Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace #1
Released on May 5, 1999 — two weeks before the film opened in theaters — this issue marks the first appearance of Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, Jar Jar Binks, Nute Gunray, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Queen Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn, R2-D2, and Sheev Palpatine anywhere in comic book form, making it the single densest debut issue for major Star Wars characters since the original 1977 Marvel adaptation. As the opening chapter of the Prequel Trilogy's arrival in comics, it served as the medium's formal reintroduction to the Star Wars galaxy after a sixteen-year theatrical gap and helped cement Dark Horse Comics' position as the steward of the franchise's print mythology through the early 2000s. Darth Maul's holographic cameo in this issue — his very first appearance in any sequential-art format — would later take on outsized significance as the character became one of the most enduring villains of the entire saga across film, animation, and comics.
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The four-issue series was adapted by writer Henry Gilroy directly from George Lucas's screenplay, with pencils by Rodolfo Damaggio and inks by veteran Al Williamson, who had previously brought the original trilogy to comics pages for Marvel. Dark Horse deployed an unusually aggressive weekly publication schedule, releasing all four issues across a single month (May 5–May 26, 1999) in parallel with a same-day trade paperback, clearly designed to capture the enormous consumer excitement building toward the film's May 19 theatrical opening. Each issue shipped with two cover versions: a painted illustrated cover by Hugh Fleming and a variant photo cover using stills or publicity images from the film itself. Writer Gilroy would go on to adapt Episode II for Dark Horse as well, and later became head writer on the first season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First comic book appearance of Darth Maul (depicted as a hologram introduced by Darth Sidious to Nute Gunray), as well as the comic debuts of Darth Sidious, Jar Jar Binks, Nute Gunray, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Queen Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn, R2-D2, and Sheev Palpatine.
- Released May 5, 1999 — fourteen days before the film's May 19, 1999 theatrical opening — as the first issue in a four-part weekly miniseries running through May 26, 1999.
- Written by Henry Gilroy (adapted from George Lucas's screenplay), penciled by Rodolfo Damaggio, and inked by Al Williamson; cover paintings by Hugh Fleming.
- Issue #1 shipped simultaneously in two cover editions: a painted illustrated cover (Hugh Fleming) and a variant photo cover using film/publicity imagery.
- The comic adaptation preserves several lines of dialogue cut from the film's final theatrical release, including Dofine's spoken panic and Darth Sidious's first line to Dofine, as well as expanded dialogue for Darth Maul toward the story's conclusion.
- The narrative content of issue #1 covers approximately the first half-hour of the film, ending with the scene of Darth Sidious introducing Darth Maul to Nute Gunray (editorially repositioned to follow Qui-Gon Jinn's announcement of heading to Tatooine).
- All four issues were collected in a trade paperback (1999, Dark Horse), a limited hardcover edition (also 1999, cover by Ravenwood, limited to 750 copies), a Dark Horse trade paperback reprint (December 21, 2011, timed to the 3D theatrical re-release), and a second hardcover edition by Marvel Comics (May 24, 2016).
- A separate manga adaptation by Kia Asamiya (Star Wars Manga: The Phantom Menace) was also published by Dark Horse in December 1999, giving the film two concurrent comic adaptations in the same year.