For generations, newspaper readers have turned to the comic strip page for a daily escape into comedy and adventure. From 1979 to 1984, Star Wars was a part of this grand tradition with a series of daily comic strips by such talents as Archie Goodwin, Al Williamson and Russ Manning. These tales expanded the post-Death Star exploits of Luke, Han, Leia and Darth Vader each day, three panels at a time.
In the past few years, the daily strip format has begun to thrive not only in print, but also online... the new source for up-to-the-minute information and entertainment. It's no surprise that Star Wars has been regularly celebrated in this new online genre by the likes of Michael Jantze's The Norm, Scott Kurtz's PvP and others.
After a 20 year hiatus, Star Wars adventures will return to the daily strip format online exclusively for starwars.com Hyperspace members this fall. The new comic strip section will include four on-going series -- two classics from the initial 1970s and 80s run, in a rare presentation of their original format, and two new series.
The first new series, by Pablo Hidalgo, will adapt existing Star Wars short stories and literature into the comic story-telling genre, in the tradition of Archie Goodwin's 1980 daily strip adaptation of Brian Daley's 1979 novel, Han Solo at Stars' End.
The second series will be a Clone Wars-era adventure leading up to and intertwined with the events of Episode III. Provisionally titled "Reversal of Fortune", this series will be written by Paul Ens and illustrated by Thomas Hodges.
Stay tuned for more details. If you're attending Comic-Con International next week, you can catch Pablo Hidalgo on Friday, 10:30 a.m. at the "Clone Wars Fiction" panel and at the 4 p.m. Star Wars Continuity panel; Paul Ens will be at the Friday, 2:00 p.m. "Official Star Wars Fan Club" panel and you can find Thomas Hodges all week in the Artist's Alley.
If you're not already a member, be sure to join Hyperspace: The Official Star Wars Fan Club for extensive Comic-Con 2004 coverage, live insider's look at this summer's Episode III filming in London, exclusive Episode III content and much more.