Star Wars age 9 Comic Book

2187 looked up on google

mid–late 1978 | age9–10 It’s scary sometimes. I decided to check with Google (almighty font of all knowledge) to see if the cell number in this strip is the correct one. Well, would you believe it?—if you Google ‘2187’, it’s actually ranked in a Star Wars-related page at number 2? (written some years ago)

So out of the entire internet with all of the world’s phone numbers, house numbers and random miscellaneous occurrences of the number 2187—its starring role in Star Wars seems to be the second most significant one… EVER. (This also says something about Google’s questionable search algorithm). Hey, (Update) they even used it for Finn’s Stormtrooper designation in The Force Awakens. Is this the so-called Star Wars Ring-Theory but finally gone mad?

Everything… every little detail in Star Wars has significance

But do you know that just about every detail in the film has been named, documented and given a back story? I bet there’s a site, or book—somewhere with a blueprint and family history of that squeaky little trapezoid droid that zips around our heroes’ feet (for about 3 seconds of screen time) as they approach the detention block. Crackers! (Do you know?–I always thought it looked suspiciously like one of R2’s feet)

Art Notes

The top panel here owes everything to Howard Chaykin’s version, I’m disappointed to admit. Or—did he use a «wormhole to go forward in time, before he made his one for Marvel, but after I saw the film to steal my ideas? Seems plausible. Isn’t that what Quantum Physics is for? Whatever the explanation (I ripped it off) it’s still fun for me to see the similarities between my own Star Wars comic artwork and his. But not only that; to see the differences, like what I left out. The text is different; and for some reason, I couldn’t be arsed copying his wonderfully dramatic smoke. I’ve also just noticed that Howard’s version even has a little reflection on the floor, in the shadow under Luke’s leading foot. Nice touch.

Howard Chaykin’s at it again? (Marvel/Chaykin 1977)

Script Notes

“Hmmm… I’ll have to put my gun (to maximum?) to blast the door. Thing is it’d probably melt in my hand.”

Once again, a somewhat puzzling little bit of my comic had me wondering: where did that come from? And why does Luke think that when he finds Cell 2187, it won’t have an open button? Surely the staff at the Death Star don’t have to destroy a perfectly good door every time they want to enter a prison cell?

Luke’s concerned that his gun will melt. My text doesn’t make the reason why very clear, “I’ll have to put my gun to blast the door”. Put the gun to WHAT?!? The Shoot-Door setting? I thought, there I go, trying to improvise again… But no—imagine my surprise when I see it in the novel:

Lucas takes the credit – again. Who does he think he is?

“Turning his weapon to maximum and hoping it wouldn’t melt in his hand before it broke through, he opened fire on the door. When the weapon became too hot to hold, he tossed it from hand to hand.”

It’s funny how I took bits, and altered them. Like the «“What’s a duck” line, which I referenced in «my own version, but completely misunderstood.

Update: 21-87

Well, well, well, how wrong I was! There is a deeper origin for the number 2187. It seems that George was profoundly affected and influenced by a college short movie by Arthur Lipset titled 21-87. According to this article on The Guardian, George watched the movie about 20 or 30 times. He decided that “that was the kind of movie that I wanted to make.” It wasn’t sci-fi or anything like Star Wars, but was a collage of bits and pieces of other college films. It was an influence of George’s own college collage-films and even the numeric titles which he used, such as THX-1138 24EB. Check out The Guardian’s article. It’s actually fascinating.