Sadly, John White’s wonderful Star Wars: Age 9 webcomic has come to an end. The adaptation of the 1977 Star Wars film was made in the late 70s by John, who was only 9 years old at the start of his epic childhood endeavor. This was before video and so John had to use books and comics as his chief reference, not to mention his memory. This meant that his adaptation varied from the films in delightful ways. Dialogue is often simplified to fit the page, or adorably misspelled. Interestingly, Luke and Han often look like Kirk Douglas and explosions have all the colors of a box of crayons!

Star Wars: Age 9 really was a mammoth undertaking for a kid and the fact John was able to complete the whole movie is a real achievement. In 2009, John rediscovered this beloved project and hit upon the idea of sharing the trip back to his childhood by turning it into a webcomic. Just as much fun as the pages were John’s commentaries on his own work. His tongue-in-cheek critical analysis frequently poked fun at himself and his childhood understanding of panel layout and storytelling, but to be fair, how many of us adapted an entire movie into comic format at any age?

It’s been difficult for John to reach the end, knowing that with the final page, Star Wars: Age 9 is complete and the nostalgic adventure is over. But it’s been a trip into my childhood too, and I’m sure for many of the readers. And John, thanks for the inspiration and memories that your pages have stirred up over the past couple of years of reading.

John has plans in the new year (or sooner) to launch his adaptation of the film Alien, made when he was 11 years old.