STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE SPECIAL EDITION #2

Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creasing or spine stress; edges appear clean with no chipping. The book is in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment of surface and edge condition, and interior/back cover were not assessed. Minor handling wear cannot be ruled out due to glare and sleeve reflection, but overall the copy presents as high-grade.

This issue is the second chapter of Dark Horse Comics' four-part adaptation of the 1997 Special Edition theatrical re-release of Star Wars: A New Hope, scripted by Bruce Jones from George Lucas's original story and rendered by the art team of Eduardo Barreto and Al Williamson, with a painted cover by Dave Dorman. It retells familiar beats of the Death Star escape and Obi-Wan Kenobi's confrontation with Darth Vader, following the same central cast of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the droids that anchor the entire Star Wars license line. The book carries no first appearances or landmark creative firsts; its interest lies in being part of a licensed adaptation tied to a major theatrical re-release rather than in any singular collectible event.

Market data reflects a book with a small but active certified population, nineteen universal copies on census against twenty-six total graded, and sales concentrated at the top of the grade scale. The $75 FMV at 9.8 and $32 at 9.6, both drawn from only a handful of recorded transactions, indicate a market driven almost entirely by high-grade CGC copies rather than raw circulation, which is typical for modern direct-market comics printed in ample quantities. Demand is modest and steady, sustained by Star Wars completists and Dorman cover collectors rather than broad speculative interest.

This issue functions as an affordable entry point for Star Wars comic collectors assembling the Dark Horse Special Edition adaptation or a Dave Dorman cover run, and as a low-cost CGC census filler for those building submission sets. Raw copies in any condition trade for a few dollars at most, while the premium concentrates almost exclusively in pristine 9.8 slabs, where the thin supply of top-grade copies supports the outsized gap between raw and gem-mint certified values. It is not a book expected to appreciate meaningfully outside of continued interest in the Special Edition line and its cover artist.