Book Review: Marvel Comics 'Star Wars: A New Hope: The 40th Anniversary'
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| Cover art by Paul Renaud. (C) 2017 Marvel Comics Group and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) |
On April 18, 2017, Marvel Comics published Star Wars: A New Hope: The 40th
Anniversary, a slim volume that collects 48 illustrations created for
various Star Wars comic book titles (Doctor Aphra, Poe Dameron, Darth Maul, and
Yoda’s Secret War, just to name a
few) in honor of the franchise’s 40th year.
Written by Jess Harrold and edited by Heather Antos, this
168-page book presents artwork by some of Marvel Comics’ best illustrators, including
Juan Gimenez, Stuart Immonen, Adi Granov, Michael Walsh, Paul Renaud, Terry and
Rachel Dotson, Mike Mayhew, Will Robson, Jordan Boyd, and Pepe Larraz.
To celebrate the 40th
anniversary of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, a galaxy of
comic-book stars – from David Acuna to Chip Zdarsky – come together to present
the legendary saga as you’ve never seen it before, across 48 stunning covers.
The works of talents including Mark Brooks, Terry Dotson, Adi Granov, Stuart
Immonen, Salvador Larroca, Ed McGuinness, Phil Noto, Chris Samnee, and Leinil
Francis Yu is accompanied by behind-the-scenes sketches and new text guiding
you through Luke Skywalker’s epic journey – from the deserts of Tatooine to
joining the rebels as they take on the Empire’s devastating Death Star! It
doesn’t stop there, as a bonus gallery of covers features all of your favorite
characters from A New Hope: Luke, Princess
Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO, Obi-Wan Kenobi and, of course, the
deadly Darth Vader – as depicted by John Cassaday, Joe Quesada, Alex Ross, Skottie
Young, and more! Plus: insightful commentary from creators and the classic
first issue of Marvel’s original adaptation of Star Wars! – back cover blurb, Star Wars: A New Hope: The 40th Anniversary
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| Proposed cover for Star Wars: A New Hope: The 40th Anniversary (derived from Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #7. Art by Greg Land and Edgar Delgado. (C) 2017 Marvel Comics Group and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) |
My Take
I’m a fan of both the Star
Wars film series – especially the Original Trilogy – and Marvel Comics’
adaptations of what the publisher used to tout as “the greatest space-fantasy
film of all!” I saw Star Wars in a
South Florida theater for the first time 41 years ago, and I remember borrowing
issues #1-6 of the Marvel comic-book from one of my neighbors in a Sweetwater
apartment complex in December of ’77. I eventually got my hands on Marvel’s 1978
Marvel Special Edition Featuring Star Wars 3, an oversized (10 x
14 inch) comic Treasury edition which collected the first six Star Wars issues
written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Howard Chaykin.
For various reason – financial as well as practical – I have
limited my Star Wars comic-book purchases
to the adaptations of the live-action movies, so I don’t own any of the Marvel
Comics issues that continue the saga in such series as Darth Vader, Han Solo, Darth Maul, Doctor Aphra, or any of the others
that are mentioned in Star Wars: A New
Hope: The 40th Anniversary. All I can say about those 21st Century
visits to George Lucas’s galaxy far, far away is that Lucasfilm considers those
Marvel series to be part of the overall canon, and the artists and writers seem
to be among the best in the comics business.
As for Star Wars: A
New Hope: The 40th Anniversary, I picked it up on a whim when I was at a
store with some of my loved ones this weekend. I knew – by reading the back-cover
blurb – that it wasn’t a new adaptation of A
New Hope, but I thought the conceit was a clever one. Also, it was a 40th
Anniversary item, so why not?
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| Juan Gimenez's cover art for Star Wars: Doctor Aphra 3. (C) 2017 by Marvel Comics Group and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) |
Marvel Comics’ Jess Harrold wrote the sparse text, while the
book itself was designed by Adam Del Re and Salena Mahina. The main part of the
book is done to mimic the appearance of A
New Hope’s blue lettering-on-black starfield “end credits" sequence and the “A long
time ago in a galaxy far, far away” card. The 48 covers are presented in the
first section of the book, arranged to follow the chronology of Star Wars: A New Hope from the Empire’s
capture of the Tantive IV to the
Rebels’ medal ceremony in the Massassi Temple on Yavin Four.
Star Wars: A New Hope:
The 40th Anniversary also features a transcript of a conversation between
Jordan D. White, Marvel’s Star Wars editor,
with writers Kieron Gillen and Jason Aaron. The trio discusses the concept behind
the Star Wars: A New Hope: The 40th
Anniversary project, as well as other topics of interest to fans of the
movies and comics.
This is followed by a gallery of covers that were considered
for the 40th Anniversary book’s main section but didn’t make the
final cut. Some of them, such as a Complete Trilogy illustration by Mike Mayhew
for Journey to Star Wars: The Force
Awakens: Shattered Empire are abstract but uber-cool. Others include “Wanted”
posters for Han Solo and Chewbacca done for Star
Wars issues #16 and 17 by Francesco Francavilla.
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| Star Wars #1 cover art by Howard Chaykin. (C) 1977 Marvel Comics Group and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation |
Finally, Star Wars: A
New Hope: The 40th Anniversary presents a reproduction of Star Wars #1, which Marvel’s Stan Lee
presented in April of 1977. Unlike the 2015 “remastered” edition with coloring
by Sotocolor, this reprint of Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin’s oft-reprinted and
reissued classic features Marie Severin’s 1970s-style coloring scheme. In this presentation, the Roy Thomas essays
about George Lucas’s film and how Marvel acquired the license to adapt Star Wars are included, but they precede
and follow the main content of the Thomas-Chaykin comic book.
All in all, Star Wars:
A New Hope: The 40th Anniversary is a unique retelling of the very first
film in the storied Lucasfilm saga. It’s also a nifty collectible for
comic-book lovers and Star Wars fans
alike.
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