Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: Chuck Wendig, coverwatch, frank cho, kathleen kennedy, lucasfilm
Frank Cho Says Marvel/Lucasfilm Banned Him And Star Wars Sketch Covers
Frank Cho says Marvel Comics, Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm banned him and all Star Wars blank sketch cover variants because of his cartoons
Article Summary
- Frank Cho says Kathleen Kennedy got him banned from Marvel after his Star Wars sketch covers mocked the franchise.
- Cho claims Lucasfilm pressure also ended Marvel’s Star Wars blank sketch cover program for commissioned art.
- The timeline raises questions: Marvel’s last Frank Cho work was in 2022, while Star Wars blanks appear to end in 2020.
- Marvel still publishes blank variants elsewhere, but no new Star Wars sketch covers could make older editions spike.
Artist Frank Cho says he has been banned from working at Marvel Comics for the past three years, and that the company will no longer create Star Wars blank cover variants because of him and the dislike for his work from Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Speaking to Peter Melnick on the New York Comic-Con 2026 special episode of the podcast TheMarvellous, Cho made the claim during a wide-ranging interview on the final day of the show.
“I’m not sure if I should say it. I’m banned at Marvel. I’ve been banned at Marvel for three years. And it’s not because of Marvel. Everyone at Marvel loves me. It’s Kathleen Kennedy. I p-ssed off Kathleen Kennedy, and she demanded Marvel ban me.”
Frank Cho explained that the ban stemmed from sketch cover cartoons he created on Star Wars blank sketch cover comics as commissions and to sell, “make fun of Star Wars.” Despite describing himself as a fan of the franchise, he said
“Apparently Kathleen Kennedy lost her sh-t and then, she just went ballistic. She demanded, commanded Marvel that they never hire me ever again. And plus, because of the sketch cover, she killed the entire sketch cover program for the Star Wars line. So that’s me.”
Kathleen Kennedy CBE was President of Lucasfilm from 2012 until earlier this year. She co-founded the production company Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall in 1981. He linked the timing to pressure Kathleen Kennedy was under at the time, citing underperforming Star Wars films and criticism of The Acolyte.
“She was looking for a puppy to kick, a puppy that can’t fight back, and I was apparently I was a puppy. So she kicked the crap out of me and took out all of her anger out on me and banned me at Marvel.”
Bleeding Cool has certainly covered Frank Cho’s sketch variant cover cartoons a fair bit over the decades, including for Star Wars comics.
Star Wars sketch variant
Leia Organa sketch variant
Not the only comics creator banned at Marvel Comics over Star Wars, Chuck Wendig, former Darth Vader writer, was one. But they didn’t pull an entire promotional cover line for Star Wars, so that one specific artist couldn’t draw more of these… but doesFrank Cho’s claim stand up?
The last new work I can find Frank Cho did for Marvel Comics was for Fortnite X Marvel andMoon Knight, both in 2022. Mind you, the last Star Wars blank variants from Marvel I can find date back to 2020, with Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 and Star Wars Vol 3 #1, which doesn’t fit with Frank Cho’s timeline. And neither does The Acolyte, which only came out in 2024.
Still, with any comic book creator able to sketch a Star Wars blank variant cover on an official Lucasfilm/Marvel product and then sell it without any editorial guidelines or control, it does seem to be the kind of thing that LucasFilm especially might not be in favour of.
Marvel Comics still adds blank sketch cover variants to their offerings, including DNX #1,Marvel Knights: The World to Come #1, Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1 and the upcoming Avengers #1, but they aren’t as common as they used to be. But now folk know there won’t be any more Star Wars ones, so expect a spike in prices on those already published.
Frank Cho is a Korean-American comic strip and comic book writer, penciller, and illustrator. He created the syndicated newspaper comic stripLiberty Meadows in 1997, and his work for Marvel Comics includes Shanna the She-Devil, Mighty Avengers, Hulk/Totally Awesome Hulk, New Avengers, Savage Wolverine, and various Spider-Man and X-Men projects. He also has his own creator-owned projects, such asFight Girls, Skyborne, and a return to Liberty Meadows. He has received multiple awards, including National Cartoonists Society awards for Best Comic Book and Best Book Illustration, and the Charles M. Schulz Award for Excellence in Cartooning.
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