Goodwin, Williamson squeeze ‘Blade Runner’ into 1982 comic
PKD flashback (Comic book review): At first blush, two issues doesn’t seem like enough to adapt “Blade Runner,” but it flows remarkably well.
‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980) and ‘Return of the Jedi’ (1983) (Comic book reviews)
My look back at the “Star Wars” saga comic adaptations concludes with the best and the most disappointing entries, both from the legendary duo of Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson (“Classic Star Wars”), along with background artist Carlos Garzon: “Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back”(1980) and “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi” (1983). “Empire” is exactly what we
‘Star Wars’ flashback: Stories in Pizzazz magazine and Marvel Illustrated Books (1977-82) (Comic book reviews)
When Marvel reclaims the “Star Wars” license from Dark Horse next year, one thing is certain: It’ll start off with better original stories than the first time it had the license. As I noted in my review of the regular Marvel series, Roy Thomas’ early issues featuring Han and Chewie are some of the roughest
‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Classic Star Wars’ Issues 15-20 (Goodwin/Williamson newspaper strips, 1983-84) (Comic book reviews)
Because he didn’t know that “The Empire Strikes Back” was going to start with the Rebels on their new base on Hoth, Archie Goodwin didn’t get to bring his Marvel comics stories all the way from the end of “A New Hope” to the beginning of “Empire.” In the newspaper strips a few years later, he was able to
The top 20 people responsible for the success of the ‘Star Wars’ saga (Commentary)
A great debate recently popped up at my office: Who deserves credit for the success of “Star Wars?” Well, George Lucas, of course, because he created it. Plain and simple, right? Not necessarily, because he was far from alone in making “Star Wars” great. Strictly speaking, he couldn’t have made that first movie on his own, because
‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Classic Star Wars’ Issues 8-14 (Goodwin/Williamson newspaper strips, 1982-83) (Comic book reviews)
Don’t get me wrong; I adore the Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson newspaper strips that were repackaged as the “Classic Star Wars” comics. But I wonder if we never quite saw how good a Goodwin story could be. In the Marvel comics, he was hamstrung by the fact that he didn’t know what was going to happen in “The
‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Classic Star Wars’ Issues 1-7 (Goodwin/Williamson newspaper strips, 1981-82) (Comic book reviews)
Dark Horse’s new series simply titled “Star Wars” got a lot of hype earlier this year, but it’s just the latest in a long line of stories to capture (or attempt to capture) the feel of that classic time period between “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back.” The early Marvel comics (Issues 7-38, primarily by Archie
‘Star Wars’ flashback: Marvel Issues 94-107 (1985-86) (Comic book reviews)
Three months and 100 issues ago, I started my “Star Wars” Marvel comics re-read by noting how horrible the Roy Thomas/Howard Chaykin issues were. Once Archie Goodwin took over with No. 11, the standard of quality improved for the next 80-some issues, but when the series ran down in 1985-86, those early troubles were unfortunately revived. The Mary Jo Duffy/Cynthia
‘Star Wars’ flashback: Marvel Issues 45-50 (1980-81) (Comic book reviews)
The “Star Wars” Marvel comics run gets off to a rocky start after “The Empire Strikes Back” adaptation (issues 39-44), although the batch from 45-50 certainly has more than its share of talking points.
‘Star Wars’ flashback: Marvel Issues 31-38 (1979-80) (Comic book reviews)
It’s a shame that the “Star Wars” Marvel comics are dismissed out of hand by some continuity gurus, because Archie Goodwin — the first long-term writer for the series — clearly cared about continuity. Issues 31-38, written between the announcement of the film’s name (“When the moment is right, the Empire will strike back!,” a villain not-coincidentally