Russel "Buddy" Helm served as a writer on the Star Wars comic strip. Following Russ Manning's inability to continue scripting due to health issues, Lindsay Smith of Lucasfilm brought him on board.
A persistent "urban myth" among fans suggested that Russ Helm was actually a fictitious name used by comic book author Archie Goodwin during his time writing the Star Wars newspaper comic. The myth claimed he later began using his actual name, starting with the Han Solo at Stars' End storyline. However, this has been disproven, as reported in Star Wars Insider 141.