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Star Wars #1

The mid-1970's were not a good time for American comic-book publishers. The superheroes, after a brief flirtation with relevance, were losing steam. Romance was dying, the funny animals' days were numbered, and Westerns were heading into their last sunset. Horror showed some promise, but old rules and old habits discouraged any true innovation. A brief explosion of new titles at Marvel and DC turned into a bust; between 1975 and 1978, DC alone launched 50 new titles, but only six of them were popular enough to last until 1979.

In desperation, the industry turned to Hollywood for help. It seemed like a natural fit; the Super Friends cartoons were a Saturday morning staple, Wonder Woman was doing all right as a live-action show, and Spider-Man was teaching kids to read on The Electric Company. There were even rumors of a live-action Superman movie in the making, and comic fans eagerly lapped up every bit of pre-production gossip they could get.

Marvel was pushing the Hollywood connection, too. While it didn't have any big-budget movie starring its characters in the works, it did seek out movie projects that might work on the comic page, the reasoning being that popular movies would translate into high-selling comics. Early experiments didn't look promising; the heavily promoted sci-fi flick Logan's Run bombed as both a movie and as a comic-book tie-in, and the publishers accepted the notion that people weren't interested in science fiction. Years of mindless, Code-approved stories about bug-eyed aliens stealing Earth women, it seemed, had taken their toll on the genre.

Not surprisingly, then, the heads at Marvel were cool to the idea of producing a comic tie-in to a new sci-fi movie by a director whose biggest feat to date was directing American Graffiti. But Roy Thomas was excited by what he saw on the set, and George Lucas really wanted a comic book tie-in to get the kids excited about his movie. Both convinced their bosses it could work, and Star Wars #1, a book released just before the movie's premiere, was the result.

Written by Thomas and drawn by Howard Chaykin, the first issue was a faithful adaptation of a movie that would set box office records and cause an explosion in related merchandise. Because of the Star Wars mania, the comic book was sold out, and more printings were ordered - which was almost unheard of at that time. Before it was over, Star Wars #1 would become the first comic book since Batman in 1966 (the height of Batmania, thanks to the popular TV show) to sell more than a million copies.

The phenomenal success of both the movie and its 'official' comic book would have a significant impact on the industry. First, Star Wars made sci-fi cool again; after years of science fiction movies dealing with serious topics and dreary futures, the public was ready for a story that combined adventure and humor with aliens and spaceships. The comics responded with a new appreciation for soap operas in space, putting teams such as the X-Men and the Legion of Super-Heroes in the middle of interstellar sagas.

Second, the partnership's success inspired comic-book publishers to seek out other TV shows, toys, and movies for comic book potential. Hollywood stars have always been a part of the comic business - even Jerry Lewis once had his own long-running comic - but now, in the wake of Star Wars, it was practically a requirement for every hot new movie or toy to have its own comic book. Toys such as the Micronauts, Rom, and the Transformers were transferred to the comic page. The new series of Star Trek movies, along with the Indiana Jones trilogy, the Star Wars sequels, and countless others, were reproduced for comic-book readers. In an age where 'synergy' became the new marketing buzzword, comic publishers and Hollywood producers cooked up plenty to their mutual benefit.

Then there was the Star Wars comic itself, which continued to print the adventures of Luke, Leia, and Han long after it finished re-creating the movie's plot. With a sequel in the works, Lucas wanted to keep interest in the upcoming movie going as long as possible, and in those pre-Internet days that meant a steady presence on the newsstand. Marvel's Star Wars would last until 1986, producing more than a hundred issues of original stories based on the Star Wars characters. In the 1990's, Lucasfilm would grant Dark Horse Comics the license to create an all-new line of original Star Wars comics - a decision that would cost Marvel dearly, and give more industry clout to an upstart company that would become known for its innovative movie adaptations.

For better or for worse, Star Wars and the money it made influenced popular culture for years to come, challenging writers and publishers to come up with the next 'big thing,' as opposed to steering a steady course. The enthusiasm for 'blockbuster' events that Star Wars brought to movie screens seeped over into comics as well, as readers in the late 70's and early 80's would soon find out for themselves.

Copyright 2007 Todd Frye