Star Wars issue 9 "Showdown on a Wasteland World"

You got to love how dramatic Han is when he says "CLOUD RIDERS" or how intense Jaxxon is.

It's been a little while since the last posting. I decided that in order to bring some structure and consistency to this blog, I would give it a regular schedule. Issue reviews will be published every Tuesday. That doesn't mean you won't see other random posts from here, but I will be sticking to the once a week format for issue reviews.



I'm also going to try doing the recaps differently this time. I'll put the pictures in the middle of the recap instead of doing it afterward. As usual, if the images are too small just click on them and they'll enlarge in a new window. So with that...



When we last left things, Han had agreed, for no money (which is SOOO like him) to help a poor farming village against the evil Serji-X and his gang. Han gets a team of some oddballs together to protect the village which is where they are heading now....

By who Jaxxon? I don't know...maybe Bucky O'Hare?

Han proceeds to give the readers some exposition on how he got to where he was and how he put the team together.

Well that pretty much covers who is who. Han doesn't seem too confident though. Why did you bring them Solo?

They see some creatures, known as High-hounds attacking the crops of the poor farmer. Han and the gang spring into action to help.

The only thing that I get out of this is....the Star Wars universe has scarecrows! AWESOME!

Haha! I love it! Jaxxon takes a break to try and get some action but gets shot down!

They eventually send the flying creatures away (the ones who survive). During the battle, Han had saved a female native who took his breath away. He's embarrassed when her father, the village spokesman, appears. Han gets teased by Amaiza (the chick in Han's group) for his sudden interest in charity for the village. She says it might have to do with Merri (the girl Han saved).

While they prepare for the confrontation with Serji-X, we cut to the other plotline of the issue...

Can't they just say "meanwhile" without making it complicated? I GET IT! We're in space! But "meanwhile" still works the same way!

And General Dodonna thinks Leia likes Luke just because she's concerned? Whether she likes him or not, she'd be concerned anyway because this is an IMPORTANT ALLIANCE MISSION!

Luke is looking for another system for the Rebels to have their base on since the Empire knows about Yavin. He gives the droids some exposition on it, before he decides he's found the right one and contacts Leia...

How the heck is Leia's body doing that in the bottom panel? If that is how she is rushing off, the very next thing she would do is fall on her face. We don't get to see that though because we cut back to Han and the gang.

An old shaman (who turns out to be Merri's grandfather) tells Han he isn't needed. There is another power which will save them. Han and the rest of the villagers denounce him as a madman. Serji-X arrives and the battle begins! Serji-X's dialogue makes it seem like he intends to rape Merri.

I love how the early Marvel stories made Chewie brutal! I suppose it's how he came off in the first movie, and Episode V and VI softened him up a bit.

Effie the droid see's that his master, the Starkiller kid, is in trouble so he sacrifices his "life" for him.

We have a casualty, even if it as a droid. Now another character (who I can't decide is awesome or annoying) seems to kick the bucket.

Looks like Han's side is losing. You can't blame them....look at his team. Just look at them.

While this is going on, the old shaman is chanting some weird stuff. Turns out he is summoning something, and we see just what that is on the last page.

Oh snap.

Oh! I almost forgot! Howard Chaykin, the regular artist on the series at this point, gives us a splash page pinup!

WHAT! Nevermind the fact that these don't look anything like the characters, they don't look anything like Chaykin's other work!!

To sum it up,

Roy Thomas isn't a bad writer. Things are a bit silly here but the series is finding it's legs. Han still feels out of character to me (and that one girl in the issue agrees). Chaykin's art isn't so bad, but I don't think he has the edginess of Princess Leia down yet.

Join us next Tuesday for issue 10! I haven't read it yet, so I have no clue what to expect. I may or may not do other random Star Wars postings in this space between now and then.