Stellar Tribulations

Did everyone enjoy yesterday's Hide & Seek edition of Friday Fun & Games?

Yeah, still trying to get my peripatetic mind to wander back this way. We'll get there. Xmas is coming - that'll give it something to focus on here, eh?

Meanwhile, let's jump back a few days and revisit that issue of Rocket's Blast ComicCollector from which we pulled Don & Bill's Star Wars/Oz comparison. Star Wars, as you might recall, was making a big splash back in 1977 and unsurprisingly that was not the only reference in that issue. In fact, we got a short comic tale from Ron Wilber, whose work we've seen previously in Twilight Of The Heroes.
Wait - Did we get to that before the crash? Hmm...
If not, we'll go there soon.

For now, here's Ron's Star Woes from RBCC #139. Due to word size and density, these pages are a tad larger than usual for easier reading -

Actually, RBCC #139 was a Star Wars Special Issue, so there's plenty of other SW material, including artwork from Ralph Fowler, Steve Fabian, and others as well as a Mark Hamill interview. If i can get my brain to cooperate, we'll peek a bit more at the issue this weekend.

page art by Ronald Wilber for RBCC #139 (1977)

The Wicked Sith Of The West

One of these days we'll finally get to The Pertwillaby Papers, Don Rosa's old comic from the Rocket's Blast ComicCollector. But, for the moment, let's jump back to 1977 when the first Star Wars movie was released. Here's a lovely observational piece from Don, aided & abetted by William Fugate:

Slowly getting back on track...

page art by Don Rosa and William Fugate for RBCC #139 (1977)

Un-StarWars Un-Comics - Part III: The Final Fury!

Continuing from this morning and this afternoon...

Pizzazz only lasted another seven issues, so the next tale never reached completion. At least, not within the pages of Pizzazz.

But, still - it's another 21 pages from a Star Wars that never existed. So i suspect it'll show up here even without an ending.

pages from Pizzazz #s 7-9 (1978)

Un-StarWars Un-Comics - Part II: A Matter Of Monsters!

Continued from this morning's post...

Concluded this evening...

pages from Pizzazz #s 4-6 (1978)

Un-StarWars Un-Comics - Part I: A New Strip

It's time for some more Un-Comics!
For those who've not encountered the term here previously, un-comics are what we call comics that come from places other than comics - from magazines, convention programs, books, etc.,.

Today, we're looking at un-comics from a Star Wars that never was. Way back in 1977 when there was only one movie with an uncertain future, Marvel's Pizzazz magazine picked up the adventure right where the movie left off.

Now, i'm going to admit a bit of heresy here...
 I never really got into the extended Star Wars universe. I watched the movies, but that was about it. (Not counting things like being suited as a wookie for early Star Wars performances and things like that. Still got the wookie sounds down pat.) So, i'm sure that these have probably been either reprinted in comicbook version, or reformatted into a single story at some point. But, perhaps not?
After all - the licensing rules have changed dramatically in the intervening years.

Either way, i'm going to re-present them here in the original form. After all - it's Roy Thomas, Howard Chaykin, Tony DeZuniga, Marie Severin, Archie Goodwin, George Roussos, Jim Novak...  quite a cast of creators laying out the new tales in 3 page chapters.

In keeping with tradition, we'll be presenting the first story arc in three parts, but we won't make you wait years between releases; we'll get it all done today.

We pick up shortly after the medals awarding ceremony at the end of the first movie...

Continued in today's midday post.

pages from Pizzazz #s 1-3 (1977)

The Business Of Star Wars

One of the enjoyable things about mining through old cultural strata is the little oddities encountered during the dig. Things lost, forgotten, or simply missed and unknown until being discovered while burrowing for other treasures.

Case in point - one of the early Star Wars merchandising efforts, long forgotten for their bare-bones simplicity:

Star Wars Business Cards

It's easy to see why i forgot them after four decades, but i still like them, silly as they are.

Star Wars Business Cards from 1977

The Empire Strikes Ken

The last issue i ever saw of Rocket's Blast Comic Collector was #152. That issue didn't come out until 1982. By that time conventions were commonplace and the dealer's room aspect of the zine had faded away, no longer serving a vital need. Now there were more articles and artwork, and it was the first "New Look" issue with all of the content now typeset, leaving behind the old unpolished zine feel.

I like to think that the RBCC continued for a good while after that time but, as i said, i never saw more issues. I'm not sure if i saw any further issues of James Van Hise's other zine, Enterprise Incidents either. Around that time life was pretty strange with young children and multiple jobs and job changes - it was still a few years before artist became my full-time occupation. (I think i was working as an electronics tech about that time, but i've mentioned how tenuous my relationship with time is previously) So conventions tapered off around then, and i lost my window on that world.

Anyway...  What we're doing here today is a little mini-comic that appeared within the aforementioned issue - The Empire Strikes Mitch. Mitch being artist Ken Mitchroney, a semi-regular contributor in those days to both magazines, who decided to have fun with a bunch of Star Wars cartoons.

If you're wondering why you haven't seen more of Ken's work - you probably have.
His designs, storyboards, and animations can be seen in many places over the last few decades in places like Tiny Toon Adventures, Mosters, Inc., Toy Story 2, Shrek 2, The Lego Movie...  lots of places. And, last i knew, he was a supervising director for Cartoon Network.

So, he's a little busy for the comics these days.

pages by Ken Mitchroney for RBCC #152 (1982)