Forty years ago today, an era ended. On Saturday 7th June, the 155th and final issue of Return of the Jedi Weekly landed in newsagents, ending not only a title that launched on 22nd June 1983 with the first issue of Return of the Jedi Weekly, but a run that stretched back to Wednesday 8th February 1978 when the debut issue of Star Wars Weekly arrived.
With Star Wars relegated the following week to being a back-up strip in the pages of Spider-Man and Zoids issue 15, (reprinting Star Wars Annual #3), that left many of us reminiscing about the halcyon days of just a few years earlier, when the debut issue of ROTJ Weekly arrived in full colour (and a free badge), and was soon followed by issues that featured a Star Finder Chart (issue 3), posters (issues 18, 27 and 31), transfers (issues 97, 98 and 99), stickers (issues 74 and 75) and more. Lucky readers were even treated to a FREE BAGDE in issue 9. What on Fornax is a BAGDE?
The first 79 issues largely featured photographic front covers (and the occasional original painting by the legendary Jolly John Higgins) on glossy paper, and from issue 80 the publication shifted to using cheaper paper and montages based on the comic strips, shifting the tone of the comic to a more kid friendly presentation, not to mention the frequent appearances of editor droid C.Y.R.I.L. (Class Y Readers Inquiry Logistical, drawn by Steve Parkhouse and John Ridgway) who for some reason has yet to make any kind of appearance in modern Star Wars programming.
As we reminisce, here’s some recollections from members of the Fantha Tracks team and readers. First off, Good Morning Tatooine and Start Your Engines co-host Paul Naylor.
Paul Naylor
Having been reminded by Fantha Editor-supreme – Mr Mark Newbold, obviously – that the very last issue of Return of the Jedi Weekly was published 40 years ago, there was only one thing to do – head up into the loft.
Yes, it was great to see the collection again, with full colour and spot colour pages replacing the previously mono images in UK Star Wars comics.
Prior to the release of issue 1 of ROTJ, fans of a galaxy far, far away had been keeping up to date with the adventures of Luke Skywalker and co in the pages of Star Wars Monthly.
A rather excellent story was at its midway point and thankfully it continued in the new weekly title as a supplement to the first instalment of the comic-book adaptation of the third Star Wars movie.
Interestingly, at the time Fool’s Bounty was a fan-favourite due to it including characters such as IG-88 and Bossk. But it’s the other protagonists that would become a very neat Easter Egg nod some 40 years later, thanks to the then new Disney+ series, The Mandalorian.
Yep, the characters from that secondary tale found themselves encased in carbonite onboard The Razorcrest. Rik Duel, Dani and Rodian Chihdo were literally on ice for four decades, following a story that heavily leant into carbonite blocks.
Now, like many out there, I do suffer with some OCD issues. ROTJ Weekly was happy to oblige.
Inexplicably, issues 1 and 2 were a different format to subsequent issues. Around 1cm taller. I remember it bothering me in July ’83. It still bothers me in June ’26. Ha ha.
My ‘twitching’ settled by issue 8 – only to return thanks to an almighty blunder on the cover of issue 9. In the boldest of fonts, and a larger typeface than the title itself, there was a proud announcement of a FREE BAGDE! Free bagde? You mean BADGE! I went on to become a proof reader in later life. Perhaps this was foreshadowing my journalistic career?
Nevertheless, this was a significant issue as it saw the beginning of the reprint of the Star Wars comic strip, first seen in 1978 in the UK in Star Wars Weekly – albeit in monochrome. At last we had it in colour and spot colour. There’s that phrase again – spot colour. That was when a single colour would be used to highlight the action. So mono pages with touches of different gradients of red, for example. Again, this would be something I became all to familiar with in my newspaper days in the 1990s and beyond.
As I rooted through my collection I dug out some of my favourite covers.
Issue 28 from late December 1983 featured that now classic Christmas image of Vader as Santa, with Han and Luke clutching gifts in the background. It was the first time I’d seen this image. I’m not sure if this was its debut, but I remember thinking how cool it was.
Issue 42, released April 1984, had a great cover. It was unusually bright and includes superb illustrations of Leia, Luke, 3PO and E.L.L.I.E.
Rarely, Issue 79 featured a cover that had nothing to do with the comic strips inside. Instead, this tied in with the release of Caravan of Courage. It was December 1984 and the Ewok flick was about to go on cinematic release in the UK. There was a great full page ad for the film inside too. It was great to see Star Wars continuing in some form, but by then I was 14 years old and the Ewoks were seriously uncool. I quite like them now.
In the January of the following year, perhaps my favourite cover of all time – that classic montage that represented an all-time favourite story, Jawas of Doom – hit the UK newsagents. That story was no doubt the influence for the Disney+ opening to The Book of Boba Fett. Thank you Marvel comics for Issue 83, January 1985.
Perhaps my favourite issue of the run is number 11. My copy was defaced by one of my very best friends when we were in our late teens.Thanks Rich! You know who you are. Ha, ha. He got equally ‘arty’ on the cover of issue 2, but number 11 holds a special place in my heart because unknowingly to the then 12-year-old Paul Naylor, he would read a letter in the Cosmic Correspondence section from someone who would become a very dear friend.
Yep, issue 11 features – I believe – the first printed content from our very own Mark Newbold. Writing as his fan-fiction alias, Jan Lomona, it is amazing to think that I would have read that letter in my ROTJ comic in the summer of 1983 and then some 30 years later our paths would cross, forging an amazing friendship.
The final issue of ROTJ may have been published four decades ago now, but its legacy will live on for decades to come.
Good Morning Tatooine co-host Brian Cameron also delves back into the past.
Brian Cameron
For anyone growing up in the UK in the early 80s, that first issue of Return of the Jedi Weekly was pure magic. After years of squinting at the black-and-white newsprint of Star Wars Weekly and The Empire Strikes Back Monthly, seeing those vibrant, full-colour interior pages for the first time felt like stepping out of Uncle Owen’s garage and into a hyperspace jump.
The smell of the ink is a core memory—that specific, slightly metallic scent as you unpeeled the free gift from the cover of issue #1. Whether you were tracing the “Star Finder Chart” from issue #3 or frantically checking the newsagent’s shelf every Wednesday, it was more than just a comic; it was our lifeline to a galaxy far, far away when the VHS tapes were still too expensive to own.
The genius of the “Weekly” was the mash-up. You’d come for Luke and Vader, but you’d stay for the grit of the Indiana Jones strips or the weird, dark vibes of the Blade Runner and Time Bandits backups. It felt like a curated sci-fi festival delivered to your doorstep every week.
Even when the stories leaned into the bizarre—like those original Marvel US tales where the gang met giant space rabbits—we ate it up. Looking back, those 155 issues weren’t just filler; they were the “Dark Times” survival kit that kept the Force alive in our bedrooms long after the cinema lights went down in 1983.
We also ‘opened the floor’ to Fantha readers. “I will always have a soft spot for ROTJ weekly,” remembers Craig Griffith, “as it was the only way to get my Star Wars fix for a few years after ‘83. It’s hard to imagine now but there was no new Star Wars other than those weekly instalments for a long time. It was “the Star Wars Galaxy” for a while , well apart from the VHS’s of the films of course. Those comics kept our heroic trio alive during that time.” Rob Mclaughlin asked if there was “Anything specific about irritating green rabbits?“, while Topps artist Jamie Richards referred to one of the titles legendary back-up strips and asked “why the hell haven’t Marvel/Disney+ made a ‘Power Pack’ tv series?”
Peter Davis from The Vintage Rebellion tells us that issue 56 showed his “actual face“, while Mon Calamari admirer Dave Shorter referred to another popular 80’s publication and said “Issue 29 had Admiral Ackbar on the cover so it might as well be an issue of Razzle as far as I’m concerned.” Artist Dan Tearle tells us that appearing in the magazine was his “first time in print on the Star Drawings page“, which is something I can appreciate as issue 11 saw my letter printed in the Cosmic Correspondence page under my fanfic pseudonym Jan Lonona.
The UK Star Wars experience was in large part shaped by these weekly visits to the galaxy far, far away, reminding us to continue to ponder, dream and enjoy the story of Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie and the droids as they battled Vader, the forces of the Empire and a lot of original characters created by Marvel Comics. Valance, Dani, Chido, Shira, Plif, the Darker, Hiro, and so many more. A quick dip into the pages of any of those 155 issues (or indeed *deep breath* Star Wars Weekly – #1–117, The Empire Strikes Back Weekly – #118–139, The Empire Strikes Back Monthly – #140–158, Star Wars Monthly – #159–171 or even Ewoks Monthly – #1–10, not to mention Star Wars Annual No. 1, Star Wars Annual 1979, The Empire Strikes Back Annual, The Empire Strikes Back Annual No. 2, Star Wars Annual 1981, Return of the Jedi Annual 1983, Return of the Jedi Annual 1984, Star Wars Annual Featuring Ewoks and Ewoks Annual plus Star Wars Summer Special 1983, Return of the Jedi Winter Special, Star Wars Special Edition 1984, Return of the Jedi Summer Special, Return of the Jedi Christmas Special, Star Wars Summer Special 1985, Droids TV Special and Droids Spring Special) still deliver magical adventures and great backup strips.
