The Comics Chronicles posted their March sales estimates, and Princess Leia #1 followed Star Wars #1 and Darth Vader #1 with strong sales. It came in 1st place on the chart with over 253,000 copies ahead of Star Wars #3 in the second position with over 161,000 copies! Princess Leia #2 took the 4th place with over 96,000 copies and Darth Vader #3 placed a respectable 8th place on the chart with over 85,000 copies. Star Wars titles accounted for 4 of the top 10 titles in March. Star Wars #2 reorders took the 80th place with over 27,000 copies and Darth Vader #2 took the 223rd slot with close to 8,000 reordered copies. Please read the blog posting March 2015 comics sales estimates online; Princess Leia #1 tops 250k.
In January 2015, Marvel Comics returned to publishing Star Wars comics in a big way. Star Wars #1 was a tremendous success, with a myriad of variant covers and multiple printings; there have been over 1 million copies printed. What about the story inside? Is the comic worth picking up? Hopefully this review will help answer those questions.
Star Wars #1a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (January 2015)
Summary
The story opens with a page with the familiar "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." followed by a 2 page spread of the words Star Wars. The subsequent page has the familiar Star Wars crawl titled Book I Skywalker Strikes and goes on to explain how the Rebels want to press their advantage against the Empire after the destruction of the Death Star. We then see a ship approach an Imperial facility on Cymoon 1. Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and R2-D2 depart the shuttle and Han Solo introduces himself as a representative of Jabba the Hutt. Leia and Luke are in disguise and Chewbacca is hiding nearby. We also learn that C-3PO is watching the Millenium Falcon, also located nearby. Han talks to Imperial Overseer Aggadeen and we learn the Imperial facility is the Empire's largest weapons factory and the Rebels hijacked Jabba's real negotiator. Han is pretending to be the negotiator sent by Jabba and the Imperial explains there will be no negotiations, but they will impose their terms on Jabba. Once inside the base, the Rebels spring into action to destroy the weapons facility. Han, Leia, and R2-D2 work on destroying the base while Luke standing guard discovers Imperial prisoners which he frees. Meanwhile, outside, Chewbacca reports the arrive of an Imperial Shuttle with Darth Vader aboard. Leia orders Chewbacca to kill Vader, but Vader repels the attack, although his cadres of Stormtroopers are not so lucky. We learn C-3PO's job is to engage the Falcon's autopilot to help the Rebels escape, but the Falcon, hidden in a refuse field, is being dismantled by scavengers. Han devises another plan to use an AT-AT to escape in instead. Luke Skywalker sense Darth Vader's presence at the base and comes face to face with him on the last page.
The Good
Marvel did themselves a huge favor by using the main characters in their first story. Dark Horse spent years trying to tell different stories with other characters and only had minor success. To appeal to a larger audience only familiar with Star Wars from the movies, this comic is a terrific introduction.
The introduction pages are obviously inspired by the movies and are welcome. Having every issue of the comic start off this way would be superfluous, but having every arc start this way would be terrific.
The plan setup by the Rebels feels right and the characters are used effectively in the plan. I like that the story draws on many elements of Star Wars and does not just rely on those elements introduced in first movie. Having our heroes start off with a confrontation with the Empire does not feel forced and Han Solo, Princess Leia, R2-D2, and Chewbacca are used well in this story. Darth Vader showing up in the first issue is a nice surprise and the cliffhanger ending is used effectively here.
My favorite moment is when Leia orders Chewbacca to kill Vader. After what she went through on the Death Star, this feels like a natural reaction she would have. Additionally, having Chewbacca kill all the Imperials except for Darth Vader was a cool scene!
The Bad
There are some changes to the Star Wars story that do not resonate well with me. Having it be generally known that the Death Star existed, let alone that is was destroyed is one. Additionally, having Han Solo embrace his role as a Rebel this early feels off. After the destruction of the Death Star, Han Solo and Chewbacca need to leave and should be brought back into the Rebellion organically. Finally, having Luke Skywalker confront Darth Vader so early also feels forced. It makes sense that Marvel wants to distance themselves from past Star Wars stories, but this story does not feel like it fits between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back seamlessly. To get to situation as seen in The Empire Strikes Back, there is going to need to be some developments, including a Rebellion that is on its heels and not able to carry out bold attacks against the Empire.
Notice that I mentioned all the characters are used well except for Luke Skywalker. For a story titled Skywalker Strikes, Luke has surprisingly little reason to be part of the planned attack on the weapons factory. Luke discovers the prisoners, who presumably will have a larger role in subsequent issues, and he is instrumental in the cliffhanger ending, but both situations occur because Luke "wanders off" and not because he is engaged in the Rebel operation. I suspect Luke's role will increase with subsequent issues in this arc, but so far it feels more like a Han Solo Strikes story.
This is more a complaint against modern comic story telling techniques, but not much happens in this story. This is a biased based on my love of the original Marvel Star Wars comics, but the events in this comic would have occurred in 4-6 pages in an original Marvel issue. Additionally, the lack of thought balloons and text boxes is overcome by having C-3PO speak dialogue to explain the situation. Unfortunately, much of this dialogue does not sound like C-3PO.
Conclusion
Overall, I feel Marvel is off to a strong start with the new Star Wars title and it is understandable they want to break with the past stories from the Expanded Universe. I am not keen on modern comic story telling because it limits the tools that a writer can use to convey the story. Regardless, most of the characters are used effectively and I have high hopes that Luke Skywalker will have a purpose for being in this story. The cliffhanger ending alone will draw me back just to see how Marvel will resolve this situation without trampling on a main part of The Empire Strikes Back.
Star Wars #4 has a Boba Fett action figure variant cover that is an exclusive from John Tyler Christopher. The comic has already sold out on his website for $20 each, but there have been some held back for C2E2. Additionally, some have been held back for sale at a later date. This comic is limited to 5000 copies which is the same as a 1:25 variant for a comic that sells 125,000 copies.
This comic obviously has appeal to Star Wars fans, Boba Fett fans, and those collectors who are collecting the various action figure covers. But, will this comic have legs once the typical 3-6 months of euphoria wears off? Consider this:
Boba Fett's appearance in Star Wars #42 sells for roughly $80 in NM condition raw. In CGC 9.6 it sells for about $150.
There were several Star Wars #1 variants in January that had print runs of 3000 and 1500 copies with Boba Fett covers that do not sell for much more than they were originally offered.
Arguably, this is not the best Boba Fett cover available. When you consider Marvel's original run, Dark Horse's various titles, and the new Marvel titles, there are many choices for Boba Fett covers available to fans. These action figure variant covers are neat, but they don't depict the original packaging these figures appeared in which I feel limits their appeal.
There does seem to be a collector base for action figure covers. Whether or not this is a passing fad or a permanent fixture in the comic collecting world remains to be seen. I personally believe this variant has limited upside long term and will probably sell for $30 or less a year from now. Speculators hoping to cash in on Boba Fett appearances in comics would do better to pick up one of Boba Fett's first appearances in Marvel's original title.
You can read more about this Star Wars #4 Boba Fett action figure variant cover over at Bleeding Cool.
Princess Leia #1 is the top selling comic for March 2015 and 4 of the Top 10 spots are Marvel Star Wars titles. Head on over to The Comics Chronicles to read more.
These next two comics from Indonesia were published by Yayasan Karya Bhakti Bandung. These are digest-sized, black and white comics with the lead story being Star Wars and another non-Star Wars back up story.
Star Wars: Penyelidikan Sang Putri a - Yayasan Karya Bhakti Bandung, Indonesia (1980s) cover from Star Wars #36 first third of Star Wars #30Star Wars: Lolos Dari Metalorn a - Yayasan Karya Bhakti Bandung, Indonesia (1980s) cover from Star Wars #34 last third of Star Wars #30
The first comic is the first third of Marvel Comics Star Wars #30 titled A Princess Alone. This issue is titled Penyelidikan Sang Putri which translates to Investigation of the Princess. The story is dated 9-6-1980. The cover is from Marvel Star Wars #36. The second comic is the last third of Star Wars #30 and is titled Lolos Dari Metalorn or Escape From Metalorn. The cover is from Marvel Star Wars #34 and has Luke Skywalker mentioning Princess Leia's confrontation with Baron Tagge from the story inside.
These are Indonesian editions of Marvel Star Wars comics. The art on the covers and inside are not redrawn from the Marvel issues. These could be licensed comics.
Starting in July 1978, famous Indonesian cartoonist and illustrator Jan Mintaraga started an adaptation of Star Wars which lasted for 3 issues. Issue #1 is titled Star Wars and was released before the Star Wars movie opened in Indonesia.[1] All 3 issues are in full color and are pamphlet sized comics. They were published by Sanggar Karya.
Star Wars #1a - Sanggar Karya, Indonesia (July 1978) original art
Issue #2 is titled 6 Melawan Galaxy or 6 Against the Galaxy and features a cover similar to Marvel Comics Star Wars #1.
Star Wars #2a - Sanggar Karya, Indonesia (July 1978) original art
Issue #3 is titled Bintang Maut or Death Star. If these titles sound familiar, that is because they are the titles of the chapters in the Marvel Comics adaptation.
Star Wars #3a - Sanggar Karya, Indonesia (July 1979) original art
These three comics were clearly inspired by the Marvel comics and include many similar panels. The same cut scenes from the movie used in the Marvel adaptation are also here like Luke Skywalker's meeting with Biggs Darklighter on Tatooine and the infamous scene with Darth Vader holding a cup during the Death Star briefing. Each issue ends at the same point the Marvel issues end. Issue #1 ends with Luke Skywalker being attacked by the Tusken Raider. Issue #2 ends with the Millennium Falcon making the jump to hyperspace after the escape from Tatooine. And finally, issue #3 ends with the prison escape on the Death Star. I would like to know why the 2 different Indonesian movie adaptation of Star Wars did not use the Marvel art but instead redrew that art.
Jan Mintaraga's art is different than what U.S. audiences are use to. Not the that art is bad; at points it is detailed and very dynamic. Unfortunately, if Jan just had the Marvel adaptation to use for reference, that is unfortunately, especially since Marvel Star Wars #1 was rushed to print and the art suffers because of it. The art on the covers is reminiscent of the art inside these issues.
I have not found any evidence this series continued past issue #3. Like the treasury sized comic published by Cypress Penerbit, it is doubtful these Sanggar Karya published issues are officially licensed comics. Relative to the other Indonesian Star Wars comics, this appear to be the most common of the Star Wars titles.
Star Wars comics published in Indonesia are as disjointed as this archipelagic state of 17,508 islands. It boasts the 4th largest population in the world and there have been several publishers of Star Wars comics. The full picture of all the Star Wars comics published in Indonesia is not completely understood yet, so I am starting a series of blogs that will attempt to examine what is known and hopefully over time a complete picture will emerge.
This Indonesian Star Wars comic was published by Cypress in the capital of Jarkata on the fifth largest Indonesian island called Java. It is a treasury-sized black and white comic which has the same cover used on Marvel Special Edition Featuring Star Wars #2. Despite the cover, the interior contains a full 72 page adaptation of the Star Wars movie... mostly.
Star Wars a - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978)
This comic contains a mixture of new art and redrawn art from the Marvel Star Wars adaptation. Based on what I have seen from other Indonesian Star Wars comics, I believe the art was provided by a local Indonesian artist who went by the initials of RAF. The first 21 pages contain original art not redrawn from the Marvel adaptation and the final 51 pages contain the art from Marvel Star Wars #4 - 6 redrawn. The artist is extremely competent and here are the first 21 pages:
Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 1 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 2 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 3 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 4 original art (Does Darth Vader have a mouth in panel 3?)Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 5 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 6 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 7 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 8 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 9 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 10 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 11 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 12 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 13 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 14 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 15 original art (Darth is drawn with a mouth again in panel 2)Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 16 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 17 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 18 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 19 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 20 original artStar Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 21 original art
Without actually translating these pages, it is clear that Darth Vader's role has been enhanced. Additionally, the first half of the movie has been abbreviated with Princess Leia being captured by Vader and brought aboard the Death Star. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 are also introduced into the story already aboard the Millennium Falcon. In what I believe to be a flashback, Luke and Ben recount the story of Leia's familiar plea for help. The Millennium Falcon encounters the Death Star and is captured. Ben goes off to disable the tractor beam while Han, Luke, Chewbacca, and the droids encounter Stormtroopers and Han and Luke don Stormtrooper armor. They find the prison cell holding Leia and we are current with the story at the end of Star Wars #3. Overall, the comic does a good job of summarizing the first half of the story and ending where Marvel Star Wars #4 picks up.
Starting on page 22, the art from the Marvel adaptation is redrawn. In some places, the art is more detailed than the original art. I cannot imagine the time that must have been spent redrawing a comic almost exactly like the original, but with subtle differences. Below are some examples of the redrawn pages along with the original pages:
Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 22 redrawn artStar Wars #4 - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 1977) page 1Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 23 redrawn artStar Wars #4 - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 1977) page 2Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 24 redrawn artStar Wars #4 - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 1977) page 3Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 36 redrawn artStar Wars #4 - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 1977) page 15Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) page 72 redrawn artStar Wars #6 - Marvel Comics, U.S. (December 1977) page 17
Some of the panels are very similar to the original panels, whereas other panels are clearly different. The characters have a little bit of a manga feel to them in the redrawn pages. I have a hard time believing this was an officially licensed adaptation of Star Wars and it probably is not. We've seen foreign publishers take liberties with covers and the packaging of the Marvel adaptation, but this comic takes these liberties to an entirely different level.
Star Wars - Cypress, Indonesia (August 1978) back cover
What is fascinating is this is not the only Indonesian adaptation of Star Wars. Additionally, there are other original material Star Wars comics from this country.
