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...