Saturday, February 11, 2012

A War Among The Stars!


It's yet another "Star Wars Weekend" as George Lucas dusts off his creation and renovates it yet again, this time with 3-D. I assume all six parts will eventually get this treatment.

The Marvel Comics tabloid cover above by Dave Cockrum and Rich Hoberg echoes the classic image from the vintage Star Wars poster from a time when the movie was truly an impressive achievement and not a somewhat dreary marketing ploy.


You take the iconic image by the Brothers Hildebrandt and flip some of the elements.


And voila you have a handy template for a wonderful cover evoking the romance and adventure of the great film.


Above is the original artwork for this handsome cover, but I noticed one odd thing about it.


Rick Hoberg's name is removed from the credit box. This got covered up by copy on the published cover, but is quite clear here. Hoberg was the penciller here and his name seems to once upon a time to have been glued to the piece and now is gone. Perhaps Cockrum added that box when he inked the piece and clipped Hoberg's name to fit. That's just speculation of course.


And for the record, here's the equally handsome back cover for this Marvel Comic tabloid.


The cover art by Hoberg and Cockrum was also used for the exceedingly attractive paperback version of the story from Del Rey books. I have this tumbling around here somewhere, and it's my favorite version of this vintage comics tale.

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2 comments:

  1. Princess Leia's outfit on the back cover is rather interesting. Actually, I like it more than what she actually wore. More like a princess, though less like a rebel and a fighter, so probably less appropriate, but that doesn't stop me from loving it.

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  2. I agree on Leia's costume here, it gives her a more stately appearance somehow. And her pose, above the assembled heroes makes her seem more motherly somehow than she is in the flicks. It's a different way of seeing her for sure.

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