I recently started reading the old Marvel comics for the first time. I just finished reading issue 38, which had Luke and Leia accidentally travel so far outside the galaxy that they couldn't see any stars. From my understanding, there is suppose to be some sort of barrier that prevents ships from leaving the galaxy. My question is, has there ever been an explanation for how they were able to leave the galaxy? I know Luke said the hyperdrive malfunctioned due to damage but I was curios if an explanation beyond that was ever given.
drugs I think that issue really missed out on the revival of Marvel elements in the late '00s and early '10s. Shame because... although it's not a great issue per se (neat art though) it was genuinely breaking new territory that was dabbled with much later.
I just started reading Ye Olde Marvel books for the first time. Zany fun. I find it hilarious that the later EU decided to take them canonically seriously rather then leave them in their own Marvelverse..
Them not being able to see any stars is actually more an indication that they hit some kind of weird nebula that would block their vision. Alternatively they actually managed to shoot themselves into Otherspace. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Otherspace
I was thinking the same thing. Some of these stories are too weird to be considered canon, given the more serious tone of the movies and books.
They ended up in The Void between different Galaxies, not Otherspace. The unidentified, eons-old ship confirms it in the final panel. Incidentally, this comic is still almost the only source that offers a visual depiction of a different Galaxy (in the flashback), and in an infinite Universe there's no reason for it to be retconned as being the Vong's native Galaxy, nor with this having anything to do with the Silentium-Abominor War. Anyways, here's the relevant panels:
The thing about most sci-fi is that the longer a franchise runs, the more you end up with these types of "experimental" Twilight Zone/Outer Limits stories. Like Tilotny Throws a Shape or TCW's Mortis arc. And usually they're fine on their own -- they're sort of special for the very reason that they're literary islands of WTF???. Unless another author comes along and tries to use them for a larger plot. Then they sort of loose their mystical appeal. I don't want another story about the gremlin at 20,000 feet as much as I don't want to see the Void ship return for a larger plot.
Marvel is weird and bizarre. It's also terribly fun. And we need more giant green space rabbits and albino Drow martial-artists than murder-snake Zerg-Aztecs.