While The Empire Strikes Back initially received many negative-to-mixed reactions from fans, there were plenty of positive ones as well from people who recognized a masterpiece as soon as they saw it.
One such reaction comes from Starlog reader David K. Abernathy: ". . . After seeing TESB, I came away with a feeling that finally, after all these years, science fiction has been brought to the screen in all its glory. TESB is so rich, so full of mystery and excitement and, most of all, wonder. Each scene with Darth Vader and the Imperial fleet brought a feeling of awesome galaxy-spanning power, only previously expressed in Asimov's great novels. Experiencing the fantastic Yoda on the screen felt like the reading of the best of Tolkien. To me, TESB represents the first true science-fiction film, with all of its parts complete: the characters, the theme, the special effects and the magic. It has the right to be called the first science-fiction epic"
Another Starlog reader, Arlene Bahrenburg, wrote, "...Wow! That's my first reaction to The Empire Strikes Back. I didn't think they could do it, but they did. They made a movie that was better than the first Star Wars. More action, more dimension to the characters, more and better effects — everything that made Star Wars so great the first time, plus much more. The Force was certainly with George Lucas when he created this fabulous sequel." These sort of reactions, of course, would only become more common after the film's initial theatrical run.
