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Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Vol. 1
Collects Star Wars (1977) #1-23 and material from Pizzazz #1-16 and Star Wars Weekly (UK) #60.
May the Force be with you, in the mighty Marvel manner! The classic original Star Wars comic-book series begins with an action-packed adaptation of Episode IV A New Hope, then continues the story of Luke Skywalker and his rebel friends as they fight on against the Empire in the dark shadow of Darth Vader! New planets and new perils await — like the Cloud Riders, the Behemoth and the space pirate Crimson Jack. Han and Chewie need six allies to make eight against a world — and one of them will be cult hero Jaxxon! Luke and the droids end up trapped on a Doomworld! And the Big Game will pit rebel against rebel!
May the Force be with you, in the mighty Marvel manner! The classic original Star Wars comic-book series begins with an action-packed adaptation of Episode IV A New Hope, then continues the story of Luke Skywalker and his rebel friends as they fight on against the Empire in the dark shadow of Darth Vader! New planets and new perils await — like the Cloud Riders, the Behemoth and the space pirate Crimson Jack. Han and Chewie need six allies to make eight against a world — and one of them will be cult hero Jaxxon! Luke and the droids end up trapped on a Doomworld! And the Big Game will pit rebel against rebel!
488 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 26, 2016
2 people want to read
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If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.
Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 24, 2024
As a kid growing up in the late-70s/early-80s, buying comic books was a rush. First of all, they were thirty cents. My parents would give me $5 to spend at the town drug store, and I would run immediately to the magazine racks, where one whole section was devoted to comic books. I devoured anything: Wonder Woman, Thor, Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Richie Rich, Archie, Jonah Hex, Hulk. Occasionally, just to scare the crap out of myself, I’d pick up a House of Mystery. (The drug store rarely carried this, mainly, I think, because the covers were lurid and always had buxom half-naked women running from a mummy or a vampire or a mer-man. The store was owned by a nice old lady who more than likely didn’t approve of those things.)
Star Wars comics were my favorite, but, for some reason, the store only carried them semi-regularly. Once every three months an issue would come in, and I would snatch it up. Never mind that the storyline didn’t make sense because I hadn’t read the previous issues. More than likely, it ended on a cliffhanger, one that would forever leave me hanging because I knew I would never get the conclusion issue. I didn’t care, though. It was Star Wars. I think I read and re-read every issue of these comics so many times that the covers fell off.
Fast forward roughly forty years: I still love comic books, but I rarely buy them anymore. (A “cheap” issue is $4.) Most of the time, I get the compilation volumes from the library. I can read five to six issues in one paperback edition, for free.
There are a few titles, though, that I will dish out money for. Recently, Marvel released their “Epic Collections” of the “Original Marvel Years”. I bought Volume 1, which included the first 23 issues of the original run that started in 1977, as well as the first 16 issues of a Marvel magazine called “Pizzazz” (which I had never heard of) that ran a 3-page serial of Star Wars.
The first six issues of the original run was an adaptation of the film, written by Roy Thomas (based on George Lucas’s screenplay) and illustrated by Howard Chaykin, plus a rotating stock of other artists. The subsequent issues were original stories, many of which are so far from canonical as to be their own Star Wars multiverse, but they are still fun. Keep in mind, Lucas hadn’t divulged any secrets about what he was planning in the sequel, or if there was even going to be a sequel. (The ridiculous mega-success of the first film almost guaranteed one.)
I would love to own all of these someday, but they can be pretty expensive. (Amazon lists the second volume at $32, and the third volume is, inexplicably, $65.)
The local library is looking better every day…
P.S. This edition is NOT the kindle edition, as it states in the format bar. It's the paperback edition, but Goodreads, for some reason, doesn't have that as an option. Weird...
Star Wars comics were my favorite, but, for some reason, the store only carried them semi-regularly. Once every three months an issue would come in, and I would snatch it up. Never mind that the storyline didn’t make sense because I hadn’t read the previous issues. More than likely, it ended on a cliffhanger, one that would forever leave me hanging because I knew I would never get the conclusion issue. I didn’t care, though. It was Star Wars. I think I read and re-read every issue of these comics so many times that the covers fell off.
Fast forward roughly forty years: I still love comic books, but I rarely buy them anymore. (A “cheap” issue is $4.) Most of the time, I get the compilation volumes from the library. I can read five to six issues in one paperback edition, for free.
There are a few titles, though, that I will dish out money for. Recently, Marvel released their “Epic Collections” of the “Original Marvel Years”. I bought Volume 1, which included the first 23 issues of the original run that started in 1977, as well as the first 16 issues of a Marvel magazine called “Pizzazz” (which I had never heard of) that ran a 3-page serial of Star Wars.
The first six issues of the original run was an adaptation of the film, written by Roy Thomas (based on George Lucas’s screenplay) and illustrated by Howard Chaykin, plus a rotating stock of other artists. The subsequent issues were original stories, many of which are so far from canonical as to be their own Star Wars multiverse, but they are still fun. Keep in mind, Lucas hadn’t divulged any secrets about what he was planning in the sequel, or if there was even going to be a sequel. (The ridiculous mega-success of the first film almost guaranteed one.)
I would love to own all of these someday, but they can be pretty expensive. (Amazon lists the second volume at $32, and the third volume is, inexplicably, $65.)
The local library is looking better every day…
P.S. This edition is NOT the kindle edition, as it states in the format bar. It's the paperback edition, but Goodreads, for some reason, doesn't have that as an option. Weird...
February 5, 2023
1977 Star Wars was a strange, strange year!
This compilation begins with the original, licensed adaptation of A New Hope...an adaptation being written and drawn as the movie was still being edited and finalized! This leads to some hilarious anachronisms...Leia being called Leia Antilles, a Jabba appearance with an absolutely unrecognizable design, and uncomfortably high levels of Luke-Leia budding romance.
Once the movie is over, though, the bonkersness begins! Star Wars had become such a run-away hit that it was obvious sequels were coming. So, the comic was severely confined in what it could do. Darth Vader is almost completely absent; concepts of the Force are vague and down-right weird; and lots of side characters are introduced. Jaxxon, the anthropomorphic green rabbit has to be the nuttiest of the bunch; though, a "Jedi Knight" fashioned after Don Quixote was a clever gag. The stories follow a standard "the characters crash land on a strange planet during a mission and fight inconsequential stock villains."
However, the beginnings of some key Legends (and even moved into cannon) concepts are there. The character of Valance is cool here. C-3PO and R2-D2's banter is developing.
And, wow, some big Marvel names at the time were involved in the writing and art on this. I didn't realize we had Howard Chaykin, Walter Simonson, Archie Goodwin, even a plot assist from Chris Claremont!
Was this "good?" I don't think so, but it was entertaining and such a strange artifact of its time that I, as a Star Wars Expanded Universe fan for a long time, enjoyed the nostalgia grab paired with late 70s Marvel insanity
This compilation begins with the original, licensed adaptation of A New Hope...an adaptation being written and drawn as the movie was still being edited and finalized! This leads to some hilarious anachronisms...Leia being called Leia Antilles, a Jabba appearance with an absolutely unrecognizable design, and uncomfortably high levels of Luke-Leia budding romance.
Once the movie is over, though, the bonkersness begins! Star Wars had become such a run-away hit that it was obvious sequels were coming. So, the comic was severely confined in what it could do. Darth Vader is almost completely absent; concepts of the Force are vague and down-right weird; and lots of side characters are introduced. Jaxxon, the anthropomorphic green rabbit has to be the nuttiest of the bunch; though, a "Jedi Knight" fashioned after Don Quixote was a clever gag. The stories follow a standard "the characters crash land on a strange planet during a mission and fight inconsequential stock villains."
However, the beginnings of some key Legends (and even moved into cannon) concepts are there. The character of Valance is cool here. C-3PO and R2-D2's banter is developing.
And, wow, some big Marvel names at the time were involved in the writing and art on this. I didn't realize we had Howard Chaykin, Walter Simonson, Archie Goodwin, even a plot assist from Chris Claremont!
Was this "good?" I don't think so, but it was entertaining and such a strange artifact of its time that I, as a Star Wars Expanded Universe fan for a long time, enjoyed the nostalgia grab paired with late 70s Marvel insanity
October 20, 2020
These comics came between Episodes IV and V, and how do you handle such a hot property? The principals can't get romantically involved, the villains can't be too highly placed or too soundly defeated. So you strip Star Wars down to its bolts: a pulp serial, pure and simple, set in the Wild West (coming soon: Mandalorian Season 2).
The first story arc is the movie itself. Lucas must have given Marvel his original screenplay, because there's plenty of apocryphal content. Like say the whole Biggs subplot, which wound up on the cutting room floor but featured prominently in the NPR/BBC radio dramatization (and completely blew my 10-year-old mind). Jabba the Hutt also makes a cameo appearance, possibly in the least threatening guise possible, a furry yellow cleft-lipped mammal.
Most of the ensuing stories (the Archie Goodwin run) are cliched but surprisingly well-written yarns, a melange of farmers, pirates, mercenaries, and crooked imperials that nicely capture the Star Wars spirit and are largely true to its characters.
There's also plenty of awful to go around. The closing story, buried in some obscure British comic, is nigh unreadable. Howard Chaykin's penciling never quite gets any of the principals right, except when he traces his reference images. The back cover features one of Chaykin's covers, which is so badly done that Han "aims" his blaster off the page. When Carmine Infantino took over penciling about halfway through the run, I felt almost palpable relief. Recommended for uncritical Star Wars fans!
The first story arc is the movie itself. Lucas must have given Marvel his original screenplay, because there's plenty of apocryphal content. Like say the whole Biggs subplot, which wound up on the cutting room floor but featured prominently in the NPR/BBC radio dramatization (and completely blew my 10-year-old mind). Jabba the Hutt also makes a cameo appearance, possibly in the least threatening guise possible, a furry yellow cleft-lipped mammal.
Most of the ensuing stories (the Archie Goodwin run) are cliched but surprisingly well-written yarns, a melange of farmers, pirates, mercenaries, and crooked imperials that nicely capture the Star Wars spirit and are largely true to its characters.
There's also plenty of awful to go around. The closing story, buried in some obscure British comic, is nigh unreadable. Howard Chaykin's penciling never quite gets any of the principals right, except when he traces his reference images. The back cover features one of Chaykin's covers, which is so badly done that Han "aims" his blaster off the page. When Carmine Infantino took over penciling about halfway through the run, I felt almost palpable relief. Recommended for uncritical Star Wars fans!
January 25, 2025
This Marvel Epic Collection paperback runs to about 480 pages and collects the very first Star Wars comics from the 1970s. We get issues 1 to 23 plus a serial than ran in the 16 issues of a magazine called Pizzaz and concluded in Star Wars Weekly UK issue 60.
The first 6 issues adapt A New Hope which was a tall order as they had to be written and drawn before the film had finished being edited. There are therefore a few discrepancies in the well known story and hilariously Jabba the Hutt appears in an early design as a yellow humanoid.
The adaptation was written by Roy Thomas with art by Howard Chaykin.
As the series progresses a host of writers and artists take turns including Archie Goodwin, Carmine Infantino, Walter Simonson & Herb Trimpe.
From issue 7 onwards there are new stories which had to be careful of what might happen in a film sequel. With only the advance script of A New Hope to work on the adventures are general space fantasy. Han Solo and Chewbacca star in a Magnificent Seven style storyline where their comrades including a seven foot green karate fighting rabbit called Jaxxon. Yes, really!
Luke and the droids get stuck on a water world, a cyborg robot hunter makes an appearance and our characters get caught up in a gladiatorial arena in space.
It's all highly entertaining even when it gets silly in places.
A real blast from the past and these Epic Collections are a great way to read these old comics.
The first 6 issues adapt A New Hope which was a tall order as they had to be written and drawn before the film had finished being edited. There are therefore a few discrepancies in the well known story and hilariously Jabba the Hutt appears in an early design as a yellow humanoid.
The adaptation was written by Roy Thomas with art by Howard Chaykin.
As the series progresses a host of writers and artists take turns including Archie Goodwin, Carmine Infantino, Walter Simonson & Herb Trimpe.
From issue 7 onwards there are new stories which had to be careful of what might happen in a film sequel. With only the advance script of A New Hope to work on the adventures are general space fantasy. Han Solo and Chewbacca star in a Magnificent Seven style storyline where their comrades including a seven foot green karate fighting rabbit called Jaxxon. Yes, really!
Luke and the droids get stuck on a water world, a cyborg robot hunter makes an appearance and our characters get caught up in a gladiatorial arena in space.
It's all highly entertaining even when it gets silly in places.
A real blast from the past and these Epic Collections are a great way to read these old comics.
January 9, 2025
Comparing these stories to what we read today is almost impossible, because of an enormous difference in the pace of the plot and in the drawings, but this first volume of the long Marvel run for Star Wars, which began in 1977, when the first movie came out, has a flavor all of its own. It smells classic and classicity, and it is always good to read good stories, to have good characters to cheer with and good villains to hate, even if the latter not all have the depth of a Darth Vader.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews