Ordway Homages Classic Star Wars Covers in Retro Variants!
By Liam McGuire
June 8th 2023
Jerry Ordway is bringing his style to classic Star Wars cover by Bill Sienkiewicz, as the legendary artist homages Star Wars comics from the 1980s in a series of new variant covers that inject new life into iconic images. Ordway is teaming-up with Nolan Woodward for the latest variants covers, who is coloring the book with only colors available during the original covers timeline, making the covers feel extra retro.
Before drawing Elektra: Assassin or New Mutants, Sienkiewicz was tasked with drawing several Star Wars covers. The artist drew the four covers for the Return of the Jedi four-part miniseries, officially adapting the movie's events in a comic written by Archie Goodwin and featuring several artists, including Al Williamson and Carlos Garzon. Sienkiewicz drew striking images featuring Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and a striking cover for issue four starring Luke, Vader, and Emperor Palpatine.
Marvel Comics is bringing back the original Return of the Jedi cover concepts with new classic trade dress variants appearing throughout July. The first vintage variant from Ordway and Woodward features Boba Fett, Beilert Valance, and Khel Tanna. IG-11 can be seen in the awesome corner box beside the title. The cover art will appear on Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #36 by Ethan Sacks and Lan Medina.
The second vintage cover for Doctor Aphra #34 features Luke Skywalker holding his lightsaber beside the titular character and R2-D2 with Domina Tagge being showcased in the corner box. The issue comes from Alyssa Wong and Minkyu Jung.
The third vintage variant features a very familiar crew of heroes, with Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca standing together on the cover. Fan-favorite character Nien Nunb appears in the corner box. The cover will appear on Star Wars #36 by Charles Soule and Andrea Di Vito.
The last vintage cover might be the best of all. On the cover for Star Wars: Darth Vader #36 by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco from Ordway and Woodward, Darth Vader raises his fist beside Sabe and Ochi, while a horrifying image of Emperor Palpatine’s face can be seen in the corner box above.
With the excellent homage covers coming out in July, all four are available for pre-order on the CaptCan Comics website right now. So, if you want one specific cover starring your favorite characters from the Star Wars Universe or all four to collect together, don’t forget to order a copy before the presale ends! For those wishing to get the glorious cover art graded, CGC 9.8 Pre-Sale options are also available.
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