grendeljd
Member since: 2011Hey all,
So I recently stumbled onto a few 'cheapie bin' old Star Wars comics from Marvel, which got me hooked on collecting the whole run. I've grabbed about 20 odd issues or so now, mainly between #40 - #80. The best was getting a sweet deal on a set of #39-#44 [which is The Empire Strikes Back adaptation] in mint condition for $20!!
I gotta say, some of them are pretty cheesy, some are not drawn so well, but for the most part I am kind of enjoying getting into them. I never had any as a kid, so I don't have any fond memories of them being awesome from my youth.
For the sake of a fun discussion, does anyone around here like/have/remember any of those old comics too? I wonder if any of that stuff is considered canon to official SW timeline? I'm guessing no.
Personally I think I might skip tracking down the really old issues [say, below #30] because they look the cheesiest, and are a bit pricey. Then again, I saw a copy of #107 [the last issue] going for $60 at the local comic shop, and its piqued my curiosity...
I used to collect them when they were published. I have #88 and above, and I got the last issue about 20 years ago by back issue mail order. I think you can get digest sized volume reprints from Dark Horse now, titled Classic Star Wars A Long Time Ago...
Believe it or not, Marvel storyline and characters are C-canon. They are part of continuity.
I remember having a single issue as a kid. It involved a giant pink worm on a junk planet.
As far as canon...they are, but as Hish points out, they are pretty low on the scale. Basically just about anything else trumps what happens in the Marvel comics. So...the events are 'true' unless something else, ANYTHING else, contradicts.
Lol. I love the sound of a giant pink worm on a junk planet... I might have to borrow that, Dred.
I have a folio-sized British copy of Marvel's Star Wars comic (the film adaptation). It's pretty boss. I've got dark horse's Droids collection too, which is supremely awesome. Super cheesy, colorful, fun!
Boshuda
The squad gave my husband one of the Omnibus collections a couple of birthdays ago (volume 2), and it was the first I had ever seen of the comics in my life. I found them absolutely, utterly hilarious! There is just so much cheesy space-absurdity going on, with the characters all deadpan serious about it in the meantime.
Also Original Jabba!!
I think reading the Marvel series is why I'm not very fond of the post-1990 need for DARK in every storyline including Star Wars. How many times I've heard... not dark enough. In fact Star Wars - even from the first movie - is filled with absurdist names and places. Because we grew up with them, we think Han Solo and Boba Fett are badass names. No, they're not. They're ridiculously stupid names. But the names were tacked onto awesome characters and they worked. Same with Marvel Star Wars characters: Jaxxon, Amaiza, Jolli, Drebble, Plif...
And that's what I love about Star Wars.
Grand Admiral Thrawn would be more jawesome if he was Grand Admiral Kimdu Stranglepod.
Clicky
THAT'S the one I had as a kid. That very one. Notice the big pink worm. :D
Hish - EXACTLY.
Dred - That looks so boss pimp! I want it!
Boshuda
Sorry Dred, just had to give it a clicky, I hate copy pasting everything :)
Thankah Xan..if I was savvy enough I would have figured out how to do it in the first place!
I'm primarily interested in getting the originals - I love the feel & smell of old newsprint comics almost as much as reading the stories and pouring over artwork. I have seen the omnibus collections, but I don't like the look of the old-school basic colours on new glossy paper - I like the classic look of that simple colouring on the original newsprint.
That's just me, I am a weird old comic geek - but I love new comics with new digital colouring, don't get me wrong there!
Dred - Is that seriously the only one you had? There is a copy of #59 at the local comic shop going for $10... I thought from some other discussions elsewhere on SWAG you had more - something about an old character that had a dual lightsaber long before Darth Maul? I am diggin' that rebel scum website, great archive!!
Hish/Asok - I kind of agree with you guys, there is a place for cheesy in SW that just... works. Not over the top - Jar Jar is a definite example of silly cheese gone wrong. I think too much 'Dark' is never good either, it becomes dull and one-dimensional. I like a careful balance, with a good dose of as much realism as possible in my sci-fi. I think the SW universe is a really cool setting that needs a bit more flare than other SF worlds but can be nasty as well, and I love it for that.
HowEVER... *some* of those Marvel comics are still just a tad too cheesy for my taste.
I am really enjoying some of the ones I've picked up though - it looks to me as if the best of the series occurs between #39-90. I love the Empire Strikes Back adaptation, the art by Al Williamson is tops. I also love Tom Palmer, Ron Frenz & Bob Mcleod's work in around 65-85. It inspires me to do some sketchin' myself, which can't be a bad thing!
Dude, that is seriously the only one I had. I was never a comic kid. That one was bought for me at a corner store on a whim while visiting Kingston.
Any previous discussions would have been about general Star Wars lore and trivia, which I got into later in life, trivia gleaned from various sources, that originated with the Marvel Comics.
Like I don't need to own Action Comics #1 to know that Superman is from Krypton.
I think my sentiments are pretty strongly in line with Grendel's; the absurd and the cheesy is great fun, especially to the extent which it's in the movies, but my enjoyment from Star Wars definitely comes from more than whacky space hijinks. Piling on too much 'Dark' can get overbearing and make it start losing all meaning... but so help me, I love a broody, unshaven hero and a bit of emotional meat. Anakin's whinging just gets irritating and tedious to me- but I love watching Luke struggle with the revelation of his father! I love Lando's struggle with the bind he finds himself in.
Now, I can appreciate a giant pink space-worm on a junk planet as much as the next kid, but when it comes to those old comics my enjoyment definitely starts to come from the ironic part of my brain! (Note: This is the same part of my brain that thought it would be a good idea to sit down and watch 'Ace Ventura Jr', which turned out to be not a very good idea at all, but it won't stop me attempting to tackle 'Birdemic' if I ever get the chance.)
I know what you mean about the feel of the pages and the look of the print, too- the glossy pages in the Omnibus definitely aren't right, but I definitely don't feel the same dedication to the cause that would have me seek out the originals. I'll just enjoy what we've got!
I always feel all sac-religious on these topics...I watched the movies..a lot. I have yet to see the clone wars show, never seen a comic, never read a novel. I have seen the OT movies and became a fan. Played the RPG, saw the new movies and was all ..meh. I will remain a fan. Cannon will be what my friends and I determine it to be in our game. Darth Vader didn't build 3po and no one as dumb as Jar-Jar ever was made a senator. Except in Ohio
Sorry about being late to the party, Bantha broke down....
I would be remiss if I didn't point out Mark Hudson's awesome Star Wars Marvel Comics RPG Site:
http://www.generic-hero.com/lost/index.html
Lots of great original artwork and such. Go check it out!
Mark Hudson's site has been my go-to site for Marvel stats for more than 10 years now!
^ Thats a great site.
A month or so ago, I found a really mint copy of #68. It's the one with 'Bobba Fett' on the cover, who turns out to be none other than Fenn Shysa! I was really pleasantly surprised when I read that - I had no idea the character that appears in Karen Traviss' Commando novels was pulled from the old Marvel comics! I think some details of the character were altered, but this comic is still his first appearance.
How cool is that?!
Love those comics! I only recently got into them. It was neat finding how many things in our modern continuity were taken from them. Mandalore was probably the most surprising. So abstract, but you wish newer stuff were more like it.
And they are part of continuity, but as far as I know they are S-Canon, are secondary canon, as they are often ignored when fitting sources into continuity.