LOOK Kids!! COMICAZI!!

I think we can all agree that Star Wars has left an indelible mark upon pop culture.  It’s been a generation since the movie fired the imaginations of children.  Those children are now adults with families of their own and there’s a second trilogy of movies to spark the creativity of this new wave of kids.
Star Wars is referenced in almost every conceivable way possible from movies to books to lunchboxes to its very own religion!  But all this is most likely known by you if you’re reading these words.  You obviously have an interest in comics and toys and of course the house that Lucas built.  For the purposes of this post, I’ll briefly cover the gamut Star Wars has made in this little corner of the market.

After the first movie back in those halcyon days of 1977, Marvel Comics jumped on the property.  They published over 100 issues of Star Wars.  A lot of it was a little hokey as they were hamstrung by Lucas and his vision of the storyline.  But there’s some genuinely good stuff in there, notably the run that fell between Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi.  And there were some fine creators working on the book at this point, among them Walt Simonson and Gene Day.

There were also the Kenner line of action figures, of course.  Hugely successful, they knocked the Mego Corp from its perch as the top dog in toy licensing.  I had my share of Mego dolls as a kid but they were relegated to the back of the closet once I became aware of Star Wars figures and playsets.  And I’m positive that every other kid my age felt the same way.  There was this one kid in my school who always managed to get the latest ship or newest character release before me….. See?  Crazy competition for the toys.

Prose novels were on the market featuring the early adventures of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian as well as Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye with Luke and Leia.  This one was unauthorized by Lucas but has since been folded into the Star Wars continuity.
That leads me to the second coming of Star Wars.  In the mid 90’s, the Star Wars action figure line made a return and still sells wildly to this day 15 years later.
The comic publisher Dark Horse acquired the license to publish new Star Wars tales.  And they did.  In force if you’ll pardon the pun.  They hit the ground running and haven’t stopped.  They’ve created comics that range the entire Star Wars timeline for thousands of years.  An impressive feat.  And all authorized by the man himself.  Dark Horse still holds the rights to Star Wars and continues putting out quality comics.

The novels have also cranked up in production the past decade plus.  I actually have no idea how many there are now but I know there is a timeline for those as well.  Some of them have been adapted into the current comic chronology if I understand correctly.  I couldn’t keep up with them after a while and haven’t read one in ages.  That is not to say that they’re bad.  Maybe I’ll give one a shot when there’s an 8th day in the week.

All of that brings me to the latest Star Wars piece of merchandise.  For those of you who frequent Comicazi Prime you may have noticed a shelf of the Eaglemoss lead figurines.  This British company has been in business for a few years now and have made a couple hundred of your favorite Marvel and DC characters.

Well, hell!!  Why not do some Star Wars characters?!?  They are!  Bob and I love these Eaglemoss figurines and actively collect them.  I don’t know if he or I will get into the Star Wars line but I’m willing to check them out.  The line kicks off with Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.  They’re already on order and should be here at Comicazi in a little over a month from this writing.
Feel free to check out and/or order the comic ones too if you’re so inclined.  And, of course, Comicazi has all of the Star Wars comics and toys that you could want too

Thanks!

Comicazi Mike