HOW TO KILL A COMIC FRANCHISE THE MARVEL WAY!

This is a classic image showing the later issue look of the post-RETURN OF THE JEDI characters in the monthly STAR WARS comic book then being produced by MARVEL COMICS. I like the image a lot-finally a Jedi, Luke's stance is great and its all nicely composed with friends and enemies old and new. The thing that makes me laugh, though, is that this magazine was a MARVEL COMICS news magazine which was proudly proclaiming the future of STAR WARS in its monthly series, and yet it wasn't long before they actually axed the title (in 1986, with its 107th issue), and the writers and artists working on it were forced to truncate their then current epic storyline (featuring a new regular enemy, the Nagai) into one wrap-up finale issue (which was very disappointing for everyone!). MARVEL cited its reason for the comics culling as being due to lowering readership since the end of the films and the limbo between sagas. And yet, from behind the scenes sources who worked on the title at the time, their consensus to STAR WARS fans was that the comic was actually still garnering consistent figures that were higher than some of MARVEL's very own created titles, which weren't being axed! Talk about one hand at MARVEL not knowing what the other was doing! Go figure!

It may have been a while later, but, with the superb DARK EMPIRE story re-launching STAR WARS as a viable comics franchise, MARVEL's loss was ultimately DARK HORSE's gain!

RETURN OF A COMICS LEGEND: HOWARD CHAYKIN'S "EMPIRE"!

Kudos to the team at STAR WARS INSIDER for its slightly improving issues recently. There's been a few new bits of information filtering through about the behind the scenes, attempts at a few more interviews, here and there rare or rare-ish pictures and some special commissions linked to the film series and the new CLONE WARS. Today's news that legendary comics artist Howard Chaykin has contributed a brand new cover for STAR WARS INSIDER's December issue (pictured above), is an excellent new step in the right direction. I have long been fascinated by Chaykin's art for the early STAR WARS comic adaptation, he was specially selected by Lucas due to his work on his sci-fi epic CODY STARBUCK- and gamely visualised a universe in 1976 and 1977 that was still in flux production wise. The adaptation of STAR WARS, one of the very few early clues to the public as to what the film was going to be about, may not look like the universe that was later recreated by Al Williamson and Carlos Garzon for their movie adaptations of EMPIRE and JEDI, but it has a wondrous comic book hybrid feel about it that, thirty four years on, is still ambitious and exciting to look at, and which, with its exciting style, inspired the dreams and ambitions of many young artists who would follow in Chaykin's large foot-steps.

Chaykin's original poster art which appeared at the San Diego COMIC CON in 1976

"Enter Luke Skywalker - will he save the galaxy or destroy it?" Chaykin's adapted poster, now a cover for the launch of the STAR WARS US MARVEL comic.

This new EMPIRE art, of which Chaykin has taken his cues from what he originally did for the limited edition San Diego COMIC CON poster of 1976 (which was then adapted for the cover of STAR WARS MARVEL COMIC number 1) is very nicely done, and I'm sure this issue of INSIDER, with an accompanying behind the scenes feature about Chaykin at MARVEL for STAR WARS, will be a huge success.