When Star Wars first came out back in 1977, memorabilia of any kind was hard to find. There were some bits available, some official others far from it. The Kenner/Palitoy action figure range would eventually help the cravings for more bur until such time I had these two books to satisfy me.
Star Wars Annual #1
This was a favourite of mine.
It was a reprint of the Marvel Comics version of the film that had been released earlier in the year. The first couple of parts were black and white. The middle issues were in glorious colour before reverting back to black and white for the final installments.
The annual also had profiles of all the actors as well as an overview of the story and another piece on the evolution of the film.
It was published by Brown Watson in the UK and cost £1.50- 3 weeks pocket money for me!
I absolutely loved this annual and remember reading it over and over again. I still dip into it every now and then!
Star Wars Tie-In Novel
The second book was the Tie-In Novel by George Lucas.
Like most tie-ins it is a retelling of the film but with many scenes expanded on. I was 6 when it was released so for the first couple of years I had my dad read it to me until I was old enough to read it myself.
What really drew me to this novel was the full-colour photos in the centre of the book.
This was 95p when it came out. Worth every penny!
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It’s true that we now have a plethora of merchandise to choose from. Some of it is awesome, other bits not so. However bad/cheap/badly produced* the 70s/80s merchandise was, it still occupies a nostalgic place in my heart for me and always will!
*delete as appropriate!
