This early Star Wars novel is a curio now, but when it was brand new, nothing was more important. And one day in 1979 (when I was 14) I took it upon myself to turn it into a comic book. It taught me an unexpected and really valuable lesson.

In 1978, Boba Fett wasn't much more than a costume and a voice. But that costume was such a slam dunk, you could have left out the voice altogether and our imaginations would have done the rest. Since we weren't going to get anything more until he showed up on movie screens in 1980, I did what my brain directed me to do: made my own Boba Fett comics.

When I was 13 years old, I decided to make the dumbest, quickest, sloppiest superhero comic I could. ON PURPOSE. And boy, did I pull it off.

As my comic book horizons expanded as a teenager, I realized that I had "permission" to experiment with formats and try new things. One result was this project right here, an illustrated sci-fi action novella that could have easily been made into one of those lesser-known movies of the 80s. A fighter pilot goes rogue to take down an evil empire. Does he do it? Do you even have to ask?

By the end of the 1970s, I knew for sure I wanted to somehow draw comics for a living one day. It was much more satisfying than watching TV, reading a comic book, or playing with toys. In fact, I didn't even need the toys themselves. Just the sight of one would fill my head with ideas and a story would come spilling out. This was one of my first original SF action stories, a wild, corny ride using a bunch of 1979 artifacts as inspiration.

The second round of my Shogun Warriors comics (issues 4-7) in which I continued to ransack the world of anime giant robots without even knowing it. Two more warriors join the fold, crazy plot points give no warning before they smack you upside the head, and the ground shakes from the battle of the Mecha Dinosaurs! Enter the mind of a 13-year-old boy who wanted nothing more than to capture the pictures in his head and share them with the world.

Looking back now, it’s like my head was secretly invaded and conditioned for everything yet to come. Today, I’m a huge anime and manga fan. Back in 1977, I didn’t know they existed. But evidence was closing in around me. I thought it was my plaything. But I was the one being played. And my strings were pulled by an amazing line of toys called The Shogun Warriors

In the years 1978 and 1979, the Star Wars rulebook didn't really exist yet, at least as it is known today. All we had to go on was a 2-hour film and its implications, which were vast. Overlap it with a steady diet of comic books and SF and you could go in practically any direction. I drew 12 homemade Star Wars comics in this time period, ALL of which are presented here.

It’s hard to believe now, but in the summer of 1977 there was almost nothing to consume beyond the movie itself. Until that Christmas, the only things within reach were a few magazine clippings, the novelization, and the monthly Marvel comics. That wasn’t nearly enough for me. Records and toys and models and other swag arrived in 1978, but that still wasn’t enough. What I learned in 1977 was that if I wanted more Star Wars, I would have to make it myself.