Star Wars issue 20 "Deathgame"

Day three of my week project and part three of our "Empire Strikes" arc! The last two covers were awesome, but I have to admit that this one is underwhelming.

Our usual suspects are back. Nothing much more I can say about this creative team without repeating myself.

Speaking of repeating myself, if you want to make the pictures bigger, simply click on them! Let's rock and roll!

When "Two True Freaks" talks about these comics, they try to remind us that this was the days before DVDs and home theaters were we could watch the old movies a million times.

However, I have to believe that Infantino had SOME REFERENCE to work off of in regards to drawing an X-Wing! Come on!

Gamblers aboard the Wheel are shocked that the Rebels are attacking them. The nearby Imperial Cruiser launches some Tie Advanced (see yesterdays rant) which destroy the X-Wing.

Confused about what's going on? Leia will give you some exposition.

Great exposition Leia. Greyshade has Master-Com bring Leia back to her room/cell, unaware that she took a dinner knife during her outburst. Smart girl. Have I mentioned how much I love Goodwin's portrayal of Leia?

Greyshade boards the docked Imperial Cruiser to discuss things with Commander Strom.

Clumsy and obvious? Could it have anything to do with the fact that the X-Wing did not look like an X-Wing??

I'd also have to disagree with this assessment of the "perfect basis for trust". Well it did get more exposition out of the way.

Strom chides Greyshade for attempting to romance Leia and berates him for keeping the other Rebels alive. Greyshade shows the readers and Strom what the status of the others are..

Star Wars Red Cross Nurse is back!

That above page reminds me of some old Doctor Doom stories in Fantastic Four where the panels would simultaneously show the Four in different rooms undergoing challenges set up by Doom.

Greyshade further explains that the droids (pawned by Han last issue) are awaiting memory wipe and then will be melted down.

What wait?

Why wipe their memories if you are just going to melt them down?

Han is beginning his first fight in the "Big Game". His test results were purposely skewed so he would be fighting way out of his class. Han fights a much larger alien (as seen on the cover) and it isn't going well. Greyshade and Strom watch Han's fight eagerly.

The droids are about to have their memory wiped when someone intervenes..

Oh for crying out loud...

How deeeeeep. Master-Com see's that the droids LOVE their master and it makes him want to study them. Robots have feelings. Some 8 year old in 1978 probably thought this was deep philosophical stuff.

The droids all go to check on Luke and Star Wars Red Cross Nurse is surprised to see that he is gone. You can see that his restraints have been broken and that his exit was quite forced. Star Wars Red Cross Nurse even admits she was drugging him (which Threepio makes no reaction too) and that he shouldn't have been able to escape.

Master-Com detects Leia using her serving knife to short circuit a locked door as she escapes. Com tells the droids he can't help any longer and must join his master.

And there we have the cover scene being played out within the issue. What I really want to know is WHAT is going on with R2 in panel 2? At least Infantino is starting to draw him more in line with the shape he is in the movies.

Han is about to get the killing blow, but as we know he's a movie character so he's safe. He isn't aware of this fact and is scared out of brain.



And so our issue ends with Han surviving...I think we could pretty much guess what the main event will be, but we'll get to that next issue. In meantime, let's check out an interesting letter..

I wonder if the "I wouldn't have dared do Dafi and Fud" line was a subtle dig?

Join us soon for..

Delay!

I knew my work schedule would explode this week and it did! Figures it would happen when I attempt to do my daily "Empire Strikes" updates! Oh well.

I'll finish the storyline but it may be next week.

Star Wars issue 19 "The Ultimate Gamble"

R2 gets no love on that cover. Everyone has a "floating head of guilt" but him. I love the addition of the red skull (pun by Marvel?) in the middle. Chewie is starting to look a bit more like Chewie and less like the shaggy carpet from issue 11.

To borrow a line from Wedge, "Look at the size of that thing". You can clearly see the tiny Star Destroyers orbiting the massive Wheel. Great cover. I believe this made a "best of" list for Marvel Star Wars covers somewhere.



That's our creative team this issue, the same guys we've come to know on and off since issue 11. So let's continue with the story. As usual, clicking on the image will make it appear full sized if you have trouble reading the comic text.

We pick up right where we left off with R2, Threepio and the unconscious Luke. They are cornered by Stormtroopers who are ready to open fire. Luckily, Artoo activates a door in time and the troopers are bad shots.



Two things.

1) I know Stormtroopers can't shoot to save their lives but this is ridiculous.

2) Once again, this isn't a radio drama. We don't need every detail narrated. IT'S A VISUAL MEDIUM! WE COULD SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING.

Senator Greyshade and his robot buddy Master-Com are still monitoring each of the Rebels through the Wheel's security system.



What makes Master-Com so special? Don't all Star Wars droids have personalities anyway? And he's using his as an excuse not to do work?

Once again, great Han/Leia banter, even if it is just one sided here. Han takes this opportunity to recap the events of the previous issue for the readers in case they have short memories or didn't get issue 18.

Just then, Wheel official point their guns at the Stormtroopers and tell them they are taking over under orders of Senator Greyshade. Leia isn't too happy to hear that name. She remembers him as a creeper during her senate days. That's funny, I speculated the same thing during my podcast for issue 18. The Wheel officials take Han and Leia into custody. Han is optimistic about the situation thinking it'll keep them alive longer, until the officers separate him from Leia informing him that he'll be helping them search the Falcon.

In the meantime, Chewie has hidden the body of the dead Rebel from last issue. He's evaded the Stormtroopers and made his way to the casino where he arouses some attention.



Love the narration box!

What follows is an extended brawl between Chewie and some casino men. Ever the compulsive gamblers, people start betting on the outcome of the brawl. Unfortunately Chewie is outnumbered and outgunned and he's eventually hit with a stun ray.



Never seen a Wookiee before? Really?

Han is being held at gun-point by Wheel officials who are searching the Falcon for the money the Rebels stole from the House of Tagge. Those who read last issue know that the money won't be found, because the Rebels were framed and Greyshade is being duped by Commander Strom.



If you click on the image above and enlarge it, you'll see something funky is going on with Han Solo's chin in that first panel. Notice Leia once again being evasive regarding her feelings for Han Solo. I love this version of Leia. She's snarky, holding her own against her captor (like on the Death Star) and lays out the whole plan to Greyshade!



Is Master-Com dead? I hope so. This whole "Droid with FEELINGS" thing was annoying and I was dreading where they might go with it.

Strom isn't happy to find Greyshade harboring the Rebels. He threatens the both of them when his hand gets blasted from one of the wall panels.



Drat! We'll have to deal with Master-Com a bit longer. I don't like him. I just don't like him.

Strom and Greyshade cut a deal. Greyshade will go along with this "takeover" plot if Strom lets him keep Leia.

Yeah.

What.

Ok.

Greyshade further promises Strom that the others won't be able to leave the Wheel alive.

Speaking of leaving alive, how is Luke doing?



I love how nurses in the Star Wars universe look just like nurses in our world. Right down to the Red Cross symbol! Does the Star Wars universe have the Red Cross? Remember, this is before "The Empire Strikes Back" so medical droids didn't exist yet except for in the mind of George Lucas.

As you can guess,, it was R2 who tapped into the system so Luke could be treated. Unfortunately, Wheel officers take the droids away with some odd news. Han Solo has pawned them off to the Wheel so he could gamble.

Yeah.

Han Solo you big fat jerk.

I am confused though...when we last saw Han he was searching the Falcon with Wheel officials.

Chewbacca isn't doing so will making friends in the waiting gladiator pit. The Wheel officials lay it all out for him though...



Looking at the cover, I was talking about how much Infantino has improved with his Chewie illustrations. I take it back.

Let's check in with Han.



At least this answers my question of how Han got from being a prisoner to a gambler. When he lays it all out here, the fact that he pawned the droids doesn't actually seem like such a scumbag thing to do.

Then again it was pretty sleazy.

Han is frustrated and is about to take off in anger when the banker droid informs him of another option...



Let me get this straight....a casino run by a crooked former Imperial Senator has rigged games! GASP!

At first glance I question Han risking his life in this gladiator game (we all know what is being set up here...come on). Especially given his characterization in "Star Wars" where he was reluctant to march into the Death Star Detention Center or participate in the Battle of Yavin. Then I realize he isn't doing it for himself, but it's a selfless act to save his friends. Its' actually some good character development for Han Solo that doesn't come off as hooky like the "Aduba" arc did.

That actually wraps up this issue.

I love Infantino's artwork, but I still have my same criticisms of it. Goodwin is continuing to hit it out of the park. His banter between the droids is funny and his Princess Leia is spot on. I could do without Master-Com. Oh he's a robot but he has feelings! How deep....not.

The letters pages for this month had a fan who wrote in complaining about the contradiction between Luke and Leia's ability to swim in issue 15 compared with what was represented in "Splinter of the Mind's Eye". Marvel explains that once Archie got around to reading the book, it was already too late to change the contents of his story. Marvel decided to let the readers write in and give their best explanation of this retcon.

You look at the problems with the Expanded Universe now and think it's crazy? Back when this was made we only had the Marvel Comics and one novel to deal with and they still couldn't keep it straight!

Another fan wrote in asking Marvel to do an adaptation of "Splinter". Marvel said they didn't have the rights but that is was still in the realm of possibility. That would have been awesome to see Marvel's take on it. We would get a "Splinter" comic adaptation, but it wouldn't be until the 90's and then it would be done by Dark Horse.

Thanks for reading! If you like listening instead of reading check out the podcast review of this issue here.

Join us next time for...

Star Wars issue 18 "The Empire Strikes"

This is a momentous occasion! The blog and podcast are now caught up to each other! The Empire is back! Plus, we'll get the return of a certain Sith Lord later in the arc.

Nice cover! It's signifies that YES the Imperials are back. We did see Stormtroopers armor on Crimson Jack's crew in issue 7, but that disappeared when Jack and the gang returned for the Drexel arc.

Can Threepio's arms really support Luke's weight?

The Goodwin/Infantino team is back! Everyone ready? Let's go!

The Falcon is heading back to Yavin 4 after their adventures on Drexel. Threepio informs the others that Luke experienced a disturbance during his force training and is now unconscious.

What the heck is R2 doing! Infantino is still learning how to draw him. His Threepio is starting to improve though, but isn't as smooth as it could be.

Han is being a bit picky here, but Threepio is fluent in over 6 million forms of communication. Surely something in his language banks can tell him the word "fainted".

R2 had been recording Luke's training session for prosperity and plays it back to them. Here is what they see.

There is so much to say about Luke in these above panels. So many jokes which can be made. The first panel looks really devious.

Unfortunately for the others, this is where the recording ends. They decide that they are going to have to leave hyperspace early and find medical help for Luke. Leia isn't so optimistic.

Han still doesn't look like Harrison Ford. Loving the Leia/Han banter. As I've said many times, this is one of Archie Goodwin's strengths.

The patrolling ship is a Tie-Advanced, much like the one Vader flew in the movie. I love that ship and I love being able to fly it and fly against it in video games. However, I like it better as Vader's ship and think it loses it's uniqueness when it becomes mass produced. You think it's bad now? Just wait until later in the issue.

I love that comeback from Leia!

Han destroys the Tie. He destroys it very easily for a Tie-Advanced. I suppose he did take it by surprise.

So this is the first Imperial we've seen since issue 6...and he goes out like a chump in a few panels.

The Falcon comes across a wrecked vessel with markings from the "House of Tagge". Remember that name. It will become important. "House of Tagge" is obviously Imperial related as the Rebels wonder how the Empire could have let this happen to one of their ship.

The find a wounded man in a spacesuit floating in the wreckage. They bring him aboard the Falcon.

That's alot of exposition for a dying man. The way the Empire is going about framing the Rebels seems very......um...pointless.

As Han mentions, one of the Tagge brothers is an Imperial Commander. That is a long story with some convoluted history that we'll get into later.

That Imperial ship looks nothing like any I've ever seen before. The commanding officer on the ship is Commander Strom (whose lack of hair becomes a joke later). He launches some ships to try and get the Falcon. Guess what kind they are?

More Tie-Advanced crafts! Jeez!!

Han is able to outmaneuver them as he reveals to Leia exactly what sanctuary he's been trying to get to.

I will forgive Carmine Infantino for drawing weird droids. I will forgive him for not making Han Solo look like Harrison Ford. I will forgive him because that splash page is simply wonderful.

Some good exposition on what the Wheel is. I always enjoy hearing some backstory on Bail Organa. I like to think of the Wheel as the Star Wars equivalent of an Indian Casino.

The Falcon crashes into the Wheel's docking bay. Unfortunately, the wounded Rebel they found has died. Commander Strom informs his men that he doesn't care about the Wheel's status and that he'll be perusing the Rebels anyway.

It's now time to split up Scooby Doo style...

Stormtroopers board the Wheel and search for the Rebels, despite the best efforts of Wheel officials. We now meet the leader of the Wheel...

A bald joke! I love it!

Greyshade and Strom have a back and fourth over the comm system. Greyshade reminds Strom that the Wheel funds many of the Empire's operations and the Emperor won't be pleased if he knew of Strom's interference. Strom retorts that the Rebels recently destroyed a House of Tagge ship which was delivering Wheel profits.

Send the transmission...but send it garbled.....why not just not send it period if you're going to disregard Greyshade's request?

Grayshade watches the security cameras as the droids (with Threepio holding Luke) are cornered by Stormtroopers in a scene that mirrors the cover. Another security camera image gets his attention..

That is where we end part 1. Remember, this is a six part story.

The letters pages were interesting as always. Someone wrote in to ask if "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" was going to be "Star Wars II" ("The Empire Strikes Back" hadn't been named yet). Marvel told them that they had as much idea of what was going on as anyone else did. If I was ten and read that in 1978, it would have shattered so many illusions. Another read asked for a return of Darth Vader instead of the lame villains we'd been getting (he didn't like them). Marvel replied that they couldn't use Darth until they got the go ahead for Lucasfilm.

The writing has good this issue. It was really hard for me to narrow down what panels to choose. I really loved the scene where the Stormtroopers chased the droids and Luke (well unconcious Luke). That's when it hit me, Stormtroopers chasing Rebels FEELS LIKE STAR WARS to me. The art is still a bit wonky in some places but Infantino sure knows how to draw those splashes.

Click here to listen to the podcast version of my issue review.

Otherwise, join us soon for...

New Podcast

Disregard the schedule I spoke about in the last post. It's all explained in this podcast. Enjoy! Listen to it here!

Two Podcasts

Two episodes of the podcast were released today! One of them was actually suppose to be released two days ago but apparently the podcast server made a mistake. I noticed it today while preparing the next episode and decided it would help "catch up" to release them both today.

For those who don't know, the "catch up" project is referring the fact that the podcast is a few issues behind the blog. I hope to close the gap this weekend with a few (hopefully) daily updates.

I hope it doesn't burn you out. Good thing they are short. I also added a link to the podcast in the sidebar to help you all find the episodes. Thanks!

I have big plans for next week! I hope I'll be able to see them through.

Star Wars issue 17 "The Crucible"

Hey! What's going on! I thought we were getting the promised "Empire Strikes" story this issue!

Dave Cockrum and Bob McLeod do this cover and as you can tell, it's a flashback story to Luke's life before the Imperials burned his farm and the lying Jedi took him from Tatooine.

We got Chris Claremont helping Archie on the story. This should be interesting. Claremont is another Marvel legend. His X-Men run is still spoken fondly of by fans and elements from it are still being used today.

Don't recall anything about Trimpe, but I've seen Milgrom's inks throughout many Marvel books.

So new artists, new writer and no "Empire Strikes". Everything about this is screaming fill-in issue...let's see how it stacks up though.

Don't forget, clicking on the images will make them bigger if you can't read them.

Great picture of Luke and I love this full page of the Falcon cockpit. Before this point, the Falcon cockpit was very inconsistent with size....just look at issue 5!

Luke flashes back to Tatooine the time before he joined the Rebellion.

Holy heck! Did Luke just murder that womp rat! As Threepio said in "Blue Harvest", "You murder small animals for fun?! That's the first indication of a serial killer!".

On a different note, is this our first appearance of womp rats?

Luke revels in the fact that he was able to shot the thing from his landspeeder with one hand controlling the speeder, and the other shooting. He then goes back to the farm unaware of the watching Sand People.

Luke arrives home and gets into an argument with Uncle Owen. It's basically just like what we saw in the movie, Luke wants to hang with his friends and Owen is mad that the chores aren't finished. Biggs is leaving for the academy, and Luke wants to go to the goodbye party. Luckily Beru (or someone pretending to be her) sides with Luke..

Why is it that every single Expanded Universe story with Uncle Owen has him being a mean gruff man to Luke? Didn't he and Luke have any positive "father/son" moments?

I get it, the ten minutes we saw him in the movie he was a jerk, but are we going to base all characterizations on that fact. Maybe he just had a bad day (which got worse when the troopers scorched him).

And Beru! What is going on with you! Owen looks drawn right, but Beru....um what??!?!

She does have a point about Anakin leaving without saying goodbye. Unless another meeting is retconned, their only encounter in Episode II basically had Anakin and Padme take off in her ship to save Obi-Wan without telling Owen and Beru goodbye.

I know Beru says Owen cares, but I'd really love to see a story that shows us he does.

And Beru is right, "nothing" did happen with Owen and Anakin. Although this interpretation of Owen wanting Anakin to stay on the farm is....um yeah...what? Perhaps this is the cover up the Jedi story and lend credence to the "navigator on a spice freighter" story.

That night Luke is in the garage tuning up his Skyhooper. Luke didn't tell Owen that the celebration for Biggs is happening at Beggar's Canyon.

While sitting at the controls he daydreams about being a bigshot pilot.

That's a fun sequence. None of these seem like Star Wars ships or enemies, but it's fair to say that at this point Luke knows little of the Empire and Rebellion. At least the girl he's kissing isn't his sister.

I love how they gave him the rank of Commander Skywalker. Marvel didn't know it at the time, but when we meet up with Luke again in "Empire Strikes Back", that will be his rank.

Luke's daydream is interrupted by Uncle Owen with his typical yelling at Luke about chores. Sigh.

The next day Luke and the other Tatooine teens fly their skyhoopers in Beggar's Canyon.

Unless someone can give me an earlier example, I believe this is the first time we actually see Beggar's Canyon. Wookiepedia currently says the "Shadows of the Empire" novel is the first time we do, but this is clearly earlier.

It's like a Star Wars version of drag racing. Luke and Biggs keep stealing the lead from eachother while less experienced pilots are forced to pull out or die.

Eventually Luke and Biggs are the only two left. Kind of reminiscent of the Death Star trench run. They also refer to eachother as shooting stars which Luke remembers in issue 6 when Biggs died.

Biggs winds up doing some tricks and wins, driving Luke's skyhooper to pull out or crash.

The gang lands and celebrates. We even see some people from the deleted Anchorhead scene of the movie like Camie, Windy and Deak.

Not everyone is celebrating though...

That's kinda funny.

The party is stopped when a landspeeder crashes. The gang rushes over and the wounded survivor warns them on the incoming Sand People. Apparently some idiots accidentally polluted some Sand People relic so now they are pissed and ready to attack anywhere from Anchorhead to the farms.

Just then the Sand People open fire on the teens who duck under a trench and fire back. Luke and Biggs make their way to a skyhooper to warn the farmers. Along the way Biggs is wounded by one of the Tusken Raiders, who has poisoned him with a sphere. Luke now has to fly the wounded Biggs to get medical help.

Biggs does have a point, but he's being such a back seat driver here.

The boys do make it to the other side thanks to Luke's piloting. Could the Force have helped? The narrative doesn't say for sure but I wouldn't doubt it.

The Sand People waiting on the other end of Diablo Cut do get some damage on the Skyhooper, forcing it to crash right outside the farm. You can bet Owen is angry, but Luke explains the situation and makes sure Biggs gets the medical help and the authorities are called about the Sand People.

Luke realizes that it's now his destiny to be a pilot. Earlier in the issue he was conflicted and thought about staying on the farm, but there is no escaping things now.

We then get a splash page about what's in store for Luke. Yes, another "HEY REMEMBER THE MOVIE" splash page.

I am digging this page. I find the Kirby crackles around Leia's hologram funny, and Luke has a goofy face when he gets the lightsaber. The exploding Death Star looks more like the training remote Luke used on the Falcon. Nitpicks aside, I am loving this obligatory movie splash page.

Luke snaps out of his flashback and is back in the Falcon's cockpit in the present day. Han comes to relieve him and apologizes for taking so long. Remembering the days where he longed to be a pilot, he tells Han he's exactly where he wants to be.

That wraps up this issue. There was alot of depth here. You really got into Luke's character and the teenager angst and recklessness. I'm not sure if I can credit our guest Chris Claremont with it, but if it was then well done. As I said before, the space fantasy was a definite highlight and memorable moment. Herb Trimpe and Al Milgrom really brought it with the art. Luke looked like an actual teenager and not the action hero he usually does. For this story that was important. If only someone told them what Beru looked like.

I do think things were wrapped up too quickly. The Sand People attacking the farms was a very important story point that Luke kept bringing up, yet we don't see the conclusion.

The letter pages this month were interesting. One reader asked when Vader was coming back and Marvel replied that they are waiting on the okay from Lucasfilm because they don't want to invalidate anything from the upcoming Star Wars sequel. Another reader asked why there was only white people in Star Wars to which Marvel said we are only seeing a small part of the galaxy right now. Then someone complains about Han's eye color being wrong.

That was a fun fill-in! Now back to the story we were promised though. The Empire will be returning to the series for the first time since the movie adaptation. So join us next time for...