On July 27, 1981, Star Wars sent Luke Skywalker to a planet ruled by warriors riding enormous flying serpents. This was not a toy commercial, a forgotten Saturday morning cartoon, or a story invented by a child after placing Luke Skywalker beside the nearest rubber snake. It was The Serpent Masters, a newspaper comic-strip adventure written by Archie Goodwin and illustrated by Al Williamson. The story began 45 years ago today and continued until November 1981. Decades before Star Wars stories arrived through streaming services, games, and coordinated publishing events, new pieces of the galaxy could appear beside the sports results and supermarket coupons. And apparently, sometimes they contained airborne reptiles. Luke Skywalker Meets the Serpent Riders The story follows Luke after his escape from the Imperial shipyards at Fondor alongside Tanith Shire. Tanith leads him toward her homeworld, Ophideraan, only for the pair to crash and fall into the…
