Dennis the Phantom Menace

Originally published June 4, 1999, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1333

Now it can be revealed.

In an exclusive But I Digress scoop, we have learned the true origins of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Despite whatever the Lucasfilm party line may be now, the truth appears to be this: George Lucas originally had no intention of continuing the story with live action films. Instead, due to the wide-spread popularity of the classic animation in the now-legendary Star Wars Christmas Special—to say nothing of the widely acclaimed, sumptuously and fluidly rendered Star Trek: The Animated Series—George Lucas had originally planned to continue the saga via the Saturday morning cartoon route. Such series as Droids and Ewoks were merely the testing grounds for his greatest, most ambitious project.

Intended to put a new, fresh slant on the Star Wars universe, Lucas, in conjunction with King Features Studios, developed the aborted series entitled:

Star Wars: Dennis the Phantom Menace

Alarmed that the Star Wars series had so many adult fans (Lucas recently stated that the target audience for the films is 12-year-olds), Lucasfilm joined creative forces with Hank Ketcham’s rascally scamp and transported Dennis and his supporting cast to a far away galaxy, there to chronicle his lively adventures as the galaxy’s most powerful and annoying Jedi. Dissatisfied with the initial sketches, however, the legendarily perfectionist Lucas sought out comic art great Richard Howell, who provided a number of sample character drawings. Lucas was quite happy with them, but subsequent negotiations with King Features fell apart over licensing disputes and the project died—only to be revived, live action and sans Dennis, when the reissue of the initial films proved so popular.

Howell has graciously provided BID with these long lost sketches, a fascinating insight into a Star Wars TV series—and, for that matter, t-shirt and action figure—that you’ll never see.

May the farce be with you.