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Post by tarkintino on May 11, 2021 10:23:56 GMT -5
I think I like the Hoojibs more than the Ewoks, though. The Hoojibs felt so out of place with the tone that had been established in the movies up to this point; Michelinie forecasted Lucas' pandering to the younger crowd who might find sugary, toy-like characters appealing. Simonson certainly loved to draw Leia with odd (and un-Fisher-like) proportions. #56-- Lando returning to Cloud City made no sense at all; when he left, he was a fugitive who had helped government captives / enemies escape, so whether or not the Empire left their own representatives at the city, he would be the last person to risk his life when he would be public (or government) enemy #1. There's no logical, justifiable reason for Lando to be there. The issue's sole credit was the introduction of Shira Brie (later to become the antagonist Lumiya) as a potential love interest for Luke. Michelinie will make the mistake of having Leia appear jealous of Shira when she should not, since the movies established that she not only has no romantic feelings for Luke, but--obviously--is in love with the then-missing Han Solo. Adhering to the films' character development would have prevented the needless, uncharacteristic "sassy/jealous" crap from Leia. Simonson added stone floor/path installations to some Cloud City locations, which was not a part of the film's design for the city. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on May 11, 2021 11:45:06 GMT -5
I think that, on the surface of things, its just Michelinie taking his lead from ESB. That film had established a clear romance between Leia and Han -- as opposed to the "love triangle" of the first SW movie. So, that development left Luke out in the cold, romantically speaking. However, Han was out of the picture, which meant that the romance angle in the comic was dead...or at least on hold for the time being. Since Michelinie was now free to inject some romantic drama into Luke's life, and given that the franchise's main romantic male lead was on ice (forgive the pun), supplying the young Jedi with a love interest and having Leia have a slightly jealous reaction to her, was just a neat way to increase the dramatic tension in the comic. All true. Now, then, I believe the reason they froze Han in the first place was because there was no guarantee that Harrison Ford would sign up for a third film (though the other principals had already signed on) so this was a sort of plan B in case he decided not to re-up. I also recall reading that Harrison Ford wanted Han Solo killed off in Return of the Jedi. If either of these things had come to pass, I imagine that the romance between Luke & Leia would be back on. I suspect that it was known at the time that this comic was written, though, that Harrison Ford would be back. That's a really interesting theory. You're right regarding Ford possibly not coming back for the third SW film, although I don't believe that the carbon freezing scene in ESB was specifically written because of that. As far as I've always been aware, the uncertainty about Ford coming back for the third SW film arose during pre-production for ROTJ, after the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) had made him an even bigger star. This uncertainty about the actor's return would've been ongoing in Aug/Sept 1981, when Michelinie was writing this issue (Wikipedia says that principal photography for ROTJ began in January 1982, by which time Ford had obviously decided that he was on board). So, you could be on to something. There are other plot-driven factors to bear in mind regarding how Michelinie is writing Luke and Leia, but I can't say too much about them at the moment for fear of spoilers. But your theory is certainly an interesting one and could definitely be at least part of his reason for writing Leia like this. |
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Post by dbutler69 on May 11, 2021 12:46:14 GMT -5
Star Wars #57Cover dated: March 1982 Issue title: Hello, Bespin, Good-bye!Script: David Michelinie (plot, script)/Walter Simonson (plot)/Louise Jones (plot) Artwork: Walter Simonson (pencils)/Tom Palmer (inks) Colours: Glynis Wein Letters: Joe Rosen Cover art: Walter Simonson (pencils)/Tom Palmer (inks) Overall rating: 7½ out of 10  Plot summary: Having been kicked off of the edge of Cloud City by Imperial Captain Treece, Lando Calrissian plunges down towards the surface of the planet Bespin and certain death. His former aide, Lobot, dons a jet-pack and dives after his friend, finally catching up with him and landing them both in the marshlands of Bespin. An Ugnaught news crew pick the pair up, as Imperial skimmers open fire on their floating newsboat. After escaping from the Imperials, Lando and Lobot are taken to the Ugnaught capital city, where the are granted an audience with the Ugnaught leader, King Ozz. Ozz explains to Lando that Treece turned Cloud City into an Ugnaught slave labour camp, which is why the disgruntled workers planted bombs around the city and abandoned the mining outpost. Lando is enraged by this news and promises to help the Ugnaughts overthrow Treece and the Empire. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 and Shira Brie arrive at Cloud City in their X-wing fighters. Noticing that the city is deserted, Luke has R2 plug into the central computer, revealing to the Rebels that an Ugnaught uprising has taken place and that bombs have been planted throughout the mining facility. Treece discovers the Rebels and orders a squad of stormtroopers to apprehend Luke. As a firefight erupts, Lando, Lobot and the Ugnaughts arrive back on Cloud City to join the fight. Luke uses the Force to detonate the primer switches on the bombs hidden in the city, bluffing that, in fact, it is the bombs themselves that have been detonated. The trick is successful and Treece and his troops leave Cloud City, believing the station to be destroyed. As victory celebrations are held in the repopulated city by the Ugnaughts and returning evacuees, Lando reveals that he had Lobot hack into Treece's illegal bank account on Aargau and transmit details of the Cloud City funds that he stole from the Empire to the private account of Darth Vader. Comments: Issue #57 of Star Wars is a really fun, entertaining read, but, like last issue, it's somewhat mired by niggling continuity problems. Of these problems, two are the self-same ones we encountered last issue – namely, that tibanna gas is shown as having anti-gravity properties, with the Ugnaughts using tibanna gas filled balloons to propel their floating barges, and that the planet Bespin has a solid surface, when earlier sources had confirmed that it was, in fact, a gas planet. Weirdly, writer David Michelinie's narration on the opening splash page even specifically refers to Bespin as being a gas planet, but then a scant few pages later it's shown as having a solid surface. I dunno, maybe when Michelinie used the phrase "gas planet" he meant a world abundant in tibanna gas, rather than a gaseous world, which is what is usually meant by the phrase. Regardless of his intentions, these two points clearly contravene established Star Wars canon. There's also another continuity problem in that Imperial Captain Treece hopes that his success in capturing Luke Skywalker will ensure him a seat in the Imperial Senate. However, the Senate had been dissolved by the Emperor in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and no longer exists. Still, I shouldn't be too down on this comic, because, forgetting the continuity problems for a moment, it's really fun. Michelinie's script is well written, with his usual humour and snappy dialogue, while Walt Simonson's artwork has a nicely cinematic feel to it. I've said it before and I'll no doubt say it again, but Simonson really is excellent at conjuring the fast-paced, dynamic action of the Star Wars films on the comic page, while also nailing the more humourous, character-driven moments. Just take a look at these panels, in which Luke uses the Force to prime the bombs planted around Cloud City. I love the radiating "Force lines" that Simonson draws coming from Luke's eyes and how they spill over into the following panels, as we are shown the effects of Luke's powers. Then, of course, there's the hilarious reactions of the Imperial stormtroopers, as they realise what's about to happen...  That's some really succinct and clever storytelling with sequential art. It's also a good example of how well Simonson translates the humour of Michelinie's script onto the comics page. I should also make note of the really nice colouring by Glynis Wein in this issue too. In particular, the clouds and the surface of Bespin look gorgeous. The Ugnaught news crew featured in this issue is a weird concept and it shouldn't really work, but somehow it does, providing some great dialogue and some gently humourous moments. In addition, the City of the Ugnaughts seems more like something out of The Wizard of Oz than Star Wars and the fact that the Ugnaught king's name is Ozz doesn't do anything to dispel that impression. Still, it looks like an intriguing place and is beautifully drawn by Simonson. As an aside, this comic is the first time that I remember ever seeing the bottom of Cloud City. It had been glimpsed in The Empire Strikes Back from above, as Luke dangled precariously below the city, but in illustrations and promo pictures the bottom of the mining facility was usually obscured by orange and red clouds. This story is the first time that I can clearly remember seeing it without obstruction. We get to see more of Shira Brie in this issue, who, as I mentioned in my review of Star Wars #56, will become a major recurring character. In this issue you definitely get a sense of there being some mutual attraction between Shira and Luke, with the two of them clearly flirting with each other. I also like the twist at the end, where Lando has Lobot break into Treece's bank account on the planet Aargau. That's a neat reference to issue #48. Overall, Star Wars #57 brings the Return to Bespin story arc to a pretty satisfying close, with the creative team of Michelinie and Simonson continuing to do some really good work on this series, in spite of a few troublesome continuity errors. Continuity issues: - Bespin is a gas planet with no solid surface, yet it's shown in this issue as having a swamp-like terrain, with Ugnaught settlements.
- Tibanna gas is shown here as having anti-gravity properties, but in accepted Star Wars canon it's used as a heating fuel or as a coolant for hyperdrive engines.
- Captain Treece believes that capturing Luke Skywalker will lead to him being given a seat on the Imperial Senate, but the Senate was dissolved by the Emperor in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "You mean Treece turned my city … into a slave camp? King, you've just lost yourself an enemy. And gained the meanest, maddest friend you've ever had!" – Lando Calrissian angrily vows to help the Ugnaughts rid Cloud City of the Empire. I thought the art was fantastic. Especially the first couple of pages, with Lando plummeting towards the “surface” of Bespin. My only complaint about the art is the Ugnaughts. They don’t really look like Ugnaughts. Rather, they look like little people with big sideburns. Bespin's emergency jets make some sense, in a floating city, though it would have been nice if they’d been strong enough to support two people. Also, Michelinie does add some humor here, especially from Lando, which I really apprecate. I also liked when Luke sensed that someone was about to shoot at him and Shira, so they could duck in time. The Force is a useful ally. Also, it was nice how Lando & Lobot fixed Captain Treece at the end, breaking into Treece’s bank account, as Confessor mentioned in his review. However, I do have a lot of problems with this issue, as with the last issue. We already know about the tibanna and surface of Bespin that shouldn’t really exist issue, but wait, there’s more. Lobot feels no fear because he’s a cyborg?! Huh? Lando disabling the stormtrooper’s skimmer by launching a can of film at it was pretty iffy, to say the least. Also, I don’t really understand why the Ugnaughts want to kill Lando. He’s not their problem, the empire is. They even acknowledged that he treated them well. It definitely seems here that Luke can understand Artoo, when Artoo plugs into Bespin’s computer and finds out about what’s been going on with the bombs and everything. I also don’t understand how Captain Treece thinks his actions will get him a seat on the Imperial Senate. Ummm, that’s not how politics works, dude. Not to mention the Emperor dissolved the Imperial Senate in the Star Wars film. Luke calls Lobot "the Lobot". How the heck does Luke know how to disarm those bombs?? Especially without even being able to see them?? How did Luke only blow the primers, and how did he know there's be enough tibanna gas left to keep the city afloat?? Luke is too much like a superhero here. How did Luke know the drones would seal the holes? Oh well, at least there's the humor from the stormtroopers, as Confessor pointed out. The Ugnaughts are using a camera, with film? That's pretty old fashioned for Star Wars. And since when do Ugnaughts speak standard, anyway? Yes, the Ugnaught news crew was a weird concept. I’ll agree with Confessor on that. I’m not sure how well it worked, though. |
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Post by tarkintino on May 11, 2021 21:15:23 GMT -5
#57--
Aside from more Shia Brie development, there were a wealth of problems with this story and the depiction of characters. One, Luke's force abilities are just pulled out of Michelinie's rear, as Luke suddenly has powers/levels never seen in the then-two existing movies nor would they ever be seen/used in ROTJ. That, and the "force rings" effect makes one think of Daredevil, or the Filmation Aquaman, not a Star Wars character.
Really--did Michelinie see TESB? Ughnaughts were not speaking English, and film cameras do not exist in SW. That's one of the most glaring "just throw it in there" errors ever put into a SW comic by any publisher.
One good thing is Palmer being able to consistently rein in some of Simonson's excesses / habits, and add a bit more stability to the faces of the main characters
Overall, this issue's best feature was the layout of the cover. Good stuff.
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Post by dbutler69 on May 12, 2021 12:15:53 GMT -5
Star Wars #58Cover dated: April 1982 Issue title: Sundown!Script: David Michelinie (plot, script)/Walter Simonson (plot) Artwork: Walter Simonson (pencils)/Tom Palmer (inks) Colours: Don Warfield Letters: Janice Chaing Cover art: Walter Simonson Overall rating: 8½ out of 10  Plot summary: The Rebel fleet is about to undertake a bold manoeuvre of Princess Leia's devising, in which it will be concealed within a large pyramid-shaped force field and then moved into the chromosphere of the planet Arbra's sun, away from prying Imperial eyes. As the Rebel ships move into position, Leia boards a shuttle craft bound for the Rebel base on Arbra. No sooner has the shuttle launched than Leia receives a worried message from C-3PO, who has been accidentally left aboard one of the generator ships that sustain the force field. The golden protocol droid explains that R2-D2 has detected that the generators powering the protective shield have malfunctioned and burning circuitry has flooded the maintenance bay with noxious fumes, knocking out the technical crew. With the droids consequently the only ones onboard the ship able to help, R2 devises a plan to save the fleet. The droids leave the generator ship on a space-walk and rig up an energy cable between the vessel and a nearby Rebel star-cruiser, bolstering the fluctuating generator's shielding capacity and saving the fleet. Elsewhere, having departed the planet Arbra in the Millennium Falcon, on a mission for the Rebellion, Lando Calrissian, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca arrive at a space station known as Bazarre in order to rendezvous with a merchant named Orion Ferret. Docking their freighter, Luke and Lando enter the station and proceed to the marketplace location where they are supposed to meet the merchant. Suddenly, armed guards appear and hold the two Rebels at gunpoint, as Lando correctly surmises that their antagonists are in Ferret's employ. Comments: Star Wars #58 is basically a stand alone story, although the scenes centring on Lando Calrissian, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca's trip to the space station called Bazarre provide a lead-in to the next issue. It's kinda fun seeing Luke, Lando and Chewie together like this because it's an unusual mix of cast members, in terms of what we had previously seen in the comics and films. We'll get more of these usual groupings of cast members as David Michelinie's run progresses and they're always a lot of fun. The scripting here is as entertaining as ever and, in particular, I love the snatches of random conversation that Michelinie writes for the traders in the Bazarre marketplace. These cries from the exotic array of vendors really give us a sense of the bustling atmosphere and hard-nosed wheeling and dealing that's going on at this locale. Also, the scene in which Lando and Luke play a game of Novacrown at the Millennium Falcon's gaming table is one of my favourite parts of this issue. The cunning way that Lando, the experienced gambler who is being soundly beaten by Luke, "accidentally" ruins the game, rather than loose, never fails to raise a smile...  Of course, Walt Simonson's artwork has a large part to play in why this scene is so effective and so amusing. I really love Luke's annoyed face in that last panel.  Simonson also delivers a really nice nice splash page of the Falcon blasting off from Arbra base at the start of this issue, which is probably one of the best splash pages of the entire run. As for the main thrust of the issue, Princess Leia's plan to hide the entire Rebel fleet inside Arbra's sun has always seemed needlessly dangerous to me, but I also think that's a perfectly human reaction to it. Really, hiding the fleet inside the sun is a very logical and inventive way of preventing passing Imperial craft from spotting it. And really, given the advanced state of Star Wars technology, is being inside the sun any more dangerous that being in the vacuum of space? Both are deadly environments for most lifeforms. Also, although the galaxy is a big place, the Empire still managed to find the Rebels when they were hidden underground on a remote planet like Hoth, so simply having the fleet drifting around Arbra clearly isn't a safe option. As if to ram that point home, a passing Imperial TIE patrol suddenly enters the Arbra system just as the Rebel fleet is submerged into the chromosphere of the sun. Still, the nervous reactions of the various Rebels that we meet in this issue, along with Leia's private misgivings about the scheme, are entirely understandable. Speaking of various Rebels, we get to see more of the new supporting cast member Shira Brie in this issue. From the way Simonson draws Shira, she's definitely meant to be cute (as Plif the Hoojib notes), rather than stunningly beautiful. As such, she's very much in the feisty, no-nonsense Rebel warrior mold of Princess Leia, rather than being a glamorous space-temptress. There's also a nice bit of cattiness between Leia and Shira, which is fun to read. The latter quite blatantly hints that she and Luke really enjoy each other's company, to put it mildly, and Leia is definitely jealous of their relationship here. In hindsight, that is kind of icky, considering that Luke's her brother and all, but it makes some sense at this point in the continuity, given that the princess is unsure of exactly how she feels about Luke. I'm thinking specifically of that passionate kiss in the Rebel medical centre during The Empire Strikes Back, along with the pair's romantic interactions in the original Star Wars film. Later in the run, we'll see Leia privately agonising over exactly why Luke and Shira's relationship causes her such jealousy, when she's in love with Han Solo. This aligns nicely with George Lucas's later insistence that Leia had always had some kind of loving feeling for Luke, but didn't necessarily know that it was a sisterly love that she was experiencing. Something else that I want to make special note of in this issue is that, although this is only Shira's second appearance, I think that Michelinie and Simonson give the reader a subtly veiled clue about her true nature. When General Rieekan explains that they could loose the entire Rebel fleet if the pyramid-shaped force field collapses, Shira exclaims "How tragic!", but just look at the expression on her face...  That's an odd facial expression for someone who's just been told that everything she's supposed to hold dear could be lost at any moment. Looking at her face alone, it's almost as if her comment is sarcastic, but the exclamation point indicates that it sounds sincere to those standing around her. This panel takes on a much greater significance with later revelations about Shira. Something else that I want to mention is that we get a great example of Leia's stoic bravery in the face of overwhelming loss and defeat in this issue. When the princess thinks that the Rebel fleet is lost because her plan has ended in disaster, she looks distraught, but she has already resolved to start over again, to build more Rebel ships and recruit more members. To anybody else, the loss of the entire Rebel fleet would look like the end of the Rebellion itself, but she's resilient enough to want to carry on. This is the Leia that we saw in the films. A woman who lost her entire home planet and everyone she loved, yet stoically carried on as a Rebel figurehead in the face of an unimaginable loss. This really is some very in character writing from Michelinie. All in all, Star Wars #58 is quite a tense issue, as the Rebel Alliance undertakes a decidedly risky venture and it's an exciting read as a result. It's also nice to see R2-D2 and C-3PO save the day because it's not often in the original Marvel run that we get the droids acting as heroically as this and pulling the Rebel Alliance's fat out of the fire (pun intended). One minor niggle would be that having every single member of the maintenance crew succumbing to noxious fumes from burning circuitry and falling unconscious seems pretty unlikely and it's clearly just a plot contrivance to place the droids in jeopardy and have them save the day. Still, there's enough excitement, action and nicely executed character moments to make this issue a really entertaining read. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "I had some dealings with Ferret back when I ran Cloud City -- and I always came away from them feeling like I'd just slept in a slime pit!" – Lando Calrissian cautions Luke Skywalker about negotiating with the notorious merchant Orion Ferret. Simonson and Palmer knock it out of the park again. I agree that there are plenty of nice little snippets of dialogue by Michelinie. I especially love the way Luke and Lando both say "That's one I owe you, Chewie" with totally opposite meanings. Clever writing. Odd to see Luke and Lando playing “novacrown” with physical pieces instead of the holograms like in the movie. I’m not really too crazy about the idea of hiding the rebel fleet inside a star, but at least I’ve give Michelinie credit for thinking outside the box. It’s a little surprising that Leia’s shuttle left without the droids, but I agree that it was nice to see them save the day. One potential continuity error is when Threepio’s rocket melts, and he opens a bit of Artoo’s protective foil to let Artoo’s fire extinguisher propel them. However, since we find out in Attack of the Clones that Artoo has a rocket, which he uses in the droid factory, and also in the opening scene of Revenge of the Sith, it would have made a lot more sense for him to use that instead of the fire extinguisher for propulsion. For my attempt at a no-prize, I’ll say that Artoo has obviously undergone plenty of modifications over the years, and he probably had the rocket removed (perhaps to make room for some other feature) some time between the prequels and now. And that sort of makes sense, since there are times in both A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back where it would have made sense for him to use his rocket, but he never did. Obviously, there’s no way Michelinie could have known about a movie development that would have happened about 20 years later, anyway, so even if there were a disconnect, it’s not his fault. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 12, 2021 17:44:20 GMT -5
It's been a while since I reread the Marvel books, but with the new Marvel comics tackling the search for Han it had me wondering how that played out before. Which issues, if any, covered the lead up to Han's rescue in Return of the Jedi?
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Post by dbutler69 on May 13, 2021 10:51:43 GMT -5
Star Wars #59Cover dated: May 1982 Issue title: BazarreScript: David Michelinie (plot, script)/Walter Simonson (plot) Artwork: Walter Simonson (pencils)/Tom Palmer (inks) Colours: Don Warfield Letters: Joe Rosen Cover art: Walter Simonson Overall rating: 9 out of 10  Plot summary: Having arrived at the Bazarre space station, Lando Calrissian and Luke Skywalker are being held at gunpoint by guards employed by the merchant Orion Ferret. Once he shows up, Ferret orders his men to release the Rebels, while he explains that the four black market Imperial TIE fighters that the Rebellion had sort to acquire from him are ready to be collected. Ferret offers Luke and Lando the use of a shuttle craft, with which to travel to the planet of Patch-4, where the TIEs are stashed. However, Lando has had dealings with Ferret before and doesn't trust him. As a result, the Rebels leave Chewbacca to guard the shifty merchant, telling the Wookiee that if he hasn't heard from them in an hour to kill Ferret. Arriving on the garbage-strewn planet of Patch-4, Luke and Lando locate the Rebellion's TIE fighters, but they come under attack from a large, worm-like creature known as a Watchbeast. As they attempt to evade the creature's attacks, the pair are offered sanctuary in a nearby cave by a group of subterranean dwellers, led by Serja Kesselrook. Serja informs the Rebels that the Watchbeast belongs to Ferret, who controls it with a sonic pacifier located on the shuttle craft they arrived in. Returning to the planet's surface, Lando distracts the creature, as Luke races to the shuttle and activates the pacifier, causing the beast to fall unconscious. Meanwhile, back on Bazarre, Ferret's scheme to kill the two Rebels, keep the TIE ships, their money and the Millennium Falcon, has begun to unravel, since he knows that Chewbacca will kill him when they fail to return. With help from his assistant, P'lor, Ferret imprisons the Wookiee in a rock-hard, transparent spritzer solution, but Chewbacca escapes and chases Ferret through the space station to his personal shuttle. Firing on the craft with his bowcaster, Chewbacca disables the ship and pulls the conniving merchant from it. Just as Chewbacca is about to rip Ferret's head from his shoulders, Lando and Luke arrive safely back on Bazarre, taking the Wookiee and the four TIE fighters back with them to the Rebel base on the planet Arbra. Comments: Star Wars#59 is somewhat similar to last issue, in that it's essentially a stand-alone story, although the introduction to it began during the previous comic. David Michelinie's scripting is up to the high standards that we've come to expect from him, with plenty of great characterisation and his signature snappy dialogue. In particular, I like how Lando Calrissian is characterised as something of a peacock, overly concerned with his appearance and with getting his new boots dirty. That just feels very in character for Lando somehow. There's also plenty of genuinely humourous moments in this issue too, with Lando's thought balloons and dialogue in the following scene providing one of the funniest moments in the entire series...  Unfortunately, last issue's cliffhanger, which saw Lando and Luke Skywalker being held at gunpoint, turned out to be a bit of an anti-climax, in that, as soon as Orion Ferret turns up he simply orders his guards to lower their weapons. Still, I'm happy to forgive Michelinie for this fake cliffhanger because the dialogue between Lando and a slave trader named Quad-Lo in the opening scene is really entertaining. Weirdly, Michelinie drops a couple of real-world references into this story. The first one occurs when Lando mentions coffee grounds, but I'm gonna let that one slide, since Alan Dean Foster had Obi-Wan Kenobi mention a duck in his novelization of the first Star Wars film and, years later, Timothy Zahn had Luke Skywalker drinking hot chocolate in his novel Heir to the Empire. However, the second real-world reference that Michelinie gives us is less forgiveable, in my view. The worm-like Watchbeast that Luke and Lando battle is named Caesar and, really, the only reason it's given this name is so that Michelinie can have Luke paraphrase William Shakespeare, when he has the young Rebel say, "We didn't come to feed Caesar…we came to bury him." Oh dear.  Speaking of Patch-4, it's kind of interesting that it's basically a planet-sized rubbish dump or landfill site. I guess in the Star Wars galaxy nobody bothers to recycle anything, which is why folks need such a place. Actually, Patch-4 is somewhat similar to the droid dumping planet of Ronyards that we'll see in Alan Moore's story "Rust Never Sleeps", which will be my very next review, since it's cover dated the same month as this issue. Something else I want to briefly mention is that, at one point in this story, Ferrett uses the word "bloody", as in the chiefly British intensifier and mild obscenity. I'm not quite sure how that slipped past the Comics Code Authority, but I'm guessing that in the U.S. the word isn't that big of a deal. Here in the UK, however, it's a mild, but still fairly vulgar swear word – especially for a kid's book in the 1980s! Of course, as a ten-year-old, I though the use of the word "bloody" was fantastic and terribly grown up.  Walt Simonson's artwork in this issue is up to his usual high standards. There's great pace to the action scenes where Lando and Luke are attacked by the Watchbeast and you really get a sense of movement from some of his panels. I also really like Simonson's design for Ferret, with his dinner jacket, bow-tie, frills, Dynasty-style shoulder pads and heart-shaped sequins. Ferret also has a weird little octopoid companion perched on his shoulder, which the merchant disparagingly refers to as a "spineless headcheese" at one point. This pet adds some comic relief to proceedings, although he doesn't really ever say much more than "skek!" Still, it's a nice touch and, in fact, Ferret's entire design is really good and highly memorable (see my favourite panel below). Tom Palmer's inking is as wonderful and as lush as ever, with his detailing of the various pieces of Star Wars tech – from the Millennium Falcon to Chewbacca's bowcaster – being especially nice. In fact, I'm reminded while reading this comic, of something that Simonson said about Palmer's work on Star Wars, during an interview with Roger Ash for the Modern Masters series of books: "[Tom Palmer] had a lot of references for the Star Wars stuff. His Son, Tommy, was young, maybe under ten, and he was a huge Star Wars fanatic, as he still is today. He was really his Dad's technical expert. If stuff wasn't drawn right, Tom heard about it." Overall, issue #59 is a pretty exciting and action-packed comic, with some proper laugh-out-loud moments and some really good characterisation. The slightly unfortunate real-world references that Michelinie drops in are entirely unnecessary and a bit distracting, but they don't really spoil my enjoyment of this issue too much. This is another top drawer issue of Star Wars and also a fairly important comic, in terms of the original Marvel run, since the black market TIE fighters that Luke and Lando acquire in this issue will soon become very significant, with regard to the new supporting cast member Shira Brie. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Mother said there'd be days like this..." – Orion Ferret wryly ponders his situation, as Chewbacca prepares to rip his head from his shoulders. Some very good humor in this issue, and a good plot as well, but several problems, too. Confessor is right that last issue’s cliffhanger was anti-climactic. I like the guards that looked like walruses, though. See Conefessor’s favourite panel for reference! 😊 How does Luke know that the rebel fleet is being hidden inside a star? The meeting where that was decided upon as the course of action happened after he left in the last issue. I love how Lando left Chewie behind in case Ferret decided to double cross them, which of course he planned on doing. A garbage planet. Interesting, and amusing. And I found it amusing how the dandy Lando doesn't want to walk through garbage, and tried to get Luke to do it. Lando told Luke to phone Leia (or something like that). The use of the word “phone” in the Star Wars universe just seems out of place to me. Luke quoting from Shakespeare was also out of place, as Confessor pointed out. Michilinie is a very good writer, and I like some of the things he’s done with humor and with the supporting cast, and there’s been some good dialogue, but so far I’ll still say that Goodwin seemed to have a better feel for the Star Wars universe. It was too convenient that those hoboes could get the information about how Ferret controls the monster. Mostly the art is great, but in certain places it was not as good, kinda rough. Some good humorous Lando dialogue. He’s becoming a really good character. One shot from Chewie's crossbow destroyed Ferret's ship like that? Easily destroyed ships is becoming a theme on this comic. How the heck could Luke & Lando have possibly have travelled “some parsecs” done all that stuff, then travelled back, in an hour??? That’s totally impossible, and I don’t know why Michilinie had to make it one hour. He could have simply changed it to one day and it wouldn’t have affected the story at all and would have been much more plausible. What do the rebels want with 4 TIE fighters? Hopefully we’ll find out in the next issue. Oh, and yes, Confessor, “bloody” isn’t that big of a deal here and no surprise it got past the Comics Code Authority. Basically writers use it here when they want to try and make someone sound British. |
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Post by dbutler69 on May 14, 2021 15:30:07 GMT -5
Star Wars #60Cover dated: June 1982 Issue title: Shira's StoryScript: David Michelinie (plot, script)/Walter Simonson (plot) Artwork: Walter Simonson (pencils)/Tom Palmer (inks) Colours: Glynis Wein Letters: Joe Rosen Cover art: Walter Simonson Overall rating: 9½ out of 10  Plot summary: TIE fighters piloted by Luke Skywalker, Shira Brie and two other Rebels swoop down and attack an Imperial outpost on the planet Spindrift. Once the Imperials have surrendered, the TIE craft land, as Rebel Captain Thorben leaves his craft and enters the ruined station to retrieve a set of coordinates for a newly formed Imperial armada that the Rebel Alliance is concerned about. Returning to the Rebel base on Arbra, Shira asks Princess Leia to grant her leave, so that she can return to her homeworld of Shalyvane for personal reasons. Leia declines her request, citing security concerns regarding the top secret location of Arbra, but Luke, who is one of a select few Rebel pilots with access to the precise coordinates for the planet, volunteers to accompany Shira and take responsibility for bringing her back. Once on Shalyvane, Shira heads for a scared stone monument in the capital city of Chinshassa to perform a private ritual, as Luke, R2-D2, Thorben and a Rebel pilot named Wald watch. Just as she completes her ritual, a horde of angry, blaster-wielding nomad barbarians rush towards the temple, as the Rebels take cover and return fire. Shira explains that years ago the nomads betrayed her people to the Empire, who wiped them out, killing her family, when she was just a little girl. Shira only managed to escape the carnage via a network of underground tunnels. Realising that these tunnels could provide a means of escape now, Luke instructs R2 to scan the ground to see if there's a tunnel nearby. Finding one, Shira descends into the disused conduit, but the unstable tunnel walls collapse behind her, preventing her friends from following. With Luke and the Rebels still pinned down by the nomads, Shira manages to circle around the barbarians via the tunnel and reach her nearby X-wing fighter. Gunning the ship to life, Shira swoops down onto the nomads and opens fire, decimating their ranks and saving her comrades. Comments: Star Wars #60 features the first part of the Pariah story arc, which is one of the best, most memorable and most enjoyable storylines of the entire series, as far as I'm concerned. The arc gets off to a great start here, not least because of the wonderful artwork of Walt Simonson and Tom Palmer. This is arguably the pair's best effort to date on the series. Simonson brings his usual fluid, pseudo-cinematic storytelling skills and inventive staging to the table, and there are loads of great art sequences in this issue. Palmer provides his lush shadow work and precise attention to the detail, in terms of the authentic look of the Star Wars universe, to make this comic a real pleasure to behold. I must also mention the natural poses and body language that Simonson employs with each character in the comic, which really helps to bring David Michelinie's script to life. Glynis Wein's colouring is excellent here too and definitely worthy of mention. Something else that I should probably mention at this point is that Simonson cheekily draws himself into this comic. The Rebel pilot who accompanies Luke Skywalker, Shira Brie and Captain Thorben to Shalyvane is called Wald (note that the name is only one letter different from Walt) and he certainly bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain penciller. I'm not usually a fan of artists putting their own likenesses in comics, but I must admit that it's pretty fun to see Simonson in Rebel pilot garb, blasting away at the nomads alongside Luke and Shira...  Michelinie's writing is up to its usual high standards and is probably even better than usual. We get more of his entertaining, snappy dialogue and the introduction of some new supporting cast members, in the shape of Captain Thorben and the Imperial Admiral Giel. Really though, as the title of this issue suggests, Star Wars #60 is all about Shira. In addition to having her backstory fleshed out (although we later learn it's a false backstory), we really get to see Luke's feelings for Shira and she's certainly all over him like a rash! We also see more of Leia's slightly uncomfortable jealousy regarding Luke and Lieutenant Brie's relationship. Interestingly though, there's a sense of something else at play here – a sense that Michelinie is implying some vague feelings of unease or distrust towards Shira on the princess's part. As we shall later see, Leia's instincts are right on the money and denying Shira's request for leave and access to the coordinates for Arbra turns out to be a very smart move. Despite Leia's misgivings, however, Shira saves the day at the end of this issue and the fact that she's now regarded as a hero by her comrades will play heavily into events in the not-too-distant future. Talking to Roger Ash for the Modern Masters series of books in 2006, Simonson explained the rationale behind Shira's creation and her increasing role in the series: "I think we were trying to find ways to create characters to interact with the established cast of Star Wars that we could actually tell stories about. The established cast was so unavailable in a way to do anything with them as characters. She was one of the character's David created so we could tell an interesting story that would still feel like it was part of the Star Wars universe." It's also good to see the TIE fighters that Luke and Lando Calrissian obtained for the Rebellion last issue being put to good use, infiltrating Imperial security and enabling the Alliance to strike at the enemy. The Rebel pass code of "Flying Banthas Never Sleep" is nicely nonsensical and very Star Wars-y sounding, but it does seem a bit insecure to have a password, rather than an encrypted code or something. Michelinie also drops in a nice reference to past Star Wars comic continuity, when it's revealed that an Imperial officer named Gerdy has been using the Empire's priority communications frequency to talk to a female on the planet Aduba-4 (Aduba-3 appeared in issues #7-11 and #16 of the series). Like Ferrett last issue, Michelinie has Admiral Giel uses the mildly obscene, British intensifier "bloody" in once piece of dialogue. As I noted in my review of Star Wars #59, the word probably isn't that big a deal in America, but in the UK in the 1980s, having a character swear like this in a children's comic was very unusual. One minor grumble about the events of this issue would be that it doesn't seem to me like Shira would have had enough time to reach her X-wing, power it up and take off between disappearing into the tunnel below the Rebels and then blasting the nomads from above in her ship. That's a pretty minor quibble though and, overall, this is a top notch issue of Star Wars. As an aside, I find myself wondering whether Chinshassa, the capital city of Shalyvane, is named after Kinshasa in the Congo. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Oh, exceptional skill, extraordinary talent and a whole bunch of luck!" – Shira Brie flippantly explains how she managed to rescue her Rebel comrades. So we get to see why the rebels acquired those TIE fighters. Good story overall, though I didn’t realize that it was the first part of an arc. Good idea by Michelinie to introduce some characters that he can actually do something with. Nice little nugget of information about Walt Simonson drawing himself into the issue! I like it. I agree that Shira shouldn’t have had enough time to get to her X-Wing and save the day. It also seemed odd to ask Shira to tell them a story when they’re being attacked by a horde of barbarians, but I guess they had to have a way to fill us in on Shira’s backstory, which I now know is false. I would say Luke clearly understands Artoo without translation on p.12 when Shira goes off alone to the shrine. It seemed a little odd to me to see that imperial admiral swear “by Palpatine”. |
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Post by tarkintino on May 14, 2021 18:29:51 GMT -5
Issues #58 - 60: Sigh. Micheline having Leia act with anything near jealousy toward Shira is completely uncharacteristic for Leia, since--once again--she is in love with Han, so her behavior in these issues is just flat-out incorrect and pushing a narrative that will never be explored in the remaining film yet to be released.
No reason why Luke and Lando are using physical pieces in their game. One of the most well-remembered scenes from the original Star Wars was the holographic chess game, obviously meant to be otherworldly to a 20th century audience. Having Luke and Lando sit at the very same gaming table/device and not use this game (which could have been holographic anything)was more of Micheline's inconsistencies with the films. Its the equivalent of having someone wave a Lightsaber hilt around in a threatening manner, yet he never ignites the weapon.
I agree; "By_______" in Western civilization is usually associated from someone saying "By God" as a proclamation or statement of acknowledgement in reaction to something of importance. In the SW universe, Palpatine is not viewed as God, but a step up from Vader in terms of being powerful/sinister, but he's not deified in any way.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 14, 2021 20:25:21 GMT -5
Pariah is very likely my favourite story arc. Great, great Star Wars continuation that doesn't simply retread old material, and introduces characters who are more than placeholders. I loved the way Luke was suddenly attracted to someone else than Leia, just like a young lad might in such a situation. Damn, but Shira really twisted a knife in his heart!
Apart from maybe Rogue One, none of the subsequent productions (not the prequels, not the cartoons, not the new sequels) ever came close to competing with these comics as far as I'm concerned. They weren't yet hampered by continuity overload and retconning, and felt like a natural follow-up to the first two films. Sure, it might be nostalgia talking... but in my opinion, this is the real expanded universe.
It's amazing how Michelinie seemed to anticipate how Return of the Jedi would turn out, having to be reined in by Lucasfilm. But then perhaps it's not that surprising... Even as kids, we used to speculate where the rest of the story would go, and choices were growing narrower with each film. We had had a desert planet, a machine planetoid, a jungle planet, an icy planet, a swampy planet... all that remained, we figured, were a temperate forest planet (Endor), a volcanic planet (Mustafar) and a water planet (wherever those cloners live). Oh, and a prairie planet, which in hindsight might have been Naboo).
A new love interest for Luke, though, that was something we never anticipated!
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Post by tarkintino on May 14, 2021 22:48:38 GMT -5
Pariah is very likely my favourite story arc. Great, great Star Wars continuation that doesn't simply retread old material, and introduces characters who are more than placeholders. I loved the way Luke was suddenly attracted to someone else than Leia, just like a young lad might in such a situation. Damn, but Shira really twisted a knife in his heart! Yes, Pariah is where the Shira arc really paid off, as we will soon see. I think the Goodwin-penned newspaper strip felt closer to the tone of the original trilogy than any other film, cartoon or ancillary market work (comics, novels, etc.) ever produced. Goodwin was always--by a considerable distance--the best writer for Marvel's Star Wars monthly comic, and his work on the strip continued his great feel / understanding for the science-fantasy George Lucas put on screen. While its true that by 1981/82, the theories of where the then-forthcoming film would go were only traveling down one lane of possibility, it did not mean a writer had to move toward the kind of ideas that would be used in ROTJ; one of the reasons for the great success of the Goodwin/Infantino period of the comic was that pre-TESB, the galaxy was expanded and populated with fascinating stories / characters that did not have to forecast the movies, yet it felt like those adventures were the natural outgrowth of what happened in Star Wars. Capturing that essence has been a problem for so many SW comics published post-Marvel, where the "goal" was about trying to re-capture that "big moment you all loved from the movie!" rather than being that aforementioned natural outgrowth of the films. At the time these issues were published, I had hoped Luke would get a love interest, because the idea of Leia having any romantic feeling for Luke was ridiculous (her professed love for Han) and Luke having his own romance would prevent anyone from trying to push Luke in Leia's direction ever again, although Micheline tried his hardest to play up the Leia-is-jealous bit. |
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Post by dbutler69 on May 15, 2021 12:30:29 GMT -5
Star Wars #61Cover dated: July 1982 Issue title: Screams in the VoidScript: David Michelinie (plot, script)/Walter Simonson (plot) Artwork: Walter Simonson (breakdowns)/Tom Palmer (finished art & inks) Colours: Glynis Wein Letters: Joe Rosen Cover art: Walter Simonson Overall rating: 9½ out of 10  Plot summary: The largest armada in Imperial history is transporting a non-sentient energy creature named Teezl to the Empire's capital planet. Once installed, the creature will telepathically provide a means of instantaneous communications between the far-flung outposts of the Empire, giving them a significant edge over the Rebel Alliance. However, the Rebels know about the Empire's plan and have resolved to thwart it by using specially modified TIE fighters to infiltrate and attack the armada. The mission begins with four Rebel pilots, Luke Skywalker, Shira Brie, Captain Thorben and Alph, posing as a returning patrol, in order to infiltrate the armada. They promptly attack the Star Destroyers and sow confusion among the Empire's own ships. On board the flagship that is carrying the Teezl, Admiral Giel instructs his men to have the creature disrupt all communication frequencies except for the Imperial war band, thus preventing the Rebels from talking to each other. Homing in on the Teezl-carrying flagship, Luke spots a TIE fighter between him and his target. Unable to detect whether or not the craft is friendly, due to the communications disruption, Luke calls upon the Force to help him judge whether the ship is a friend or foe. Determining that the TIE is an enemy ship, Luke opens fire and destroys the craft, before continuing on to destroy both the flagship and the Teezl. Returning to the Rebel base on Arbra, Luke is called into the briefing room, where Princess Leia is waiting for him. Watching a holographic recording made by Thorben's ship, Luke is shocked to learn that the TIE he blew apart prior to destroying the Teezl was piloted by his fellow Rebel and romantic partner Shira Brie. Comments: Part two of the Pariah story arc is pretty much as good as the first, in terms of writing, artwork and story development. There's also a shocking cliffhanger on the final page and I can vividly remember being desperate for the next issue to come out back in the day, so that I could find out what the hell was going to happen. Of course, the cliffhanger at the end of the next issue is arguably even better, but more of that in my review of Star Wars #62. David Michelinie's scripting is, as usual, very strong, with some humourous and illuminating dialogue from the various characters. In particular, I've always really loved the humour in the scene where Luke Skywalker and the Rebels interrogate an Imperial TIE fighter pilot, who has just ejected from his crippled ship. Michelinie's script and Walt Simonson's art work in perfect synergy here to create one of the series' most memorable funny moments (at least for me)...  Like last issue, Star Wars #61 features some of the best artwork that the Simonson and Tom Palmer team have contributed to the series so far. The body language and expressions on the faces of the characters perfectly convey the emotion of Michelinie's script and the dynamic, fast moving action sequences look suitably Star Wars-y. I've said it before and I'll say it again that, at its best, Marvel's '70s and '80s Star Wars comics gave us fans authentic feeling tales from that galaxy far, far away, while we waited for the next movie instalment to come out. The page below, which depicts the Rebels in their stolen TIE fighters preparing to launch an attack on the Imperial armada, is very cinematic and really feels like a lost scene from a Star Wars movie. You can almost hear John Williams's score swelling as the action commences...  The award ceremony that we get at the opening of this issue is reminiscent of the ceremony at the end of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, but this time it's Shira Brie receiving an award for her heroism. She also gets a promotion from the rank of lieutenant to captain, much to the delight of her assembled Rebel colleagues. Of course, the ceremony is little more than a plot device for Michelinie to show us just how respected and admired Shira is by her fellow Rebels, ahead of Luke's (supposed) blunder in seemingly killing her. Much the same can be said for the passionate kiss that Shira gives Luke, and judging from Luke's surprised expression, it's the first time that such a thing has happened between them. Still, the kiss and award ceremony work well as effective reinforcements of how much we as readers are supposed to care about Shira. On a related note, we also see more of Princess Leia's slightly icky jealousy regarding Luke and Shira's blossoming romance. However, this time we get a much more explicit examination of Leia's confused feelings. Michelinie makes it crystal clear that Leia is in love with Han Solo, but she feels strangely jealous or concerned about Luke and Shira's relationship. This scene is very well written and functions as a great bit of character development, since it not only ties in with Leia's misgivings about Shira in issue #60, but, as we shall see, the princess's instincts are bang on. A couple of other things I want to mention is that I believe I'm right in saying this issue gives us our first mention of the Imperial capital planet in the Marvel comics and possibly the first mention of it ever. That planet was later named as Coruscant by author Timothy Zahn is his book Heir to the Empire and was, of course, seen extensively in the prequel trilogy. I'm not entirely sure where the earliest mention of a central Imperial planet first occurred, but I do know that around the time that this comic was being written George Lucas was toying with the idea of an Imperial capital planet called Had Abbadon featuring in Return of the Jedi (Ralph McQuarrie even did concept art for it). So, it's possible that Michelinie caught wind of this early script idea from Lucasfilm and decided to use that inside information to colour his story. That means that it's possible that this issue represents the first ever mention of there being a central Imperial capital planet. But don't quote me on that! Something else I should address is that the Rebel TIE fighters shown here have hyperdrives, but TIEs don't normally have such capabilities. They're short range fighters, after all. However, in this issue we're shown that the Rebel Alliance has heavily modified their stolen TIEs and, although hyperdrive capability isn't specifically mentioned as one of those modifications, it's certainly feasible that the craft would've been fitted out with such. Especially given the deep space nature of their coming mission. As such, I've decided that I'm not actually gonna log this as a bona fide continuity problem. Overall, Star Wars #61 is another cracking issue from the Michelinie/Simonson run and wow, that cliffhanger on the final page is a doozy. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "You know, with a few more like her, we'd have this war won!" – Lando Calrissian enthusiastically comments on Shira Brie's bravery and heroism. It looks like Confessor has already covered much of what I wanted to say. More excellent art; the mention of the imperial capitol; ;the plot devices to build up Shira; the humor in the scene where they capture the stormtrooper and Chewie scares him into talking; Leia's concern of Luke's relationship with Shira and her reaffirmation that it's Han she loves; and Luke's TIE fighter having hyperdrive, which Episode IV showed is not normally the case. The only other comment I have is regarding that scene where the imperial soldier gets reprimanded by the admiral for wearing a baseball cap. A baseball cap, in the Star Wars Universe?! That is not right! Otherwise, though, a very good story. |
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Post by dbutler69 on May 16, 2021 8:12:56 GMT -5
Star Wars #62Cover dated: August 1982 Issue title: Pariah!Script: David Michelinie (plot, script)/Walter Simonson (plot) Artwork: Walter Simonson (layouts)/Tom Palmer (finished art & inks) Colours: Tom Palmer Letters: Joe Rosen Cover art: Walter Simonson Overall rating: 10 out of 10  Plot summary: Luke Skywalker is stunned to learn that he has shot down and killed fellow Rebel pilot Shira Brie, while being led by the Force. Although Princess Leia sympathises with him, Shira was so popular around the base that she cannot publicly support Luke for fear that it might create dissension in the ranks of the Rebellion. Luke is stripped of his military commission and, as news of Shira's death spreads throughout the base, is treated coldly by his fellow warriors. Convinced that the Force wouldn't have lied to him, Luke resolves to get to the bottom of the matter and returns to Shira's homeworld of Shalyvane with Chewbacca in the Millennium Falcon. Landing in the ruined capital of Chinshassa, the pair are soon attacked by the same horde of angry nomads that ambushed them when Luke was last there with Shira. Hiding inside a ruined building, Luke and Chewie encounter an elderly member of the nomad race named G'hinji. Probing the oldster for information, they learn that, contrary to what Shira said, the nomads were never in league with the Empire, Chinshassa had never been home to a Human settlement, and the Imperial forces destroyed the city fairly recently, rather than many years ago. As Luke reels from the realisation that Shira lied to him, G'hinji decides that the Rebels are no threat to his people and the nomads accept the pair as allies. Luke decides to visit the ruined Circle of Kavaan, just as Shira did when they were last on Shalyvane, to see if he can learn more. Upon inspecting the ruined temple, he discovers an Imperial transmitter, but is unable to activate it. Remembering a blood-letting ritual that he saw Shira perform at the ruin, Luke cuts his palm with Chewbacca's knife and lets his blood fall onto the stone altar. After a short delay, there is a blinding flash of light as the imposing form of Darth Vader suddenly comes striding out from the ruins, shouting, "Luke, I've come for you!" Comments: Star Wars #62 is just a fantastic issue and a definite candidate for best comic of the entire run. Right from the dramatically red-coloured cover, which is one of the most striking of the whole series, "Pariah!" is a gripping, balls-to-the-wall story, full of intrigue, surprises and action. Writer David Michelinie outdoes himself, with a perfectly paced script that is at turns emotionally charged, edge-of-your-seat thrilling, and laugh-out-loud funny. In short, this comic is a real page turner! The underlying theme of the issue is concerned with Luke's mastery of the Force and how the events of Shira Brie's death make the would-be Jedi and those around him question that power. To many of his fellow Rebels, it's unclear whether Luke killed Shira deliberately or not. At one point, Luke becomes embroiled in a physical altercation with a fellow soldier named Milo, who accuses him of being a "sorcerer" and in league with Darth Vader, showing that not everyone in the Rebel Alliance is comfortable with the notion of the Force. Wracked by self-doubt, Luke beings to question all that he has learned in the ways of the Force, which is entirely understandable under the circumstances. Remember, Vader's revelation about his parentage in The Empire Strikes Back must've shaken Luke hard, so it's unsurprising that he momentarily questions the word of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda here, wondering if their teachings were all a sham. Seeing Luke, the Rebel hero and all-round golden boy, suddenly treated like an outcast is a really fascinating change of pace. In one scene, Michelinie has Luke gloomily pondering his predicament, while he wistfully looks at the medal he received at the end of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, noting that it's become somewhat tarnished. The medal functions as a nice analogy for Luke's own tarnished reputation, while the scene as a whole reinforces just how far he's fallen. As if to underline how distracted and upset Luke is, Michelinie has C-3PO deliver news that the Rebel Alliance has a lead on Boba Fett during this sequence, but the young Rebel is so lost in his own thoughts that even the possibility of rescuing his friend Han Solo from the bounty hunter fails to grab his attention. On top of all this mounting self-doubt, we also see Luke having to come to terms with the fact that much of what the girl he was rapidly falling for told him about the city of Chissassa and her life there was false. However, things take an even darker turn when an Imperial transmitter is found in the ruined temple that Shira visited back in issue #60. Yep, Michelinie sure does put Luke through the emotional wringer in this issue! While we're on the subject of the transmitter, I find it interesting that it's able to recognise Luke's blood. It could be that it's programmed to recognise any blood with similar DNA to Vader's or maybe the Empire recovered Luke's severed hand from the bottom of the Cloud City exhaust shaft and obtained his DNA that way? That's all pure speculation on my part, but either way, this scene and the start of next issue give some pretty big clues to the fact that Vader is Luke's father (something which wasn't confirmed until the release of Return of the Jedi). Of course, readers at the time may have simply assumed that the Empire obtained the data about Luke's blood elsewhere or, if they were like me, they never even thought about it. One of my favourite aspects of Star Wars #62 is the unusual pairing of Luke and Chewbacca. One of the benefits of having a large ensemble cast like the one in Star Wars is that it allows writers to throw together unusual combinations of characters like this and I, for one, have always found these odd character pairings really interesting. It's also really great to see that although most of the Rebel Alliance seems ready to condemn Luke, Lando and Chewie both stand by him in his moment of need. While a lot of this issue is quite necessarily dark, Michelinie still manages to throw in some of his effortlessly humorous dialogue on occasion. In particular, the scene in which G'hinji tests Luke to see how strong his gods are, and Luke uses the Force to impress the ageing nomad, is genuinely funny...   Of course, Walt Simonson's kinetic and cinematic artwork really shouldn't be underestimated in how effectively Mitchelinie's scripting is delivered. Simonson contributes layouts to this issue, while it's left to inker extraordinaire Tom Palmer to embellish and ink the art. As ever, Palmer brings his signature slickness and exquisite detailing to proceedings, ensuring that all the Star Wars ships and pieces of tech look just right. Palmer can sometimes be quite an overbearing inker (and I mean that in the nicest and most positive way, since what he brings to the table is always excellent), but you can still very much see that this is Simonson's artwork. Palmer also does the colouring in this issue and his work is quite inventive in places. While we're on the subject of inking, I should probably mention that in Marvel Age #10 there's a version of page 2 of this issue inked, not by Palmer, but by Kathy Orlando. The page accompanies a piece profiling Kathy as one of Marvel's newest recruits and noting that she's been inking backgrounds on then-current issues of Iron Man and the X-Men and Micronauts mini-series. Kathy never inked any issues of Star Wars, so it's possible that this was simply a sample page that she worked on for testing purposes. Whatever it's origin, it provides an interesting juxtaposition to Palmer's work on the same page and illustrates just what a difference an inker can make to the finished look of a comic book. That's Orlando's work on the left and Palmer's original on the right...  In closing, Star Wars #62 sees the already excellent Pariah storyline become even more gripping. This is without doubt one of my all-time favourite issues of Marvel's original Star Wars series. The plot is full of big revelations and shocking surprises, while the dialogue is natural-sounding and snappy, with Michelinie effortlessly capturing the "voices" of the central cast. There's also that beautiful and dynamic Simonson/Palmer artwork, a boldly striking front cover, and, for the second issue running, a jaw-droppingly kick-ass cliffhanger. Oh, and this issue also taught me a new word and sent me running for the Oxford English Dictionary as a kid, with its title of "pariah", meaning a social outcast. Yep, there's just so much to love about this comic book. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Oh, come on! I've fought with you guys! Even saved some of your lives!" – Luke Skywalker tries in vain to counter the hostile reactions of his fellow Rebels following the death of Shira Brie. OK, sorry, but I didn't really like this issue all that much. Cool cover, though. I thought the rebels here were acting rather stupidly and illogically. Why in the heck would anybody think Luke killed Shira on purpose?? That makes no sense. Besides the fact that Luke has surely earned the benefit of the doubt by now, it must have been no secret that Luke and Shira were good friends. Also, sad though it is, "friendly fire" does happen in war. This isn't the way to react to it. Luke in league with Vader?! Come on. That's just ridiculous. I have to admit I'm not a fan of the "so-and-so being wrongfully accused" genre of story, and the opening half of the comic does nothing to dissuade me from my abhorrence of that type of story. However, the second half of the story picks up. I liked how Lando let Luke "steal" the Falcon, and it was also cool how Chewie insisted on helping out. It also got interesting once Luke & Chewie got to Shalyvane, and the last panel is obviously quite an attention getter! |
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Post by tarkintino on May 16, 2021 11:30:17 GMT -5
OK, sorry, but I didn't really like this issue all that much. Cool cover, though. has a good amount of the expected Michelinie inconsistencies where characters are concerned, but its the best issue of the entire Shira Brie arc for the drama of it all, as one did not see such suspicion and doubt among the Rebels. That said, to your points: You're correct in that Luke--of all people--should be above suspicion after this point in his service to the Rebellion, where he's pretty much a growing (but humble) legend. Further, the Milo Fourstar character has this built up hatred of the Force and anyone using it--where is that coming from? In the films--the films Michelinie apparently did not watch--the Force and its practitioners were viewed (in the OT timeline up to the time of this issue's production) in one of three ways: atheistic disrespect from characters such as Motti and Han Solo (both in ANH), belief (General Dodonna in ANH by offering the "May the Force Be With You" prayer to the pilots at the end of the Death Star briefing), or seen as a religion that was lost to time (Tarkin). For any regular citizens seen on Tatooine, Cloud City, or among the Rebel Alliance, there was no suspicion or resentment about the Force, or its practitioners. Remember, the films are the source on which all else should be based, yet in another Michelinie (and co-plotter Simonson) inconsistency, we have Rebel members resenting Luke for his use of the Force, when that had never been seen or even hinted at in the two films released at the time this issue was produced. Moreover, Fourstar spits out that Luke might be in league with Vader; obviously, Michelinie (and Simonson) are of the belief that Fourstar can make that accusation because he's linking Luke and Vader by association to the Force. However, in the films, the Rebels do not know Darth Vader has Force powers--its not even a stated rumor. They do know he's the shadowy Emperor's enforcer, but Vader was not displaying his power (to non-Imperial) to the degree Fourstar would make any connections with Luke. This is further evidenced by Han being completely surprised by Vader Force-pulling his blaster to Vader's hand in the Cloud City dining room. Vader's powers were not known to everyone in the films. Yes, the final panel's reveal was shocking, and good bait to buy the next issue. |
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Post by dbutler69 on May 17, 2021 11:58:55 GMT -5
Star Wars #63Cover dated: September 1982 Issue title: The Mind Spider!Script: David Michelinie (plot, script)/Walter Simonson (plot) Artwork: Walter Simonson (layouts)/Tom Palmer (pencils & inks) Colours: Glynis Wein Letters: Joe Rosen Cover art: Tom Palmer Overall rating: 10 out of 10  Plot summary: On the planet Shalyvane, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca desperately flee from the imposing figure of Darth Vader, as he advances from the ruined temple that they were investigating. Firing his blaster at the Dark Lord, Luke quickly realises that they are, in fact, facing a harmless hologram of Vader. The holographic image informs Luke that his Rebel comrade, Shira Brie, was an Imperial spy, tasked with the mission of killing or discrediting him. As the hologram begins to fade, Vader bids Luke to join him, telling him that he is now the only one who will accept him and treat him as an equal. Stunned by what he has just learned, Luke decides to travel to the Imperial data vault on Krake's Planet to gather evidence about Shira's treachery and clear his name. Arriving on the planet, Luke and Chewbacca manage to break into the data vault's poorly guarded kitchen and coerce an Imperial officer into logging onto the computer network and downloading the files pertaining to Shira. Viewing the files, Luke realises that Vader was telling the truth and that she was personally selected by him. Taking comfort in the realisation that the Force didn't betray him when it told him that Shira was an enemy, Luke copies the files onto a data chip. Just then, a squad of Imperial stormtroopers breaks into the kitchen area and a fire fight ensues, during which Luke loses the data chip and is separated from Chewbacca. Fleeing back to the Millennium Falcon, Luke flies the craft toward the data facility to pick up his Wookiee companion. As the Falcon escapes into hyperspace, Luke reflects glumly on the loss of the data chip, until Chewbacca reveals that he went back to get it. With the evidence to clear his name now in his possession, Luke heads back to the Rebel base on Arbra. Meanwhile, on board Vader's flag ship, the Executor, the Dark Lord stands watching the barely-alive body of Shira Brie floating in a Bacta healing tank. Comments: Star Wars #63 (which bizarrely bears the legend "All New!" on its cover) concludes the Pariah story arc and is certainly a worthy finale to, what has arguably been, the best original story of the series so far. David Michelinie's scripting is as tight as ever, with all the usual excitement, humour, and character development that we've grown to expect from him during his run on the book. As the arc builds to its conclusion, we finally learn the shocking truth about Shira Brie: that she was an Imperial agent, who was hand picked by Darth Vader himself to infiltrate the Rebellion and assassinate or discredit Luke Skywalker. You can't imagine how shocking this development was to me as a 10-year-old kid, which was what I was when I first read this issue. This was some truly gripping stuff! One slight problem that I have with Shira's mission is that she was instructed to kill Luke or undermine his credibility within the Rebellion, but Shira couldn't possibly have known that she was going to be shot down and seemingly killed by Skywalker, resulting in his comrades turning against him. As things transpired, her TIE fighter was caught between Luke's own craft and the Teezl-carrying Imperial flagship, but was she about to attack him and destroy his ship or was Shira just swinging round to rejoin her fellow Rebels? It's made clear in this issue that Luke believes the former is the case and that's why the Force warned him that she was a foe. Either way, if she failed to kill him, how could Shira have been certain that Luke would destroy her craft? This particular aspect of Vader's plan seems pretty badly thought out. Also, why would Vader (and, by extension, the Emperor) want Luke dead anyway? It was made clear in The Empire Strikes Back that Vader and his master had decided to try to recruit Luke to their cause and turn him to the dark side of the Force. For someone who was so keen to ensure that Luke got back to the Emporer in one piece during the events of The Empire Strikes Back, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense that Vader would sanction an assassination attempt on his son. Still, it's kinda neat that Vader's backup scheme was to have Luke ostracised from the Rebellion, with nowhere else to turn but to him and the Emperor. On a related note, it's a little bit of a shame that the surprise appearance of Vader on Shalyvane turns out to nothing more than a pre-recorded hologram of the Sith Lord. After the jaw-dropping cliffhanger of last issue, it's a disappointment to find that Michelinie was just faking us out, but realistically, with Lucasfilm tying his hands and preventing him from having Luke and the Dark Lord meet in the comic, what else could he do? Those criticisms aside, there's a lot to like about this issue. For one thing, I've always loved the bluff that Luke pulls on an unfortunate Imperial officer, slipping some harmless soap flakes into his soup and, as the officer is gripped by searing abdominal pain, telling him that he put deadly poison into his food. That's damn sneaky and pretty resourceful. It's also a nice touch how we have Chewbacca bravely going back into danger in order to retrieve the data chip that can clear Luke's name. That feels very in character and is an excellent example of the famous Wookiee loyalty. This issue also does a good job of underlining how cold-hearted the Empire is, with their destruction of the city of Chinshassa for no other reason than to provide a convincing cover story for Shira's early life. Speaking of her early life, we also get a glimpse of her time on the Imperial capitol planet, which would later be named Coruscant by author Timothy Zahn. Michelinie first mentioned the existence of a capitol planet in Star Wars #61, but this is the first time that we've seen it and, in fact, it's the first appearance of Coruscant in any Star Wars media. It's interesting to learn that the Empire enhanced Shira's physiology with an accelerated healing factor and a resistance to pain. That's how she was able to survive the destruction of her TIE fighter in issue #61. Also, the penultimate panel of this issue, in which we see the gravely injured body of Shira floating in a Bacta tank is one of the most memorable – if not iconic – images of the whole series (see my favourite panel below). Although we didn't know it at the time, Shira would return later in the series to yet again menace Luke and his friends. As you might expect, Luke spends a lot of this issue reeling from the shock of the revelations about Shira and the feelings of betrayal that it engenders. Personally, I would have liked to have understood a little bit more about the exact nature of Shira and Luke's relationship in the lead-up to this story. I mean, clearly Luke was attracted to her and clearly she's very flirty with him, even enthusiastically embracing him and planting a big smacker on his lips at one point. But Shira was Vader's hand-picked spy, so her behaviour towards Luke raises the question, did she actually kind of have the hots for him? Or was it all just a coldly calculated cover for her true mission? I guess ultimately it's perhaps better that it is left ambiguous, but it's intriguing to ponder whether Shira had begun to have feelings for her target. There's also some good character development for Luke in this issue, as we see him effortlessly using the Jedi mind trick on a female Imperial officer and taking on a squad of Imperial stormtroopers in a very bad ass fashion. Micheline is really setting the stage nicely for Return of the Jedi here, as we see the once naive farm boy from Tatooine turning into a powerful Force user and a formidable opponent. Just check out these excellent Walt Simonson and Tom Palmer panels of Luke in action...  The above panels are one of my all-time favourite sequences from Marvel's original Star Wars series. Simonson and Palmer really are firing on all cylinders here! Simonson only had time to do rough layouts for this issue, leaving it to Palmer to do the finished pencils and the inks. I'm a big fan of Palmer's style anyway, but the artwork here really is fantastic and effortlessly conjures an extremely authentic looking version of that galaxy far, far away. I also love the design of the Imperial info centre on Krake's Planet...  The structure is revealed to be of organic construction, having been extruded from and shaped by native slug-like creatures under Imperial control. The data vault resembles a huge Spider, and presumably is the Mind Spider from this issue's title. As a whole, the design is pretty inventive and certainly very memorable. Plus, the whole idea of using sonics to coordinate and control the slugs to build the structure seems like a suitably "Imperial" thing to do. On a related note, when Luke destroys the vault's power generator, he does so by turning on the Millennium Falcon's deflector screens and flying the Corellian vessel straight through the middle of the structure. That seems rather improbable to me and so does the fact that the Falcon escapes from this manoeuvre without so much as a scratch. I'm pretty sure the Falcon's sheilds don't work like that or else why were Han Solo and the other occupants of the ship so worried about colliding with the asteroids in The Empire Strikes Back? When viewed in the context of the series so far, I'd have to say that the Pariah story arc has been an unrivalled success. The way in which Michelinie skilfully set up the players in preceding issues and then really put Luke through the wringer, raising doubts in both the reader's and the main character's minds about his ability to use the Force, was fantastically done. In the years since its initial publication, it has become known that both Michelinie and Simonson wanted the Pariah arc to go on for longer than it did, but they were forced to truncate it in order to ready the series for the Return of the Jedi adaptation (although in the end, that adaptation was released as a stand-alone mini-series). In closing, although I do have some nit-picky complaints about certain parts of this issue, the reality is that the rest of it is so damn good that those niggling problems don't affect my enjoyment of the comic in any way. As such, this issue still gets top marks from me. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Chewbacca, you're one in a million!" – Luke Skywalker gratefully commends his Wookiee companion for bravely retrieving the data chip that can clear his name. This was a nice, fast paced adventure story, with Luke having to infiltrate the Imperial Data Vault, steal some information, then get out. Luke's plan of going to the Imperial Data Vault hoping to find evidence of Shira's treachery seems far fetched, as does Vader knowing that Luke would go there, as does the fact that the Falcon just happens to have data on some long forgotten tunnels that happen to lead to the data vaults, plus I agree with the plot holes that Confessor pointed out, but once you accept these premeses, the rest of the story is enjoyable. It seems beyond the abilities that I'd seen inthe films (until the godawful Disney sequels, that is) for Luke to be controling the mind of some officer he can't see, from so far away, but nevertheless, it was pretty cool. I also loved how Chewie went back for the data chip. Good ol' Chewie! I thought it far fetched that Shira could have survived her TIE fihter getting shot down, but then Confessor's explanation that her imperial enhancements helped her survive it seem plausible. I'll also mention that, while I've loved the Simonson/Palmer art on this series, it hasn't looked as good to me the last two issue. I don't know if it's been more rushed or what. |
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Simonson also delivers a really nice nice splash page of the Falcon blasting off from Arbra base at the start of this issue, which is probably one of the best splash pages of the entire run.
