Return of the Jedi Weekly was the fifth iteration of Marvel UK’s Star Wars comic, succeeding previous title Star Wars Monthly.
While previous iterations had maintained the issue numbering system introduced with Star Wars Weekly in January 1978, Return of the Jedi Weekly instead reset the numbering to #1—so it could be said to be a completely new publication. It continued to run much the same content as the previous monthly incarnations, except this time in full color.
Unlike the original publication in Marvel Comics' American Star Wars series, Return of the Jedi Weekly continued the British anthology tradition, with each US Star Wars issue split into smaller segments across several weekly editions, with the rest of each issue featuring other fantasy/adventure-related strips.
Initially, the comic featured The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, another Lucasfilm property adapted by Marvel Comics. This was followed by Blade Runner, based on another film which starred Harrison Ford. Later issues reprinted Marvel’s adaptations of fantasy films including Time Bandits, Krull and the Roger Moore James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. When these sources were exhausted, the comic began running Crystar and Power Pack; both Marvel US comics.
The first 79 issues largely featured photographic front covers on glossy paper; from issue 80, the publication shifted to using cheaper paper and front cover montages based on the comic strips themselves.
The weekly was closed down after #155, published in June 1986.
