Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Retro Marvel

Ewoks #14

The Smurfs or Les Schtroumpfts were created by the comic artist Peyo for Belgian readers in 1958.  Originally introduced in another series Johan and Peewit or Johan et Pirlouit in the Spirou comic magazine, the characters received their own stories starting in 1959.  The comic proved popular and spread throughout Europe.  The property was brought to the United States as a Saturday-morning cartoon in 1981.  The cartoon was a big hit and aired until 1989.  During the time the Smurfs were on television, several rip offs were created, including the Snorks and, alas, the Ewoks.

The similarities between the Smurfs and Ewoks are numerous, including both centering around a village in the forest.  Papa Smurf is the leader of his community while Chief Chirpa leads his.  The Smurfs only had a few females, the most popular being the first female, Smurfette, who is similar to the Ewoks' Princess Kneesaa.  The members of both villages have a special skill that defines their role.  Magic plays an important role in both properties and many of the adventures from one could easily be adapted to the other.  It is easy to see that the Ewoks cartoon liberally borrowed ideas from the more successful Smurf's show.

While the Smurfs enjoyed a long run, the Ewoks only lasted two seasons from 1985 to 1986.  The Marvel comic series based on the television show ran for 14 issues, with the final issue having a cover date of July 1987.

Ewoks #14a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (July 1987)
direct
Ewoks #14b - Marvel Comics, U.S. (July 1987)
newsstand

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