COMING MAY 25TH, 2023: 'RETURN OF THE JEDI - A COLLECTOR'S CLASSIC BOARD BOOK'

Abrams Books is stylishly getting into the celebratory spirit for Return of the Jedi's Fortieth Anniversary this year, with a lovely venture that takes Al Williamson's epic Marvel Comics adaptation art from 1983 to a new level of enjoyment, especially for younger age readers...

The official release info: 

An epic retelling of Return of the Jedi for Star Wars fans of all ages, with classic art from comics icon Al Williamson.

Experience the original movie like never before! Follow the adventures of favourite characters during some of the most memorable moments in Stra Wars history: from Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo's escape from Jabba the Hutt; to Luke's showdown with Darth Vader; to the climactic Battle of Endor, where the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance.

With art from comics legend Al Williamson, gatefolds, and a cinematic feel, this collector's board book is the perfect gift no matter your generation, for both lifelong Star Wars fans and the littlest Padawans.

Get it here:

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (A Collector's Classic Board Book) : Lucasfilm Ltd, Williamson, Al: Amazon.co.uk: Books

GOODBYE, STAN LEE...

Very sad to hear the news of the passing of the great comics creative genius, legend, showman and all-round nice guy Stan Lee- the man who gave us so many memorable heroes and villains to discover and enjoy within his MARVEL publishing empire, and whom importantly made worldwide kids of all ages (and those successors-to-be talents in his company) read and indulge in fantasy and adventure, whilst also giving us some very cleverly hidden morality tales to think about within his stories.

One of the classic MARVEL comic adaptation tie-ins to the original Star Wars. 

And, of course, he was the man who launched the original Star Wars saga into comic book form in the US. As many of the fantasy and sci-fi titles MARVEL had released at that time in the early seventies hadn't always performed so well, Lee wasn't at first apparently willing to do a tie-in comics adaptation of the upcoming space movie then in production in the UK. But the acclaimed Roy Thomas, then working for his comic empire with the likes of the popular Conan the Barbarian, managed to persuade him, helped along by the film's casting news of Sir Alec Guinness in a lead role. Lee had always liked and admired Guinness work and, because of that casting, took a chance and entered into some ultimately tough negotiations with the film's publicist Charles Lippincott. But it proved a chance that paid off nicely- launching a sell-out first issue (debuting 8/3/77, two months before the film's release) and a glorious original reign for the title for nearly ten years, whilst importantly saving Lee's company from potential bankruptcy at one point.

http://www.comicbookschool.com/marvel-star-wars-1977/

At the 2015 Emerald Comic Con, Lee was presented with a superb piece of new MARVEL Star Wars art.

Thank you, Stan Lee. Your storytelling and entertainment work will live forever! Excelsior!

'STAR WARS' AT 40: A STAR IS GONE, A HERO IS BORN!

The power and technological might wielded by the Empire ultimately proves no match for the powers of the Force and the heroic, instinct-using talents of a young farmboy from Tatooine, delivering the torpedoes that ultimately lead to the chain reaction destruction of the Death Star battle station, just as it was about to extinguish his friends lives on Yavin IV.

No disrespect intended whatsoever to Richard Edlund and ILM from back in the day, but this artistic visual explosion rendering is surely more striking to behold than the one seen in the finished film. The art, originally from Howard Chaykin and Steve Leialoha for the MARVEL STAR WARS US comic Issue 6 (1977), may even have subconsciously influenced the decision by Lucas to add on explosive detonation rings to both Death Star explosions and the destruction of Alderaan for the later Special Edition visual effects upgrades of 1997.

'STAR WARS' AT 40: 'DEATH' FROM DARTH!

As seen in movie theatres, the seeming self-sacrifice of Obi-Wan Kenobi to a hungry-to-kill Darth Vader was simply but effectively achieved thanks to practical and visual effects trickery. But in the 1977 MARVEL COMICS adaptation of the film with Issue 4, his demise prior to ultimately disappearing under his cloak looked particularly gruesome - certainly a scary visual image I'll never forget - from artists Howard Chaykin and Steve Leialoha. With the film still in post production whilst the comic was being produced, and with scant scene/publicity stills imagery available, there was no way for the duo to know what the "death" would ultimately look like- their artistic interpretation, however, would certainly prove memorable.

'STAR WARS' AT 40: CELL BLOCK BATTLE!

Getting into the Death Star cell bay to rescue Princess Leia was one thing, but trying to get out of there with her...? Well, that's going to be a lot more difficult, as our unlikely quartet discover when Stormtroopers rush the scene and pin them down, in this great image from artists Howard Chaykin and Steve Leialoha, launching issue 4 of the original US STAR WARS comic from MARVEL in early 1977.

'STAR WARS' AT 40: "SORRY FOR THE MESS!"

The original "Han shoots first" scene with Greedo, as presented in the original 1976 Marvel Comics adaptation: Issue Two, 1976. Art by Howard Chaykin. Adaptor Roy Thomas uses most of the dialogue as originally scripted and filmed beween Harrison Ford and Paul Blake at Elstree.

EPISODE VII: THE FIGHTING FALCON!

In the belly gunport of the newly awakened Millennium Falcon, Finn becomes a quick learner of the unique vessel's weapons systems, as two attacking First Order TIE fighters continue their pursuit, in this scene from THE FORCE AWAKENS.

The blockbuster smash of 2015 comes to 3D Blu-ray for the first time in a very special Collector's Edition set from LUCASFILM/DISNEY, available from October 31st, 2016.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Collector's Edition Blu-ray 3D Region Free: Amazon.co.uk: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, J.J. Abrams: DVD & Blu-ray

Here's a look back to our Classic Trilogy heroes manning the Falcon guns...

Behind the scenes: the gun port exterior view at Elstree in Summer 1976.

Sadly, we never saw her man a gunport on the cinema screen, but at least Princess Leia got the chance within the comics medium, for MARVEL's STAR WARS ANNUAL 1 from 1979, during the story, The Long Hunt.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 35: REMEMBERING 'DEATH PROBE'

Continuing the air of darkness and violence so prevalent during events of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, MARVELS's first all-new original adventure from the sterling team of writer Archie Goodwin and artist Carmine Infantino, after the series previous acclaimed six-issue adaptation, sees Luke Skywalker, trapped on a derelict Rebel cruiser alongside buddy Artoo Detoo, using all of his skills as a pilot and a Jedi-to-be against an augmented and heavily armed Probe Droid that's under remote control from a glory-seeking Imperial commenader. Can Luke stop the droid before it discovers his identity, and locks onto the path of the incoming, on-the-run Rebel fleet?

Death Probe is a great first adventure launching the new series- the idea of using the Probe Droid as a combatant is one of the best seen in what was once the early days of the Expanded STAR WARS universe, and its artistically brought to striking life (check out the opening spread of the Probe Droid smashing into the cruiser's hull and blasting away at its Rebel prey- truly impactful)- a fine way to tell the comic reading audience that the encapsulating post EMPIRE storytelling/timeline has begun with a bang. As a solo story for Luke its equally important: seeing him testing his abilities after the mental and physical scars he received from duelling Darth Vader. Here, as his predicament worsens, he also uses the Force in a new way: controlling his breathing in order to make it look as if he's barely alive to the Probe Droid's sensor readings, and gets to wield his lightsaber (still being mis-spelled "Lightsabre"), presumably written and pencilled before the EMPIRE adaptation had been fully completed and it was known that Luke would ultimately lose the civilised weapon at Bespin.