About SWANH
One story in one 123 meters-long piece. An adaptation of Star Wars Episode IV in a style that was inspired by infographics.
The Star Wars series have had a huge impact on pop culture and they continue to have an influence throughout generations. It is a modern form of mythology, and episode IV is where it all began. Moreover, this Star Wars is a childhood memory.
Some of you may recall your very own and personal feelings you experienced when you first watched the film. My visual style leaves more space to the individual imagination universe. Star Wars went far beyond cinema. On the one hand, there are all the official merchandising products and on the other hand, there is an enormous amount of underground fan art, reenactments and costume conventions built around the Star Wars theme. All of them have been created spontaneously, with no other goal than that of being part of the Star Wars universe.
Star Wars continually inspires and touches its audience through the years. It has come to life and has been evolving with the zeitgeist.
Please note: I have absolutely no intention whatsoever to merchandise this work. This is part of an artistic approach, an experiment, in order to create an internet curiosity.
It was created using Adobe Illustrator CC in 2016. Its exact dimensions are: 1024 x 465152 px / 27 x 12307 cm / 10.6 x 4845.3-inch. I first came up with the idea for this project in January 2015, and I started working on it alongside my contractual works (a selection of these is featured on MartinPanchaud.ch).
All in all, it took me approximately 1000 hours, and I finished it in May 2016. This long ribbon is reminiscent of ancient Chinese script rolls that had to be rolled in and rolled out simultaneously in order to be read. I like this stretch between ages, cultures, and technologies. However, internet likes short stories and summaries, contents that are quick and easy to understand. Through my work, I aimed to create a contrast to that.
At this point, I would like to thank the Star Wars Universe community for their great advice, encouragements and their keen eye, which were of great help in developing this project and keeping it as close as possible to the original.
Martin Panchaud
Martin is a graphic novelist and author from Geneva, working and living in Zurich. He is active in the field of comics, data storytelling, large narrative formats, as well as research on experimental visual communication and infographics. Https://martinpanchaud.ch
Award/Special Selections
Interviews
MEDIA RELEASES
English
Mashable • Inverse • Yhaoo.com • A.V. Club • The Verge • Comic Book Resources • Popularmechanics • BRG • Slash Film • Polygon • Movieweb • Datavisblog • Bongbong
French
• Télérama • Konbini • Ere Numérique • La Boite Verte • Slate.fr • Journal du Geek • Le Figaro • Clubic • 20 Minutes • Geek-art • Du Jeu Au Lard
On Twitter
This is absolutely STUNNING! 1st time I’ve”watched” #StarWars since the ’97 #SpecialEdition & well worth it! #GR8Job https://t.co/mOmXHF5C3G
— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) 24 mai 2016
Tweeted about it yesterday, but to be clear… YES, Everyone in the World, I HAVE seen this & also think it’s cool:https://t.co/XppAN9Oa7Z — Scᴏᴛᴛ MᴄCʟᴏᴜᴅ (@scottmccloud) 25 mai 2016
Go inside @MartinPanchand’s amazing infographic retelling of A New Hope with @Dan_Brooks. https://t.co/aGwnQylSUo pic.twitter.com/iKlqwBSdur — Star Wars (@starwars) 4 juin 2016
Thank you for watching
