Hello, Everywookiee! As you may know, we launched our sister site, WookyWiki.com, the Star Wars comics first appearance and key issue database last year! We have been steadily updating the entries while chasing the ever-elusive goal of a comprehensive database for Star Wars comics! We’re updating one year at a time in chronological publishing order! This week, we’re finished with 1982 and continuing to update new weekly releases!
As always, you can check out all these entries and more from the entire history of Star Wars comics publishing over at WookyWiki.com!
Walt Simonson Star Wars
Although 1982 wasn’t Walt’s first Star Wars work (that would be Star Wars #16 back in 1978), 1982 was a banner year for Walt Simonson drawn comics! Walt drew at least half a dozen Star Wars comics in 1982 and co-wrote many more!
Here’s a sample:
Flying Bantha Squadron
Although there are some who claim that Star Wars #60 is the first appearance of Rogue Squadron in comics, that claim doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Star Wars #60 is officially recognized by the likes of Marvel.com and comicvine as the first appearance of the original Rogue Squadron. However, Rogue Squadron was formed before the Battle of Hoth and a Pilot with the call sign “Rogue Two” shows up as early as Star Wars #39 (1980).
The name “Rogue Squadron” is nowhere in the interior of the book and you would need to read the solicit to know it’s Rogue Squadron.
Solicit:
“Rogue Squadron infiltrates an Imperial outpost; featuring Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, R2-D2, Shira Brei, and Giel.“
Inside the book, the group refer to themselves as the “Flying Banthas”:
In the end, this issue is the first appearance of the Flying Bantha squadron and its members:
Gerdy;
Mils Giel;
Hanc Thorben; and
Wald.
Yavin IV’s Sith Legacy
In the Star Wars Newspaper comic published 3/24/1982, a creature is discovered to be living under the Rebel base on Yavin IV. There isn’t much discussion about its origin, but much later (in 1996), we get a retcon explanation.
What we end up with is the first appearance of:
The Massassi, a sub-species of Sith from the Old Republic Era. The Massassi built the Temple on Yavin IV which acted as the Rebel Alliance’s base around 0 ABY. Called “Night Beast” in the 1982 Newspaper comic, Tales of the Jedi Sith War 6 retconned the creature as Massassi named Kalgrath put into hibernation within the isolation chambers beneath the temples by the Dark Lord Exar Kun to guard against future Jedi invasion:
More Moore Star Wars
Alan Moore’s series of mind-bending original Star Wars tales continues into 1982 with The Dark Lord’s Conscience in The Empire Strikes Back Monthly 155 (Marvel UK).
This tale wouldn’t be republished anywhere until the 90s when it was reprinted in Devilworlds 1. The tale finds Darth Vader playing a type of Galactic Chess against a Cephelopod, Dhol, the ruler of Cheelit, a female J’feh. Dhol lived in a floating, transparent globe in her Hive Palace!
This was the first appearance of:
Clat (a.k.a. Clat the Shamer, was a mutant empath working on behalf of the Guild of Vindicators)
Dhol (the ruler of Cheelit, a female J’feh. She lived in a floating, transparent globe in her Hive Palace)
J’feh
Firepath (board game)
Cheelit (home planet of the J’feh)
Hive Palace (Dhol’s home on Cheelit)
Guild of Vindicators (Religious cult in the region of space containing Cheelit, whose ruler Dhol referred to them derisively as “those stealers-of-eggs”)
Empire Strikes Back Monthly 159 (Marvel UK) contains another great set of first comic appearances from Alan Moore, including Rur!
Rur was a High Shaman of the Terrible Glare during the time of the Order of the Terrible Glare’s war with the Jedi Order thousands of years before the Galactic Civil War. Rur might sound familiar because Rur and the Ordu Aspectu from Doctor Aphra #2 (2016) were a reimagining of Rur and the Order of the Terrible Glare by Kieron Gillen.
Coruscant
We get the first appearance of Coruscant in comics in Star Wars 63, referred to as “Empire Capitol:”
Fenn Shysa and the History of the Mandalorians
Finally, last but certainly not least, is the well-established key issue, Star Wars 68 with the iconic Gene Day cover!
This issue is the first appearance of:
Fenn Shysa (human male Mandalorian who fought for for the Confederacy of Independent Systems under “Mandalore the Resurrector”, Spar. Fenn would later become the Mand’alor after the war during Imperial occupation of Mandalore );
Tobbi Dala ( (human male Mandalorian who fought for for the Confederacy of Independent Systems under “Mandalore the Resurrector”, Spar. );
Spar ( (*Retcon) (born as “Alpha-Ø2”, later known as “Mandalore the Resurrector”, Alpha-class ARC Clone who defected the Republic, rebuilt the Mandalorian Supercommando,s and fought for the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars );
Tem ( male member of Mandalorian Protectors guarding the captured bounty hunter Dengar);
Parma ( male member of Mandalorian Protectors under Fenn Shysa);
Padme Amidala (**Retcon);
Mandalore (planet, homeworld of the Mandalorians); and
Keldabe (Mandalore capital city).
In the issue, Fenn Shysa offers the first history of the Mandalorians, but it seems to contradict many of the facts presented in Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
Shysa claims that (1) he fought on the side of the Empire, (2) that his commander was Boba Fett,
and (3) that he became familiar with Princess Leia during briefing before battles.
However: (1) Boba Fett was only 10 years old during the beginning of the Clone Wars; (2) Leia Organa had not even been born yet, and (3) Jango Fett had been allied with the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
The Star Wars Insider 80 article The History of the Mandalorians retconned these contradictions. It stated that Fenn Shysa had been confused, that the clone Alpha-Ø2 (“Spar”) was Shysa’s real commander, and stating that there were rumors that the clone was Jango Fett’s son, leading to Shysa’s belief it was Boba Fett.
The article also stated that the picture Shysa was shown was actually Padme and he was confused by their similar appearance. Retconning Padme into this issue makes this issue Padme’s first cameo in terms of publishing timeline, however, the Star Wars Insider article was published in 2005, while Padme’s cameo in The Last Command issue 5 was in 1998, leading to competing claims for a “first cameo” of Padme.
The History of the Mandalorians article also clarified that Fenn Shysa was sent into battle by Darth Sidious, making his claim that he fought for the Empire true…from a certain point of view.
That’s it for now! But there is soooo much more to dive into on WookyWiki.com and always more to come in the future!
-DrunkWooky
