Chinese Bootleg Comic Strip Adaptation. Star Wars.

First edition, first printing, of this visual adaptation of George Lucas's science fiction blockbuster, famous because the artists seemingly never had access to more than a few promotional posters for the film and thus improvised the finer details of plot and character. In one image, Darth Vader stands in front of a map with the Kennedy Space Center named as a target. Some of the many other quirky innovations include: Uncle Owen is armed with a rapier; a flashback to the Clone Wars shows Obi Wan pictured riding a missile-firing motorcycle in an image culled from a poster for the 1978 David Carradine film Deathsport; and a young Darth Vader appears big-breasted posing in front of his trusty steed, an animal resembling a triceratops. The logo for J & B whiskey makes an appearance in Obi Wan's home, C3PO kisses R2-D2 before the final assault, and, on Yavin, men in suits and ties talk Princess Leia through the plan to blow up the Death Star. Landscape duodecimo. Original pictorial wrappers, gatherings wire-stitched and glued into wrappers as issued, front cover lettered in black and red, rear cover lettered in black. With 142 illustrations in text by Song Fei and others; wrappers designed by Liu Renyi. Ex-Shanghai Electrical Works Union Library, with its ink stamps on the rear cover and title page and faintly visible on the front cover. Two punch holes throughout where previously bound with other comic books, front cover affected but internal illustrations pleasingly without loss, lettering on front wrapper slightly skinned, a little even toning internally. A very good copy of a fragile publication.