Italy saw the release of Star Wars in October 1977 and a month later, Italy's largest publisher, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, began publishing a translation of the Marvel Star Wars comics. Each Italian edition contains 2 U.S. issues in high gloss color. The paper quality is reminiscent of the baxter paper that Marvel and DC experimented with in the 1980s. Because of the quality paper and coloring, these Italian fumetti or comics are far superior to the U.S. issues. The series ran for 14 issues.
To accommodate the 40 pages in each issue, some pages were eliminated from the stories. There are no ads except on the interior or exterior back cover. The first 10 issues contain a 2 page poster in the centerfold with the other side of the poster being pages from the comic. For this reason, collectors of these Italian editions should check to make sure the poster is present.
Guerre Stellari #1a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (November 1977) contains Star Wars #1 and 2Guerre Stellari #2a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (December 1977) contains Star Wars #3 and 4Guerre Stellari #3a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (January 1978) contains Star Wars #5 and 6Guerre Stellari #4a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (February 1978) contains Star Wars #7 and 8Guerre Stellari #5a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (March 1978) contains Star Wars #9 and 10Guerre Stellari #6a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (April 1978) contains Star Wars #11 and 12Guerre Stellari #7a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (August 1978) contains Star Wars #13 and 14Guerre Stellari #8a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (October 1978) contains Star Wars #15 and 16Guerre Stellari #9a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (December 1978) contains Star Wars #17 and 18Guerre Stellari #10a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (February 1979) contains Star Wars #19 and 20Guerre Stellari #11a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (April 1979) contains Star Wars #21 and 22Guerre Stellari #12a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (June 1979) contains Star Wars #23 and 24Guerre Stellari #13a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (August 1979) contains Star Wars #25 and 26Guerre Stellari #14a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (October 1979) contains Star Wars #27 and 28
The back cover to Guerre Stellari #10 has an ad for the comic il Mago or The Wizard. The ad is the drawing of a nude woman brushing her hair. Can you imagine the outrage from parents in the U.S. with a drawing of a nude woman on a Star Wars comic? The culture in Europe is more open to nudity than the U.S. so it is not unheard of for ads like this to appear on a comic that would be purchased by children.
Guerre Stellari #10a - Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy (February 1979) back cover
Ciao from Italy, I discovered you for your article on Lebanese Star Wars Comic and checked for the Italian page: it's great. If you want to have a look at my website, Star Wars Libri & Comics, it's the only one and biggest focused on Star Wars Books and Comics in Italy :) http://starwarslibricomics.it/
What are the values of the first edition of Guerre Stellaris worth, I have November and December 1977 issues, if anyone can help me out, I truly appreciate it
Ciao from Italy, I discovered you for your article on Lebanese Star Wars Comic and checked for the Italian page: it's great. If you want to have a look at my website, Star Wars Libri & Comics, it's the only one and biggest focused on Star Wars Books and Comics in Italy :)
ReplyDeletehttp://starwarslibricomics.it/
Thank you for posting information concerning your site. I took a look and I love it. I will be adding it as a link on the main page for this site.
DeleteCiao! Has someone written anything about the "Star Wars" comics published in the Italian publication "Big Bang".
ReplyDeleteI do have a couple of issues of Big Bang from Italy with Star Wars covers. I will do a posting on the two issues in the coming month.
DeleteWhat are the values of the first edition of Guerre Stellaris worth, I have November and December 1977 issues, if anyone can help me out, I truly appreciate it
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know who is the cover artist on the first comic?
ReplyDelete