Book Review: 'A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away'
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| © 1999 Beckett Publications |
The book, which is not a licensed publication vetted by Lucasfilm, consists of four main sections, the third of which is divided into subsections devoted to collectibles from four Star Wars films. The table of contents looks like this:
- How To Collect Star Wars-related Memorabilia
- Overview of Star Wars Collectibles
- Collectibles Review (consists of four subsections, one for each film released between May 1977 and the yet-unreleased The Phantom Menace of May 1999)
- All Things Star Wars: A Comprehensive Checklist
The authors are experts on the topic of Star Wars collectibles: Steve Fritz contributed regularly to Beckett's Sci-Fi Collector Magazine and began collecting Star Wars "stuff" (including promotional freebies) in 1977. Matt Brady is a devoted Star Wars fan who - as his "About the Contributors" description says - "saw Star Wars 15 times within two weeks of its opening (good thing it came out in the summer!) has been following and collecting Star Wars items for more than 20 years."
Here we go again...
What started in 1977 as an innocent line of action figures based on characters from a little-known, over-budgeted film has now come full circle. Star Wars-related collectibles are huge, and it's only going to get bigger over the next few years with the release of more films from the saga.
Look inside for all the information you could ever ask for on Star Wars-themed collectibles, including a comprehensive checklist, pricing, and hundreds of full-color photos. Featuring information on apparel, cards, comics, household items, jewelry, models, school supplies, toiletries, watches, and more. - Publisher's back cover blurb
My Take
I've been collecting Star Wars figures (mostly the 3.75-inch scale Kenner/Hasbro ones, although I have a few of the larger 6-inch scale ones from the newer Black Series lines) since 1978. Most of my friends know this, and one of them, a guy named Raciel De Armas, gave me a copy of A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away as a Christmas gift either in 1999 or 2000, when only the first four Star Wars films had been released.
Because it's not an "officially licensed" publication, A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away is not as elegantly designed as a book published by Del Rey or even DK Books (which is the publisher that would publish a licensed work on the subject due to its distinctive graphics-heavy design ethos). Beckett Publications' Don Brown did a good job with the design, though. A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away looks a lot like a magazine, with lots of big, full-color photos of action figures (large and small), vehicles, Pez dispensers, posters (including the famous Hildenbrandt Brothers' 1977 one that almost everyone - including me - had on their wall in the late 1970s and early '80s), autographed photos, and even a package of Princess Leia Soap.
For serious collectors who are interested in how much their still-in-the-package figures were worth in 1999, A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away has an exhaustive price guide in the fourth section (All Things Star Wars: A Comprehensive Checklist).
If, for instance, you have a Luke Skywalker action figure from Kenner's original 12-figure run (known in A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away as the
"1978 Star Wars 12-backs), it was worth $30 "loose" (out of the package but in otherwise good condition and around $350 in "mint" condition (still in an undamaged original carded package.) Per the authors, the most prized figures in the collecting community in that first batch of Kenner Toys' figures is the Jawa (Plastic Cape) variant. A loose sample with its accessories, including cape and blaster, went for a cool $300. A packaged one? You'd need an astounding amount of money to buy one from a willing seller in 1999: $3,200! (As Luke would say, "You could almost buy your own ship for that!")
A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away is probably not as good as any of the books by Stephen J. Sansweet, owner of the world's largest Star Wars privately-held collection and, incidentally, a former executive at Lucasfilm. Nevertheless, it is informative, easy to read, and full of cool illustrations of collectibles from one of the most popular media franchises in history.
What started in 1977 as an innocent line of action figures based on characters from a little-known, over-budgeted film has now come full circle. Star Wars-related collectibles are huge, and it's only going to get bigger over the next few years with the release of more films from the saga.
Look inside for all the information you could ever ask for on Star Wars-themed collectibles, including a comprehensive checklist, pricing, and hundreds of full-color photos. Featuring information on apparel, cards, comics, household items, jewelry, models, school supplies, toiletries, watches, and more. - Publisher's back cover blurb
My Take
I've been collecting Star Wars figures (mostly the 3.75-inch scale Kenner/Hasbro ones, although I have a few of the larger 6-inch scale ones from the newer Black Series lines) since 1978. Most of my friends know this, and one of them, a guy named Raciel De Armas, gave me a copy of A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away as a Christmas gift either in 1999 or 2000, when only the first four Star Wars films had been released.
Because it's not an "officially licensed" publication, A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away is not as elegantly designed as a book published by Del Rey or even DK Books (which is the publisher that would publish a licensed work on the subject due to its distinctive graphics-heavy design ethos). Beckett Publications' Don Brown did a good job with the design, though. A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away looks a lot like a magazine, with lots of big, full-color photos of action figures (large and small), vehicles, Pez dispensers, posters (including the famous Hildenbrandt Brothers' 1977 one that almost everyone - including me - had on their wall in the late 1970s and early '80s), autographed photos, and even a package of Princess Leia Soap.
For serious collectors who are interested in how much their still-in-the-package figures were worth in 1999, A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away has an exhaustive price guide in the fourth section (All Things Star Wars: A Comprehensive Checklist).
If, for instance, you have a Luke Skywalker action figure from Kenner's original 12-figure run (known in A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away as the
"1978 Star Wars 12-backs), it was worth $30 "loose" (out of the package but in otherwise good condition and around $350 in "mint" condition (still in an undamaged original carded package.) Per the authors, the most prized figures in the collecting community in that first batch of Kenner Toys' figures is the Jawa (Plastic Cape) variant. A loose sample with its accessories, including cape and blaster, went for a cool $300. A packaged one? You'd need an astounding amount of money to buy one from a willing seller in 1999: $3,200! (As Luke would say, "You could almost buy your own ship for that!")
A Movie Fan's Extreme Guide to Collectibles From a Galaxy Far, Far Away is probably not as good as any of the books by Stephen J. Sansweet, owner of the world's largest Star Wars privately-held collection and, incidentally, a former executive at Lucasfilm. Nevertheless, it is informative, easy to read, and full of cool illustrations of collectibles from one of the most popular media franchises in history.
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