Hello and welcome to Laughing Place’s issue-by-issue analysis of Marvel’s original Star Wars comic book. Issue #4 was released on July 12, 1977 in the midst of the summer of Star Wars. According to Wookieepedia, it was the first issue to feature fan letters, though the Dark Horse trade-paperback reprint of these comics I have from 2002 does not include those letters. As usual, we’ll go through this issue panel by panel, picking out any notable differences or oddities along the way.
- Cover: Now Obi-Wan’s lightsaber blade is white.
- Page 1: The title of this issue is “In Battle with Darth Vader!”, which will really only apply to Obi-Wan. Han says “Now I know why they call this place Death Star!” but as far as we know he hasn’t heard that name yet.
- Page 2 (panel 3): The concept of “ammo” has never really applied to blasters, though I suppose they could overheat or run out of energy charge.
- Page 2 (panel 5): Chewbacca is about to “rip Leia apart” before Han stops her. Yikes! The garbage chute hole is in the floor and not the wall like in the movie.
- Page 4 (panel 3): Glad to see both instances of “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” made it into the comic adaptation– the previous one appeared last issue as the Millennium Falcon was caught in the Death Star’s tractor beam.
- Page 4 (panel 5): Han is concerned they’re going to die in their “stolen stormtrooper outfits.”
- Page 5 (panel 6): Luke is expecting C-3PO to give him “escape instructions” from the garbage masher.
- Page 6 (panel 1): Yeah yeah, everything’s your “only hope,” isn’t it Leia?
- Page 6 (panel 5): They’ve sadly omitted the joke where Threepio thinks his friends are dying, which is one of my favorite gags from the movie.
- Page 6 (panel 6): Another nitpick, but garbage masher unit 3263827 has been changed to “36611789.”
- Page 7 (panel 4): The dianoga’s tentacle has followed our heroes out into the hallway! I kind of wish that had happened in the film.
- Page 8 (panels 1-2): Obi-Wan doesn’t seem to use his Force trick to get past the stormtroopers.
- Page 8 (panel 4): The “Five Fire Rings of Fornax” were first mentioned in the Star Wars novelization ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster, which was released six months before the movie.
- Page 9 (panels 4-6): Han kind of over-explains this action sequence through expository dialogue.
- Page 11 (panel 2): Marvel comics of the 1960s and 70s always spelled “through” as “thru,” and it always bugs me.
- Page 13: Pink-on-pink lightsaber duel.
- Page 13 (panel 1): The caption calls Darth Vader the “Dark Knight.” I think that title belongs to another comic book character.
- Page 13 (panel 3): “You perceive its full power… as little as the spoon… perceives the taste of food!” What an odd way to put it.
- Page 15 (panel 1): Obi-Wan’s death is depicted much differently here. He kind of explodes in a blast of electricity and flame instead of just disappearing.
- Page 17 (panel 3): Threepio looks so sad!
- Page 17 (panel 4): “Next issue: Escape to the Moons of Yavin!” This one was back down to 17 pages… maybe to make room for that letters page?
