I’d previously thought that I started the comic in very late 1977, but I now think that’s unlikely. I saw Star Wars at the very end of 1977—probably after Christmas. I did drawings of Star Wars at the end of 1977, but I don’t think they were comic pages. Much as I’d like the comic to have been started in the year the film came out, I don’t think I can honestly say that anymore.
These are quite childishly drawn ones. If they’re all from 1978, I was 9 and 10 years old. There are 2, possibly even 3 versions that were done in 1978. I think the first pass was with wobbly, coloured felt-tip pens. If I did the whole film, then the majority of those pages are now gone. The same goes for what I think is the second pass, in wobbly black biro/ballpoint. I a trashed huge number of those too as I got better at drawing, and became dissatisfied with them. There are lots of these remaining at the end of the comic after the escape from the Death Star, right through the ‘Last Battle’ of Yavin. But, most of them have had one side of the A4 sheet cut off and thrown away. Those halves were then stapled together. So that would have been the early part of the film adaptation, on the other side of the book, all gone and replaced with newer pages.
As I said, there may have been a 3rd pass made in 1978 too, but it’s very hard to tell. I try to assess up the style and quality of the drawing—and the types of paper they were drawn on, to figure out the different iterations.
These 1978 pages are the most childishly drawn ones, and often done without many references except trading cards and the Marvel comics. Much of the time, I can’t see any references at all, so they look even more bizarre! They’re the silliest pages and they’re my favourite ones of all! They really take me back to childhood.
They’re listed here in story-order; so if you read the comic here, it’ll be the closest you can get to reading my first adaptation of the movie (and I’ll weep for all of the pages that I threw away and replaced, as my drawing ability kept on improving).
This listing has them in reverse order. If you go to the last page, you can go backwards through them from the very first one.
—John White
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[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
mid-late 1978 | age 9-10 Harrison Ford gave us yet another good laugh in this single shot, in which he takes the call from upstairs. I always look forward to his performance here. The sideways tilt of the head–like a[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
early-mid 1978 | age 9-10 Here… how come Han says ‘Space Pirate’? Isn’t he a smuggler? I wonder where that originated. I mean, he may be somewhat criminal, but I don’t think he boards other people’s ships and robs them. Blammo! The[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
mid-1978 | age 9-10 If you’re confused, by the narrative flow here: read the little panel with the stormtrooper firing—before you look at the big bottom one. Script Notes: Killer Writing Ah yes, the ol’ “Let’s go” line. So good—that[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
early–mid 1978 | age 9–10 Han Luke and are cunningly disguised as Stormtroopers, but Chewie has no disguise. Anxious that they’re about to be rumbled—he takes the initiative and pretends to be a Pirate. The big furry spoofer! “ARR!” —Copyright:[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
early-mid 1978 | age 9-10 This is probably one of the 2 or 3 funniest scenes in the whole film. I missed out some of the best lines though: “Well…. uh, more wealth than you can imagine!” says Luke—to which[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
c.mid–late 1978 | age 9–10 My friends and I used to be baffled by that word Detention. Or maybe it was just me? We’d be playing a scene from Star Wars and all sorts of odd variations would come up.[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
1978 | age 9-10 Today we’re still in early 1978. And we get another of my favourites! This is when Star Wars really takes off for me, when Solo shows his true colours and refuses to get involved in any rescue[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
(early-mid 1978 | 9-10 yrs old) Savour this page reader… savourrrr. Ok, never mind. I will for you. These ones are always my favourites. And get this! Chewie’s doing his 1970s Kung-Fu moves! Art Notes This has got to be early to[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
1978 | age 9–10 Hurrah! It’s an oldie. A second-pass adaptation page, with Chewie in action. And I’m still digging these incomplete sentences. The comic sure wouldn’t be same without them if. “You need a trailing dot—dot—dot dammit!” I sense[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
