Star Wars issue 16 "The Hunter"

This issue opens up in the middle of an action sequence. The narration boxes introduce us to a man called Valance. Valance is a bounty hunter who is leading a raid on a medical station. He is not doing this for a particular bounty, this is a personal mission for himself that he is financing. He orders there to be no survivors.



That's a funny reason for regret. I wonder if Han had a similar sense of regret when he fried Greedo.

In case the above picture didn't clue you in, Valance hates droids. The narration box reminds us that while this is very common among the galaxy, Valance's hatred rivals the average person.

Valance and his men destroy the computer record system while two of the bounty hunters run into somebody us readers have seen before...



Don-Wan is back......and dead again! This is the second death he's had this series! Those chin whiskers and Scroogeish chin really creep me out! By the way, is that bounty hunter in the last panel a droid? If so, why would Valance let him on the team?

Valance takes an interest when they tell him what Don-Wan said before passing on. He and bounty hunters set some charges, take off and the medical station blows up. Apparently this was done to hide something in Valance's past. Hmmm..

They are now going to hunt the people Don-Wan spoke about and Valance orders Jaxxon to be be their first target. He assumes that a giant green rabbit will be the easiest to find. Can't argue with that logic.



According to Wookiepedia, this unnamed planet was later retconned to be the first appearance of Nar Shaddaa.

Jaxxon did some flirting with Amaiza during that "Aduba" arc. Towards the end she had seemed to go from annoyance to tolerance. Now they are traveling together. Is there more going on here? Are they together now? Is the thought too sick to even think about?

Jaxxon is ambushed by the bounty hunters. Two of them are named "Dafi" and "Fud". Get it? Get it? Get it?

They hang him upside down and begin to torture him. They are demanding that he reveals the planet where he and the rest of the Star-Hoppers had their adventure.

Planets are very big. Why is it that in STAR WARS people usually only need the name of a planet to find someone located on it? What if they search the wrong hemisphere?

Amaiza shows up. She apparently changed her mind and decided to spend the night out on the town with Jaxxon after all. She threatens the bounty hunters to drop their weapons.



What kind of a gun is it that she has? It's firing rays in all different directions at once! The second to last panel above definitely hints at some intimacy between Jaxxon and Amaiza. Oh boy the stares they must get!



We know Jaxxon is a giant green rabbit. Do they need to remind us with every panel he is on? His ship is called the Rabbit's Foot? COME ON! Speaking of Jaxxon, he seems incredibly off scale in the panel where he reunites with Jimm.

You'll note that since this is still the late 70's, Hutt is splled H - U -T.

Jimm and Merri are already married and expecting a baby? That was quick! Perhaps a little too quick. Maybe it was a shotgun wedding. Old farmer??? Are you even old enough to drink on Earth yet? For someone who wanted action and adventure and leaving the planet, he sure seems content with life as a farmer. Go figure.

We then get the origin story of Valance.



That medical station he destroyed was apparently the one that healed him after the Rebel attack. Obviously there are still some pieces of the story missing but they aren't that hard to guess at this point. It will all make sense come the final page.

He pops in the bootleg tape he is in possession off which gives us another excuse for a splash page tribute to the movie.



It seems like we are getting a "REMEMBER THE MOVIE WASN'T THAT COOL" splash page almost every issue. I'm enjoying them but it's gimmicky. I love Vader's green lightsaber. Is this the first time we've seen a green one?

For those who haven't been keeping score, Valance is on this mission because he thinks that the heroes of Aduba are actually the Death Star heroes. He thought Don-Wan was Obi-Wan, Jimm was Luke...etc.

The reason he's hunting Luke? Because he's friends with robots. Yes. He doesn't just resent Luke for it. He's HUNTING HIM. That's his motivation. "THIS KID IS FRIENDS WITH HIS ROBOTS! KILL HIM".

It is interesting that Valance knows about the identity of Luke Skywalker before Imperial Intelligence officially does.

Valance's ship enters Aduba's orbit. They are tracking the heat signature of a recently landed ship, assuming that it's Jaxxon warning his friends.

That answers my previous grip about finding someone on a huge planet but raises another question. Why assume it was Jaxxon's ship that landed? We established in issue 7 that Aduba has a Mos Eisley-like spaceport! Wouldn't there be ships going in and out constantly?

Before they could go any further, the Rabbit's Foot (GET IT GET IT GET IT) attacks Valance's ship. Valance eventually shoots down the Rabbit's Foot. It crashes into the surface on Aduba.

Valance sends his hunters to check the wreckage. Turns out it's an ambush. Amaiza and Jaxxon survived and start the shoot at the hunters. Meanwhile, Jimm has been waiting in the grass to follow through is end of the plan.



Stampeding Banthas has to be one of the oddest visuals in the Star Wars Universe I've ever seen. Those who argue that the Marvel Comics were just silly could use that panel to make a very strong case.

The Banthas crush the bounty hunters and Amaiza shots off the survivors. This leaves Valance who confronts them.



Goodness, I'd forgotten all about Jimm's bare legs.

So you mistook him for Skywalker eh Valance? You really can't blame him. They could be cousins or brothers. The writers didn't even shy away from the differences when they introduced Jimm back in issue 8.

Valence quickly blasts them with something coming from his hand and gets away, vowing to find Solo and his "droid loving young companion".



Take a good look at Jaxxon, Amaiza and Jimm. This is the last time you will ever see them in a Marvel Star Wars comic. For all the fussing people did about Jaxxon, I thought he was a regular supporting character but it's really only these four issues he appears in. Yet he seems to be one of the first things people bring up when talking about these comics.

Jaxxon and the others will appear again in expanded Star Wars material though. A quick look at Wookiepedia says some articles and sourcebooks later reused the characters and expanded on their backgrounds.

The revelation of Valance? I suppose some people might find it deep. Not me. Oh the guy who hates robots is half robot. Doesn't really do it for me.

Why did he rip his skin off anyway? I know us readers needed a visual but what as the in the story reason?

Writing: This was an easy and fun read by Goodwin. I enjoyed finally having a "done in one" story. I enjoyed seeing the old characters again but could have done without the new additions of "Dafi" and "Fud" (GET IT GET IT). No movie characters appeared in this issue expect for the splash page when Valance was looking at the bootleg. It's never easy to do a story without the main characters and keep me interested. Other comics and novels in the Expanded Universe rarely hold my interest unless the core movie characters appear. Goodwin pulled it off.

Interestingly enough, there are whispers that Jaxxon was so hated by George Lucas that it's the reason Roy Thomas left the series. Until I hear it from an official source I'm remaining skeptical.

Art: Jaxxon seemed freakishly tall and Don-Wan seemed very...yucky. Otherwise I enjoyed the art. Walt Simonson's reputation precedes him and he brought it this issue. The movie splash page was pretty good too.

Yay! I did my three issues in one week goal! I'll go back to doing one a week, I just wanted to catch up since I had a few skip weeks. In the future I may try this again. The fact that I enjoyed these issues made it easy.

Join us next week for...



No, this isn't the "Empire Strikes Back" movie adaptation. We still have some ways to go. Actually that isn't even the next story either, this next issue blurb is a lie. We will be getting another "done in one" issue though.

Star Wars issue 15 "Star Duel"

Nice cover! It feels like this storyline has been going on forever! Remember, this was the late seventies when comic storylines didn't run this long usually. I've enjoyed it but I'm glad to see it concluded.

I don't always talk alot about the creative minds behind these issues so here is the credits page.

The usual gang is here so we know what to expect. Let's get it on shall we?

As usual, clicking on the pictures will give you a larger version of them.

Crimson Jack's Star Destroyer is now longer being crippled by Quarg's jammer. His pirates want to escape the system, but he demands that they comb the planet for Han Solo.

Good logic Jack and you are right, but why not assume they lured you to Drexel so it could jam your ship and they could escape?

Jack checks in with Jolli to see the status of the sabotaged fighter ships. Three of thee them will be ready soon which pleases Jack. He tells Jolli she'll have her chance to blast Han like she wanted since she first appeared. Narration boxes reveal that Jolli's having confused feelings about Solo recently though...

Which brings us to Drexel...

Wow. I love that we got to see the aftermath of the Drexel Dragon Wars.

Han is unsettled because he realizes the destruction of the jammer means Crimson Jack will be waiting and bloodthirsty. The Dragon Lord Leader offers Han and his friends sanctuary on the planet, but realizes they need to get back to their Rebellion.

A Y-Wing flown by one of Jack's pirates comes down and attacks them. Han and the others dive off of Quarg's ship for safety but not before Luke makes a startling revelation.

Well this makes sense. Luke did grow up on a desert world. Only problem is that the already released "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" novel (which I love) established that Luke could swim but Leia can't. Letter pages in an upcoming issue by some fans give some theories that reconcile this continuity error. We'll post those when we get to it.

Chewie fires the Falcon guns to give the Rebels time to swim to the Falcon.

Hasn't it been established that Threepio can understand Chewie just fine? And what is with the the way Artoo is drawn?

They take off and attempt to the escape the attacking Y-Wing, only to run into a Tie Bomber and more attacking ships. It turns out Jolli is the Y-Wing pilot and she's aggressively chasing the Falcon.

We then get Jolli's origin story,

I find it funny they Jolli's sexual attraction Han Solo is dealt with. I feel like I'm reading a young adult coming of age novel.

Jolli's Y-Wing plays chicken with the Falcon and scraps some of their weapon systems. She's trying to lure them into Jack's tractor beam. The Falcon is taking heavy damage though. While on the comm channel with Jack, Han tells him to take a look at his navigation computer. It turns out Han had erased all the destinations while he was tinkering with it before. Jack's Destroyer is now stuck in the Drexel system or they risk jumping into a supernova or worse.

Han may not be able to leave either though as the Droids see when they look at the Falcon's damage.

This is very similar to what R2 did in "The Phantom Menace". Still, it looks odd seeing the droids on the surface of the Falcon.

As you can see above, Han and Jack are attempting to work out a deal, but with scoundrels like Jack and Solo, there will most likely be a double cross.

What an interesting page. The mention of the love triangle in the first panel is odd because I can't see the trio being so open about it at this point. Although it is a tense situation so...

And smooth move on pissing off Jolli or being loyal to her Jack. I can already tell this won't end well.

Meeting in zero g in a cruiser's magnetic field (with exposition all the same) is a very weird Star Wars visual gag and one that would be reused a few times in the Marvel Star Wars run. I don't see it used much elsewhere though.

Double cross Han does. After he retrieves the parts he needs from Jack, he kicks him and tries to make his way back to the Falcon. Not very smart of Han because Jack tightens the magnetic field which means Han can't use it to get back to the Falcon.

This wasn't very thought out was it?

Han is being blasted by Jack's men who also enter the magnetic field.

People have forgotten all about the angry Jolli.

Well I must say this character has grown on me. I do like the way she went out as well. Quite tragic. Although it's not said in the issue itself, I wonder if she partially did this to save Han, who has grown sexually attracted to. Jack talking to himself is very expositiony here.

And that page which ends in mid-statement by Han? It's followed by him killing blasting and killing Crimson Jack. The droids then retrieve the parts to repair the Falcon and retrieve Han within the magnetic field (all off panel and explained in the narration box).

How is the mangetic field still holding? Did Jolli just destroy a different part of the ship?

I know it's suppose to be a sweet thing, but how old is Jolli suppose to be? I always got the sense that she was a teenager. This makes the kiss real creepy.

I suppose I spoke too soon asking about the magnetic field, because that panel does say "gradually fading atmosphere". That is the end of the issue.

Another question I have is, what about Han's treasure? Was it destroyed? We are meant to assume from future issues (I cheated and peaked here and there) that he didn't get it back. Was that why they checked Jack's ship? So many questions.

Archie Goodwin's writing was good. I am glad the epilouge dealt strictly with Jack because I have been getting sick of Drexel. Goodwin really made me care about Jolli in the end and I think I was just annoyed with her during the Roy Thomas run. Goodwin did have a few overly expositiony lines though.

Austin and Infantino are enjoyable but Han and the droids are still choopy. The space sequences were cool though and the amount of emotion expressed in Jolli's face helped win me over to the character. That is a sign of good art.

Both Star Wars and Archie Goodwin lend themselves to good multi-part epics, but so far the series hasn't done any "done in one" stories and I'd really like one after these long multi-parters. Heck, the Drexel story started in issue 8 and is just concluding now! Looks like I'll be getting my wish next issue when we get...

Star Wars issue 14 "The Sound of Armageddon"

Nice pinup like cover of the gang there. It was later used as the cover to the first trade paperback Dark Horse put out collecting the full run of this series. My only complaints that Chewie still hasn't been drawn to my satisfaction. This will continue throughout the issue itself.

Work has been busy so my online life has been slacking. In order to play catchup for the blog (let's not get started on the podcast), I've decided to do three issues this week. This entry was mostly completed last week, and next issue is already 90 percent done. Even if I only get those two out, I'll still have double my usual goal.

Remember, if you can't read the text on the page or want to see a bigger version of the pictures, click on the image for a full sized link.

When we last left Luke, he was locked in a cell with an angry Chewbacca, who was convinced that Luke had gunned down and murdered Han Solo. Not a good situation to be in, let's see how Luke fares.



I know Luke is desperate, but how does he expect Threepio to help him? I do love the cantina joke thrown in there.

The battle between Quarg's men and the Dragon Riders are continuing. Despite being in the midst of battle, Quarg is still concerned about using his jammer to bring down Crimson Jack's orbiting Star Destroyer. Quarg's men inform him that the destroyer can't be brought down but he demands them to try harder. Things aren't going well for Jack either. One of Jack's men has apparently heard of Quarg and gives a one speech balloon recount of a story that took pages to tell last issue. We also get more space pirate soap opera...



Really unsure still how to feel about how Jolli's "coming of age" story is being handled. They are writing it like a novel for elementary school girls.

It turns out that Han is alive. Marvel would not have been dumb enough to kill him. He was rescued by the Dragon Riders and is being taken to their lair.

Which brings us to Leia..



I've seen "thank the Force" used here and there in the Expanded Universe. Is this the first time it's used? Glad they are finally refering to Leia as a "former senator". Throughout the run they keep on referring to her as a "senator" present tense. The Imperial Senate disbanded, that ship sailed a long time ago.

The Falcon is being towed to Quarg with Leia inside (unbeknowsnt to them). They present the Falcon to Quarg hoping it will dissuade him from attempting to ground Crimson Jack's ship. The jammer is using too much power and it will eventually sink their own ship. The thought of all the scraps Quarg could get from an Imperial Star Destroyer is too tempting for him to pass up. He has a plan and it involves his captive former mechanic Luke. How is Luke doing by the way?


Threepio's position is funny to look at. This isn't a radio drama though Threepio, you don't have to narrate every action you perform. Heck, it's a comic, the entire medium is visual!

Artoo is able to knock out Chewie with some extinguisher gas as Quarg's men retrieve Luke.

Quarg wants Luke and the droids to route the power from the Falcon to the jammer, hoping that the extra boost will give it enough strength to bring down Jack's ship. As you can imagine, Luke does not want to have any part of this or helping Quarg in any way. He is furious still believing that Quarg murdered his friends. Turns out Quarg's men found Leia on the Falcon and use her as leverage to get Luke to cooperate.

During the conversation a little dragon interacts with Quarg's foot.



At first read, that sequence seemed out of place and pointless, but it turns out there will be a point to it later.

The unnamed Dragon Lord Leader (hereby known as DLL) tells the now conscious Han Solo that the dragons are actually intelligent creatures who communicate with sound. Remember those men Quarg spoke about who were sent out to sea after mutiny? It turns out it was the dragons who saved them. DLL further explains that the jammer Quarg uses hurts the dragons and that is why they are attacking. Keeping jammer on as long as Quarg has in an attempt to bring down Jack's ship has done a number on their dragons. The baby dragon which spied on Quarg informs DLL of Quarg's plan for the Falcon. No he doesn't talk, it's done with sonic communication. DLL and the Dragon Riders spring into action and invite Han...



Han's reasoning and attitude for helping here is more in line with what I think Han would do as oppose to his behavior during the Aduba story.

The dragon lords continue to battle while Luke is inside the Falcon hooking it up to Quarg's jammer. One of the Dragon Riders boards the Falcon but Luke is pleased to see that it is Han. They have a brief happy reunion as they haven't seen eachother since the first pages of issue 7. The reunion turns tense when Han informs Luke he has to stop what Luke is doing. Luke get's angry and...well..just look at the page below to see...



I know the situation i s tense...and Han can be a smug guy...but Luke didn't have to punch him out! He could have just explained what was going on.

Leia reveals she was only playing prisoner so Luke wouldn't be hurt. Now that she see's Quarg won't hurt Luke (or his plan would be ruined), she punches him and flees. I guess Leia isn't worried about Chewie.



Quarg's logic is odd here. He wants Leia alive.....so they could kill her. Um...what?

Chewie is now awake and breaks out of his cell to attack Quarg's men. Luke finally explains to Han that he messed with the jammer so it won't effect the Falcon anymore. The ship is operational and can be used to save their friends, destroy the jammer and end the war. Great Luke, why didn't you just explain that in the first place? Was your urge to punch Han that strong?

Leia is corned on the upper levels of the ship by Jack....luckily for her Luke intervenes....



The Quarg storyline was a bit long, but I think it should have been wrapped up in more than one page. It seemed very rushed at the end of the issue. Not that I wanted it to go on another issue, but perhaps they should have stretched some of the events out within the issue. The swinging Luke is probably meant to evoke yet another movie memory. The Han Solo on the last page doesn't look anything like Harrison Ford.

The Writing: Enjoyable. I love Archie Goodwin. The dragon stuff was a bit silly but this does have the adventure feel of Star Wars. My only other complaint is, as I've said, it feels very rushed in the wrap-up.

The Art: Terry Austin and Carmine Infantino are finding their way. The faces don' always work and it's still a struggle to get the droids and Chewie right. Still, the battle sequences and splash pages have been great to look at.

Here are some other things found in the issue..



I love love love the Beatles (I run a Beatles website) so that ad made me smile. Yes, I do have that comic.

Vintage Star Wars toy ads are always fun to look at.



So much going on there! Leia was not that naked in the movie, although I suspect that design was from the poster. Look at Vader's collar! And Han is called "Hans". Love it!

Well the Drexel storyline is not quite over yet. As Han realizes on the final page, we still have to deal with Crimson Jack. Join us tomorrow for..

Two True Freaks

Last night podcasting giant Michael Bailey did a call-in show for the 100th episode of his first podcast "Views From The Longbox". Many of his friends in the podcasting world called in, and while we waited we were put in a "green room" chat room. At least twenty or more podcasts were represented in there and it informally became Pod-Con 2010. Lots of connections were made and one of them was between myself and "Two True Freaks" hosts Scott Gardner and Chris Honeywell.

I've been listening to their "Star Wars Monthly Monday" segment for months now and it was nice to finally talk with them. Each SWMM segment usually consists of reviews of a Clone Wars episode, an Expanded Universe novel and a few issues of the Marvel Comic series with dashes of tangents and side ruminations thrown in. It''s very enjoyable. I became aware of them during the recording of the first episode of the podcast by none other than Michael Bailey. I listened to them but told myself I wouldn't listen ahead of the point of the series I'm reviewing as not to inadvertently copy their thoughts or comments. No such luck. The stuff was so enjoyable that I wound up listening to all SWMM episodes from November to last week.

Even though our projects are very similar we connected and have peacefully co-existed and even offered to trade files of stuff the other person was missing. We shared thoughts and comments on things each of us missed. It was great fun. I've added their link on the sidebar, check it out!

Anyone remember this bad boy? Some people I knew just got a NINTENDO 64 and wanted me to bring some of my old games this weekend. I grabbed this one, which I hadn't played in years.

I had loads of fun replaying this thing and I think it's going to get more mileage in the coming week. One thing I'm looking forward to in my "Marvel project" is the issues between "Empire" and "Jedi" and seeing how well they mesh with the timeline given in "Shadows".

Podcast covering Issue 7

The latest podcast (covering issue 7) is now up! Click here to listen!

EU Podcast

I just added the above podcast our links section. It focuses on the EXPANDED UNIVERSE, doing reviews (or "escape pods" as they call them) on the novels, comics and even fan films. This is really refreshing because it's became "cool" recently for other podcasts to bash and dismiss the EU. It's hosted by two superfans named Jay and Tom. I recently e-mailed them telling them how much I enjoy their show and we traded links for our pages. Check out the podcast, you won't be disappointed.