STAR WARS COMICS: Marvel's Classic 1977-Era Series Getting IDW's "Artist's Edition" Treatment

Fans of some of Marvel and DC’s classic comics have always gravitated toward IDW Publishing’s “Artist’s Editions,” which feature classic comics printed the actual size of the original art, capturing all the salient details.

Now, IDW and Marvel are teaming up to bring the first volume of Star Wars to IDW’s “Artist Edition” folios later this year, and while pricey at $150, the format provides readers a detailed, unexpurgated look at the creative process of the stories written and drawn.

“Marvel has been a terrific and loyal partner, and Star Wars represents an incredible opportunity to further expand our relationship,” IDW president and chief operating officer Greg Goldstein said in a statement released on Monday, May 4.

Like previous editions, the Star Wars editions, starting with No. 1, come complete with each page scanned and printed directly from the original comic book art at full size. Though the pages look to be just black and white, they’re scanned in color, preserving the blue pencils in the art, notes from editors, art corrections and more.

Previous editions have seen Walter Simonson’s The Mighty Thor, John Romita’s The Amazing Spider-Man and David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil Born Again.

“Since the inception of our Artist’s Edition program, we’ve had Star Wars on our wish list,” said Goldstein. “During its original nine-year run at Marvel, an all-star list of artists provided material for these now classic comic books from the likes of Howard Chaykin, Walter Simonson, Carmine Infantino, Tom Palmer, and of course the legendary Al Williamson, to name a few.”