When it comes to iconic creature designs, few are more immediately recognizable in the Star Wars Universe as the gluttonous Jabba the Hutt. However, when Marvel Comics debuted their Star Wars comic book series and the book's writer and the artist didn't know what Jabba the Hutt looked like, they made their own version of the character. Ultimately, their guess about what kind of creature Jabba the Hutt looked like was completely different from the final design.
Jabba the Hutt is one of the most infamous crime lords in the galaxy, first appearing in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Originally mentioned in the first two installments of Star Wars, the disgusting monster played a key role in the franchise's third film. Jabba the Hutt ends up with the carbonite body of Han Solo, leading Luke and Leia to rescue him on Tattooine. However, the plan hits a snag when Leia is captured and becomes Jabba's slave. But, the ghastly creature would meet his end after trying to execute Han, Luke, and Chewbacca, as Leia strangled him with chains after his attempts to feed the heroes to the Sarlacc failed.
When Marvel Comics adapted Star Wars back in 1977, Jabba the Hutt had a different look and a slightly changed name. According to Marvel.com, writer Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin were never provided a sketch of what Jabba looked like as he was about to debut in Star Wars #2. Being pressed up against a deadline, Thomas and Chaykin decided to do their own version of Jabba, leading them to create a human-like walrus creature named 'Jabba the Hut.' Keep in mind, this was years before the release of Return of the Jedi.
Instead of being a slug-like creature who would appear in Return of the Jedi, Thomas and Chaykin made him look much different (and significantly less gross). The walrus-like version of Jabba would make two additional appearances in the comics, as he came into additional conflict with Han and Chewbacca. Much like the infamous pink lightsaber, the creative team behind the Star Wars comic wasn't given enough information about the future of the series, leading to some on-the-fly creative decisions being made.
Once Jabba the Hutt was introduced in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the previous version of the villain would never be seen again in the comics. Admittedly, it would be funny if Star Wars somehow made it canon that there's another crime lord in the universe named 'Jabba the Hut' who is a completely different character. Although, that would complicate matters significantly. For now, there's only one Jabba the Hutt, even if a starkly different version existed.