Right now, StarWars.com is running a really interesting series of stories about Star Wars in Japan. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the movie there. To celebrate there will be a three day event in July called, appropriately enough, the Star Wars Celebration Japan.

Anyway, the latest Japan related article is a comparison of the original Star Wars comics, released in conjunction with each film, and the Japanese manga version made much later in 1997. While they come right out and say that the manga is better ("Turning Star Wars Japanese - Manga Scenes Done Better") they also make sure to point out the various problems that the original American artists had to face: 

For the Marvel adaptations, produced during each film's post-production period, the artists had not seen the films -- they were working merely from the script, with some key photography and maybe some concept art. Also, they had to conform to the page and printing standards of newsstand comics from 1977-1983. This meant that all the action of a Star Wars film had to be crammed into six issues (or, in the case of Return of the Jedi, a mere four).

With many years to study the films, their impact among fans and all of the other ephemera surrounding the lore, the Japanese crew certainly had it easy. Plus they were able to tell the story in many more pages. Nevertheless, the manga kicks all kinds of ass.

It's impossible for me to do justice to the amazing pictures offered up. From the use of Boba Fett's helmet as a panel layout, a two page spread of full-on Darth Vader face, to an absolutely beautiful Obi-Wan death scene, the manga utterly devastates the comic. I would dare say that it also goes a long way toward better the films themselves because I value my various appendages, so let's just say they add an interesting new twist to the original material.

What are you waiting for? Run Luke! RUN!