Variant Covers #3
The Book of Boba Fett rules
This week on Variant Covers I’m digging into “The Book of Boba Fett.” I’ve been looking forward to this show since the second season finale of “The Mandalorian.” It’s looking to be a pretty wild ride.
The first two episodes of The Book of Boba Fett have premiered on Disney+. The series was written by Jon Favreau. The first episode was directed by Robert Rodriguez, who sets the gritty tone for the series using his trademark visual style and action sequences. The show has a very 70’s exploitation/western vibe going on. The series also borrows ingredients from some of cinema’s most epic films.
I have to admit, I munched on some edibles before watching the first episode of this series. I’ll just say this, I was INTO IT!! I already knew going into this episode that this was gonna be a mini-Robert Rodriguez Star Wars film written by the man who brought Iron Man and the MCU to cinematic life. If you would have told my twenty-something-community-college-film-major ass that the guy whose films I was studying between classes, with booze and bros, to learn how to make badass independent genre films with no budget, as well as getting some pretty awesome cooking recipes, was going to be bringing Boba Fett back from the belly of the great Sarlacc, I would have asked if you had any more shrooms and coke to share.
The first episode of The Book of Boba Fett grabs you by the back of your shirt and says, “let’s go mother fucker! You’ve been asking for this shit for years! We’re gonna slather you in this and give you some good love’n.” We get flashbacks to Kamino, to Geonosis, to the escape from the Sarlacc pit! Sure, we’re kinda shorted on the Sarlacc pit escape, but I don’t care! We get to see Boba being digested, along with a stormtrooper! Boba does some quick buddy-breathing with the dead trooper (I hope he was dead!) and uses his flamethrower to burn to a cutaway. Boom, he’s out of the pit. Then quickly mugged by some Jawas who steal his armor, but it’s ok because some friendly Sandpeople find him, take him captive, and drag him through the desert on foot through a sand storm (uphill, both ways)! Fun!
The episode cuts back and forth between Boba Fett as he lays claim to the remanents of Jaba the Hutt’s criminal operation and his time with the Sandpeople. As a film geek, I really dig the transition they used to cut between the two time periods. The image gets grainy and oddly saturated, reminiscent of a Sergio Leone film.
This show wears its influences proudly. There have been a lot of references to the “Lawrance of Arabia” and “Dances with Wolves” nods in these first two episodes. We have to also acknowledge the MASSIVE homage to Clint Eastwood’s The Man With No Name character from the films, “A Fist Full of Dollars,” “For a Few Dollars More,” and “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.” Boba Fett’s design, specifically the poncho, was famously inspired by Eastwood’s character in those films.
In the show’s “present-day” mafia sequences, the story seems to take a bit of influence from the Godfather. Boba Fett is attempting to try something different than the other crime families. Like Vito Corleone, Boba believes in ruling with respect instead of fear.
I guess it’s not a show for everyone. A review my homie forwarded me was vicious! This writer fucking HATED the show. They also called Robert Rodriguez a 90’s reject (or some bullshit like that). I knew the writer was obviously a total douche bag who wouldn’t know gnarly cinema if it sucked out its brains with a straw. It’s all good, yo. You don’t gotta like the Fett, but you gotta respect the Fett. The same goes with my bro Robbie. Don’t diss the Troublemaker.
Ok, I’m fucking with you all. If you liked it like I did, cool! If you didn’t like it, that’s cool too! We don’t gotta agree on everything all the time. Differences of opinion are great when they can be used as guides for discussion and an embrace of mutual understanding.
I should probably be watching Star Trek for that kind of thinking. Sorry, I’ve got a buzz now.
So anyhoo, I’m looking forward to having some drinks and smokes, seeing what Favreau has in store for us in next week’s episode, and going for another wild ride through the Star Wars underworld!
In other news, we finally got some new submissions sent in. I’ll be going over those this week, hopefully, we might have some new stories, written by someone other than me, up next week. Though, I’ve got some ideas for a few flash fiction stories I might work on this week. As always, we’re open for submissions. Superman and Lois return this week, as does DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, does anyone want to share any thoughts about those shows? Submit a story or drop us a line. See ya next week!
