Star Wars: A Long Time Ago… Volume 1: Doomworld collects issues 1-20 of the original Marvel Comics title that ran from April 1977 through June 1986 (with a final, 108th issue in May 2019). The stories in these first twenty issues were written by Roy Thomas, Howard Chaykin, Donald F. Glut (who wrote the novelization of The Empire Strikes Back), Archie Goodwin, Chris Claremont, illustrated by Howard Chaykin, Tom Palmer, Alan Kupperberg, Carmine Infantino, Walt Simonson, Herb Trimpe, inked by Steve Leialoha, Rick Hoberg, Bill Wray, Frank Springer, Tom Palmer, Terry Austin, Bob Wiacek, Allen Milgrom, Gene Day, lettered by Jim Novak, Tom Orzechowski, Carol Lay, Michael W. Royer, Joe Rosen, John Costanza, Rick Parker, Denise Wohl, Irving Watanabe, colored by Marie Severin, Carl Gafford, Steve Leialoha, Glynis Oliver, Paty Cockrum, Tom Palmer, Françoise Mouly, Janice Cohen, Bob Sharen, George Roussos, and feature covers by Howard Chaykin, Tom Palmer, Rick Hoberg, Dave Cockrum, Gil Kane, Tony DeZuniga, Carmine Infantino, Terry Austin, John Byrne, Walt Simonson, Bob McLeod.

The Marvel team began adapting the comics in advance of the film’s release, so they featured scenes that were later cut from the theatrical edition of Star Wars, including Luke Skywalker watching the battle between the Tantive IV and the Star Destroyer through his binoculars, Luke meeting with Biggs Darklighter in Anchorhead, and Han Solo’s conversation with Jabba the Hutt at Mos Eisley. In this adaptation, Jabba appears as a tall yellow alien with large muttonchops-style whiskers and an orange jumpsuit. Star Wars was uniquely suited to the comic book medium, with its dynamic scenes, heroic characters, menacing villains, and epic backdrops offering plenty of material for artists to adapt. Following the six-issue adaptation of A New Hope and prior to the announcement of The Empire Strikes Back, the staff at Marvel were free to continue the story based on their own imaginations. While the successive stories were never considered canon in either the Expanded Universe or the new official canon, they are a fun look at this early phase of fandom and how Marvel met audiences’ demands for more Star Wars stories. The stories featured further exploits of space-fantasy, with pirates, smugglers, and weird aliens galore. Issue 8, “Eight Against a World,” introduced Jaxxon, a Lepi smuggler from Coachelle Prime. The giant, green anthropomorphic rabbit appeared in issues 8-11 and 16, reappearing in 108. Though many decry the character, he was fun and wasn’t the only green space rabbit of the 1970s and 1980s as Bucky O’Hare followed in 1984. Marvel has since reintroduced Jaxxon in their canonical Star Wars comics beginning with the 2018 Annual of Star Wars Adventures. Issue 16 introduced Beilert Valance, who became a recurring villain in Marvel’s Star Wars comics prior to The Empire Strikes Back. He made a final appearance in Marvel’s commemorative 108th issue, “Forever Crimson,” which celebrated Marvel’s history in 2019. Finally, issue 17 includes a flashback to Luke and Biggs Darklighter’s life growing up on Tatooine.

Star Wars fans will find this a fun collection and an enjoyable look back at the early history of the franchise following the first film. Though no longer canon, there are plenty of fun stories here that are worth reading just like the old Expanded Universe novels and comics. ( )

This is certainly a mixed bag, when it comes to the storylines. On the one hand, the first Annual, with the Flyers, is very well done, as is the whole storyline with The Wheel. On the other hand, the clear "Seven Samurai"/"Magnificent Seven" storyline that kicks off the the comic's first original story after the events of A New Hope is a bit much. ( )