Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,212 
|
Post by Confessor on Apr 25, 2016 14:57:48 GMT -5
Star Wars #74 is special to me because it marked my return to the title after a hiatus of many months, and probably the first time I managed to buy the mag on a regular basis. That head shot of Vader on the cover was a real draw. Yeah, the Vader head is really cool, but I feel as if the other figures on the cover look rather stilted, with some slightly awkward poses. I don't think it's Tom Palmer's finest moment as a cover artist. Iskalon as a world was very much in the Star wars tradition : the movies had given us a desert planet, an artificial planet(oid), a snow planet, a swamp planet, a gas planet, then in the comics a primeval forest planet... a water planet was only a natural thing to expect. (We later got another forest planet in return of the Jedi, as well as a second water planet and a fire planet in the sequels. Yeah, it was like the writers were thinking, "well, we've had a desert planet...what would be the opposite of that?" Although, as noted in my review, Iskalon is actually the second water world that the Marvel series had given us, since the star heroes had visited Drexel in the early part of the series. Still waiting for a mountain planet). The adapted stormtroopers were also in line with the normal development of the franchise, although I would have liked their design to be a little more different. But, hey... small potatoes. I know what you mean. Flippers would've been a nice and practical addition to the seatroopers, for a start off. That never occured to me at the time though -- I just thought they were a cool variation on the regular stormtrooper armour as a kid. |
|
rossn
Full Member
Posts: 173
|
Post by rossn on Apr 26, 2016 15:31:47 GMT -5
I like Drexel personally. Yes I suppose it is a little more cartoony with the sea dragons and city sized galleon but it had a nice sense of atmosphere in the art.
The seatroopers remind me of the spacetroopers from Timothy Zahn's novels so it's interesting to see them here. I like most of the issues in the Tay Vanis arc butI tend to think it was dragged on too long.
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,212
|
Post by Confessor on Apr 26, 2016 16:13:45 GMT -5
I like Drexel personally. Yes I suppose it is a little more cartoony with the sea dragons and city sized galleon but it had a nice sense of atmosphere in the art. Oh yeah, so did I. In particular, I'm quite fond of the space-wreckers and their floating settlement. But I still think that Iskalon is a better developed or more three-dimensional setting overall. It just feels more "lived in" than Drexel. Even the name Iskalon sounds more Star Wars-y to me than Drexel. I like most of the issues in the Tay Vanis arc but I tend to think it was dragged on too long. Really? I can't say I've ever thought that. It's one of the absolute pinnacles of the series in my eyes, along with the Pariah arc, and the ESB adaptation, so in some ways it's a pity it didn't go on longer. I like Jo Duffy a lot as a SW writer though...she might be my all-time favourite writer on the series, although David Michelinie is a close second. She really understood the characters and the setting, which made for some great comics. |
|
|
|
Post by tex1272 on Apr 27, 2016 15:42:03 GMT -5
Yeah, I loved this arc as well. After Lucas seemingly did not allow Marvel's storyline to set up events for TESB, it was nice that they did allow it to be done here for ROTJ. In fact, here in the U.S., I believe #74 was the first issue released after JEDI's May 1983 release.
|
|
|
|
Post by huladollar on Apr 27, 2016 18:14:09 GMT -5
Thanks to the Confessor and chaykinstevens for answering my question on sales figures (a few pages back on this thread). Interesting to hear that the series was still selling in the 100,000 copies range when it was cancelled... I always assumed it ended due to poor sales; I guess not. I wish I could jump in a time machine and pick up a few more copies of that last issue from my local comic book dealer, considering what it goes for now.
Re Luke's comment about never having seen a world made of water before: if memory serves, this continuity error was brought up in the Star Words letters column a few issues later (my copies are all safely bagged up in the garage, or I would go check). The letter said something like, "How could Luke say he's never seen oceans like this before? Has he forgotten all about Drexel?" To which the reply was (more or less, these memories are more than thirty years old): "Luke hasn't forgotten about Drexel, and neither have we! It's simply that each ocean looks different, and Luke is saying he's never seen an ocean exactly like this before."
Which, for the record, wasn't particularly convincing then and isn't particularly convincing now.
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,212
|
Post by Confessor on Apr 27, 2016 18:48:53 GMT -5
Yeah, I loved this arc as well. After Lucas seemingly did not allow Marvel's storyline to set up events for TESB, it was nice that they did allow it to be done here for ROTJ. In fact, here in the U.S., I believe #74 was the first issue released after JEDI's May 1983 release. This issue was on sale in May 1983, but it actually hit stands a week or so before the 25th May release of Return of the Jedi. So, if you want to be really pedantic, it was actually issue #75 that was the first issue to be published after Jedi's release (unless you count the magazine-sized Marvel Super Special #27, which featured the ROTJ comic adaptation and hit stands a week after the film came out). But yeah, Star Wars #74 would've been the issue that was on the stands when the third SW film came out. As for having a better lead-in to Jedi than we had gotten in the run up to The Empire Strikes Back, most of the Search for Tay Vanis story line was published after ROTJ had come out. So Duffy was allowed much more freedom in creating a comic continuity that led nicely into that film. Let's not forget that by the time the Tay Vanis plot line finally concluded in issue #80, ROTJ had been out for some 6 months. Thanks to the Confessor and chaykinstevens for answering my question on sales figures (a few pages back on this thread). Interesting to hear that the series was still selling in the 100,000 copies range when it was cancelled... I always assumed it ended due to poor sales; I guess not. I wish I could jump in a time machine and pick up a few more copies of that last issue from my local comic book dealer, considering what it goes for now. Yeah, back issue sellers love to make out that that final issue is really scarce because sales of the book were dwindling away to nothing. That's utter rot though. It's just a load of rubbish perpetuated by sellers to keep prices high. Much like the over-inflated prices demanded for issue #42 because it's supposedly the first comic book appearance of Boba Fett. Yeah, as long as you don't count the paperback-sized The Marvel Comics Illustrated Version of The Empire Strikes Back, the treasury-sized Marvel Special Edition Featuring Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back #2 and the Marvel Super Special #16: "The Empire Strikes Back" magazine, which all predated Star Wars #42 by 4 or 5 months. Remember kids, comic dealers tell you lies in order to relive you of your money.  Re Luke's comment about never having seen a world made of water before: if memory serves, this continuity error was brought up in the Star Words letters column a few issues later (my copies are all safely bagged up in the garage, or I would go check). The letter said something like, "How could Luke say he's never seen oceans like this before? Has he forgotten all about Drexel?" To which the reply was (more or less, these memories are more than thirty years old): "Luke hasn't forgotten about Drexel, and neither have we! It's simply that each ocean looks different, and Luke is saying he's never seen an ocean exactly like this before." Which, for the record, wasn't particularly convincing then and isn't particularly convincing now. no, it's not convincing at all.  |
|
|
|
Post by tex1272 on Apr 28, 2016 10:49:59 GMT -5
A side note regarding the Star Words column, I do remember that #74 was the last issue the feature the letters column for about ten issues or so. As a kid I was very disappointed each month when it wasn't there. In its place for #75 I remember a Marvel announcement showing a new cover format (which I never liked). Of course in those days it was the only place to read other readers views and comments much like this thread now. When the column did return, they blamed the absence on a "mail droid" that had left the offices at Marvel and was found in a nearby theater watching showing after showing of ROTJ. But they always seemed to be behind in the letters.
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,212
|
Post by Confessor on Apr 28, 2016 13:00:05 GMT -5
A side note regarding the Star Words column, I do remember that #74 was the last issue the feature the letters column for about ten issues or so. As a kid I was very disappointed each month when it wasn't there. In its place for #75 I remember a Marvel announcement showing a new cover format (which I never liked). Of course in those days it was the only place to read other readers views and comments much like this thread now. When the column did return, they blamed the absence on a "mail droid" that had left the offices at Marvel and was found in a nearby theater watching showing after showing of ROTJ. But they always seemed to be behind in the letters. Unfortunately, I have no deeply embedded memories of the letters page in the U.S. issues at all, because they weren't the letters pages that I grew up reading here in the UK. I only read them for the first time in the mid-90s when I was completing my full collection of the original American SW comics. However, I do have surprisingly strong memories of the letters page in the Wars Wars Weekly/ Return of the Jedi Weekly comic back in the '70s and '80s, and of the mail droid that used to answer the letters. He was designated C.Y.R.I.L. (it stood for Class Y Readers Inquiry Logistical) and he looked like this...  |
|
|
|
Post by tex1272 on Apr 28, 2016 13:27:48 GMT -5
That's pretty neat! Thanks for sharing!
|
|
|
|
Post by glenngreenberg on Apr 28, 2016 23:41:05 GMT -5
STAR WARS #74 is very special to me, particularly the letters page. There's a FANTASTIC letter that Marvel published on that page, that just blew me away when I first read it. Just wish I could remember the name of the person who wrote it...  |
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,212
|
Post by Confessor on Apr 29, 2016 8:37:59 GMT -5
STAR WARS #74 is very special to me, particularly the letters page. There's a FANTASTIC letter that Marvel published on that page, that just blew me away when I first read it. Just wish I could remember the name of the person who wrote it... Wow! That's really cool! I realise now that I actually skim read your letter the other day, when I was doing the review for that issue, but I never bothered to look at the name. Sorry 'bout that. For everybody else's enjoyment, here's Glenn's letter and the editorial response to it (I hope it's OK for me to post this, Glenn)...  |
|
|
|
Post by Bronze Age Brian on Apr 29, 2016 11:51:16 GMT -5
Great letter thanks for posting it. Nice use of the jedi mind trick there in the P.S. |
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Apr 29, 2016 12:27:58 GMT -5
Hey, Glenn is a member of the order of the QNS! Cool!!!  |
|
|
|
Post by glenngreenberg on Apr 29, 2016 19:25:57 GMT -5
Confessor--If you don't mind, could you black out the address? I don't live there anymore, but I value my privacy and having a past address out there in this Age of the Internet is a threat to that. Thanks.
Roquefort Raider--What's the order of the QNS?
|
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Apr 29, 2016 21:02:32 GMT -5
Confessor--If you don't mind, could you black out the address? I don't live there anymore, but I value my privacy and having a past address out there in this Age of the Internet is a threat to that. Thanks. Roquefort Raider--What's the order of the QNS? It's an old title from the days of the Mighty Marvel Marching Society. QNS stood for "quite 'nuff said" and designated a reader who had a letter published! There were a few such titles, including KOF (keeper of the flame, for someone who got a friend to start reading comics) and something else for readers who had won a no-prize. I'm sure we have many titled posters on these boards, fiven our *ahem* respectable age! |
|
