17: Arise, Sir Jedi Knight!
The Lightsaber of the Jedi Knight is indeed a most delicate weapon, but Jack’s now part of the club.
And seeing Star Wars for the first time was akin to a religious experience!
Dressing Up!
Above: Me in my home-made Darth Vader costume! (1978) Shot by my pal, John S. The rifle is drawn on in marker.
I made a Darth Vader helmet – out of my toy police motorcyclist helmet in early 1978! Along with a mask of papier maché, cardboard, packing-tape and black gloss paint. I then turned my dressing gown inside-out so you saw the dark blue lining instead of the patterned fabric and kept the arms hidden inside. I safety-pinned it at the top. Looking at it now, it’s no wonder why John S’ Apollo Rocket Costume won the fancy dress contest at the local field day! Made from cardboard boxes, it was brilliant. Inscribed on it was “One Small Step for Man…” etc. I was about losing it to one of my best pals, but also in awe of its greatness. And I was supposed to be the artistic one! Maybe John can tell us more about that day?
Above: the original, unmutilated helmet! In the garden in Scone, Scotland around 1976? With my Luger pistol.
Clubs – secret societies – gangs
I’d like to hear about yours! Why not tell us about them in the comments on the right? Ours was the Warlord Eagles – named after the UK’s WARLORD comic. After Star Wars hit – we renamed it to the Star Wars/Warlord Eagles. Here’s what’s left of my Warlord Secret agent wallet!
Above: My Secret Agent Credentials. It also contained a black and White magazine photo of Farrah Fawcett!
If you enjoy today’s strip and article, please leave a ‘comment‘ so that I know? And please ‘Share’ it – in whichever way you prefer. Every bit helps, to get my comic ‘out there’ – and – encourages me to stick at it.
Thanks!
** Stay Groovy, all you 1970s kids! **
– John White
More excited than he'd ever been before, Jack ran to the house of his pal Jim. Understandable, as it was the morning after seeing Star Wars. So he was desperately eager to tell Jim that he too had now seen the new space film!
Arriving at No.77, he knocked urgently - between gasps - on his pal's sunset orange door...
Presently, the door opened. Jim's head still bore the plastic Darth Vader mask; which he appeared to be wearing as a hat when not at play. This time delighted to see Jack, Jim yelled, "Hiya Jack!" but briefly paused, noticing Jack's own demeanour before remarking, "You look... different."
In spontaneous response, Jack jumped all over Jim's front step - unable to contain himself any longer, shouting, "I saw it Jim - I saw it!! I saw Star Wars - yesterday... with my own eyes! I can't stop thinking about it! It - it - it's all I want to think about!!!"
Jim calmly raising a hand in mock benediction, and with eyes cast serenely off to the heavens, whispered "So - you have seen."
"Enter, my son," he continued "for, it is time..." and motioned Jim inside, through the house and out to the back garden - where the tree-house stood. Jack was urged up the ladder, shoddily made from a long plank with short pieces of wood nailed horizontally across it at kid-step-sized intervals. "That's it - go ahead" Jim urged with a whisper.
Suspecting something very odd might be afoot, Jack cautiously climbed onward and upward - pausing briefly to look back at Jim who chose to remain on the lawn - before irresistably resuming his ascent.
His progress was abruptly, halted near the top, when he encountered Neal's legs and feet. Neal stood Samurai-like in the entrance to the tree house - towering over Jack with what appeared to be a cardboard kitchen-foil tube in his two hands. Jack greeted him in as normal a fashion as he could, "Oh - hi Neal!" Neal replied only with a whispered and solemn "Silence... kneel before Neal." Jack, intrigued, stepped off the ladder into the tree-house and found himself on his knees - as if before the Queen of England in Westminster Abbey. And then, it did come to pass:
"Lo, henceforthwith" incanted Neal with a ritual touch of the cardboard sword to each shoulder, "we do hereby verily enmonicker thee: Jedi Jack." And then after some perceived proper pause, "Arise, Sir Knight." Jack stood, feeling honoured and curious as to what might follow. He needn't have feared an anti-climax, for with attempted balletic flourish, Neal presented the cardboard tube with its thick sellotape hand grip to him.
"And taketh thee, thy lightsaber." adding quietly, "Careful, it's on."
"Gosh" breathed Jack in awe of its imaginary blue glow and enquiring, "Is it - dangerous?"
"Aye, very extremely" Neal warned him, "Do not ever point it at anyone's face."
"I shall useth it with careth" Jack assured him.
"Wise. For it be-eth of crappy cardboard and sticky tape construction."
The lightsaber of the Jedi Knight was indeed a dangerous - and delicate weapon.
Add me to the list of kids who were more into blasters than lightsabers. But I’m sure I did take part in some lightsaber fights. To this day, I don’t see what you’re supposed to do with the cardboard tube inside a roll of gift wrap, other than fight a duel with it.
I remember thinking that none of the lightsaber toys could really live up to what was in the film, since, obviously, you couldn’t carry around just a hilt and get the blade to appear on command. You would just have to pretend the blade wasn’t there until it was illuminated. For that reason, I don’t remember especially wanting to own one.
As for the strip: Another great episode, John. I can’t get over the way Jack’s arms really seem to move when you stare at that frame of him jumping up and down. And everything else — the language, the facial expressions, all wonderful.
Thanks Darren. Yes, the lightabers – I can’t actually remember if I was mad into them at all. Besides, there wasn’t much of them in the first film. The toy ones – like the so-named ‘Force Beam’ (??) that was for sale on the backs of Star Wars Weekly comic – might look pretty good in the bedroom with the curtains shut but in broad daylight? But then again – I’m missing the point aren’t I? You used your IMAGINATION.
You know, I’ve a funny feeling that I still just might have tried tried attaching a rolled-up tube of paper to a torch…
I remember relating much more to the blaster-toting rebels than the Jedi at the time of Star Wars’ release. In my character drawings, I drew a rebel trooper, one of the guys defending the blockade runner at the beginning of the film, and labeled him a “Jedi knight.” One of my older brothers corrected me. I had trouble with what Jedi were because they weren’t in the movie due to the whole “they were all exterminated” thing, and I had trouble understanding what Ben had to say about them. So anyway, lots of sticks were used as blasters, but I don’t remember many used as lightsabers. If we wanted swordplay, we’d play as medieval knights and stuff!
You know what Phil? I liked Jedi, but like you I was more into the characters who used blasters! To this day, I find Jedi pretty, well… boring 🙁
I preferred them when they were mysterious and back in history and semi-forgotten, rather than the over-used things that they are now, fighting for 10 minutes at a time, deflecting laser bolts, force-pushing and whatever else they obligatorily do every time!
Is ‘obligatorily’ a word?
Yes it is! And it was a time when the Jedi standard uniform was definitely not, in-no-way-similar-at-all, the desert robes Ben happened to be wearing after decades living in the desert in Star Wars. The most ridiculous visual from the prequels — Jedi flying star fighters wearing those robes!
Oh… don’t get me started. I haven’t looked at those films in years 🙂
I’m with you on the brown robes business, Phil. And I found the Jedi even harder to admire in the prequels. Anakin is said to be older than the normal Jedi trainee at, what, eight years old? So this is a religious cult that likes ton indoctrinate very small kids and train them as warriors! Maybe Lucas was trying to give them some slightly fanatical, unsympathetic qualities to make their downfall seem more plausible, but I’m not sure he’s quite as sophisticated a film-maker as that. Sorry – like John, I shouldn’t get started on that subject.
Indeed – to each, their own!
the costume was brilliant – were you only 10 or so when you made it??
I was 9 or 10 yes, Candace. I was probably wearing black wellies too. The mask involved lots of card triangles – cereal box card? – packing-taped together, and dark lenses from old sunglasses! Wish I still had it.