Marvel Star Wars Explorers

08/03/2024

Have you checked out our 200th Episode Spectacular yet? This year’s Golden Hoojib Awards are also available in your pod catchers everywhere now!

16/11/2023

Here is the link to check out the full Chinese Star Wars comic adaptation we covered in our latest episode.

This is part of one of a six part post in which I will translate a Chinese comic book adaptation of Star Wars published in Guangdong, China, in the 1980s.

23/09/2022

As Luke argues with some businessmen at a trade show, we're excited to welcome new Star Friend John Parton (Lieography Podcast) to the show for a free-wheeling conversation that ranges from the contrasting philosophical viewpoints of the Star Wars and Star Trek properties, to the differing ways in which Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Rise of Skywalker fail their respective franchises, to the acting prowess of Tom Cruise! Along the way, we even fit in some conversation about this here newspaper strip, and its bizarre antagonist.

As Luke argues with some businessmen at a trade show, we're excited to welcome new Star Friend John Parton to the show for a free-wheeling conversation that ranges from the contrasting philosophical viewpoints of the Star Wars and Star Trek properties, to the differing ways in which Kingdom of the C...

20/08/2022

Tom Palmer has caught the last train out. Another instance where I can scarcely believe I’m writing these words. We worked together on Marvel’s Star Wars comic back in the early 80s, along with David Michelinie who wrote the stories we had the pleasure of bringing to life. I did the pencils/layouts and Tom did the inks/finishes. Tom was the perfect inker for that book. He could render the ships with fidelity and capture the characters likenesses as well, both of which were important in a book like Star Wars with so many sharp-eyed fans reading it. It helped that Tom had a small consultant – his own son, Tommy – who became a giant Star Wars fan early and watched to make sure his Dad got the ships right. I met Tom sometime after I got into the business, and we became good friends with Star Wars. I had read Tom’s work as a fan in the late 60s and loved it over Neal Adams, John Buscema, and eventually Gene Colan. One of the finest inkers the industry has ever had. And a master of illustration as well with a disciplined sense of color and value. He lived not far from us and we would get together along with his wife, Anne, at a restaurant about halfway between us from time to time. And every so often, I would have to pinch myself and think quietly – damn! I’m having dinner with Tom Freaking Palmer!!! Not his real middle name. Hard to believe you’ve headed off beyond that galaxy far, far away. We love you, Tom. Thanks for the work, the professionalism, the care, the pride of craft, all the other attributes that made you tops in the field, and especially, thanks for the friendship. Godspeed, pal.

29/07/2022

As Luke Skywalker reluctantly returns to his home planet of Tatooine on orders from the Alliance, we're thrilled to welcome author, editor, and Star Wars contributor, Rich Handley onto the podcast for a deep dive discussion on everything that makes these newspaper strips special! In addition to our discussion of Tatooine Sojourn, Rich also talks about the behind the scenes work that went into collecting these strips to be reprinted for IDW, some of his favorite personal additions to the Expanded Universe, his thoughts on the classic Marvel comics and much more!
Be sure to check out Rich's work at https://richhandley.com/

As Luke Skywalker reluctantly returns to his home planet of Tatooine on orders from the Alliance, we're thrilled to welcome author, editor, and Star Wars contributor, Rich Handley onto the podcast for a deep dive discussion on everything that makes these newspaper strips special! In addition to our....

06/06/2022

Had a great time last weekend! Have you listened to our Celebration recap episode featuring our cosplaying pal Melissa?

26/04/2022

The First Last Jedi!

Star Wars 49 cover. Pen and India ink and Craftint. 10 x 15. 1981.

The cover for the second issue of Star Wars I drew for Marvel. The large head was done on Craftint and pasted onto the art. It was a lovely story called ‘The Last Jedi’ (no relation to the movie at all) written by Mike Barr. Tom Palmer inked the insides and sad to say, the issue got one of the worst printing jobs I’ve ever had in comics. The presses were way over inked and everything came out five times thicker than it should have. The hazards of newsprint comics. For those who long for the way comics used to look, I don’t miss them. :-D

This was also the first issue of my regular run as penciler on the title, with stories written by new regular writer, David Michelinie.

12/04/2022

Dark Empire II: Issue 4 Panels

11/04/2022

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Day 6 of 10 days of the Artists' Challenge. A different piece of my work each day for 10 days, no explanation needed. The goal is to promote positivity, passion and attention to our love for art.

So here's an explanation anyway.

One last Star Wars drawing. This was the splash page for SW 56, the issue for which I posted the cover yesterday. I looked at it and was just astounded by the amount of work Tom Palmer put into it. He glued the original page down onto heavy board. He added all the zip-a-tone to Bespin City. The entire piece is overlain with a sheet of acetate (I presume) on which Tom put more zip-a-tone in the sky along with some opaque white. This scan was done with the acetate overlay in place. The overlaid zips and white on the acetate were printed on the blue plate to create the blue sky and the clouds in the sky around Bespin.

And I have to add that where it says pencils/plot under my name, at this stage of my life, I feel that I was willing to accept far too much credit for part of David Michelinie's wonderful writing. I did kibbitz on the plots a little and it was very kind of David to not just toss me out of the room. :-)

Thanks to both of you for a fine fine experience being a part of the creative team for these comics.

07/04/2022

As the revived Emperor tours his new Galaxy Gun above the Throneworld, Cam returns to the podcast to tour Dark Empire II and weigh in on the superweapons, reused plot points and steampunk civilizations it contains, PLUS we remember the joys of Tommy Boy, ponder the mysterious death of a politician, and get excited about Christopher Lloyd! Also, more Batman.

As the revived Emperor tours his new Galaxy Gun above the Throneworld, Cam returns to the podcast to tour Dark Empire II and weigh in on the superweapons, reused plot points and steampunk civilizations it contains, PLUS we remember the joys of Tommy Boy, ponder the mysterious death of a politician,....

01/04/2022

As Two-Face unleashes a wave of crime upon Gotham City, your two best Batman Forever friends welcome Cam Siemer to the podcast to record an audio commentary track for everyone's favorite(?) Batman film of the nineties! That's right, it's finally here! Join our three intrepid caped crusaders as they marvel at the highs and lows of Joel Schumacher's take on Batman, share a litany of Batman Forever trivia facts, fawn over Chase Meridian, and generally shoot the s**t while watching a very strange movie together. Queue up your copy of the movie and we'll tell you where to sync up so you can watch along too!

As Two-Face unleashes a wave of crime upon Gotham City, your two best Batman Forever friends welcome Cam Siemer to the podcast to record an audio commentary track for everyone's favorite(?) Batman film of the nineties! That's right, it's finally here! Join our three intrepid caped crusaders as they....

31/03/2022

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Star Wars 51 splash page. Inks by Tom Palmer. 10 x 15. 1981.

Written by David Michelinie.

No figures on this page but it remains one of my personal favorite splash pages from my run on Star Wars for Marvel in the early 80s.

And really, this page looks so beautiful because of the efforts of one Thomas Palmer. :-D

25/03/2022

Dark Empire II: Issue 3 Panels

24/03/2022

As Luke and Kam explore an ancient Jedi planet, Josh Lee rejoins the podcast to talk about his recent exploration of Batuu, while Sam explores Earth Mysteries, Brian explores Galactic Starcruiser videos, they all explore the new Obi-Wan trailer, and finally weigh in on the direction of Dark Empire II as they reach its halfway point! Plus, a special announcement about what's next for the podcast!

As Luke and Kam explore an ancient Jedi planet, Josh Lee rejoins the podcast to talk about his recent exploration of Batuu, while Sam explores Earth Mysteries, Brian explores Galactic Starcruiser videos, they all explore the new Obi-Wan trailer, and finally weigh in on the direction of Dark Empire I...

10/03/2022

In a time honored tradition, your two best Star Friends are taking a break between issues 2 and 3 of a Dark Empire comic to heap praise upon their favorite films of the previous year! That's right, listeners. It's time for the 3rd Annual Golden Hoojibs Awards! Kevin Young joins, as we discuss at length our favorite recent comic book movies and TV shows, our biggest disappointments, our favorite old movies we saw for the first time, and our top 10 films of the year. Was 2021 the greatest year in MCU history? Will the subject of Star Wars come up at all during the conversation? How many different ways can we say that Spider-Man was cool? Tune in, for the answers to all these questions and more!

In a time honored tradition, your two best Star Friends are taking a break between issues 2 and 3 of a Dark Empire comic to heap praise upon their favorite films of the previous year! That's right, listeners. It's time for the 3rd Annual Golden Hoojibs Awards! Kevin Young joins, as we discuss at len...

02/03/2022

Dark Empire II: Issue 2 Panels

24/02/2022

As Han and Leia find themselves on the run from a familiar bounty hunter, we find ourselves once again in the presence of David Robertson, who joins us to talk about Wedge's cousin, a one-of-a-kind piece of Dark Empire II memorabilia that he owns, and to compare and contrast The Book of Boba Fett with this comic book of Boba Fett!

As Han and Leia find themselves on the run from a familiar bounty hunter, we find ourselves once again in the presence of David Robertson, who joins us to talk about Wedge's cousin, a one-of-a-kind piece of Dark Empire II memorabilia that he owns, and to compare and contrast The Book of Boba Fett wi...