Star Wars: The Original Topps Trading Card Series, Volume 1

Abrams Books has done it again with another lovely collection celebrating the history of "Star Wars." While their past gorgeous coffee table books tended to focus on the various artistic aspects of the film series (Costumes, Concept Art, Fan Art, etc.) their latest narrows in on one of the most fun things about being a "Star Wars" fan in 1977: Collectible Trading Cards.

In the chunky, small-sized volume "Star Wars -- The Original Topps Trading Card Series: Volume One" fans get a look at every single trading card issued in relation to the first film -- then simply called "Star Wars." ("A New Hope" was added a few years later when Lucas realized he might be able to tell his entire vision.) The volume is introduced by Gary Gerani who was responsible for hundreds of trading card sets that he created, wrote, and edited since 1972; he is also the screenwriter for the Stan Winston-directed horror film "Pumpkinhead." He waxes on (no pun intended), on how the Topps Company was struggling with trading card sets, most notably a failed "Star Trek" and "King Kong ('77)" line. But with the phenomenal success of the film "Star Wars" the trading card biz took off again and it was time to get creative.

Gerani offers a lot of trivia in his opening (the starry background for the stickers including in packages were taken from the left over "Star Trek" designs), but it is on each individual page that Gerani adds even more insight. Every trading card has notes and trivia written underneath whether it's about the card itself, the movie's characters, or the actors portraying them. Eventually, we get to see the flip side of the cards as well which consisted of Movie Facts, Story Summaries, or Actor Profiles. We even get to see the full "puzzles" that some of the backsides of the cards created.

It's fascinating to see what actually went into making these five collections and a welcome trip down memory lane for those of us who collected them. This was a time when you couldn't simply own the movie a few months after it was released in theatres. Sometimes you had to wait years to ever see it again, whether in a theatrical re-release or on network television. (Cable wasn't even that common yet.) So, trading cards were the only way to repeat the movie and immerse yourself in the universe all over again. It was also a way to socialize with your friends and own a little bit of the cultural touchstone that amazed the world.

"Star Wars -- The Original Topps Trading Card Series: Volume One"
$24.99
www.abramsbooks.com