Photo: Brad Balfour
Report by Brad Balfour
It’s hard to believe it but legendary director George Lucas — the mastermind who created the “Star Wars” saga had never appeared at San Diego Comic Con (last weekend, July 24-27) until this year.
This mega-billionaire has had an impact on our culture in so many ways.
But he had a good reason to show up this time. During his first appearance on stage, he revealed exciting news about Star Wars and Marvel items headed to his new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art that’s set to open in Los Angeles in 2026.
As reported by IGN, joining Lucas on stage was Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro, Academy Award-winning artist Doug Chiang, and Grammy- and Emmy-winning artist Queen Latifah, to discussed his museum which aims to be a “temple to people’s art.”
As for what fans can expect, there was a special video preview which showed what guests can expect to see — for example, Luke’s X-34 Land speeder from “A New Hope,” General Grievous’ TSMEU-6 Wheel Bike, Anakin’s N-1 Starfighter from “The Phantom Menace,” and even Speeder Bikes from “Return of the Jedi.”
There will also be much concept art and more from that galaxy far, far away. On the Marvel front, the original 1968 drawing of Iron Man’s first cover and the original drawings of Black Panther from 1968 will be on display.
These will be joined by the very first character drawing of Flash Gordon from 1934, original sketches from Peanuts comics from the ’50s and ’60s, and art from Norman Rockwell, Jack Kirby, Frida Kahlo, and many more. Lucas shared a bit about his history with art and comics, sharing that he couldn’t afford real art in college, so he bought comic art.
Over the years, Lucas amassed a collection of over 40,000 pieces and he refuses to sell any of them. As he said, “If you have an emotional connection, that’s art.The idea that people can tell you what art is… From my experience making movies, other people’s opinions don’t mean much. The only thing that matters is what you do and how you feel about it.”
Lucas said, “This museum is dedicated to the idea that a story is written to affect people, build community and that it is extremely important to society and in building community. Furthermore, genres like Science Fiction can inspire us because “when the idea is implanted, then we think we can do it.”
This news flash dovetailed with questions posed to me by Mike Carbonaro, master collectibles dealer and E-Bay auctioneer for Den of Geek. He is also the mastermind behind Big Apple Comic Con — The BACC Holiday Con, again taking place this November 22nd, all day on Saturday at the New Yorker Hotel.
I had been asked: “What is it about ‘Star Wars’ that makes it not only a popular experience but a pop culture phenomenon?”
Though I had once spoken with Lucas before, back in 2015 [see the the link at the end of this piece],I didn’t get to discuss all these things with him.
If I had him before me again, I would ask, “Why is “Star Wars” so successful?” I thought further… Why does it fascinate? What captivated audiences to such a degree? Was it a shift in attitudes during the mid ‘70s? What about those times made audiences ready to accept such films which capture the imagination beyond most conventional expectations?”
“How did this film go from being a minor space opera to becoming a legendary franchise?”
So naturally, I then had to ask, “How does any film go from a one-off to an extended franchise big enough to encompass theme parks, multiple toys, endless collectibles and various spin offs in other media (TV, comics, online, conventions)?”
The answers to these questions are complex and intertwined. The films have made people rich, spawned careers and established a mythology with no basis in history. Yet the “Star Wars” saga mimics a detailed history so effectively that it has created a decades-spanning storytelling arc and various sub-stories that are equally compelling.
Each of the characters and actors who portray them became icons. It all happened for good reasons. The episodes consistently stressed certain traits that humans hold in common about good intentions: honor, indefatigable-ness, perseverance, and the ability to strategize on one’s feet. Surviving while standing up for various values — the obvious ones like truth, justice and what was once “The American way” — made “Star Wars,” and everything that followed, an outstanding expression of these idealistic values.
I was already acclimated to the wonders of sci-fi worlds and the idea of rebel forces conquering interstellar fascists. There’s been a long tradition since the 1920s of galaxy-spanning science fiction stories/novels. There were those by Doc E. E. Smith and Isaac Asimov whose Foundation series really addressed intergalactic conflict.
These stories were so fantastical at the time that it took a certain kind of person to read and appreciate that fiction. They didn’t question it for literary merit but rather for plausibility or the ability to generate an expansive sense of wonder. In those days — before World War 2 when isolated Americans didn’t go forth to see the world — American society was driven by forces that tried to make people conform in order to unify a country once torn by the Civil War. On the surface, American society –– through its schools and civic lessons –– tried to re-enforce a guiding morality and code of behavior across social strata and cultural boundaries.
The message was: Eat your peas, don’t talk to strangers, be a strong male, weak female, love God, Country and your local school board. Meanwhile those engaging in reading sci-fi stories were thinking way outside the box. They went well beyond politics and social norms. As more and more people picked up on these stories, their visions went way beyond America’s borders … even beyond the limits of the planet. These people — science fiction fans — became the core audience that eventually rushed to embrace “Buck Rogers,” “Flash Gordon,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Star Trek,{ and “The Outer Limits” before there was a “Star Wars.”
They were harbingers of fandom — whether for sci-fi, comic books, films, music, etc. The idea of fandom went beyond just having an interest or a collection. It became the calling card for a social scene which bonded people beyond an occasional moment. Fans tapped into identifying with something more than themselves, something whether it be JRR Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” or “Tarzan” or a costumed hero. That common interest unified people in a way that set them apart from conventional society.
Then, along came “Star Wars.”
In 1977, once creator/writer/director George Lucas made “Star Wars” and got it released, there was a community to embrace it. The world was ready for his expansive vision of the galaxy. His films transformed not just a generation but generations to come.
When I was beginning my career as a writer/editor, I was invited to a “Star Wars” press screening before the world at large. Little did I know it would be as earth-shattering as it was to become. I got a press kit and poster and stashed them away, thinking this was something to hang on to. How right I was. Now they’re worth some money and serious memories.
I found myself straddling the two fandoms of “Star Trek” and then “Star Wars.” It was sort of a generational thing that made sense and engulfed any science fiction fans who were caught up in the joys of imagining the other worldliness of it all.
A legion of fans who had already absorbed many of the SF precepts was the next generation or so that was ready for the galactic sweep of “Star Wars.” But what made it different from “Star Trek” was that its world wasn’t as orderly as the Federation’s world which offered some organizing element. The galaxy of “Star Wars” was messy, unruly and in turmoil –– not unlike various earthly revolutions that had happened ages before. And that’s what also connected the fans to “Star Wars.” An unruly galaxy fraught with turmoil.
But timing was everything and George Lucas understood that. Once he fashioned his simple story, he had to envelope it with trappings that created a sense of wonder. He took his films beyond fairy tales and made them into sci-fi fantasy epics.
There are familiar elements to the “Star Wars” epic that are found in more mundane earthly stories. But setting these story elements in an otherworldly, galactic context demanded a leap of considerable imagination. It was that leap — built out of clever characters and an attention to special effects detail — that made the on-screen result all the more compelling.
The series opened the doors to so much more while continuing to engage its fans. Through “Star Wars,” George Lucas tapped into new possibilities at a time when they (in special effects and storytelling) were becoming realities.
Lucas’s epic space opera saga has had a huge impact on popular culture. Darth Vader has become an iconic villain and such characters as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 have become archetypes.
The “Star Wars” series has become a cultural unifier –– enjoyed by a wide audience of whatever political and philosophical persuasion. It has affected linear TV, streaming, music, toys, books, graphic novels and more. Its sounds, visuals, and even its score have become integral notions in global culture. The film helped launch the science fiction boom of the late ’70s and early ’80s, making sci-fi films a blockbuster genre. And now it’s generated a museum. What’s next?
To see my 2015 interview with George Lucas go to: https://popentertainmentblog.com/2015/01/22/george-lucas-master-filmmaker-stirs-up-strange-magic/
To attend Big Apple Comic con this November 22 go to: https://bigapplecc.com/