IDW to Collect Al Williamson’s Classic Star Wars in Artist’s Edition   San Diego, CA (December 18, 2015) – The legendary late artist Al Williamson’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back stories are collected in the award-winning Artist’s Edition format this April. Included will be the complete adaptation, first published in issues #39 through #44 of the monthly Marvel Star Wars comic. In addition, pages from Star Wars #50, #98 and the Star Wars: Return of the Jedi mini series will also be presented. "Al loved drawing Star Wars,” said Williamson’s wife, Cori Williamson. “It’s a science fiction swashbuckler, the kind of story that really appealed to his sensibilities. As a lover and collector of classic comic-book and comic strip art, I think he would have been thrilled to see his work presented in this format." Williamson began his storied career as one of the star artists at EC Comics in the 1950s. In the 1960s Williamson drew the definitive comic-book version of Flash Gordon, Alex Raymond’s classic comic strip creation. Other highlights of Williamson’s work include the X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan newspaper strip, as well as the Star Wars newspaper strip. He is an Eisner Award-winning artist and was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic-Book Hall of Fame in 2000. “The collaboration between IDW and Marvel has produced some of the most exceptional collections of reprinted original comic book material ever to be offered,” says Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel. “Al Williamson’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Artist’s Edition of the original Marvel Comics film adaptation is a brightly glowing star within the galaxy of immaculate Star Wars content.” George Lucas commented after Williamson’s passing in 2010, "I was thrilled to be able to have Al depicting those early extended Star Wars adventures for the comic books and newspapers. In capturing the actors who portrayed the characters, he brought the feeling of the films to the page as few other artists have been able to do." This incredible Artist’s Edition will be a 160 page hardcover and measure a whopping 14”x21”. The Force is strong in this book, don’t you dare miss it! About Marvel Entertainment Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy-five years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit marvel.com. © 2015 MARVEL

About IDW IDW Publishing is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, MY LITTLE PONY and JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS; Paramount/CBS’s Star Trek; Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Toho’s Godzilla; Twentieth Century Fox’s The X-Files; Sony’s Ghostbusters, Temple Street Productions’ Orphan Black; multiple monthly DISNEY titles; and many more licensed and creator-driven titles. IDW Publishing is also home to acclaimed imprints such as; The Library of American Comics, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio; and the multiple award-winning IDW Artist’s Edition line. In 2015, IDW acquired Top Shelf Productions, an award-winning publisher of graphic novels. Top Shelf is known for publishing works of literary sophistication, including the #1 New York Times and Washington Post Best Seller March by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell and the authorized graphic-novel adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. IDW Games publishes both creator-owned and licensed tabletop games. The division was launched in 2014 and has quickly found success with one of the top-selling card games of the year with the Award-Winning Japanese import card game, Machi Koro. IDW Entertainment was started in 2013 to fund, develop, and produce television series based on IDW properties. IDW Entertainment is currently in development with a slate of properties for television including Wynonna Earp, licensed to Syfy and premiering in early 2016; Brooklyn Animal Control, sold to USA Network with executive producers David Goyer (DaVinci’s Demons, Dark Knight Rises) and Circle of Confusion (Walking Dead); and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, sold to BBC America with writer/executive producer Max Landis (Chronicle). IDW Entertainment also has several active theatrical projects in development, including Zombies vs. Robots, which is in development as a major motion picture with Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes and Sony.