OK, an update on this: the cover of Empire Strikes Back Monthly #151 is by David Lloyd of V for Vendetta fame. There's a tiny signature on the cover, just above the chain holding Leia's left arm. As soon as I realised that it was Lloyd's work, I looked at the figure of Han Solo and couldn't believe that I hadn't guessed it before. It's clearly David Lloyd's work! Anyway, I've updated the cover credits in my review accordingly.

Thanks for your help on this, tingramretro.

I loved Tilotny Throws a Shape. Absolutely bonkers. Not remotely like Star Wars, but classic Moore. Like a lot of the random stuff he did for Marvel around this time, I can somehow imagine him simply wandering into the Marvel offices to be told "Alan, we've got five pages to fill in this book this month, someone came up short. Can you give us something?" and him quickly scribbling an utterly mindbending plot on the back of a cigarette packet in five minutes flat and saying "give us a tenner".

Oh, he is undoubtedly good at throwing in pretty obscure continuity references just for the sake of it. One of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books randomly includes a reference to the Spider-Men of Mars, characters who, as far as I know, only ever appeared once, in Flash Comics #24 in 1941.

Star Wars #58
Cover 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.

I have never actually read the reprint of this story, so I've never seen that final page and, in fact, had no idea it existed; I just thought someone screwed up and printed an incomplete story and that was that-either that, or it was a really abrupt ending!

I think on the whole, this has always struck me as the weakest of Moore's Star Wars stories. It's certainly weaker than any of his 2000 AD Future Shocks.

Now, see, that actually made more sense! If only I could send it to my 12 year old self...

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Monthly #156
Cover dated: May 1982
Issue title: Rust Never Sleeps
Script: Alan Moore
Artwork: Alan Davis
Letters: Jenny O'Connor
Overall rating: 8½ out of 10




Plot summary: C-3PO and R2-D2, posing as damaged droids, are transported in a junk hauler to the planet Ronyards, where broken or malfunctioning machines are dumped. Once they are dropped onto the surface, they meet a large droid named Brother Fivelines, who has a number of robot disciples that believe Ronyards – the surface of which is up to five miles deep with corroded droid bodies – to be a living god. 3PO explains that he and R2 are on a mission for the Rebellion to stop the Empire from stripping Ronyards of its metal for use in the Imperial war machine. Fivelines is unconcerned by this news and assures 3PO that Ronyards itself will not let that happen.

Moments later, an Imperial Star Destroyer arrives overhead and deposits a detachment of stormtroopers onto the surface of the planet. The Imperial troops perceive Fivelines as an unwanted obstruction to their scouting mission and destroy him. But as soon as the towering droid's molten husk collapses to the ground, the droids' "God" unleashes terrible retribution on the Imperials, as the rusting, corroded landscape around them suddenly comes to life. Bolts and miscellaneous droid parts fly through the air with deadly precision, killing the stormtroopers as the corroded ground opens up and swallows the Star Destroyer without trace. Imperial records will later record that a freak accident caused the destruction of the ship and the loss of its crew.


Comments: So, here we have the fourth Star Wars story that comics legend Alan Moore wrote for Marvel UK's The Empire Strikes Back Monthly and what a corker it is too! Unlike some of Moore's previous stories for the series, "Rust Never Sleeps" isn't actually that weird or unconventional and feels fairly Star Wars-y to me. For example, Moore gets C-3PO's characterisation and "voice" spot on, and you can almost hear actor Anthony Daniels' prissy, clipped tones speaking the dialogue as you read. Of course, while this tale feels like a Star Wars story, Moore's literary pretensions and poetic turn of phrase are still very much in evidence, particularly in the narration boxes and in the way in which he uses the story as a framework with which to examine notions of religion and the concept of mechanical conciousness or droids having "souls".

I assume that Moore, being something of an old hippie, got the title for this story from Neil Young's classic 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps, but it suits the tale well. The story itself is short, simple and tightly plotted, and I particularly like the idea that the surface of Ronyards (and I love that name too!) is five miles deep in some places with rusting, degrading droid bodies and machine parts. The attendant idea that these rusting droids have fused together over the years to form a sentient, quasi-supernatural or god-like metallic husk around the surface of the planet is a really good one too and definitely something that stuck in my mind as a kid. Likewise, the monk-like droid, Brother Fivelines, and the pacifist civilisation of robots that he leads are very memorable creations.

One criticism would be that, actually, this story isn't really about R2-D2 and C-3PO, so much as it's an examination of the droid god of Ronyards or a rumination on the subject of mechanical conciousness. As a result, R2 and 3PO get somewhat sidelined towards the end of the tale.

On the plus side, it's nice to see an Imperial stormtrooper using the exclamation "Vader's eyes!" again, just like one of the Empire's finest did in "Tilotny Throws a Shape" in The Empire Strikes Back Monthly #154. It's a pretty unlikely thing for a stormtrooper to say, I guess, but it makes me smile and I kind of wish that more stormtroopers used the phrase when they see something unusual or frightening. Moore also has one of the pilots of the junk hauler at the beginning of the story tell his colleague that Ronyards gives him the "screaming kroobles", which according to the Star Wars Encyclopedia located at TheForce.net is a phrase used to describe a sensation of fear or loathing. These colloquialisms certainly add flavour to the script, even if they ultimately feel a little out of place.

This issue is also somewhat important, from a comics history point of view, in that it represents the very first time that Moore worked with artist Alan Davis. Within a few months of this issue hitting the stands, the pair would collaborate again on acclaimed runs on Captain Britain and Miracleman, as well as later originating the D.R. and Quinch strip for 2000 AD. Davis's artwork here is of a much higher standard than his work in "Dark Knight's Devilry", although it's still not up to the impeccable standards that he became known for. Nonetheless, we see real glimpses of the precise, detailed style that later made him such a fan favourite. In particular, the artwork is excellent in the sequences where the surface of Ronyards comes to life. Davis's illustrations perfectly capture the fury of Ronyards' revenge, along with the confusion, violence and terror of the Imperial stormtroopers' demise (see my favourite panel below).

"Rust Never Sleeps" was a firm favourite of mine and my friends as a kid, which probably biases me towards it somewhat these days. But I maintain that this is Moore's finest moment from his short tenure on Marvel's Star Wars comic, although "The Pandora Effect" comes a close second. "Rust Never Sleeps" was first published in America in Dark Horse's Classic Star Wars: Devilworlds #2 in 1996, where its black & white art was coloured by Matt Webb. This colourised version was again re-printed by Dark Horse in 2013 in their Wild Space, Volume 1 trade paperback, as well as appearing in Marvel's Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Volume 3 omnibus in 2015.

Note: whoever designed the front cover of this issue managed to put the photograph of a Star Destroyer chasing the Millennium Falcon upside down. Doh!

Continuity issues: None

Favourite panel:



Favourite quote: "Here lies the sum total of all droidkind's hopes and aspirations. The resting place of our souls. And, as our bodies fuse together, so do our souls bond, one unto another, until they form the one great spirit which is Ronyards." – Brother Fivelines explains the nature of the living god of Ronyards to C-3PO.