365 Days of Star Wars Comics, Day 194: I've Got a Bad Feeling About This Week, Day 1: Let's All Go to the Movies

Hey, I'm hooked on a feeling!


No, no, wrong feeling...also, wrong space-fantasy franchise. Nope, I'm talkin' 'bout the reccuring in-joke of the Star Wars Universe — the line "I've got a bad feeling about this," spoken by everyone from Han Solo to…well, Han Solo's pals. It pops up in every single G-canon Star Wars movie, altho' I'm not certain if it's in The Star Wars Holiday Special or The Ewok Adventure. Because that would require me to watch those. And, just as the Star wars comic book adapt the swashbuckling lightsaber action and all-out blaster adventure, they too adapt that famous line into the comic book universe, right from the very beginning with the first Marvel adaptation.



Panels from (top) Star Wars (1977 Marvel series) #4 (top) and #5 (bottom) (October-November 1977), script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Howard Chaykin, inks by Steve Leialoha, colors by Carl Gafford (#4) and Glynis Wein (#5), letters by Tom Orzechowski



And one (tho' not both) of those instances is repeated when the first movie is "done over" in comic book format for Dark Horse. Hey, déjà vu-2 D-2!!


Panels from Star Wars: A New Hope: The Special Edition (1997 Dark Horse series) #2 (January 1977); script by Bruce Jones; pencils by Eduardo Barreto; inks by Eduardo Barreto, Al Williamson, and Carlos Garzon; colors by James Sinclair and Cary Porter Letters: Steve Dutro
Leia says "I've got a bad feeling about this" while in the space slug's stomach, it's skipped in the Marvel version of The Empire Strikes Back. Here, however, is Threepio in Return of the Jedi:


Panel from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983 Marvel miniseries) #1 (October 1983), script by Archie Goodwin, pencils and inks by Al Williamson and Carlos Garzon, colors by Christie Scheele and Bob Sharen, letters by Ed King
And I know you wanna forget this ever happened, but here's Episode I:


Panel from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom (1999 Dark Horse miniseries) #1 (May 1999), script by Henry Gilroy, pencils by Rodolfo Damaggio, inks by Al Williamson, colors by Dave Nestelle, color separations by Harold MacKinnon, letters by Steve Dutro
And Episode II:


Panel from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom (1999 Dark Horse miniseries) #1 (May 1999), script by Henry Gilroy, pencils by Rodolfo Damaggio, inks by Al Williamson, colors by Dave Nestelle, color separations by Harold MacKinnon, letters by Steve Dutro
And thankfully for their own sakes, Dark Horse Comics went out of business before they had to adapt Episode III. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.*

But Bully! you're saying, what about any occurrences of the popular catchphrase all the kids in America were saying "I've Got a Bad Feeling About This," in any of the Expanded Universe comic books? Well, that's what this whole week is about, fanboys and fangirls! Stay tuned to your Galactic Holonet Provider to tune in every day to see a whole week of "I've Got a Bad Feeling About This" comics which have been rendered non-canonical by Disney! I hope you have a very good feeling about this! And if not? Well, hey, I'm not 100% responsible for your emotional upkeep, buddy. Go eat some ice cream.

The header image is from "A Hot Time in the Cold Town Tonite!" in Star Wars Tales #6 (December 2000); script by Ian Edginton; pencils, inks, colors and letters by Mark Martin and Rick Neilsen

*Actually, the line wasn't adapted into the Episode III comic, but I wanted to make that joke instead.