‘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: Marvel Issues 51-59 (1981-82) (Comic book reviews)
Taking over for Archie Goodwin — who took his talents to the “Star Wars” newspaper strip — David Michelinie proves he’s up to his predecessor’s high standards on his first batch of issues in the Marvel series. Granted, he makes some bad mistakes; Bespin has a planetary surface and Luke still uses an unexplained lightsaber at times. (Could some
‘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
‘Star Wars’ flashback: Marvel Issues 24-30 and Annual 1 (1979) (Comic book reviews)
Before May 1999, we heard a lot about how the prequel era was off-limits to Expanded Universe writers since George Lucas was saving it for himself. Nonetheless, a few stories from this era slipped through the cracks. The very first one was Marvel issue 24, “Silent Drifting,” which hit newsstands in March 1979.
‘Star Wars’ flashback: Marvel Issues 18-23 (1978-79) (Comic book reviews)
“The Wheel” arc, issues 18-23 of the “Star Wars” Marvel comics run marks the first time the series truly feels like “Star Wars.” Writer Archie Goodwin and artist Carmine Infantino invent the Wheel, a gambling paradise that the Empire leaves alone in exchange for the considerable tax revenue.
‘Star Wars’ flashback: Marvel Issues 11-17 (1978) (Comic book reviews)
After an inauspicious beginning under the auspices of Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin, the “Star Wars” Marvel comics run gets a bump up in quality with issues 11-15, written by Archie Goodwin with art by Carmine Infantino. The gang — or the “star hoppers,” in Marvel parlance — gets back together for a story that may or