BOOK REVIEW: ‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: The Original Topps Trading Card Series, Vol. 2’

The Topps trading card selection of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is more than likely going to hit a few of your interest buttons, if you hold an element of nostalgia. Whether you’re a fan of the new Star Wars films or the old, or whether you’d simply use your pocket money to collectible cards, stickers, or whatever else was the trend in school, this collection of the trading card may remind you of a childhood now gone.

The book is essentially a recreation of all the cards that were hidden inside those packets. Now you don’t have to hand over your lunch money to get cards you may already own, you get to see all the cards for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. This means that you get to see stills from the movie, the facts and quotes that are on the back. Make no mistake, this isn’t some unauthorized biography that will spill the beans and provide a whole new insight behind the scenes, but instead, allows you to capture the physicality of a time gone by.

What’s interesting is the little notes that accompany some of the cards. Gary Gerani, after a brilliant introduction, does provide commentary to some of the cards. This can range from how the team giggled over some of the puns on the cards, to illustrating the business relationship between LucasArts and Topps. These commentaries doesn’t exist on every card, and while that’s a shame, it means that it stops them being watered down, and every time they do appear, they’re offering something interesting rather than a general description.

The best thing about this book is the authenticity. From the feel of the jacket that wraps the hardback, to the pack of trading cards that rests at the last page for the reader. This book will be a hard sell for fans who don’t experience the nostalgia of The Empire Strikes Back, but for those who love it, and want to remember a different time, it’ll delight.