Star Wars comics have been produced by various comic book publishers since the debut of the 1977 film Star Wars. Marvel Comics launched its original series in 1977, beginning with a six-issue comic adaptation of the film and running for 107 issues, including an adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back. Marvel also released an adaptation of Return of the Jedi and spin-offs based on Droids and Ewoks. A self-titled comic strip ran in American newspapers between 1979 and 1984. Blackthorne Publishing released a three-issue run of 3-D comics from 1987 to 1988.
Star Wars comics have been produced by various comic book publishers since the debut of the 1977 film Star Wars. Marvel Comics launched its original series in 1977, beginning with a six-issue comic adaptation of the film and running for 107 issues, including an adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back. Marvel also released an adaptation of Return of the Jedi and spin-offs based on Droids and Ewoks. A self-titled comic strip ran in American newspapers between 1979 and 1984. Blackthorne Publishing released a three-issue run of 3-D comics from 1987 to 1988.
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Star Wars comics have been produced by various comic book publishers since the debut of the 1977 film Star Wars. Marvel Comics launched its original series in 1977, beginning with a six-issue comic adaptation of the film and running for 107 issues, including an adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back. Marvel also released an adaptation of Return of the Jedi and spin-offs based on Droids and Ewoks. A self-titled comic strip ran in American newspapers between 1979 and 1984. Blackthorne Publishing released a three-issue run of 3-D comics from 1987 to 1988.
Dark Horse Comics published the limited series Dark Empire in 1991, and ultimately produced over 100 Star Wars titles, including Tales of the Jedi (1993–1998), X-wing: Rogue Squadron (1995–1998), Republic (1998–2006), Tales (1999–2005), Empire (2002–2006), Knights of the Old Republic (2006–2010), and Legacy (2006–2010), as well as manga adaptations of the original film trilogy and the 1999 prequel The Phantom Menace.
The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel in 2009 and Lucasfilm in 2012, and the Star Wars comics license returned to Marvel in 2015. Several new series were launched, including Star Wars, Star Wars: Darth Vader, and Doctor Aphra. In 2017, IDW Publishing launched the anthology series Star Wars Adventures. In 2022, Dark Horse resumed publishing new Star Wars comics and graphic novels.
Overview
The original series by Marvel Comics began in 1977 with a six-issue comic adaptation of the original film and ran for 107 issues and three Annuals until 1986, featuring stories set between the original trilogy films, as well as adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. From 1985 to 1987, Marvel published two short-lived series based on the Star Wars animated series Droids and Ewoks. Briefly, the publishing rights went to Blackthorne Publishing, which released a three-issue run of 3-D comics from 1987 to 1988. Then, three years later, the rights to publish Star Wars comics were acquired by Dark Horse Comics, who published the limited series Dark Empire in 1991 and ultimately produced over 100 Star Wars titles until 2014.
Following the October 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, in January 2014, it was announced that the Star Wars comics license would return to Marvel Comics in 2015 (Disney having previously purchased Marvel Entertainment and the Marvel Comics brand and publishing in 2009).
In April 2014, Lucasfilm rebranded the majority of the Star Wars Expanded Universe as Legends, only keeping the theatrical Skywalker saga and the 2008 Clone Wars theatrical film and television series as canon. Most media released since then is considered part of the same canon, including comics.
Marvel (1977–1987)
Lucasfilm publicity supervisor Charles Lippincott approached Marvel Comics in 1975 about publishing a Star Wars comic book prior to the film's release. Lippincott initially had trouble getting a meeting with Stan Lee until joined by Roy Thomas, who wanted to edit the series. Since movie tie-in comics rarely sold well at that time, Lee negotiated a publishing arrangement which gave no royalties to Lucasfilm until sales exceeded 100,000. Thomas and artist Howard Chaykin adapted the events of the original film in issues #1–6 of Star Wars, with the first issue released for sale on April 12, 1977. According to former Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, the strong sales of Star Wars comics saved Marvel financially in 1977 and 1978. The series began featuring original stories with issue #7 (January 1978). Writer Archie Goodwin and artist Carmine Infantino took over the series as of #11 (May 1978). The series was one of the industry's top selling titles in 1979 and 1980. The 100,000 copy sales quota was surpassed quickly, allowing Lippincott to renegotiate the royalty arrangements. A six-issue adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back by Goodwin and artists Al Williamson and Carlos Garzon appeared in issues #39–44 (September 1980 – February 1981). Writer David Michelinie and artist Walt Simonson became the new creative team with issue #51 (September 1981). Ron Frenz became the regular artist of the title starting with issue #71 (May 1983). As of 1984, the Star Wars series was primarily written by Jo Duffy, and art for the final year and a half of the series was by Cynthia Martin. Marvel published the series until 1986, lasting 107 issues and three Annuals.
The first original Star Wars stories not directly adapted from the films to appear in print form were Star Wars comics serialized in the Marvel magazine Pizzazz (1977–1979). The first story arc, titled "The Keeper's World", was by Thomas, Chaykin, and Tony DeZuniga. The second story arc, entitled "The Kingdom of Ice", was by Goodwin, Simonson, Klaus Janson, Dave Cockrum, and John Tartaglione. The final two chapters were scheduled to be printed in issues #17 and 18, but the magazine was cancelled after issue #16. Marvel UK reprinted "The Keeper's World" in its Star Wars Weekly #47–50, and "The Kingdom of Ice" (including the previously unreleased chapters) in its Star Wars Weekly #57–60 between 1978 and 1979.
Marvel's Star Wars comics were reprinted in the U.K. as a weekly black-and-white comics anthology. The weekly U.K. issues split the stories from the U.S. monthly issues into smaller installments, and it usually took two to three weekly issues to complete a U.S. monthly issue. The U.K. comic also published original Star Wars stories by British creators, including Alan Moore. Star Wars Weekly #1 was published with a free cut-out X-wing fighter on February 8, 1978. It became The Empire Strikes Back Weekly from issue #118 in May 1980, and then became a monthly title from issue #140 in November 1980, reverting to the title Star Wars with issue #159 in July 1982. The monthly comic ran until issue #171 in July 1983, when the numbering was reset at #1 for Return of the Jedi Weekly, which was the first time the U.K. comic had been printed in color. This is the title and format that remained until the
