When I was a kid, I saved most of the stuff that I bought in stores or items I found discarded. I discovered a lot of junk in the woods: old bottles, rusted keys & locks, a hand-operated water pump from the 1950s, a Road Runner lunchbox, etc. I had boxes loaded with various tidbits, some acquired in trades, others were gifts. I also saved many photos & articles out of local papers.
For people of my generation, Star Wars was a big deal. I had a box filled with movie ads, toy advertisements, and interviews. I also collected the great newspaper strip which was initially produced by comics legend Russ Manning. Manning was best known as the illustrator for the Tarzan newspaper comic of the 1960s and for creating Magnus: Robot Fighter which he wrote and drew for Gold Key. This prolific artist also mentored another great talent; Dave Stevens, creator of The Rocketeer.
Russ Mannings' artwork is simple but not dull. His work is beautifully drawn; effectively sleek but with solid detail. I had a close to full run of Manning's tenure on Star Wars, clipped from the daily and Sunday version of Newsday, but only the following four examples survived the passage of time.
In this episode, we find Luke Skywalker crash-landing on the ice planet of Ota as a result of pursuing an Imperial Tie-Fighter (which Manning clearly based on Kenner Toys' product, available in stores at that time.).
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