Porgs. Adorable, right? A newly born baby porg, well, that’s surely got to be twice as adora– OH GOOD GOD, OUR EYES!!! Don’t know what we’re talking about? Well, you clearly didn’t purchase Star Wars: The Last Jedi – The Visual Dictionary when it came out back in December, but not to worry! We’re all being given a second opportunity to see what our eyes will never be able to un-see when Star Wars – The Complete Visual Dictionary New Edition is released. Blink and you’ll miss them in the movie itself, but these godforsaken creatures get a glorious close-up here, showcasing, in this particular case, special effects artist Neal Scanlan’s stunning work. And it’s that kind of high-level access to the galaxy far, far away that makes these titles so unique.
The most comprehensive of DK Books’ releases thus far, this hefty 352-page tome incorporates all previous publications in the series, right up to the most recent for Solo: A Star Wars Story. For those unfamiliar, these books are all about minutiae; catnip to the certain type of fan who needs to learn every last possible detail about their favourite franchise. Organised into Prequel Era, Original Trilogy Era, and Sequel Era chapters, each page contains multiple entries on such things as species, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and, of course, our favourite heroes and villains. Accompanying the stunning full-colour reference photography (these aren’t simply lazy screengrabs from the movies) are specific blurbs and info-bursts on everything from lightsabers (who knew the blade lengths were adjustable!), to Droopy McCool (who knew he smells like vanilla!). Want to know if Qui-Gon Jinn’s Hush-98 comlink is really just a re-sprayed women’s Gillette razor like rumoured? Flick to page 29 and get a close-up look! (Turns out yes, yes it is.) This also highlights just why these types of encyclopaedic volumes aren’t for all fans though, no matter how passionate. They’re at odds with the very thing that has afforded the franchise to prevail for 42 years, trading on the demystification of the worlds George Lucas and his successors so lovingly brought to life. Ultimately, then, how you approach your Star Wars fandom (and every kind is valid) will determine how much you enjoy this book. If you’re somebody who would rather retain the magic and mystery that permeates every frame of a Star Wars movie, you might want to skip this. For the rest of you, we guarantee that you’ll learn something new every time you open a page.
If we had to nitpick, however, the title is a bit of a misnomer. Sure, it incorporates material from the previous ten books in the series, but ‘complete’ is a dangerous word to band around since Disney’s acquisition in 2011. With the great work being done in canon these days, from comic books, through novels, into animated series, it’s a shame then that a Visual Dictionary of this size and ambition not want to tackle them. We’d settle for skipping an entry on Snoke’s slippers (check those bad boys out on page 281) if it meant we got a proper Ahsoka Tano mention, for example. Here’s hoping a genuine ‘complete’ release will follow one day – although we’d likely need our own luggabeast to help us carry it to our coffee table.
But oh boy, those baby porgs. They’d make a Sith Lord lose sleep.
STAR WARS – THE COMPLETE VISUAL DICTIONARY NEW EDITION / AUTHORS: PABLO HIDALGO, DR DAVID WEST REYNOLDS, JAMES LUCENO, RYDER WINDHAM, JASON FRY / PUBLISHER: DK BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
