Star Wars #79

(Disclaimer:'Star Wars', it's characters, names, and other elements are the sole and exclusive property of Lucasfilm Limited.)

Star Wars:The Assistant Editor Strikes Back

It is a dark time for Star Wars fans.

Return Of The Jedi has come and gone from most theaters.

Darth Vader is dead and there are no more Star Wars movies for the foreseeable future.

Many fans were disappointed in the last chapter of the trilogy.

The next novel is 8 years away.

But suddenly, a new champion of The Force appears….

Eliot R. Brown!

Today we look at the Star Wars issue that came out during AEM.

Marvel published a series of Star Wars comics that ran from 1977 until 1986. The first 6 issues adapted the first film, after that we got original stories featuring Han, Luke, Leia, et al.  The series varied in quality from great to "what were they thinking" but it was usually a lot of fun. Lucasfilm exercised strict control over the series most of the time.  For a long time it was the only thing remotely resembling an "extended" universe beyond the movies.

Let's take a look at Star Wars #79. We get a good, typical space-opera story here, no funny credits or oddball plot.  But I love the Han Solo/Harrison Ford caricature on the splash page.  Nice work here by penciler Ron Frenz and inker Tom Palmer:

At the end of the issue, we get a one-page strip featuring another appearance from Assistant Editor Eliot R. Brown (who wrote and drew the strip), who we met back in the first post of 'AEM Online'.

Let's take a closer look at this strip:

Brown offers to show the readers how to make their own Darth Vader costume.

He begins with some typical household items, but then it starts getting bizarre...and dangerous.

Brown's ridiculous "Vader" costume is complete, but someone important doesn't approve.

It's George Lucas!  Brown feels the wrath of The Force from the most powerful Jedi of them all! When I first read this, I thought Lucas might be violating one of the most important tenets of The Force.  Remember what Yoda said?:

"A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack."

But upon further review, I guess we can say that Lucas is "defending" his concept from Brown, so that makes it okay!

Thanks to Eliot R. Brown for writing and drawing a short but funny strip, and thanks to Lucasfilm for approving it.

Check back in a few days for 'Iron Man:Shame Of The City!'

'Rom,Spaceknight' #50

‘Life With Rom & Brandy’

Today we look at ‘Rom’ #50, Bob Harras was Assistant Editor at the time, covering for the “absent” Editor Ralph Macchio (no relation to the ‘Karate Kid’ actor).

Harras has had quite a storied in the comic biz, working as a writer and editor for Marvel, DC and Wildstorm. He was Marvel’s Editor In Chief from 1995-2000 and currently holds that same title at DC.

For those who may not remember, Rom the Spaceknight was an action figure created by Parker Brothers in 1979(watch a promotional video for the toy here). That same year, the character was licensed to Marvel for a comic book series. The Rom toy wasn’t a success and Parker Brothers abandoned plans for more “Spaceknight” characters.

But the Marvel series continued after the toy was forgotten, running for 75 issues, the last one cover dated February 1986. Rom's greatest foes throughout the series were the Dire Wraiths, a race of shape-shifting aliens. The Wraiths invaded Rom's home planet Galador. They were driven out, Rom pursued them across the universe, eventually following them to Earth. Almost every issue was written by Bill Mantlo and most were penciled by Sal Buscema. The series featured guest stars such as the X-men, Sub-mariner, Power Man & Iron Fist,and Alpha Flight. In addition to the Wraiths, Rom's villains included Galactus and Mystique's Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants. For more info on the series, please visit the excellent 'Rom, Spaceknight:Revisited' tribute site.

Rom’s supporting cast included Brandy Clark, who was one of the the first Earthlings to befriend Rom. By AEM, Brandy was wearing the armor of Starshine, a fallen Spaceknight. She became Rom’s partner in his war against the Dire Wraiths.

Rom #50 was double-sized , and featured a war between the Skrull Empire and the Dire Wraiths, with Rom & Brandy caught in the middle. A good story, but it contained none of the weird/quirky stuff associated with AEM. On the cover at the top of this post, you’ll see the AEM “Warning label” and the cover corner features a cartoonish drawing of Rom(in a smoking jacket) and Brandy(in a housecoat).

At the end of the issue, we got a one-page Rom parody, ‘Life With Rom & Brandy’. This take-off on newspaper comic strips was written and drawn by Bob Harras and inked by Terry Austin:

Upon closer inspection, you'll notice that the headlines on Rom's newspaper change in every panel.

The first headline references a 'Dazzler' story that also featured an appearance by Harras(we'll get to that story in another post down the road).


That's very meta, even by the standards of AEM!

Thanks to Bob Harras and Terry Austin for giving us a laugh!

In our next installment:George Lucas invades AEM!

J.A.