Page 59 - Star Wars Insider #181

NEW PLANETS, NEW PERILS

“In those days, I almost always worked
on the original pencil art, drawing

the dialogue balloons right

on the pages.”
to be on the make in order for it
to be any fun.”

Planning, Plotting,
Dialogue because it was too easy for the
“It was plotting, pencil art, then people at the other end to ignore
dialogue to fit the layouts,” what I’d done!”

says Thomas of the preferred With Han and Chewbacca
method of writing for Marvel once again facing monetary
Comics in the late 1970s. “The embarrassment, their journey
only question would be whether across the galaxy brought them
I actually wrote down a plot. to the dusty world of Aduba-3,
Sometimes it was done with just a where opportunities quickly
conversation, although I suspect I arose for the smuggler and his
wrote something down for these. first mate. In Star Wars issue #7,

I came up with the general plot, the two heroes assisted with the
and Howard was adding a lot of somber burial of a half-man, half-
detail as he went along. droid on Spacers’ Hill, high above
“I’d just moved to Los Angeles the town they had just arrived in.
during the summer of 1976, right Thomas happily acknowledges ROY THOMAS, COMIC
before I started working on Star the infl uence of The Magnifi cent
Wars. A place called Oakwood Seven. “That’s like the beginning AVENGER
Garden Apartments, right up the of the movie with Yul Brynner Born in 1940, Roy Thomas was a comics fan from an
hill from the Warner Brothers and Steve McQueen. There’s a early age, writing and drawing his own comics which
he gave to family and friends. He became editor of
studio. I had a two-bedroom funeral in town when they take
comics fanzine Alter Ego in 1964 while working as a
apartment; one was my bedroom, the hearse up Boot Hill. I just high school English teacher, and a year later moved
one was my office. I worked on swiped it from there. to New York to work as an editorial assistant at DC

Comics, a job he held for eight days before accepting
a Remington electric typewriter. “The movie was probably a
a job offer from Stan Lee, the Editor-in-Chief at rival
No computers then! Star Wars little too much on my mind at publisher Marvel Comics.
was a monthly title, so the whole the time. I thought I was going Working as Lee’s protégé, Thomas was soon
turnaround was a month. In my to do The Magnifi cent Seven, writing Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos,
X-Men, and a run on superhero team book The
case, I’d spend a day, or maybe Star Wars style, so that’s what I Avengers that lasted from 1966 to 1972. In 1970,
just a couple of hours, working did, with enough differences. I Thomas began writing comic adventures for Robert
on the plot, and then I wouldn’t was having a lot of fun with it. E. Howard’s literary creation Conan the Barbarian, and
he succeeded Stan Lee as Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief in
see anything for a week or so. I was a big fan of that movie,
1972, when his mentor became the comic company’s
Then suddenly, a bunch of pages but perhaps more a fan of the publisher. Thomas moved over to DC Comics in 1981,
would arrive in the mail from concept behind it. As a superhero and wrote for many well-known characters including
Green Lantern, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
Howard—it might be three pages, comic writer, I’ve always loved
it might be 10. Then I’d sit down the group books. My favorite
over the next day or so and write superhero 1940s comic was the
the dialogue. Justice Society of America, and
“I was also responding to what at Marvel I liked writing The it against attacks from the Cloud
Howard was doing. I gave him a Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Riders of Serji-X Arrogantus, a
story, but when I got the pages Four. I always liked a disparate colorful enemy in the Western
back, it was always more than group, different heroes with tradition. With no money and a
I’d given him. Then I’d send it different weapons and things.” price still on his head, Star Wars
off and Frank Springer inked it. issue #8 saw Solo assembling less

Tom Palmer inked the later issues. Bugs Bunny with a magnificent seven, but rather
In those days, I almost always a Ray-Gun Eight for Aduba-3. This allowed
worked on the original pencil art, At the close of Star Wars issue Thomas and Chaykin to let their
drawing the dialogue balloons #7, Han and Chewbacca came imagination run riot in depicting
right on the pages. I never liked to the attention of a village in a diverse gang of spacers and
working with photocopies, search of a champion to defend alien vagabonds.

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