The Empire Strikes Back, the first Star Wars sequel, had a special premiere on May 20, 1980 in London....and soon, Marvel had adaptations of it....both in collected form, and as issues of Marvel's regular Star Wars title.Under a cover by Bob Larkin featuring Luke Skywalker on Hoth under the shadow of Darth Vader, Marvel Super Special #16 (Spring, 1980) gave the "official adaptation of the most eagerly awaited space fantasy film of all!"... (Hey, it was pre-internet, and people were still excited about Star Wars....),
...as adapted by writer Archie Goodwin and artists Al Williamson, Carlos Garzon and (for the AT-ATs) Rick Veitch.
The story ran for six issues of the Star Wars comic book, taking over the run in 1980....and below, are the covers by Al Williamson and Carlos Garzon.
Star Wars #39 and #40 (September and October, 1980)
Star Wars #41 and #42 (November and December, 1980)
Star Wars #43 and #44 (January and February, 1981)
Having the comics debut of Lando Calrissian, Lobot, Yoda, Boba Fett and the rest of the bounty hunters, as well as continuing adventures of Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2 and the Skywalker family, and has been recently collected in the 3rd volume of
Star Wars Legends The Original Marvel Years. If you are still interested in Star Wars, here's coverage of the original adaptation of the first movie as covered for the 40th Anniversary of that movie, as well as a special Marvel issue, and may the Force be with you!
Thanks for sharing those covers! I've always dug Marvel's interpretations of the Star Wars franchise in comic book form. This little write up makes me want to track down the "Dark Empire" series on eBay.
ReplyDeleteHey there, Ive got this Empire Strikes Back comic adaptation..
ReplyDeleteIm curious as to how much its worth.... not that I'd be selling as its an awesome bit of Star Wars memorabilia. Can you shed some light?