Marvel's Star Wars

[ChrisIII]

In 1977, Marvel started publishing an adaptation of Star Wars, which sold extremely well and which some say saved the company. An ongoing series followed, which also adapted ESB and ROTJ(Although ROTJ was in a seperate limited series) as well as adaptations of the Droids and Ewoks cartoons under the STAR label. The series ran for 107 issues before the license shifted to Dark Horse in the 90's.


The Marvel series has interestingly, been rather underrated by many modern Star Wars fans, but elements of it have worked their way into the present version of the EU-the vilainess Lumiya, for instance, is a major player in the latest series of books.


The comics sort of have a fun, carefree style and more flexibility with their stories, which a lot of present Expanded Universe stuff-which takes itself either too seriously or is too focused on continuity-doesn't. The best stories are perhaps by Archie Goodwin (Who also wrote an excellent Star Wars newspaper strip with Al Williamson) although David Micheline and Jo Duffy also had decent runs on the title. Of course, there were some stinkers, but the series-although dated-holds up well.


Any thoughts on this series?

[Kid Monster]

The more humorless and anal Star Wars fans regard them as an embarassment, but the early issues are fun, cool comics with great art and that certain hard-to-define pop "Zap!" that Marvel comics had in the 70s. Far more in the spirit of classic "Space Opera" than the later EU stuff.

The very weird Marvel UK Empire Strikes Back comics by Alan Moore (reprinted in Dark Horse's Star Wars: Devilworlds) are also worth reading... they have a strong, melancholy 2000 AD feel to them that is totally at odds with every other take on the Star Wars Universe.

[The Confessor]

I love the Marvel Star Wars series!! Absolutely love it! I'm the proud owner of the entire run plus annuals, the four ROTJ comics and the Devilworlds reprinting of 'Marvel UK' only material.

I really can't understand why some Star Wars fans have such a problem with the Marvel series, at it's best it was far superior to anything Dark Horse have put out. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the Dark Horse SW comics too but the Marvel series was awesome at times and far more in the spirit of the original SW films than some of the more humourless offerings Dark Horse have put out are. Pretty much anything from issue #39 (the first part of the Empire Strikes Back adaptation) through to #90 (post Return Of The Jedi) easily stands up to the Dark Horse comics I reckon.

And that's not to say that the first 38 issues sucked either. Far from it! The adaptation of the first Star Wars movie (issues #1 - #6) is just classic. Actually, I'm of the opinion that Marvel's adaptations are far better than Dark Horse's adaptations of the prequel trilogy. For a start, they flow a lot smoother and have much better pacing. The Dark Horse movie adaptations, whilst being good, are somewhat disjointed and clunky I feel. This is partly down to the fact that Marvel took six issues to adapt a Star Wars movie (apart from ROTJ which was shorter) whereas Dark Horse adapt their movies in four issues. I think you really need six issues to adequately adapt a movie into comic book form, especially when it’s on the grand scale of a Star Wars movie.

But this isn't the only reason that the Marvel film adaptations are better, a lot of it simply comes down to the writer. I mean, Marvel’s Return Of The Jedi adaptation was only a four-parter but it doesn't feel rushed at all. The pacing is just perfect and you don't loose anything from the movie on the comic page. I find that Dark Horse's prequel adaptations often have small scenes or bits of dialogue missing...nothing essential of course but it does make for a more disjointed read IMO.

Anyway, I'm glad to say that in recent years the Marvel run has been getting a bit more respect thrown it's way...albeit belatedly. It's gratifying to see characters like Lumiya showing up in recent Star Wars Expanded Universe material. It feels kinda like people are starting come around to the old Marvel series, largely due to Dark Horse's 'A Long Time Ago' TPB reprints I suspect.

I really love my Marvel Star Wars comics. I think if I've got time tomorrow, I might post a few examples here of some of the fine artwork that this series contained.

May The Force Be With You. ;)

[Chris CCL]

The main problem with the Marvel series is its continuity. Hardcore SW fans will argue that many aspects of the series is flawed and shouldn’t be apart of the SW Universe whatsoever.
That aside let’s have some fun.

With help from the Force.net, I’ve put together SW continuity that adds in the Marvel series with the current DH series as well as other comics

If you want the extensive full list, PM my and I’ll be glad to send it to you.


++++

Rebellion Era: 0 to 5 after Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope-Marvel Comics 1977 1-6
Star Wars: Droids (Marvel/Star Comics) 6- 8 (Star Wars from Droid POV)
Star Wars: Empire (Darklighter) 15 – Biggs blows up at Death Star
Star Wars: Empire (Sacrifice {Boba Fett}) 7 – minutes after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Empire (The Savage Heart {Darth Vader}) 14 – minutes after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Empire (To the Last Man) 16-18 – shortly after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: 0 (mar/dh) (two different covers)
Marvel 7-15, 24, 16-23, 25-34
Star Wars: The Constancia Affair (Dark Horse/KB Toy giveaway)
Star Wars: Classic, vol. 4 - The Early Adventures
*Star Wars: Vader’s Quest 1-4 and Marvel 35
Marvel 36-37
Star Wars: Classic, vol. 1-In Deadly Pursuit
Star Wars: Classic, vol. 2-The Rebel Storm
Star Wars: Shadow Stalker
Star Wars: Classic, vol. 3-Escape to Hoth (#15-17)
Star Wars: Empire (Target: Vader) 19 – 6 months after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Empire (A Little Piece of Home) 20-21– 6 months after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Empire (Alone Together) 22 – 6 months after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Empire (The Bravery of Being Alone) 23 – 6 months after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Empire (Idiot’s Array) 24-25 – 6 months after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Empire (“General” Skywalker) 26-27 – 7 months after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Empire (Wreckage) 28 – 7 months after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Empire (In The Shadows of Their Fathers) 29-30, 32-34 – 8 months SW:ANH
Star Wars: Empire (The Price of Power) 31 – 8 months SW:ANH
Star Wars: Empire (Model Officer) 35 – 8 months after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Empire (The Wrong Side of the War) 36-40 – 8 months after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Boba Fett: Overkill – 9 months after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Rebellion – (My Brother, My Enemy) 0, 1-5 – 9 months after SW4: ANH
Star Wars: Rebellion – 6-8– 9 months after SW4: ANH

1 year later…
Marvel 50 (chapter 2), 70, Annual 1
Star Wars: Classic-Devilworlds 1-2
Star Wars: Jabba the Hutt: The Art of the Deal 1-4
Star Wars: River of Chaos 1-4
Marvel 38
Star Wars: Splinter of the Minds’ Eye 1-4
Star Wars: A Valentine Story
Star Wars: Classic, vol. 3-Escape to Hoth (#17-20)

2 years later…
Star Wars: Tales from Mos Eisley

3 years later…
Star Wars: Episode V-The Empire Strikes Back-Marvel Comics 39-45
Marvel 78, 46-49, 86, 50 (chapters 1 and 3), 51-52, Annual 2, 53-57, 64, 83, Annual 3, 58-63, 65-66
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire 1-6
Marvel 67-77, 79-80
Star Wars: The Bounty Hunters-Scoundrel’s Wages

4 years later…
Star Wars: Episode VI-Return of the Jedi 1-4 (Marvel)
Star Wars: Mara Jade-By the Emperors Hand 1-6
Star Wars: The Jabba Tape
Marvel 81
Star Wars: X-Wing Rouge Leader 1-3 – 1 week after SW6: ROTJ
Marvel 82, 87, 85, 88, 90-97, 101, 99, 100, 102-107, 84, 89, 98


*Note: Vader's Quest and Marvel Comics #35 actually overlap. Breaking down like this:
Vader's Quest #1 (pages 1-3),
Marvel SW #35 (page 1),
Vader's Quest #1 (pages 2-20)
Marvel SW #35 (page 2) (there's a minor discrepancy with the type of ship Vader takes back to the Star Destroyer),
Vader's Quest #1 (page 21-end),
Marvel SW #35 (pages 3-11, panel 3)
Vader's Quest #2-4
Marvel SW #35 (pages 11, panel 4-end of the issue)

[Chris CCL]

I should point out that when I asked Ron Marz, (some years ago) he said that every effort is made by Dark Horse (and LucasFilm) not to overlap storylines and continuity with the Marvel series.
Vader's Quest was the exception - and a well needed one.

[Kid Monster]

Vader's Quest was the exception - and a well needed one.

Explain please.

Just morbidly curious.

[Chris CCL]

Explain please.

Just morbidly curious.

Gosh, it's been so long and I couldn't find the original e-mail.
It was just that more could be told. One issue just didn't seem to do it justice for such a pivotal moment in the Star Wars universe.

If you think about it in Empire, Vader already knew that Luke was his son. But when did he find out he had a son?

That was the real surprise from his POV and something that needed to be told more in-depth.

Hope this helps.
In either event read them together. It makes for an interesting time reading panels that go hand in hand from different comic books.

Chris

[Brian Churilla]

i've always been super fond of the williamson adaptations...

BC

[The Confessor]

OK, as promised in my earlier post, I'm gonna stick up some art from the Marvel Star Wars series. I hope people don't mind? I often think that for a forum about a visual medium, these boards haven't got anywhere near enough art posted on them. So, here's my attempt to change that.

First up, here's page 1 from issue #1. Note that the wording on this page comes verbatim from the opening crawl of an earlier cut of the movie. It would be completely re-written for the finished film.


Marvel's adaptation of the first film also featured several scenes that were cut from the finished movie, like this meeting between Luke Skywalker & Biggs Darklighter in Anchorhead on the planet Tatooine.


Obi-Wan Kenobi gives Luke his father's lightsaber and expounds on the ways of the Force. From issue #2, art by Howard Chaykin...


And the shoot-out scene in the Mos Eisley cantina from issue #2, left no-one in any doubt that 'Han shot first'!

[The Confessor]

A personal favourite of mine...a great panel of Han Solo during the shoot-out in Docking Bay 94, again from issue #2.



Rebel X-Wing Fighters advance toward the Death Star, from issue #6. Original art by Howard Chaykin, embellished by Rick Hoberg & Bill Wray. Note that the pilot's squadron call sign is 'Blue' and not 'Red' as it is in the film. This is because the original shooting script for the movie, that the Marvel adaptation is based on, listed the Rebel squadron as 'Blue Group'. It would only be changed to 'Red Squadron' during actual filming.



And the 'post movie' adventures begin in issue #7. Art by Howard Chaykin, embellished by Frank Springer.



Luke & C-3PO in the cockpit of a Rebel star cruiser reminiscing about recent events, from issue #8. Artwork by Howard Chaykin & Tom Palmer.

[The Confessor]

So how come the 'bad guys' don't talk like this anymore in comics? From issue #12. Art by Carmine Infantino & Terry Austin.


Readers of the Marvel Star Wars comic got to see what Jabba The Hutt looked like way ahead of the release of Return Of The Jedi. Of course, how the Marvel version of Jabba ended up looking like the Jabba we all know and love in Return Of The Jedi is never quite explained. But it seems certain that a horrific case of binge eating must've been involved somewhere down the line. From issue #28, art by Carmine Infantino & Gene Day.


The Marvel series also jumped the gun somewhat by showing us that Luke and Darth Vader's lightsaber duel in The Empire Strikes Back wasn't the first time they'd gone head-to-head together. From issue #37. Art by Carmine Infantino & Gene Day


Marvel's adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back began in issue #39. Below is a classic scene of Luke Skywalker suspended upside down in the Wampa's lair. Art by Al Williamson & Carlos Garzon.

[The Confessor]

Han and Chewbacca having a little engine trouble with the Millennium Falcon during their escape from the Rebel's base on the planet Hoth. From issue #41.


A pivitol scene from The Empire Strikes Back - Vader and The Emperor discussing their new enemy, Luke Skywalker. From issue #42.


Below, Luke being but through his paces by Yoda during his Jedi training on the planet Dagobah. Again from issue #42.


Darth Vader breaks the bad news to Luke Skywalker, high above the bottomless reactor core of the Bespin Cloud City. From the final part of Marvel's adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back in issue #44. All Empire Strikes Back art is by Al Williamson & Carlos Garzon.

[The Confessor]

Marvel pre-empted the third installment of the original trilogy by having the Empire construct a second planet destroying space station following the events of The Empire Strikes Back. Instead of another Death Star, Marvel called their new threat 'The Tarkin' (a nice tribute to a certain Grand Moff). From issue #51, art by Walter Simonson.


Marvel were also ahead of the game when they introduced the concept of floating, Landspeeder style bikes in issue #55. A concept that would be seen in Return Of The Jedi in the form of Speeder Bikes and also in the Expanded Universe as Swoops. Again art by Walter Simonson.


Luke deals with a Stormtrooper patrol. Some of my favourite panels from the entire series. From issue #63, art by Tom Palmer.


Luke battles the Rancor below Jabba's throne room, from Marvel's Adaptation of the Return Of The Jedi issue #1. Art by Al Williamson & Carlos Garzon.

[The Confessor]

Princess Leia in the infamous metal bikini, on board Jabba's Sail Barge, letting a deck gunner have it! From the ROTJ adaptation issue #2.


A tense moment for the Rebels as they approach the moon of Endor in a stolen Imperial shuttle. From issue #3 of the ROTJ adaptation.


Luke faces Emperor Palpatine in his throne room aboard the 2nd Death Star. From issue #4 of the ROTJ adaptation.


Vader finally gets what's coming to him, courtesy of his son. Again from issue #4 of the ROTJ adaptation. All ROTJ art by Al Williamson & Carlos Garzon.

[The Confessor]

The morning after the night before. Han Solo wakes up the day after the Rebels' victory over the Empire to find that not everything is for the better. This excellent issue deals with the traumatic effect loosing six months of his life in carbon freeze has had on Han. From issue #81, art by Ron Frenz.


The Marvel Star Wars series was the first to suggest that Boba Fett had managed to survive falling into the Sarlacc pit and could still be a very real threat to our heroes. An idea that Dark Horse blatantly stole a few years later in their Dark Empire mini-series. Again from issue #81.


One of the most popular and enduring villains of the Marvel series was the Dark Lord Lumiya, who first appeared in issue #88. Art by Bob McLeod & Tom Palmer.


And like any good Dark Lord, the time would come when Lumiya had to face off against Luke Skywalker. From issue #95. Art by Cynthia Martin.