Daily Star Wars

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 22nd, 1982

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 21st, 1982

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 20th, 1982

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 19th, 1982

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 18th, 1982

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 17th, 1982

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 16th, 1982

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 15th, 1982

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 14th, 1982

2012-01-19T00:00:00.001-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 13th, 1982

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 12th, 1982

2012-01-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 11th, 1982

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 10th, 1982

2012-01-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 9th, 1982

2012-01-14T00:00:00.001-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 8th, 1982

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 7th, 1982

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 6th, 1982

2012-01-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 5th, 1982

2012-01-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Traitor's Gambit - originally published January 4th, 1982

2012-01-09T00:00:00.001-08:00

The Star Wars Daily Strips - Bonus Content

2012-01-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

January 5th marked what would have been Russ Manning's 83rd birthday. To honor the occasion lets look back at another article with Russ heralding the arrival of the strip. The following was first published in the Los Angeles Times on March 17th, 1979.
County Artist Creates Comic Strip
By Craig Turner

CARTOONIST ‒ Russ Manning uses a model to

achieve fine detail in his "Star Wars" comic strip.

Russ Manning inhabits an unpretentious ranch-style house secluded in a remote canyon in east Orange County. The building, partly screened by a stand of trees, is reached by a meandering road too narrow to qualify as a driveway in most communities.
On this morning, Manning is at work in his studio, which was once a two-car garage. Outside, the only sign of life is a black and white cat perched smugly on the roof of the family station wagon.
So much for details about Manning's residence; he has this uneasiness, he explains, that if his exact whereabouts are disclosed, he may become the object of curiosity seekers and souvenir hunters.
The reason is that Manning is the artist behind the new "Star Wars" comic strip, which was launched Sunday in 215 North American newspapers ‒ an exceptionally large number for a new strip. And while he is grateful for his piece of the multimillion-dollar media empire born of the motion picture, Manning does not want the serenity of his canyon shattered by hordes of Darth Vader devotees rattling their light sabers.
That may sound like paranoia, but one shouldn't underestimate the doggedness of "Star Wars" buffs, even though it has been nearly two years since the picture's release and several months since it was shown commercially.
Nor should one underestimate Manning's persistence in protecting the privacy and rural nature of the canyon community where he has lived since 1959. His innumerable appearances before public agencies and his immersion in land planning for the area attest to that.
At age 50, the solidly built, white-haired Manning shows little of the panache exhibited by his adventurous comic characters, who also include Tarzan. Instead, he is something of a pillar of the community in the sparsely populated, close-knit neighborhood. He is a volunteer fireman, director of the Santiago Canyon Water District and chairman of the Foothill Corridor Planning Committee, a county government-created body that oversees development of the area.
But Manning was a natural candidate last summer when George Lucas, 35, the Hollywood writer-director who created "Star Wars," went looking for a comic strip artist. A no-nonsense professional with 27 years' experience, Manning has drawn the Sunday "Tarzan" strip since 1967. In addition he is an admitted "science fiction nut" who saw "Star Wars" three times before he was ever considered for the comic job and who created his own intergalactic fantasy for Dell Comics in 1963 called, "Magnus the Robot Fighter."
Moreover, Manning is one of the few still in the comic book industry who write the stories in addition to drawing the panels. Manning does have an assistant, Mike Royer of Whittier, who helps with inking and lettering.
"I got tired of drawing what other people were writing, especially when they didn't know what they were doing," Manning says by way of explanation.
"They'd want too many actions in a panel, or put 31 characters in the same panel. Writers are word oriented and they don't always know an artist's limits. The classic example is the cowboy who is supposed to shoot the bad guy, kiss the girl and jump on his horse all in the same panel."
His interest in professional art began at Santa Maria Union High School and led to a stint at the Los Angeles County Art Institute. After serving in the Army during the Korean War, Manning got his first comic book job in 1952, writing back-of-the-book stories ("Brothers of the Spear") for Dell, the only comic book publisher headquartered on the West Coast.
He also drew cover stories for some television spinoff comics, including "77 Sunset Strip" and "Dale Evans." After years as an understudy, he began drawing "Tarzan" comics in the 1960s.
As the comic book industry went into decline, Manning shifted exclusively to newspaper comics, although he continued to do some occasional commercial art such as book covers. His Sunday "Tarzan" strip (the daily versions are recycled strips from the 1950s) is carried in more than 50 U.S. newspapers, according to United Features Syndicate.
Manning laughs off comic collectors and archivists who pour over back issues of Spiderman as if they were medieval illuminated manuscripts, but he makes no apology for his profession.
"The comic book artist is still the low man on the totem pole in the art field," he says, "but at least you can make a living at it."
Manning has no creative rights over "Star Wars," although he writes the stories himself and the strip carries his byline. That's not the case with "Tarzan." Manning writes the strip but it carries the byline of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who originated the character in a series of 25 novels. Burroughs died in 1950.
Manning's "Star Wars" contract contains some limits. He cannot, for example, kill off any of the main characters and he has to stay away from events that might touch on the motion picture sequel, now being filmed in Europe. Lucas personally reviews in advance all the stories and pencil renderings.
Finished panels are turned over to the Los Angeles Times syndicate, which markets the strip, 10 weeks before publication. In order to insure enough lead time, Luke Skywalker and friends first appeared on Manning's drawing boards last September.
Manning clearly is taken by his new subject. He talks about how eager he is to try out new story lines and he has decorated his studio with calenders, posters and models from the film. (The models also serve another purpose: they provide him with three-dimensional figures to draw from.)
The challenge, he adds, is that virtually everything he draws ‒ except the characters taken from the movie ‒ comes straight from his imagination. "If I want to draw a policeman, his uniform, right down to the buttons, comes from me. Everything is different: telephones, buildings, glasses, food," he notes.
That sets it apart from "Tarzan" somewhat, although Manning admits that the hero of that strip lives in a "fantasy Africa."
"It's the Africa that never existed, but we wish had existed," Manning explains. "You can't do Tarzan in the real Africa of today. The problems there aren't the kind you should try to solve with a guy in a loincloth, and a white man at that. They are serious problems, and they are not adventure story problems, but sociological ones."

Deadly Reunion - originally published January 3rd, 1982

2012-01-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published January 2nd, 1982

2012-01-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published January 1st, 1982

2012-01-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 31st, 1981

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 30th, 1981

2012-01-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 29th, 1981

2012-01-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 28th, 1981

2012-01-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 27th, 1981

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 26th, 1981

2011-12-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 25th, 1981

2011-12-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 24th, 1981

2011-12-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 23rd, 1981

2011-12-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 22nd, 1981

2011-12-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 21st, 1981

2011-12-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 20th, 1981

2011-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 19th, 1981

2011-12-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 18th, 1981

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 17th, 1981

2011-12-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 16th, 1981

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 15th, 1981

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 14th, 1981

2011-12-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 13th, 1981

2011-12-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 12th, 1981

2011-12-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 11th, 1981

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 10th, 1981

2011-12-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 9th, 1981

2011-12-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 8th, 1981

2011-12-13T00:00:00.002-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 7th, 1981

2011-12-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 6th, 1981

2011-12-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 5th, 1981

2011-12-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 4th, 1981

2011-12-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 3rd, 1981

2011-12-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 2nd, 1981

2011-12-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 1st, 1981

2011-12-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 30th, 1981

2011-12-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 29th, 1981

2011-12-04T00:00:00.001-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 28th, 1981

2011-12-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 27th, 1981

2011-12-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published December 1st, 1981

2011-12-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 25th, 1981

2011-11-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 24th, 1981

2011-11-29T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 23rd, 1981

2011-11-28T00:00:00.001-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 22nd, 1981

2011-11-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 21st, 1981

2011-11-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 20th, 1981

2011-11-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 19th, 1981

2011-11-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 18th, 1981

2011-11-23T00:00:00.003-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 17th, 1981

2011-11-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 16th, 1981

2011-11-21T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 15th, 1981

2011-11-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 14th, 1981

2011-11-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 13th, 1981

2011-11-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 12th, 1981

2011-11-17T00:00:00.001-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 11th, 1981

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 10th, 1981

2011-11-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 9th, 1981

2011-11-14T00:00:00.001-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 8th, 1981

2011-11-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 7th, 1981

2011-11-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 6th, 1981

2011-11-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 5th, 1981

2011-11-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 4th, 1981

2011-11-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 3rd, 1981

2011-11-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Deadly Reunion - originally published November 2nd, 1981

2011-11-07T00:00:00.001-08:00

The Star Wars Daily Strips - Bonus Content

2011-11-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Now that we're well into the Goodwin/Williamson era, let's take a look back at the strip's beginning. The following was first published in George Lucas' hometown paper the Modesto Bee on March 11, 1979.
Legacy of 'Star Wars' . . . Comic strip will continue successful theme
By Brian Clark
"Star Wars," the science fiction comic strip which starts in the Bee today, is only one part of the growing legacy of George Lucas' phenomenally successful film.
After the movie proved a box-office smash, Lucas incorporated and split his organization into several subsidiaries, one of which was given the task of creating and producing the strip, industry sources said.

George Lucas Jr

But Lucas, the Modestan who soared to fame with his films, including "American Graffiti" was unavailable to talk about the comic strip. He is now on a London set filming "The Empire Strikes Back," a Star Wars sequel.
In fact, as a company spokesman pointedly told a reporter in what must be an oft-repeated refrain, "Mr. Lucas does not give interviews. He is a film maker, not a celebrity. He does not talk to the press."
But Russ Manning, the strip's artist and writer, said Lucas' organization and been planning the strip for more than 18 months.
Although Manning said there have been "innumerable ripoffs" from the Star Wars movie, such as the television series "Battlestar Galactica," only the new film and the comic strip are part of the Lucas organization.
Manning, a 49-year-old California native who began copying cartoons while a Santa Maria high school student, is a writer and illustrator with nearly 30 years of experience.
And although Lucas has editorial and artistic control over Manning's work, the artist, who has been working on the strip for more than seven months, has yet to meet with Lucas.
Manning said he deals with Carol Titelman, an editor for Black Falcon Limited, a subsidiary of the main Lucas company.
Manning said he was recruited by Falcon representatives last September when spokesmen said they were looking for someone to "do the strip who had the ability to come up with an adventure series true to the theme, yet not like the coming film."
Lucas was also concerned that another company might sweep up the idea and come out with a Star Wars imitation, Manning said.
The artist, who draws and writes the strip from his Orange County studio, said Falcon had been negotiating with two other artists, but when those deals fell through, he was picked to handle the strip.
Although many comic strips are written by one person and drawn by another, Manning said he "didn't like to do things that way."
"I'm a good illustrator and I can write as well as the best writers, so it is better for me to do it all," said Manning, who also colors the strip.
"I had done the writing and drawing of the Tarzan comic strip for many years," he said, "and was able to convince them I didn't like to have the work split up."
Manning said he submits his story ideas and drawings to Titelman who discusses them with him and sends them on to Lucas for his comments.
"I block things out week by week and we go over them from 'Day 1 to the end of the story, which might be 10 weeks.' And although I've never talked to Lucas, I assume some of the comments are his," said Manning.
The Santa Maria native will include all of the Star Wars characters — who charmed millions of movie-goers — in his daily strip.
Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia will become involved in space adventures. The evil Darth Vader will also be spinning his web of intrigue and the affable robots, Artoo and Threepio will be doing their best to thwart him.
Han the pilot and his aide, Chewie, will be allied with the forces of good to keep the galaxies on an even course.
And, to make things more exciting, Manning will be adding new heroes and villains to the strip.
The artist, who said he has seen the movie more than five times admitted he had never seen any of Lucas' other films.
"I wouldn't say I am a Lucas fan, but I certainly am a 'Star Wars' fan," he said. "But my family has seen American Graffiti and they think Lucas is great."
"I am a Sci-Fi fan, and I didn't think anything like that could be done well, but they spent the money and he did a super job," Manning said.
Manning said he had to go back to the film "several times to do research on the star ships and other sorts of equipment so I would get it right," he said.
"But things are going well and I'm convinced that this is going to be a success. It has a lot of things going for it."

The Serpent Masters - originally published November 1st, 1981

2011-11-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 31st, 1981

2011-11-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 30th, 1981

2011-11-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 29th, 1981

2011-11-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 28th, 1981

2011-11-02T00:03:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 27th, 1981

2011-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 26th, 1981

2011-10-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 25th, 1981

2011-10-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 24th, 1981

2011-10-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 23rd, 1981

2011-10-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 22nd, 1981

2011-10-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 21st, 1981

2011-10-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 20th, 1981

2011-10-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 19th, 1981

2011-10-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 18th, 1981

2011-10-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

The Serpent Masters - originally published October 17th, 1981

2011-10-22T00:00:00.000-07:00