Star Wars 1 is the first issue of the Legends comic book series Star Wars. It was written by Roy Thomas, based on a screenplay and story by George Lucas, illustrated by Howard Chaykin, and first published on April 12, 1977. The issue adapts the beginning of the film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, which premiered in theaters the following May.
It's the adaptation of A New Hope! Meet Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Obi-Wan and the villianous [sic] Darth Vader!
Imperial Forces led by Darth Vader capture Princess Leia Organa's ship, which is on a mission for the Rebel Alliance. Two droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO, manage to escape from the Rebel ship with data critical to the Princess' cause.
After arriving on the nearby planet Tatooine, the droids are acquired by young moisture farmer Luke Skywalker and his uncle Owen Lars to work at their farm. Luke finds part of an urgent message from Leia to Obi-Wan Kenobi in R2's memory. R2 escapes from the farm with the intention of finding Kenobi on his own; Luke, fearing punishment from his uncle for losing the droid, pursues R2 to the Jundland Wastes, only to be attacked by a band of ferocious Sand People.
This issue contains one page of text titled Star Wars: The Ultimate Space-Fantasy, describing the background of the film's story and creators. Since there were no fan letters to publish in the first issue, writer Roy Thomas used the letters page, titled Star Warriors, to explain how Marvel Comics came to acquire the rights to the comics adaptation.
The Bullpen Bulletins page, which is used to highlight important events in Marvel Comics that month, mentions the first issue of the Star Wars comics adaptation.
While the issue was dated July on the cover, it was in fact shipped on March 8, and was made available on sale on April 12. The original cover price for this issue was 30 cents, but Marvel printed a 35-cent version with a limited distribution of about 1500 copies to six markets within the US. There were also several reprint versions. Reprints are noted by the word REPRINT that runs along the spine of the book inside of the logo box, the phrase "THIS IS A REPRINT OF A PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED ISSUE" on the inside indicia or both.
In celebration of Star Wars Day on May 4, 2016, Marvel re-released Star Wars 1 as part of its True Believers budget reprint program, which reprints popular comic titles for the suggested retail price of $1.
The story in this issue includes a couple of Tatooine scenes that were cut from A New Hope, including Luke Skywalker witnessing the opening space battle, Luke telling Camie and Fixer (who refer to Luke by his nickname "Wormie") what he saw, and Biggs Darklighter telling Luke of his plan to join the Rebellion.
The cover for this issue was based on Howard Chaykin's original convention poster, which became one of the most valuable posters in the Star Wars collecting world. The artwork includes Obi-Wan Kenobi and Han Solo, although they would not appear in the series until issue 2, and X-wing, Y-wing, and TIE fighters, which wouldn't appear in the series until issue 5.
On the cover of both this issue and the following one, the first and last two letters of the Star Wars logo are not attached to each other.
The comic includes the first reference to the concept of the Cosmic Force. Darth Vader's iconic line "The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force" is modified to specify "the Cosmic Force." Over 35 years later, "Voices," an installment of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, revealed the Cosmic Force's connection to the Living Force.
- UPC 071486028178;April 12, 1977; Marvel Comics; First printing
- ; September 29, 2015; Marvel Comics; Digital edition
- UPC 759606085071; May 4, 2016; Marvel Comics; True Believers
- UPC 759606097968; December 4, 2019; Marvel Comics; Facsimile Edition
- Marvel Special Edition Featuring Star Wars 1
- The Marvel Comics Illustrated Version of Star Wars
- Marvel Special Edition Featuring Star Wars 3
- Marvel Movie Showcase 1
- Classic Star Wars: A New Hope 1
- Classic Star Wars: A New Hope TPB
- Classic Star Wars Box Set
- Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... Volume 1: Doomworld
- Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago.... Volume 1
- Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1
- Star Wars: Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens — Shattered Empire
- Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years Vol. 1
- Star Wars: The Original Trilogy — The Movie Adaptations
- "Collections" — The Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine 2
- "Blaster" — Star Wars Insider 152
- Star Wars Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle
- Star Wars Year By Year: A Visual History, New Edition
- "Let Me See Your Identification" — Star Wars Insider 216