The Art of Star Wars: A New Hope – The Manga Masterpiece Edition
In 1997, deep in the heart of Japan’s manga scene, artist Hisao Tamaki set out with an extraordinary goal: to capture the spirit of Star Wars: A New Hope—not just retelling the story, but reimagining the landmark motion picture through the lens of manga. The result was a bold, unforgettable adaptation that ultimately earned Tamaki the prestigious Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material.
Now, nearly three decades later, Dark Horse Comics and Lucasfilm are proud to present The Art of Star Wars: A New Hope—The Manga, a new book that showcases Tamaki’s original never-before-seen art boards.
Fans will experience Tamaki’s stunning artwork in both retail and Kickstarter-exclusive editions, each featuring high-quality reproductions of the original pages—complete with blue pencil marks, pasted captions, and editorial notes, and presented in their original right-to-left reading order, offering a true window into the creative process. The retail edition will bring this extraordinary project to readers everywhere.
But for those who want to go even deeper, this Kickstarter-exclusive release offers something more: variant covers, deluxe packaging, oversized formats, signed editions, and other collector-focused features that won’t be available in stores.
Whether you’re a fan of Tamaki’s original manga or are discovering it for the first time, this project is a celebration of artistry, storytelling, and a cultural crossover that continues to inspire.
The Art of Star Wars: A New Hope – The Manga by Hisao Tamaki and is, quite simply, a stunning and breathtaking work of art of the highest standard. The original manga edition was released way back in 1997 and instantly won critical praise from both Star Wars and Japanese Manga fans. Nearly thirty years later, Dark Horse Comics are revisiting the project in a bold new way.
The campaign that the team ran was second to none. There were many tiers available to see from the get-go from a digital edition, Collector’s Editions, Masterpiece Editions, Signed Editions and a Legacy Bundle to boot. A total of 2146 backers brought this project to life in various tiering formats making some editions of this campaign, a genuinely rare modern collectable.
The team would email regular updates about the campaign with all the information that one needed to make the decision about if they wanted to back. There were no hidden fees or extra unlock items announced at a later date. Everything was set out at the start and one had all the information needed to make an informed decision. The project backed in no time at all and the backers just kept on coming.
The tier that I brought was the Masterpiece Edition and a little add of an Art Print Set. It measures a whopping coffee-table sized 15.05” by 10.85” and was only available during the campaign window. The prints measure 9” by 12” and are, as expected, produced to the highest quality standard.
The first thing to note is that the books were extremely well packaged inside two boxes that also contained extra protection inside with many layers surrounding the actual set of books. As a collector, this gives massive peace of mind and is always positive to see when companies don’t skimp out on shipping and really take their care and time.
The Masterpiece Edition comes with the manga told over two volumes and a third book that works as a ‘translation companion’ piece.
The first thing to note about the books is the weight and size. They are gigantic and the binding on them is gorgeous. Volume 1 is housed in a blue cover, whilst the 2nd volume is in red. Forgive me here whilst get a little geeky about a book but, as an avid reader of not only Star Wars fiction but a wide array of books, these smell fantastic. The pages are lined a gold foil and look like they belong in a museum when housed in the elegant white slipcase.
The pages inside are jaw dropping. You could spend ten-minutes simply staring in wonder at each page and, as this is Japanese, the books read from right to left in traditional fashion.
The pictures shown here don’t do justice to seeing and holding this beauty in person but hopefully you can get a sense of the depth of talent on display here in the pages. The artwork, blown up here in its larger format than a traditional paperback manga, really does leave one in awe.
The pages themselves feature supreme reproductions of the original manga art along with blue pencil marks, editorial notes and captions allowing for a fully immersive reading experience.
The ‘Translation Companion’ adds another layer of fun and functionality to the reading experience as there are notes and annotations from various pages of the volumes. As a work of art, which is how I’m viewing this set, its second to none and I’m confident that anyone who backed any tier in this campaign will be deeply satisfied by the finished product.
A massive congratulations to all involved and with the success of this, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
