Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: buck rogers, famous funnies, frank frazetta, george lucas, star wars

Frazetta Famous Funnies Covers that Influenced Star Wars, at Auction

According to the legendary artist Frank Frazetta, his famous Famous Funnies Buck Rogers cover run was an influence on George Lucas.

Published Wed, 11 Jan 2023 08:57:11 -0600

by Mark Seifert

Last updated Thu, 12 Jan 2023 10:24:25 -0600

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Buck Rogers has been one of the most enduring science fiction classics in American history since its debut in Amazing Stories volume 3 number 5 in 1928. From those pulp origins, it spread to become a popular favorite across media, including comic strips, film, television, and much more. Legendary artist Frank Frazetta created eight Buck Rogers covers for the long-running comic book series Famous Funnies in 1953/54 (whose publisher infamously rejected a ninth cover for being too violent. This became the cover of Weird Science-Fantasy #29 from EC Comics in 1955) which have become highly influential in their own right. All Eight of the Frazetta Buck Rogers Famous Funnies cover issues are available in gorgeous high grade in the 2023 January 12 – 15 Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction #7338 at Heritage Auctions.

Famous Funnies #214, Buc Rogers cover, 1954. — Famous Funnies #214, Buck Rogers cover, 1954.

As recently discussed, Buck Rogers was a formative influence on figures ranging from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry to Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. But the combination of Frazetta and Buck Rogers had a special magic of its own, according to Star Wars creator George Lucas:

"When George Lucas came out to visit he told me that my Famous Funnies covers had been one of his inspirations for Star Wars," Frazetta relates, "which I thought was a pretty sweet thing to say." Fans were disappointed when they learned Frank had turned down Lucas' offer to paint the cover for a Star Wars novelization and mystified when his advertisements for the derivative "Battlestar Galactica" began to appear weekly in the TV Guide. "The simple answer," Frazetta explains, "is that I got to paint what I wanted and I retained my originals and my copyrights. I wouldn't have been able to keep either if I had taken the Star Wars job and I would not have had much creative freedom. That would have been a step backward for me."

The book Fantastic Paintings of Frazetta elaborates significantly on the Frazetta/Star Wars connection, as well as the inspiration that a pair of these Famous Funnies covers in particular, had on George Lucas, quoting Frazetta as saying, "George Lucas told me that my Famous Funnies covers were an influence on Star Wars. Specifically, #213 on Chewbacca and #214 on the Death Star". This combination of a legendary creator working on an enduring property in Buck Rogers is as irresistible today as it was in 1953. All Eight of the Frazetta Buck Rogers Famous Funnies cover issues are available in the 2023 January 12 – 15 Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction #7338 at Heritage Auctions.