3. The Saviour: Roy Thomas?
Fortunately, there was one person whom Stan listened to and his name was Roy Thomas, the former Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas. It so happen that in 1970, Thomas was able to convince Stan Lee (who was very reluctant) to take a gamble on licensing the comic book rights to Conan, then still an obscure fantasy character. That had turned out to be a huge hit for Marvel.
Unable to convince Stan, Lucas sent his friends over to make an amazing offer to Thomas: if he could convince Marvel to make a Star Wars comic, Lucas would give Marvel the publishing rights absolutely free. So, went Thomas to Stan, armed with an early draft of the script and some secret Ralph McQuarrie concept art.His peers weren’t too keen on the idea and they scorned him but he somehow talked Stan into it. Now he had only the fans to convince.
4. Marvel’s Game Changing Idea: Bring Star Wars To Comic-Con
Today, Comic-Con is perhaps the biggest movie showcase in the world but back in the day, it was just its name suggested. It was only about the comics. That was forever changed when Thomas and artist Howard Chaykin showed up at the 1976 San Diego Comic-Con for Star Wars promotion. They came with posters and images of their adaptation of Star Wars.
For everyone, it was the first time a film was the center of a Comic-Con panel.And for many fans there, it was their first introduction to the world of Star Wars. Like the good ol’ door-to-door salesmen, Thomas and Chaykin hawked Chaykin’s promotional Star Wars poster to fans for a buck. Did that manage to generate buzz for the film and the comic. Did it work?
