in the dark ages of technology.
I remember there were two occasions where I stayed up most of the night waiting, hoping and yes, praying, that my download would work, and I could watch a video. The first was for the Episode I trailer back in 1999. Never had a two-minute trailer contained so much anticipation. The second was for a video I knew little about but had been talked about on the few message boards that were around back then. It was for a video called Troops. All I really knew was that it was fan made film…. fan made? I had my doubts, I mean this was Star Wars, how do you do fan made and make it good? I couldn’t ignore all the talk I was hearing and so I decided to try and take the plunge and download the video. Back then, it was an undertaking. I told my friends to not ring me that night, that if they wanted me, they use the doorbell. And then there was one other person, the loose cannon in my life….my Gran. I rang her, spoke to her and told her in no uncertain terms, do not ring the house. I made it very clear, very clear, that the house phone was not to be contacted. I was very clear! And so, the download began. It was going so well, download speeds, which I won’t even embarrass a modern age technology user with, were high for the time. Then, an hour in, my Gran (bless her) rings to ask what I had asked her not to do… I had been very clear. With one false start I tried again and this time it was a success. By the following morning I had Troops downloaded onto my machine.
My father and brother, who both had had to go without the computer all night, wanted to know what I had downloaded. Together, we sat around our Packard Bell computer and I clicked play on the video. I can’t remember what I had expected but it wasn’t what I watched. As a Star Wars family, we laughed, we laughed a lot. We all knew what was happening, when it was set, the little jokes just for fans. The spirit of it was so clear to see and yet the quality of the whole thing was astounding, this is what fans, fans were doing?! We couldn’t believe it. As soon as we finished watching, we looked at each other and played it again, laughing even more as we spotted things we had missed the first time around. I feel ashamed to say now, but a jawa being shot brought so much joy to us all. The attitude of the troopers in typical ‘cop’ style. The link with A New Hope. This was a film made with so much love and respect, it still makes me laugh so much even now.
So, when I found out that the genius behind Troops, Kevin Rubio, had created a new comic I couldn’t have been happier. This was at a time before Family Guy and Robot Chicken specials, a time before Star Wars had a lot of comedy associated with it. This was the first time Star Wars had some jokes thrown at itself. Rubio couldn’t have been a better choice, this wasn’t a project that wanted to laugh at Star Wars, but to laugh with it. Just like Troops, it was made with love and respect.
Having written so many reviews for Lockdown Legends, it seems only right that we go out on a humorous, light-hearted note to finish this period of 2020. So, sit back and enjoy one of the most fun comics to have been created in the Star Wars universe. Afterwards? Well if you haven’t watched the fan film Troops yet, I suggest you do that straight after and see just how incredible fans can be at creating their own Star Wars, it’ll make you rethink fan work….
Published: October 3, 2001 & December 5, 2001
Rating: Rated T
Writer: Kevin Rubio
Penciler: Lucas Marangon
Inker: Howard M. Shum
Colourist: Michelle Madsen
Letterer: Steve Dutro
Editor: Dave Land
Cover Artist: Lucas Marangon
The synopsis;
Tag Greenly and Bink Otauna are Rebel officers fighting against Emperor Palpatine and his army — until one fateful day, aboard a freighter carrying Princess Leia and the stolen plans for the Death Star, their lives change forever. During an attack on the freighter, Tag and Bink choose life over death, and “borrow” the armor off a pair of deceased stormtroopers to avoid being killed. Their new disguises get them off the freighter alive and send them off on an adventure neither of them could have predicted!
The review;
Instead of reviewing a single issue, this review encompasses both issues that make up Tag and Bink Are Dead. It seems right to do as the two issues together cover the entire Original Trilogy. As I’ve previously mentioned, this is very much one of the first things to really have fun with Star Wars. We are so use to the specials on television, to the comics that take a light heart look at the franchise, but in 2001, this was very much unknown. As soon as you start reading this story, it’s obvious that this is something that is a little different, that it is something out of the norm for things concerning Star Wars. The word that describes these two issues is fun. The comics never take themselves seriously and rightly so. Yet unlike a lot of things at this time that poked fun at Star Wars, and at geeks and nerds, it is very clear that this is written by a fan for fans, not an outsider. The jokes are ones that, as fans, we can tell each other, that we have discussed a million times. Things that don’t seem to fit quite right, but we love it all the same. Things such as Chewbacca not getting his medal, to the lack of signage in the Death Star. It’s all things we have wondered about, and Rubio pokes fun at these throughout both parts.
The first issue follows the events of A New Hope, while the second makes up the rest of the trilogy. We get to see how Tag and Bink are intertwined with the events that we all know and love. It’s the sort of story that nowadays we are used to, seeing something from a different point of view, fitting people into events and seeing how they in fact caused some of them. By doing this, the reader knows the general idea of what is happening, allowing Rubio to focus on the humour and his characters, rather than trying to tell the actual story of the main characters. By doing this, Rubio is also able to bring in the main characters into his story, to allow some of them to grow. The most obvious one is Lando, who in the second issue really shows the reputation that he has with the ladies.
Of course, the main focus is always on the two main characters, Tag and Bink. We don’t really know much about them, even by the end of the comics, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s their relationship to one another and the antics that they get up to that is really our concern. The two stick together, even though they both seem to get exasperated with each other time and time again. While reading, I couldn’t help but compare them to Beebop and Rocksteady from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The relationship is strikingly similar, both not too much in the brains department and sowing chaos wherever they go. But as a story that doesn’t take itself seriously, this leads to laugh out moments rather than groans of disappointment. By the end of the issues, readers will possibly be surprised of the fondness they have for these characters and it’s a testament to Rubio that these characters draw you in and are some firm fan favourites.
The other characters that really struck me were the stormtroopers themselves in the first issue. It was comical to read how they believe that there is some give and take with the Empire, that they themselves need to have some responsibilities in society. It’s a debate that has always been around, the rights of an individual and the responsibilities that said individual has in the wider community. Yet, with the world as it is, it seems to be even more relevant now. But what really got me, was the voice of these troopers, that the words, the ideas, were very much that of the troopers we meet in Troops. Being such a fan of this film, it was great to see Rubio making those links, that they all tie into one another.
The artwork by Marangon is superb and fits these comics beautifully. I usually like my comics quite dark, yet the art in these is bright and vibrant. As these comics are lighthearted fun, the artwork is reflecting the mood of the story. It is very stylised but this again works for the type of story that is being told. The characters, particularly those we know from the films, look very unique, even now that there is a wealth of artists who now put their take on Star Wars. The action shots flow perfectly, which they need to, as half of comedy is the timing and without Marangon’s timing in panels, Rubio’s jokes wouldn’t be as effective.
Fanboys, Family Guy, Robot Chicken, we all know the parodies of Star Wars. We know expect more lighthearted Star Wars with the likes of Star Wars Adventures, yet before all of these was Tag and Bink. There always seemed to be a fear of Star Wars been seen as a joke, that fans would be offended. Everywhere you looked, there were comics, books, games, all taking the franchise very seriously. In a way I can understand this. Before being a geek was cool (thanks Big Bang Theory), life could be grueling for those of us who loved the Wars. Yet that didn’t mean that we didn’t want to have a laugh with our franchise. Lucasfilm seemed terrified that allowing someone to do what Rubio did would make fans think they were laughing at us, rather than with us. Thankfully Rubio, with Troops, was able to show that fans loved having a laugh, and it just needed someone with a love of the franchise to get it right. Tag and Bink shows just how much fun Star Wars can be. When there’s no weight of canon or expectations, that you can simply sit back and have a great time. As we leave Lockdown Legends behind and return to a normal release schedule, I would whole heartedly suggest you take one last look back at these comics and have a good laugh. If we have ever needed to laugh, now is the time, and Rubio, a fan like the rest of us, is one of the best to give us much needed humour in a galaxy far, far away….
Availability;
Star Wars: Tag and Bink Are Dead was a two-part series originally released by Dark Horse in 2001. It is currently available in digital format via the Marvel App, comiXology or by subscribing to Marvel Unlimited. A physical copy can be found in one of the many trade paperback releases from Marvel. Please check with Amazon UK and US or your local comic bookstore for availability.
