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Post by Rob Allen on Sept 23, 2016 13:05:57 GMT -5
PM sent.
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Post by Rob Allen on Sept 24, 2016 20:30:24 GMT -5
Roy still seeking Star Wars:
Still looking for some things, although several people from these lists
have been very helpful. Here are a few particular things I now know I need:
(1) Does anyone have any better copies of the "unpublished" (if you
don't count the fact they're now all on the Internet) STAR WARS strips
drawn by Williamson that retold the story of the film? I have those
files, obviously... but maybe there are better scans available of a few
of the key strips?
(2) Is there anything in the big book Lucasfilm authorized on the STAR
WARS comics that might be good for AE #145's attempt to tell the whole
story of that comic in 1977? I don't think I have that book.
(3) I think I do have a book or two on THE ART OF STAR WARS and that
kind of things... but I'm in the middle of a reorganization at present
and any such books except those few listed below are unlikely to be
located in time for AE #145. The books I do have access to right now
are the 3 volumes of the Goodwin/Williamson STAR WARS strip, and at
least the first volume of those same strips in color... the MAD parody
of the STAR WARS movie (did CRACKED or other parody mags do one, too?
Did Marvel's CRAZY still exist and do one? I'll admit I haven't check
on this yet)... the book entitled STAR WARS STORYBOARDS.
(4) Could use a color scan of the cover of the paperback that reprinted
the Marvel STAR WARS adaptation... the cover was seen in b&w in AE #68,
but not sure I can locate my paperback in time for AE #145.
(5) Anything good in 1977 in CBG? There was an RBCC cover with a STAR
WARS theme in 1977 or so, and I have a copy someone sent me but it's not
as good a scan as I'd like.
(6) Steve Leialoha did a funny-animal STAR WARS drawing for a back
cover of THE COMIC READER... but the scan I have seems a bit faded, and
I could use a better one.
(7) Any more good drawings done by Howard Chaykin, Steve Leialoha, Rick
Hoberg, Bill Wray, or Dave Stevens--the 5 artists who worked on the
interiors of STAR WARS #1-6--of STAR WARS characters?
(8) Other good fan-drawings (or pro drawings) done of STAR WARS
characters or scenes in 1977 or so?
(9) Good scans from the first episode of so of "Star Wars" that I wrote
for Marvel's PIZZAZZ, as drawn by Chaykin and DeZuniga?
(10) I think I have one Marvel ad for STAR WARS... but may have
overlooked some.
If you send anything I don't already have usable versions of and wind up
using, you'll naturally receive a copy of AE #145. Of course, I'm
grateful any attempts to help, even though I can't give everyone a
freebie copy of AE #145 or my poor publisher will make even less profit
on the issue than usual. With ALTER EGO #145, and thenceforward, the
price of an issue goes up to $9.95... and the page count permanently, I
hope, to 100 pages, counting covers... and the mag will henceforth be
bimonthly, rather than 8 times a year, a situation needed for my
survival (or at least so my wife Dann informs me... I'm not entirely
sure what she means by that).
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Post by Rob Allen on Sept 25, 2016 19:59:12 GMT -5
Roy is more talkative than usual about this upcoming issue:
Well, zeroing in on what I can re 1977 or maybe '78 STAR WARS stuff,
esp. as related to the comics (either to Marvel's comic, or comic-books
references to or parodies of the film)... but a few things still spring
to mind.
(1) I'm told that an issue of Steranko's MEDIASCENE (no longer
COMICSCENE by then?) had a cover and some info on the then-forthcoming
movie, so early '77 at latest... there was apparently some misinfo in
there, maybe even visually... would love to get hold of that info and cover.
(2) Could use info on who drew most of the covers of the first 20-21
issues of the UK STAR WARS WEEKLY from Marvel, which reprinted the movie
adaptation and the first continuation.
(3) Naturally, any fan or pro art either in comics or fanzines or
magazines of some other kind is useful... or material esp. by the
artists who worked on the Marvel early comics with me, such as Chaykin,
Leialoha, HOberg, Wray, Stevens, or even Palmer, DeZuniga, or Chan, who
did some inking or reprint covers.
Of course, I'm open to other suggestions as well. I just don't feel
like reprinting many pages from the comics themselves... and I don't
have access to much of the original art, esp. to the layouts.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Sept 26, 2016 15:10:17 GMT -5
Star Wars #86Cover dated: August 1984 Issue title: The Alderaan Factor!Script: Randy Stradley Artwork: Bob McLeod (breakdowns)/Tom Palmer (finished art & inks) Colours: Glynis Wein Letters: Rick Parker Cover art: Bob McLeod Overall rating: 8 out of 10  Plot summary: Prior to the Battle of Endor, Princess Leia undertakes a mission to the planet Yinchorr. Worried about her safety, Luke Skywalker gives the princess an emergency signalling device, in case she should run into any Imperial trouble. As Leia approaches the planet in a shuttle, the Yinchorri commander unexpectedly reveals that she is to be traded as a hostage for the lives of the Yinchorri Elder Council, whom the head of the Imperial forces in the system, Governor Wessel, has captured. However, the shuttle's TIE fighter escort suddenly opens fire on them, since Wessel is happy to kill the Yinchorri on board in order to slay Leia. The shuttle returns fire, destroying one of the TIE craft, but ultimately it is downed by the remaining Imperial ship, which has itself sustained damage from the shuttle's guns. As both ships crash into the arid terrain, Leia triggers the signalling device given to her by Luke. Meanwhile, news that Leia's shuttle has been shot down reaches Wessel and he decides to confirm the princess's death himself by mounting a search party to find the wreckage. Elsewhere, the pilot of the crashed TIE fighter locates the downed Yinchorri shuttle, but upon recognising Leia, he ignores his orders to kill all those on board and instead frees the princess from the wreck. The Imperial explains that he was originally from Alderaan and used to work in the Royal household, prompting Leia to accuse him of being a traitor to his planet for now serving the Empire. The pilot counters that Leia's father, Bail Organa, was to blame for bringing the Empire's wrath down upon Alderaan by supporting the Rebellion. The pilot then shows a shocked Leia a fragment of rock from Alderaan, which he wears around his neck as a souvenir of his homeworld. As the pair bicker, two hulking native beasts lumber into view and attack them. Leia saves the Imperial's life with a well-aimed blaster shot, as the pair flee across the desert. Jumping down into a ravine, in order to escape the pursuing creatures, Leia loses her footing, but is saved from falling to her death by her Imperial companion. As the pair catch their breath, Leia attempts to convince the TIE pilot of the evils of the Empire, while branding the rock that he wears around his neck as a symbol of the murder of millions of innocent people. Angry at the princess's rhetoric, the TIE pilot decides to follow orders and he escorts the princess back to Wessel as his prisoner. Pleased to have finally captured the Rebel leader, Wessel orders the immediate execution of the Yinchorri Elder Council, but before he has time to execute Leia, the Millennium Falcon appears overhead, with guns blazing. Wessel grabs a blaster and aims it at the princess, but the TIE pilot shoots the weapon out of his hand. Finally realising that Leia was right about the Empire, the TIE pilot makes a dash towards the Falcon with the princess, but he is shot by a stormtrooper as he reaches the ship's boarding ramp. Leia grabs his hand, as the Falcon begins to ascend, but he is too weakened to hold on and falls to his death. As Luke and Lando Calrissian haul the princess back inside the ship, Leia tearfully glances at her hand, in which she still holds the pilot's Alderaanian rock pendant. Comments: We've another fill-in issue this month, but what a fill-in it is! Pencilled by Bob McLeod, who was, at this point, the new regular artist on the series (although that wouldn't last long), and written by Randy Stradley, who would later become a writer and lead editor for Dark Horse's Star Wars titles, this issue features Princess Leia in a solo adventure. It's a stand-alone story, set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and is our third fill-in issue in the space of four months! Clearly editor Ann Nocenti was keen to clean out the Star Wars inventory draw. This is a fairly thought-provoking story, which is centred around a heated philosophical debate between Leia and an unnamed TIE fighter pilot, who're both Alderaanian natives. For her part, Leia believes that the Imperial pilot is a traitor to his homeworld, while he argues that, actually, Alderaan never did anything for him and it was the Empire that gave him a sense of purpose and some direction in his life. What's particularly interesting, at least to this reader, is that the Imperial actually blames Leia's father for what happened to his homeworld. He rationalises that it was Bail Organa standing up to the Empire that sealed Alderaan's doom. This is interesting because, actually, if Alderaanian society is anything like Earth's, there would have undoubtedly been other people on the planet who were critical of Organa's political leanings and his opposition to the Empire. Don't get me wrong, the Imperial pilot's counter argument to Leia's passionate denouncement of the Empire isn't terribly solid – "Alderaan never did nuffin' for me!", is hardly a well reasoned motivation to support a government that will happily destroy your entire homeworld and everyone on it – but his argument does at least hint at a more nuanced version of galactic politics and the Rebellion, than the somewhat black and white version we saw in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Writing about this issue years later, in one of Dark Horse's reprint volumes, Stradley noted, " The characters in the Star Wars films are well-defined, but fairly one-dimensional. They perfectly fulfill the dramatic tasks required of them by the story in the films, but they don’t exactly exhibit subtleties of character that cry out for further exploration. I knew that if I wanted my story to pack any emotional punch whatsoever, I’d have to play off of something that was already established as mattering to the characters." As if to push the emotional heart of the story home, Stradley has the TIE fighter pilot remove his helmet early in the issue, in order to give a human face to the character. Talking to Abel G. Peña on starwars.com in 2002, Stradley clarified, " I wanted to give the stormtroopers a face. It seemed so strange that we never saw any of them without their helmets in the films. It's easy to hate and kill a faceless enemy. It's harder when you see how human they are." Actually, we had seen stormtroopers with their helmets off in the Marvel run before, during the David Michelinie/Walt Simonson era, and, of course, these days, a trooper removing his helmet, prior to leaving the Empire and deciding to join the Rebellion, is more than a little reminiscent of Finn's character arc in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. It's certainly tempting to wonder whether any of the scriptwriters on that movie (Lawrence Kasdan, J. J. Abrams or Michael Arndt) had read this comic. I mean, the answer to that is probably "no", but there are definite similarities between Finn and the unnamed TIE fighter pilot here. Star Wars #86 is the third issue that McLeod has drawn so far on the series and I must say that it's a great improvement over the rather "stiff" artwork he turned in last issue. The panel-to-panel flow is much more kinetic, with the pace and excitement of the tense starship dogfight and chase over the rocky surface of Yinchorr vividly delivered. Tom Palmer's inks are on point again in this issue (when are they not?!), which serves make many of the panels look almost like stills from a Star Wars movie. While digging around online, I found some of the original artwork for this issue on McLeod's Facebook page and I think it's well worth reproducing here. First up, here are McLeod's breakdowns for page 6, and you can see just how Palmer honed the pencils with his own, wonderfully lush and fluid inks...  It's also interesting to see that, on occasion, Palmer noticeably altered McLeod's artwork when he was doing his finished pencils and inks (just look at the TIE fighter in the bottom left-hand corner of the above page). Next up, here's McLeod's rough sketch for page 3, then his full breakdowns and finally, on the finished comic page, Palmer's inking and Glynis Wein's colours...  By separating the breakdowns from the inking process as they do, these examples are a fantastic insight into how comics are made, in general, and how this issue came together, in particular. Overall, Star Wars #86 is a very good fill-in story indeed. Admittedly, it is largely inconsequential within the series as a whole, since the events of this issue are never referenced again, but the intelligently written script, glorious artwork and poignant, downbeat ending serve to make this one of the more memorable issues of the series. In addition, the small lump of Alderaanian rock that the unnamed Imperial carries on a chain is a very striking visual and made a big impression on me as a kid. Today, it is one of the most memorable images of the entire series for me. Continuity issues: The unnamed TIE fighter pilot wears standard Imperial stormtrooper armour instead of a TIE pilot's flight suit. Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "My father gave me a dream of something better than the Empire. Everyone in the Rebellion shares that dream. Someday the Empire will realize that it can't fight that dream with starships and blasters and hired terrorists." – Princess Leia passionately describes the unifying belief that every member of the Rebel Alliance holds.
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Post by huladollar on Sept 27, 2016 17:53:50 GMT -5
This issue (#86) reminds me of Annual #3 (remember a few pages back on this thread when I wouldn't shut up about that issue?) in that it humanizes the Imperials, particularly the stormtroopers, and gives us reasons for why people would make the deliberate choice to join what had been, for us, a pretty faceless enemy up to that point. Good call on the Finn comparison; in fact, I would argue that Finn's characterization would have been deeper if we had been given reasons in movie #7 for his having joined the stormtroopers in the first place. Something was said about troopers' being born stormtroopers, or something, and having a number instead of a name, but I didn't really get all of that (I know there's probably an explanation online, but it doesn't seem worth looking up). And it never quite made sense that Finn, alone of all his fellow troopers, suddenly feels bad about what he's being told to do, and in fact shortly thereafter he's happily shooting down the very troops he presumably grew up with without an ounce of remorse. A character arc like the TIE pilot's in this issue could have been used to give us a reason for Finn's having joined the First Order in the first place and then later having a change of heart, like our nameless hero above.
Anyway! Great review as always, Confessor, and I especially appreciated the behind-the-scenes glimpses of McLeod's artwork. I think it's been a year and a half since I first stumbled across this thread... I am saddened that we only have 21 issues to go!
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Sept 28, 2016 10:47:33 GMT -5
This issue (#86) reminds me of Annual #3 (remember a few pages back on this thread when I wouldn't shut up about that issue?) in that it humanizes the Imperials, particularly the stormtroopers, and gives us reasons for why people would make the deliberate choice to join what had been, for us, a pretty faceless enemy up to that point. Yeah, that's true. But SW #86 is a lot, lot better than Annual #3, in my opinion. Good call on the Finn comparison; in fact, I would argue that Finn's characterization would have been deeper if we had been given reasons in movie #7 for his having joined the stormtroopers in the first place. Something was said about troopers' being born stormtroopers, or something, and having a number instead of a name, but I didn't really get all of that (I know there's probably an explanation online, but it doesn't seem worth looking up). And it never quite made sense that Finn, alone of all his fellow troopers, suddenly feels bad about what he's being told to do, and in fact shortly thereafter he's happily shooting down the very troops he presumably grew up with without an ounce of remorse. A character arc like the TIE pilot's in this issue could have been used to give us a reason for Finn's having joined the First Order in the first place and then later having a change of heart, like our nameless hero above. I wholeheartedly agree. Finn's leaving the New Order really didn't make much sense, insofar as what we saw on the cinema screen. I could've definitely used a more well rounded examination of exactly why he left. Anyway! Great review as always, Confessor, and I especially appreciated the behind-the-scenes glimpses of McLeod's artwork. I think it's been a year and a half since I first stumbled across this thread... I am saddened that we only have 21 issues to go! Yeah, those breakdowns/inks scans are great, aren't they? Really interesting to view. Yes, there are only 21 reviews left, plus two supplementary reviews about the Droids and Ewoks series (I won't be doing issue by issue reviews for those). I aim to undertake a final push with these review now and get this thread finished by late October or early November, so expect a review of issue #87 up later on today. I'm glad you've enjoyed this thread, huladollar. It's been great to have you and your thoughts/comments on board, to offer contrasting and sometimes dissenting opinions to my own. Hopefully, you'll continue to enjoy the reviews as we near the end of the run. |
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Post by tex1272 on Sept 28, 2016 13:49:05 GMT -5
Confessor, have you thought of doing a thread for the other Lucas property by Marvel in the future? That would be great!
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Sept 28, 2016 23:10:51 GMT -5
Confessor, have you thought of doing a thread for the other Lucas property by Marvel in the future? That would be great! What? Labyrinth?!   Actually, I have considered doing an Indiana Jones at Marvel review thread because, although I haven't read that series or the three movie adaptations for a while, I liked them a lot back when I was a kid. I'm also close to having a full run of the series -- just missing half a dozen later issues. However, my first job, once this thread is done, is to re-start my Tintin review thread, which was lost with the great 2014 forum apocalypse/reboot back at our old home on Comic Book Resources. But as that's a smaller, more manageable review thread, I have pondered having two or more threads on the go at the same time and Marvel's Indiana Jones is certainly a contender. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Sept 29, 2016 12:54:03 GMT -5
Star Wars #87Cover dated: September 1984 Issue title: "Still Active After All These Years"Script: Mary Jo Duffy Artwork: Tom Palmer Colours: Michael Higgins Letters: Rick Parker Cover art: Tom Palmer Overall rating: 6 out of 10  Plot summary: Continuing his diplomatic mission for the Alliance of Free Planets, Luke Skywalker, along with Plif, Kiro, Rik Duel, Dani, and Chihdo, touch down on the planet Shawken, where they are greeted by Santor, an ageing diplomat, who invites the group back to his home. However, Rik and his gang are less than thrilled at the prospect of extended diplomatic talks, so Santor tells them that they are welcome to explore the ancient catacombs nearby. Back at Santor's dwelling, the talk soon turns to the band of travellers themselves and, while discussing Rik and his gang, Luke mentions that they are criminals and con artists, suggesting that, even now, they are probably scouring Shawken's ruins for valuable artefacts to steal. Shocked by this revelation, Kiro heads off to the catacombs in order to stop them. Locating Rik and the others, Kiro is angered to find that Luke's suspicions were correct and the gang are indeed pondering how best to remove some of the ancient treasures. Irritated by Kiro's unrelenting honesty, Chihdo starts a fight with the Iskalonian, during which the pair slam up against a wall and accidentally cause a hidden lever to be pushed. Suddenly, metal doors slam shut all around them, entombing the group. A ticking sound begins to echo throughout the complex, leading Rik to correctly surmise that a bomb has been triggered. Before long, news of what has transpired at the catacombs reaches Santor's house. The diplomat becomes alarmed, since he has heard ancient legends about his ancestors and the terrible weapons that they created. Rushing to the ruins, Luke disables a series of automated defences, as Santor realises exactly which ancient weapon it is that they are dealing with; one of Shawken's greatest scientists was a nihilist, who believed that the ills of the galaxy could be fixed by destroying the whole universe, in the hope that something better would eventually take its place. As a result, he built a weapon designed to create an artificial Big Bang. Entering the complex, Luke and Plif manage to free their friends, while the young Jedi also finds a trap door leading down to the doomsday device. He and Kiro descend into the darkness and soon come to an underground body of water. Seizing Luke's lightsaber, Kiro explains that, as a native of Iskalon's oceans, he can best explore the aquatic environment and deactivate the weapon without Luke's help. Plunging into the water, Kiro swims through a tunnel to a dead end and, confused about what he is searching for, begins to feel the Force guiding him. Spinning around, Kiro plunges Luke's lightsaber into a large, glowing face, successfully deactivating the weapon. Nonetheless, a large explosion rocks the chamber and when Luke returns to his friends, he is carrying Kiro's badly injured body with him. However, Plif senses weak signs of life within the Iskalonian and Luke vows to do all he can to keep Kiro alive, since he has saved not only Shawken, but the entire universe. Comments: Star Wars #87 is the first and only issue of the series to be entirely drawn by Tom Palmer. According to a pre-release solicitation in Marvel Age #11, Ron Frenz was originally intended to have pencilled this issue, but with his departure to work on Marvel's Amazing Spider-Man, Palmer gets to handle all the art chores. The result is a lovely looking comic book, with tightly packed, highly detailed panels, all topped off with Palmer's usual sumptuous inking and Zip-a-Tone shading. Admittedly, Palmer's figures are posed in a weird or ungainly fashion in certain panels, particularly the sequence where Luke Skywalker is using his Jedi skills to leap about and deflect shots from the ancient defence weapons at the catacombs. But that tiny criticism aside, most of the art here is every bit as good as the pencillers that Palmer usually inks for. In addition to the deliciously detailed artwork, there's quite a bit of dialogue in this issue too, resulting in a fairly dense read. Jo Duffy continues to tell one-off stories within the framework of her loose Alliance of Free Planets storyline and here we see Luke continuing his mission to invite representatives from various worlds to Endor for a summit. Interestingly, Duffy gives us some more details about how the Rebellion is dealing with the aftermath of the Empire's fall. For instance, Luke offers the Shawkenese help from the Alliance's military and medical resources at one point, and Duffy also hints at an ongoing mopping up operation, when we learn that the Imperials stationed on Shawken left soon after the fall of the Empire because the Rebels were on their way. Clearly then, Rebel forces are being sent out to wipe out last pockets of Imperial resistance throughout the galaxy, which certainly makes sense. It's certainly good to catch up with Kiro and the Rik Duel gang again, since these are some of Duffy's most memorable original characters. As she had done in earlier issues, Duffy reinforces the notion that, although Dani is – by her Zeltron nature – liable to throw herself at any passing male, her interest in Luke goes way beyond her species' usual infatuation with members of the opposite sex. Thing is, it's still hard to fathom why Luke is so disinterested in her. Dani's a babe! I've spoken before about how Duffy always writes Luke as a consummate gentleman where Dani is concerned, but he's still that a young, free and single guy and it's weird that Luke is so disinterested. Mind you, we can see from her interactions with the catacomb guard in this issue how the Zeltron's brazen approach can unnerve men. On a related note, it seems likely that this is the issue in which Dani's affections switch from Luke to Kiro, although you'd be hard pressed to glean that from the evidence presented here. Dani certainly seems happy to know that Kiro will survive at the end of this story, but personally, this seems more like natural concern for a wounded friend and comrade, rather than heightened romantic interest. However, in the final panel, Luke sort of breaks the fourth wall, giving the reader a wry look, and I'm guessing that this is supposed to clue us into the fact that he's realised that Dani has fallen for Kiro. Trouble is, it's really not very clear. For Luke's part, he doesn't seem to know whether he should be upset or elated! By far my biggest criticism of this issue is concerned with the ridiculously over the top superweapon on Shawken, which can set off a chain-reaction to destroy the entire universe! That's just way, way too overblown a concept for me to swallow comfortably. If it were a weapon that could destroy the planet, then sure, we've seen that sort of thing in Star Wars before, so I'd have no problem with that. But something that could destroy the whole universe just causes me to roll my eyes. It's not even really a viable threat either: I mean, could anybody have seriously believed that there was any chance at all that Duffy would destroy the entire Star Wars universe in this issue? Also, I'm no astrophysicist, but I'm pretty sure that the science of the galaxy-sized game of pinball that the weapon would unleash doesn't stack up either. And anyway, if such a weapon was easy enough for an ancient civilisation to build aeons ago, surely the Empire would've built one too? I mean, why mess about building a planet-destroying Death Star when you can threaten to destroy the entire universe? I guess that ultimately, having a superweapon that could destroy everything in the universe would serve no political purpose for the Empire, but still. Another minor grumble would be that the climax at the end of this comic is a bit confusing and it's not always entirely clear what is going on. For example, it's only due to events seen later in the series that we know that Kiro had a Force-related experience in the submerged chamber where the superweapon was housed. It turns out that he is actually Force sensitive, but you'd be lucky to work that out from this issue. Also, what's that glowing face that Kiro destroys with Luke's lightsaber all about and how does it relate to the superweapon? All in all, Star Wars #87 is a decent enough adventure, with some very nice artwork and a solid, if unspectacular, script, but it's marred by the universe destroying superweapon, which is just a rubbish idea. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "I'm sick of you always being the good little fish-boy!" – Chihdo loses his temper with Kiro.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Sept 29, 2016 15:25:46 GMT -5
Are those Teenage Mutant Jedi Turtles??? |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Sept 29, 2016 22:20:55 GMT -5
Are those Teenage Mutant Jedi Turtles??? Heroes in a Force shell. |
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Post by tex1272 on Sept 30, 2016 14:52:38 GMT -5
I love the panel where Chido unintentionally snaps the lever off the wall. Hilarious!
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Oct 4, 2016 11:18:40 GMT -5
Star Wars #88Cover dated: October 1984 Issue title: FigureheadScript: Mary Jo Duffy Artwork: Bob McLeod (breakdowns)/Tom Palmer (finished art & inks) Colours: Julianna Ferriter Letters: Rick Parker Cover art: Bob McLeod (pencils)/Tom Palmer (inks) Overall rating: 8 out of 10  Plot summary: Arriving on the planet Herdessa, as part of a delegation from the Alliance of Free Planets, Princess Leia and Mon Mothma are greeted with jeers and booing from malcontents among the assembled crowd. To further add to her embarrassment, Leia is also pelted with mud by two angry youths, named Suzu and Finn. The members of the Herdessan Guild downplay the incident as nothing more than local troublemakers, as the cyborg Lumiya, who is head of the Herdessan security forces, pursues the two youngsters. Following discussions with the Guild's representatives, during which the Herdessan leaders seem reluctant to negotiate anything of any real worth, Leia takes a walk outside with R2-D2 and C-3PO. Reflecting on the negative reception that she received, along with the Guild's seeming reluctance to involve the planet's people in the democratic process, Leia begins to suspect that something is badly wrong on the planet. As she continues her walk, the princess stumbles upon Lumiya in the process of arresting Suzu. The young woman claims that she and Finn will probably be executed for breaking the law – a law that protects the rich and strong. Alarmed by this claim, Leia intervenes, allowing Suzu to escape, as the princess and Lumiya engage in hand-to-hand combat. Leia manages to escape from the security chief and pursues Suzu back to her hiding place, where a number of desperate looking Herdessans are holed up. The princess learns that the Guild leaders have made sure that only those affiliated with their business interests have enjoyed the planet's wealth and prosperity, while all those who resist their power are tortured or sold as slaves. Suddenly, the rebel hideout is attacked by Lumiya's forces, but Leia manages to escape, while elsewhere, Mothma and the rest of the Alliance party are arrested to be sold into slavery. Leia returns to the Guild's headquarters and, upon seeing what has transpired and stormtroopers among the Herdessan security, realises that the Guild has aligned itself with a group of Imperials. With help from Suzu, who also escaped the assault on the rebel's hideout, Leia formulates a plan. The younger female causes a distraction, while Leia attacks the security forces and Imperials from behind, badly wounding Lumiya in the process. This show of open rebellion inspires the local populace to take up arms against the Guild and attack their oppressors. With the Guild soon beaten, Mothma warns that the Alliance must be informed that the Empire is a continuing threat and is bolstering itself by forming alliances with oppressive governments. Meanwhile, Lumiya watches Leia from the bushes, vowing to seek revenge and show the princess what a dangerous of a foe she can be. Comments: Star Wars #88 features the first appearance of fan favourite Lumiya, who will not only go on to become a major villain in this series, but also appear in a number of later expanded universe books. The front cover of the issue certainly spells out writer Jo Duffy's intentions with the character: the Dark Lord Lumiya is meant to be Darth Vader's replacement in the series. However, aside from the front cover, there's no mention of Lumiya actually being a Dark Lord or any kind of Force user anywhere in this comic. To be honest, as a main villain for the series – someone to step into the vacuum left by Vader's death – Lumiya doesn't really seem up to the job, based on the evidence here. The cyborg security chief really isn't all that threatening – at least, not compared to other major villains from the Star Wars franchise. Still, her appearance here is significant and she will become a much more kick-ass villain when she returns later on in the run. Also, without wanting to spoil things for later reviews, there will be a shocking revelation about this villian further down the line. Something else to note about Lumiya is that she looks quite different in this first appearance to how she does later on in the series and in subsequent expanded universe appearances. It seems as if artist Bob McLeod's design for her helmet is in keeping with a Herdessan fashion trend. At a number of points in this issue we see women on Herdessa sporting a strange headpiece or hairstyle that bunches or pulls their hair out to the sides, giving their heads the vague appearance of an inverted triangle, like this lady here...  Even the statues on Herdessa have this hairstyle...  And you can see that Lumiya's helmet is clearly in keeping with this fashion...  Even in later issues, after McLeod had left the book and Lumiya's look had changed considerably, the female Dark Lord's headdress still reflected a distinct Herdessan leaning...  This attention to detail represents some excellent "world building" from McLeod, as he fashions a distinctive look for the population of Herdessa and, with the statues, ties it in with the planet's past. What's interesting though – given future revelations about Lumiya – is that she's not actually a native of Herdessa; she was born on the Imperial capital planet of Coruscant, as revealed in Star Wars #63 (which, if you read my review of that issue, will no doubt give away the secret of her origin). McLeod's artwork in this issue is really good, with some nice pacing to the overall panel-to-panel flow, and Tom Palmer's inking and embellishments are as wonderful as ever. I've said it before and I'll say it again, readers of Marvel's Star Wars comic were very lucky to have someone with Palmer's skill, eye for detail and desire to make the book look like an untold chapter from the Star Wars cinematic series on board. His contribution to this series is hard to overvalue. On the writing front, Duffy gives us another stand-alone story, set within her loose, on-going Alliance of Free Planets storyline. Here though, we see Princess Leia wrestling with her new, post-wartime role as a diplomat and questioning whether she can ever go back to a wholly diplomatic role, after having been a leader of the Rebellion. This is a plot point that will come to a head with Star Wars #90. Like last issue, we again see stormtroopers that are serving with small surviving Imperial groups and Leia confirms what was previously hinted at: the Alliance is engaged in a mopping up operation, finding and knocking out isolated pockets of Imperial resistance in the aftermath of the Galactic Civil War. Then, on the final page, Mon Mothma explains that the remnants of the Empire are trying to bolster themselves by forming alliances with tyrannical governments. Overall, Star Wars #88 is a pretty enjoyable issue. Yes, the series' new villain doesn't seem quite as formidable as she perhaps could (although that will change in the not too distant future), but I like this issue quite a bit regardless. The story has plenty of action and intrigue, while the art looks very nice. Plus, it's interesting to get inside Leia's head and see this former senator struggling with returning to a diplomatic role, after everything she's been through in recent years. So yeah, this is definitely an above average issue of Star Wars, and also one that is fairly significant within the context of the expanded universe of Star Wars literature for featuring Lumiya's first appearance. Oh, and there's a character called Finn in this issue. I wonder if the writers of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens had ever read this comic? Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "I have been mud-bombed, and hit, and shot at, and chased since I came to this world. Like it or not, we're on the same side now. So, tell me what the fight's all about!" – Princess Leia angrily tells a group of Herdessan rebels that she is fed up with being perceived as part of their world's political problem and wants to help them.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 4, 2016 12:47:22 GMT -5
Excellent review as usual, Confessor, and I particularly appreciate your recognition of McLeod's consistency in world-building (although yeah, Lumiya's original design was pretty bland).
I am not familiar with theat period of the comic; I stopped reading after Return of the Jedi and only picked up a handful of the later issues dealing with the Nagai and then the Tofs. I much prefer the idea presented here, that of a surviving empire continuing to cause trouble. It strikes me as more plausible and more interesting than a generic "invasion from out there" plot; furthermore, it had been hinted at early in episode 4, where Tarking was Talking about regional governors gaining more authority. I can't imagine many local autocrats willingly giving the reins of power back to the Republic!
I once thought the House of Tagge had been built to provide an alternate villain once the emperor and Vader fell down. I still think it could have worked : several big houses feuding over territory in a newly de-federalized republic (kind of like in the Dune universe, which Star Wars borrowed heavily from).
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
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Post by Confessor on Oct 4, 2016 18:51:49 GMT -5
I once thought the House of Tagge had been built to provide an alternate villain once the emperor and Vader fell down. I still think it could have worked : several big houses feuding over territory in a newly de-federalized republic (kind of like in the Dune universe, which Star Wars borrowed heavily from). Yeah, I agree that, in theory, that sort of set up could've worked well in the post-ROTJ continuity and I suppose the Tagge family were a logical choice to feature in such a storyline. I mean, sure, Baron Orman Tagge was dead and Silas Tagge was last seen in a coma, under Darth Vader's "care", but Ulric Tagge was presumably still alive, although he could've easily perished with the fall of the Empire. As for Domina Tagge, she was last seen alive, but she was never really affiliated with the Empire or involved in the Tagge family's business dealings, but that might've changed in the post-Empire era. However, last time she appeared (in SW #50), she was wanted for crimes against the Empire and in the company of some of the galaxy's most ruthless bounty hunters, which doesn't bode well for her longevity, although technically she could've survived. |
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