Thursday, May 25, 2017

Marvel At Star Wars 40th Anniversary

Back on May 25th, 1977, "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away", a movie arrived in theaters that changed the world...."Star Wars".   Soon after, came the comic books adaptations from Marvel Comics (then, later, Dark Horse Comics, and then back to Marvel!).


Let's look back at these comics!


Star Wars - 6 issues

The original Star Wars saga was printed in six comics from to July to December, 1977...


...with the adaptation written by Roy Thomas, with art by Howard Chaykin, Steve Leialoha (issues #2-#5), and Rick Hoberg, Bill Wray and Dave Stevens (issue #6).


The first cover was by Howard Chaykin and Tom Palmer, the second by Rick Hoberg and Tom Palmer, the third by Gil Kane and Tom Palmer, the fourth by Rick Hoberg and Frank Giacoia, the fifth by Rick Hoberg and Dave Cockrum and the sixth by Rick Hoberg, with most of the issues having reprints done at the time (labeled as such in the upper box).


Star Wars - 2 Marvel Special Editions

Marvel reprinted the saga in oversized Marvel Special Editions #1 and #2 (with #1 having a cover by Rick Hoberg and Dave Cockrum, reprinting original issues #1 to #3, and MSE #2 reprinting original issues #4 to #6, with a cover by Howard Chaykin and Tony DeZuniga, with both treasuries coming out in 1977.

Star Wars - Marvel Special Edition

Marvel outdid itself with Marvel Special Edition #3 in 1978, collecting all 6 original Star Wars issues in an oversized treasury, with a cover by Ernie Chan...all "complete in one issue!" with 114 pages!!!!



By this point, Marvel should have felt they really got their money's worth on the work done for the first George Lucas' Star Wars movie.


But wait....


....there's more!


Star Wars - Marvel Movie Showcase

Marvel went back to the original saga, trying to give it new hope with the Marvel Movie Showcases, with #1 of November, 1982 featuring the first 3 issues of the original story (and a cover with characters colored to look more like the movie), and #2, which featured issues #4 to #6 (coming out in December, 1982).

Classic Star Wars: A New Hope

Marvel had given up on the Star Wars license for a time, so Dark Horse Comics took over, giving the world new stories of Luke, Leia, Han and more....as well as its own reprints of Classic Star Wars: A New Hope, as the original movie was now being referred to, with Art Adams giving us the cover to #1 (reprinting #1 to #3) in June, 1994, and Adam Hughes doing cover #2, for July, 1994, with original issues #4 to #6.

Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus 

Marvel got he rights to the Star Wars license back, and couldn't wait for a collection of original Star Wars comics. 

All six of the original  "Star Wars: A New Hope", and all the way up to the original Star Wars issues #44...

...as well as all the covers above are in the Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus #1 of January, 2015, with a color corrected cover...

...finally letting readers see Howard Chaykin's cover as it should have been, with Han, Leia, Luke, Ben and Darth Vader as they should have been, "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....."

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