In Luke Skywalker has his work cut out for him as he does his best to destroy the Empire, talk some sense into his father, and try to rekindle the flames of the Jedi Order, with all of his problems stemming from the saga’s very first entry, Star Wars: A New Hope. In a piece of incredible art by the influential Alex Ross, Luke gets a tribute comic cover that harkens back to the original film’s iconic movie poster.

Now in his third decade of illustrating some of the most gorgeous artwork to have ever graced a comic, Alex Ross cut his teeth working for both Marvel and DC Comics in the ‘90s — 1994’s Marvels and 1996’s Kingdom Come being Alex’s breakthrough projects for each — and has continued his success in the industry as a big-time creator ever since.

Illustrating a variant cover for the first issue of Marvel’s 2015 relaunch of Star Wars, Alex Ross (@thealexrossart) recently reposted the image on X (formerly Twitter), giving fans who have never seen it a treat of galactic proportions.

Star Wars' Luke Skywalker Is Front and Center in Jaw-Dropping Alex Ross Cover Art

Cover Art Design by Alex Ross (@thealexrossart)

Drawing Luke Skywalker centered while holding a lightsaber and looking ready to swing it, Alex Ross hones in on Luke's determination while nailing the mannerisms of the snarky Han Solo, the ready-for-anything Princess Leia, and the wise mentor figure known as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Bringing his signature hyper-realistic painterly art style to the Star Wars universe in a way that calls back to the original film’s similar poster design, Alex knows what makes an image like this pop, with his warm colors contrasting Luke and Obi-Wan’s blue sabers, the TIE Fighters’ green lasers, and the fiery aura of the Death Star.

Taking some visual cues from the second of A New Hope’s two iconic posters (originally illustrated by Tom Chantrell), Alex Ross pays homage to Star Wars’ best heroes by swapping Luke’s blaster for a lightsaber, repositioning a few key characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia, and Han Solo, and removing Chewbacca, Grand Moff Tarkin, C-3PO, and R2-D2 from the image entirely. Next, Alex further emphasizes Darth Vader and the Death Star’s dark presence by placing them behind Luke as looming centerpieces and completes this incredible art with a similar dogfight set around its edges just like A New Hope’s poster.

Alex Ross’ Star Wars Art Is Comparable to the Original Film’s Iconic Movie Poster

Alex Ross is always sharing his artwork on social media as well as on comic store shelves, with his latest set of covers coming in the form of 2024’s near-future-set Avengers: Twilight, proving that no matter what fictional universe this creative talent decides to play in, Alex never fails to create something truly awe-inspiring that’s essentially fine art for nerds. Marvel is currently in between Star Wars volumes as they set up a new era in comics that will explore the events immediately following Return of the Jedi, with the galaxy, as always, looking to Luke Skywalker for help.

Source: @thealexrossart