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January 13, 2008
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 Not so long ago, in a decade far, far away, legendary publisher Marvel Comics rolled the dice and became one of the first licensees to jump on the bandwagon of a newfangled science fiction film called Star Wars. In July of 1977, two months after the film’s American release, the first Star Wars comic rolled off the presses, and began a saga that, like the films themselves, surpassed all expectations and continues to expand some thirty years later.
The original Marvel run spanned 107 issues, not including three over-sized annuals and a four-issue Return of the Jedi mini-series published outside of the main run. Marvel also published two Illustrated Books which ran parallel to the events in the primary series, bringing the total number of issues released between 1977 and 1986 to a whopping 116.
 While the series ultimately became a long-running classic, inspiring additions to canon that are still ongoing, as well as meriting several collected re-issues, its beginnings were decidedly humbler. Writer Roy Thomas and artist Howard Chaykin were initially tasked with simply adapting what was rapidly becoming the surprise box office hit of the year, and hopefully, bringing struggling Marvel out of a year-long sales slump on the coat tails of the enormously positive fan and critical response to the picture. Little did the principles know that the film would go on to become the poster child for effective marketing tie-ins and cross-media publishing, leading to, among other things, a hugely successful nine year odyssey into the world of comics.
Thomas broke the film’s storyline into six parts, and Chaykin, using his seminal convention poster as a stylistic model, set about creating the visuals for what was to become one of the most oft-reprinted comics in the history of the medium.
Issue one’s storyline closely mirrors that of the events of the first twenty minutes of the film, including Vader’s attack on the Tantive IV, the escape of Artoo and Threepio, and a cliffhanger climax as Luke is attacked by the Tusken Raiders. Hard core fans might be a bit put off by a few inconsistencies in dialog between the comic and the film, but ultimately the story remains intact, and the adjustments almost make an exceedingly familiar story into something fresh.
In one of the series’ more delightful surprises, many of the scenes left on the film’s cutting room floor show up in the comic, including appearances from Camie and Fixer, as well as a now famous scene of Biggs Darklighter confiding in Luke regarding his intentions to join the Alliance. The scene, while hinted at in the storybook adaptations of the film, was not widely known prior to the onslaught of the internet, and it’s a treat to see it visualized early on in the history of the license.
Issue two, subtitled ‘Six Against the Galaxy,’ introduces Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and Chewbacca, and once again follows the film narrative nearly to the letter. The story sweeps readers along from Ben Kenobi’s cryptic explanation of the Force and the first glimpses of Luke’s (curiously red-bladed) lightsaber, to the exciting escape from Mos Eisley aboard the Millennium Falcon, faithfully reproduced by Chaykin’s pencils and colorfully described by Thomas as featuring “phototrophic shielding.”
 Also of note is the introduction of Jabba the Hutt, in what amounts to a sneak preview of the infamous live-action/CGI scene that would debut in theaters twenty years later. The dialog, taken from drafts of Lucas’ scripts, is nearly identical to that found in 1997’s A New Hope Special Edition. Jabba himself, however, is far removed from his imposing screen presence, here portrayed as a thin, yellow-faced alien with long white chin whiskers, large green gloves, and a garish orange tunic.
Issue three, 'Death Star', marks the introduction of the appropriately named Steve Leialoha as co-artist, alongside the returning Chaykin. The issue highlights the middle third of the film, chronicling our plucky heroes wreaking havoc on board the titular space station before narrowly escaping thanks to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s noble sacrifice. Thomas hams it up with some of the descriptive balloons, and younger fans may cringe at the cheekiness in his turns of phrase.
“Even crack Imperial troopers " those cruel, murderous guardians of a far-flung galactic empire " cannot thoroughly search a whole freighter without the proper scanning equipment.”
Older fans, however, will probably appreciate the wink/nudge homage to the old Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials that originally inspired George Lucas to write his space opera script in the first place.
The artistic choices of Chaykin and Leialoha are something of an acquired taste, particularly for readers weaned on the highly stylized (and in some cases, photo-realistic) panels of the current Dark Horse titles. The lines are fairly sparse, and the composition and coloring suggest a mood rather than describing it in great visual detail. Also of note is the quality of the printed material, assuming you can get your hands on an original version (more on why you should later). The pages look and feel very much like an aging newspaper, and, unless you’re related to Steve Sansweet, it's highly unlikely that you’ll find pristine originals without some evidence of fading, yellowing, or color bleeds (re-issued collections have addressed this with more modern, durable stock, as well as redone colors, but mercifully, Greedo still shoots first). The aging effects are by no means a bad thing, and actually lend quite a bit of ambiance to the experience that is absent from the glossy, digitally manipulated pages of current titles.
Issues four, five, and six tread similar ground, sticking closely to the film script and neatly resolving each episode’s cliffhanger ending. There are minor differences sprinkled throughout, none of which are overly distracting (Red Squadron is Blue Squadron, and vice versa). Some are just noticeable enough to make the comic feel like a draft of the screenplay, or an alternate director’s cut, and the reader can easily imagine the panels to be conceptual storyboards detailing the events they’ve long been familiar with on screen. A notable example is the death of Red/Blue leader, still at the hands of Darth Vader, but in an interesting twist, his X-wing disintegrates before he is aware that his proton torpedoes have merely impacted on the surface. Ultimately, the small deviations still feel authentic, almost as if the reader is sitting in on a History Channel-esque veteran interview, which offers up a unique perspective on a particularly famous battle.
In the final analysis, despite some dated dialogue and deteriorating physical conditions, Marvel’s original Star Wars adaptation maintains its luster, even thirty years and several re-imaginings later, thanks to the staying power of the license and the fondness with which we all regard the story arc’s genesis. Ideally, readers will be able to pick up original issues, as there is an indefinable allure to re-experiencing A New Hope amidst the iconic 1970s advertisements (including Joe Weider’s body-building systems and Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man line), coupled with the old-newspaper look and feel that conveys a sense of nostalgia, high adventure, and pop culture history.
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