Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220 
|
Post by Confessor on Oct 6, 2016 12:45:38 GMT -5
Star Wars #89Cover dated: November 1984 Issue title: I'll See You in the Throne Room!Script: Ann Nocenti Artwork: Bret Blevins Colours: Glynis Wein Letters: Joe Rosen Cover art: Bret Blevins Overall rating: 2 out of 10  Plot summary: Shortly after the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker is involved with aiding insurgents on the planet Solay against an Imperial-backed monarchy. As Luke and the freedom fighters storm the palace of King Blackart, Raggold, an old war hero of the campaign, is killed by a blaster shot. Before he dies, the veteran manages to tell Luke that he was slain by a traitor from within their own ranks. A vengeful Luke vows to hunt down the assassin, but Mary, a young and beautiful freedom fighter, calms him, as the pair watch Blackart led away in chains. Following the insurgent's victory, a period of celebration ensues, during which Luke and Mary become romantically entwined. But the peace is cut short when a mass of Imperial warships suddenly appear in the skies overhead. As laser bolts rain down on the Palace, Mary is cut down and mortally wounded. With her last breath, she asks Luke to hold on to the promise of how things could've been, before dying in his arms. With his new-found lover dead, Luke becomes even more determined to find the traitor who now has the blood of Raggold and Mary on their hands, as well as the peace of an entire world. While exploring the back streets of Solay, Luke meets a young thief named Scamp, who agrees to aid him with his investigations, while also planning to steal from those who they encounter along the way. With his wealth of underworld knowledge, Scamp reveals that the revolution Luke took part in was a sham and had been orchestrated by an Imperial Governor to overthrow King Blackart, thus allowing the bureaucrat to step in as Solay's ruler. After interrogating a corrupt rebel and Blackart himself, Luke is still no closer to discovering the identity of the traitor and, as a result, begins to feel the dangerous pull of the Dark Side of the Force. Scamp takes the young Jedi to see a local informant named Braxas, who is wanted by the Empire. Braxas reveals that he has video footage of Raggold's death which shows the identity of his assassin, but he wants safe passage off of Solay in return for it. Agreeing to the deal, Luke is given the tape and is shocked to discover that it was Raggold himself who was the traitor and that he had, in fact, committed suicide, rather than live with the guilt of his betrayal. Comments: Man! This is just a terrible comic! Star Wars #89 is the one and only issue of the series that Ann Nocenti, who was normally the book's editor, wrote and, without wanting to be too unkind to her, that's a good thing. The problems here are many, but chief among them is the out of whack atmosphere of the story; this just doesn't feel like a Star Wars adventure. "I'll See You in the Throne Room!" is one of those stories set on a planet with a quasi-mediaeval society, which we seem to get from time to time in the series. As a result, this issue reads more like a sword & sorcery or fantasy comic than it does a Star Wars one. Then there's the really, REALLY out of character writing of Luke Skywalker and, in fact, the whole issue is full of awkward, clunky dialogue. The plot also meanders in a somewhat directionless manner at times, with Nocenti at one point showing us the little boy Scamp's abusive home life, which really adds nothing to the main story. To focus on precisely what's wrong with Nocenti's writing of Luke for a moment, the main thing for me is that his "voice" is all wrong. For instance, the young Jedi's dialogue is sprinkled with random exclamations of "gosh" and he's generally written as much more immature and reckless than he really should be at this point. Luke really isn't the wide-eyed boy from Tatooine with sand in his ears anymore; he's a noble and powerful Jedi Knight. However, that piece of character development seems to have passed Nocenti by. I think part of the problem is that this is clearly an old inventory story which was most likely written between the release of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. As a result, although it has been slightly retooled as a post- Jedi tale, elements of the pre- Jedi status quo remain, like the creepy moment when, as he gazes longingly at the beautiful freedom fighter Mary, Luke is reminded of Leia – his sister! Clearly, Nocenti or someone else at Marvel hadn't gotten the memo about Luke and Leia having been revealed as siblings in Return of the Jedi. Luke is also a bit pervy towards Mary on occasion, like in these panels...  Yeah, that really doesn't seem like the Luke Skywalker that I know! Then there's the scene where Luke seriously considers murdering a corrupt insurgent in cold blood, for no other reason than he's been profiteering during the uprising and doesn't have the information that Luke needs. That really isn't how a Jedi should be acting. Luke also recalls the teachings of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda at one point, recalling the words, "The Dark Side is very powerful, Luke Skywalker" – except that no such quote was ever uttered in the Star Wars films. Given all of this out of character writing, I had to chuckle to myself when Luke at one point thinks to himself, "Listen to me! I'm not myself." Ha! You're telling me!  Another problem is the continuity errors that litter the story, such as the blade of Luke's lightsaber being incorrectly coloured blue instead of green, and it clearly being Luke's original lightsaber, not the new one that he constructed prior to the events of Return of the Jedi. In addition, where the hell does the fleet of Imperial warships that appear over Solay come from? The Empire was vanquished at the end of Jedi and we will learn in issue #90 that, within the Marvel continuity, the Empire surrendered in the wake of the Battle of Endor. So where are all these ships coming from? Sure, in recent issues we've seen small pockets of Imperial resistance that are fighting on in the aftermath of the Empire's collapse, but nothing like the huge armada that the Imperial forces have at their disposal here. Another continuity problem arises when the old warhorse Raggold claims that it has taken him fifty years of fighting to overthrow the Empire-backed monarchy on Solay. That appears to contradict the events of the prequel movies, in which we see the Empire's rise to prominence taking place approximately 22 years before the events of this comic. Although there are a lot of problems with this issue, I do like the scenes in which Luke talks with the alien informant Braxas and it's also interesting that, upon seeing Mary killed by the Empire, Luke, like Anakin Skywalker before him, wishes he could use the Force to prevent a person from dying...  I also quite like the artwork of Bret Blevins, who at this point was probably best known for having drawn Marvel's adaptations of The Dark Crystal and Krull. Blevins' layouts are inventive and he works a satisfying level of detail into this comic, but, even though I like the art in and of itself, I still don't think it's a particularly good fit for Star Wars. His style worked well within the fantasy setting of the two film adaptations I just mentioned, but it doesn't work here. That said, I do like Blevins' striking design for King Blackart, although, on the down side, the young lad Scamp really, really looks like a girl. Placing this issue within Marvel's Star Wars continuity is tricky. It's obviously not happening in the current continuity because, at this point, Luke is off with Plif, Kiro and the Rik Duel gang on a mission for the Alliance of Free Planets. Clearly though, this tale is set soon after Return of the Jedi, but before issue #82, "Diplomacy". I think that the only way to make it fit is to place it between pages 5 and 6 of Star Wars #81. I noted in my review of that issue that clearly some time – possibly weeks – passes between those two pages, so it could've been during that period that Luke went off to Solay to aid the planet's rebels. Overall, this is not a very good Star Wars comic. It's clearly an old inventory story that has been rewritten to try and shoehorn it into the post- Jedi era, but the scripting is awful, Luke is written very out of character, and there are a number of noticeable continuity goofs. To be honest, I'm not even entirely sure that the basic premise of the story makes all that much sense. On the plus side, the twist at the end, with Raggold being revealed as the traitor and taking his own life, isn't too bad, I suppose, and the artwork is quite nice, although not at all in keeping with the Star Wars aesthetic. But regardless of those few things in its favour, Star Wars #89 is just a poorly executed comic and undoubtedly the worst fill-in issue of the entire series. Continuity issues: - The blade of Luke's lightsabre is incorrectly coloured blue instead of green and it's also his original lightsaber, which was lost, not the new one he recently constructed.
- The Imperial fleet was decimated during the Battle of Endor, yet an armarda of Imperial ships is seen over the planet Solay in this issue.
- Raggold claims that he has been fighting the Imperial-backed monarchy on Solay for fifty years, but based on events seen in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the Empire has only been in existence for approximately 22 years by this point.
Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Yeah, it's funny how much we forgive our fathers for, and still love them." – Luke Skywalker reflects on the parallels between his relationship with his father and the one the young boy Scamp has with his.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 6, 2016 15:02:52 GMT -5
That's something I'm curious about... did the overall fleet take that much of a pummeling? I'm sure the emperor brought in a lot of firepower just in case, but the ships at Endor were basically there to lure the rebels in, weren't they, since the Death Star was operational? Shouldn't there have been plenty of other ships across the galaxy?
It's also why I was a bit disappointed that the post-RotJ comics promptly switched to an "invasion from outer space" plot instead of addressing mopping up the remnants of the empire for several years... I would have expected even a decapitated empire to be more resilient (and that's something I enjoyed about episode VII).
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
|
Post by Confessor on Oct 6, 2016 18:53:03 GMT -5
That's something I'm curious about... did the overall fleet take that much of a pummeling? I'm sure the emperor brought in a lot of firepower just in case, but the ships at Endor were basically there to lure the rebels in, weren't they, since the Death Star was operational? Shouldn't there have been plenty of other ships across the galaxy? Well...although there were undoubtedly Imperial capital ships elsewhere in the galaxy, the bulk of the Imperial fleet -- including Vader's flagship The Executor -- engaged the Rebel fleet above Endor at the finale of Jedi. There were also an awful lot of troops, ground assault vehicles and ships on board the near completed battle station itself when it exploded. Likewise, on the 4th Moon of Endor, a legion (which is typically 10,000 troops) of the Empire's finest soldiers were stationed to intercept the Rebel mission to knock out the shield generator. So really, the bulk of the Empire's forces, all their finest warriors and, of course, Vader and The Emperor themselves were at the Battle of Endor and were killed or destroyed there. That's how the Rebellion won the war: the head of the Empire was cut off and most of its weaponry destroyed in one fell swoop. That said, something that the Marvel series never really addressed (because Duffy was told by Lucasfilm not to use the Empire in the post-ROTJ comics, although she did anyway to an extent) was the recapture of the then-unnamed Imperial capital planet (later known as Coruscant). Even with the "head" of the Empire cut off at Endor, liberating Coruscant would not have been easy and a wonderful, extended story arc could've been crafted within that campaign. But alas, any need or desire to reclaim the Imperial capital was just swept under the carpet. Later expanded universe sources showed how the aftermath of the Battle of Endor played out in much more detail, with a number of people attempting to set themselves up as the new leader of the Empire, and the New Republic engaged in a much more robust mopping up operation than we ever saw in the Marvel run. But I digress. Regarding the events of Star Wars #89, there's no way that the Empire should've been able to quickly amass a huge fleet of starcruisers to attack Solay mere days after the Battle of Endor. It's also why I was a bit disappointed that the post-RotJ comics promptly switched to an "invasion from outer space" plot instead of addressing mopping up the remnants of the empire for several years... As noted above, this was an unfortunate result of Lucasfilm placing restrictions on what Duffy and Marvel could show. It's a wonder that we got as much "mopping up" as we did, considering that Duffy wasn't supposed to show the Empire at all. |
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 7, 2016 6:00:15 GMT -5
That said, something that the Marvel series never really addressed (because Duffy was told by Lucasfilm not to use the Empire in the post-ROTJ comics, although she did anyway to an extent) was the recapture of the then-unnamed Imperial capital planet (later known as Coruscant). Even with the "head" of the Empire cut off at Endor, liberating Coruscant would not have been easy and a wonderful, extended story arc could've been crafted within that campaign. But alas, any need or desire to reclaim the Imperial capital was just swept under the carpet. Well, that's a pity! I didn't know Lucasfilm kept such a tight control over the comic even after the films were done... What a pity, and what a way to stiffle creativity! As you say, retaking the capital (and many imperial territories, I'm sure) would have made for a great extended storyline. What did Lucasfilm have to gain from nixing it? It's not as if the studio couldn't do whatever it wanted afterwards, relegating the Marvel comic to the status of apocrypha. |
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
|
Post by Confessor on Oct 7, 2016 7:49:51 GMT -5
Well, that's a pity! I didn't know Lucasfilm kept such a tight control over the comic even after the films were done... What a pity, and what a way to stiffle creativity! As you say, retaking the capital (and many imperial territories, I'm sure) would have made for a great extended storyline. What did Lucasfilm have to gain from nixing it? It's not as if the studio couldn't do whatever it wanted afterwards, relegating the Marvel comic to the status of apocrypha. Actually, what Marvel could and couldn't do in the comic became much more tightly controlled after ROTJ. Apparently, George Lucas wasn't sure what he was going to do with the characters or whether there would be any more SW films, so in the meantime, Marvel were told that they couldn't show the Empire, couldn't refer to Luke and Leia as being brother and sister, couldn't progress the main characters in any permanent way (like by giving Luke a girlfriend), and they weren't even supposed to touch on the Han and Leia romance. Like you, those edicts have never really made a whole lot of sense to me, I mean, what's the harm? But that's the way it was, and it's also part of the reason why the book was cancelled with issue #107; it was still selling pretty well, but Duffy and Marvel just began to realise that Lucasfilm didn't really want a SW comic on the shelves any more. |
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 7, 2016 10:43:10 GMT -5
That's quite a big change from just a few years later when Dark Horse got the license... had Lucas decided on Prequels by then?
|
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 7, 2016 12:08:43 GMT -5
(...) But that's the way it was, and it's also part of the reason why the book was cancelled with issue #107; it was still selling pretty well, but Duffy and Marvel just began to realise that Lucasfilm didn't really want a SW comic on the shelves any more. I had always wondered why the book had been cancelled... Thanks for the info. |
|
|
|
Post by tex1272 on Oct 7, 2016 14:14:01 GMT -5
And wasn't Lucasfilm beginning to dictate to Duffy on how to write for the "comic only" characters as well?
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
|
Post by Confessor on Oct 7, 2016 20:50:02 GMT -5
That's quite a big change from just a few years later when Dark Horse got the license... had Lucas decided on Prequels by then? Yes, it is a big change and, no, the decision to finally do the prequels wasn't made until 1993 at the earliest. The first Dark Horse SW comic came out in 1991, but straight off of the bat with that first mini-series, Dark Empire (which was initially meant to be published by Marvel as a re-activation of their Star Wars line), there was nothing like the restrictions that were placed on Duffy and Marvel. You may not have seen it, but in my review of issue #82, I included a snippet of interview with Duffy talking about just this subject... In 2011, Duffy did an interview with the Belgian TeeKay-421 magazine, during which she recalled that, " Lucasfilm just said that they didn't have any clue themselves about how Star Wars was going to continue, so they couldn't give me any guidelines. They did tell me to be very careful about using subjects such as the Jedi and the Empire, so I didn't use them. When I read Dark Empire, years later, I was surprised and disappointed when I saw what they had been able to do with the story." Here's an early advertisement for Dark Empire from Marvel Age Preview #1 in 1990, when Marvel were still intending to publish the mini-series...  And wasn't Lucasfilm beginning to dictate to Duffy on how to write for the "comic only" characters as well? I've never heard that, but it may be true. One thing I do know is that the reason why all those original characters like the Tofs and the Nagai, along with older Marvel-originated characters, like Fenn Shysa, came into the book towards the end was because at least Duffy could actually do something with those characters. That's why the likes of Han, Luke and Leia kind of end up being co-stars in their own comic at the end. |
|
|
|
Post by rom on Oct 8, 2016 13:24:45 GMT -5
I'm extremely happy that Dark Horse won the SW comic license in the early '90's - starting with the unbelievably good series "Dark Empire" in late 1991; they were a relatively small company, and were able to take the time to give the license the time & care that it deserved. Some of my favorite SW DH comics included: Dark Empire I-II; The various Tales of the Jedi titles; the basic Star Wars title (started prior to Episode 1 being released); Crimson Empire I - III; Dark Times (superb!); Star Wars: Legacy (set far after ROTJ), etc. However, I especially liked the color reprints of the '70's/'80's SW newspaper strips - great stuff here. Plus, they also reprinted some other obscure UK comics in the Omnibus format.
Marvel did a great job of publishing SW comics in the '80's - but, they would have unequivocally ruined the franchise in the '90's. I hated much of Marvel's '90's output, and am sure I would have felt the same way about a '90's SW title. I also don't think that they would have taken the time/energy to have had as many SW series out at the same time as DH; in many cases, DH had 2-3 (and sometimes even 3-4) titles at once - and they were all great! I don't see that Marvel would have bothered to do this.
It was terrible that DH lost the SW comic license to Marvel in 2014-ish, but completely understandable - given that Disney owned both Lflm. and Marvel at that point. In any case, After Dark Horse lost the SW comic license, I vowed never to buy any more SW comics - by Marvel, that is.
Especially irritating was the news that DH had plans to reprint the Goodwin/Williamson SW newspaper strips, unedited, in their original b&w form - I remember reading this prior to the news that the comic license would go back to Marvel. And, now that Marvel has the license - they're not going to bother to do this - no surprise there.
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
|
Post by Confessor on Oct 11, 2016 11:19:34 GMT -5
Star Wars #90Cover dated: December 1984 Issue title: The Choice!Script: Mary Jo Duffy Artwork: Bob McLeod (breakdowns)/Tom Palmer (finished art & inks) Colours: Bob Sharen Letters: Rick Parker Cover art: Bob McLeod (pencils)/Tom Palmer (inks) Overall rating: 6 out of 10  Plot summary: Returning to Endor with Mon Mothma and C-3PO, Princess Leia is reunited with Luke Skywalker, who has also returned to the forest moon with Plif, Rik Duel, Dani and Chihdo, to seek medical aid for the critically wounded Iskalonian, Kiro. Luke and Leia discuss their future, with the princess confused about her new role as a diplomat and anxious about the transition from the Rebellion to the new Alliance of Free Planets. Luke attempts to comfort his sister, but reminds her that the hardest part was not in winning the Galactic Civil War, but in forging a new system of government for the galaxy. He also warns her that, with Darth Vader having been their father, they could accomplish a great deal of good or a great deal of evil and they must be cautious. The siblings agree to keep silent about their lineage because making such a thing public would only cause trouble at this point. The pair wander off to the medical centre to visit Kiro and discuss with the Iskalonian how he knew the correct way to disable the ancient destructive device on the planet Shawken. Explaining that he just felt the device's danger and somehow new how to disable it, Luke concludes that Kiro was in touch with the Force and clearly has some kind of latent ability with the mystical energy field. Excitedly, Kiro asks to be trained in the ways of the Jedi, but Luke refuses, fearing the dangerous repercussions that taking on a pupil could have. Deflated and annoyed by the refusal, Kiro angrily tells his friends to leave him alone. Meanwhile, the first meeting of the assembled delegates of the Alliance of Free Planets is underway, with Admiral Ackbar and Mon Mothma chairing the meeting. The two Rebel leaders outline the importance of a new, democratic form of government, while explaining that those who are not present will forfeit the right to vote. As the meeting ends, Mothma remarks that, by missing the assembly, Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian have all lost the right to help influence the new government. Ackbar opines that it may be for the best. Later, as Luke and Leia wander through the Ewok's treetop village, a fight breaks out between Rik Duel and a disgruntled Rebel soldier, who believes that Rik has cheated him out of money during a card game. As tempers flare, Chihdo is shot and badly wounded. Luke intervenes, disarming the Rebel solider, as Kiro, who is also present, speaks up. He declares that Luke is wise and merciful, and that they are all allies here and, as such, should not become angry with one another. As Kiro looks over at Luke, the young Jedi realises that the Iskalonian has accepted that he must be patient and that he can still learn, even if Luke has refused to train him as a Jedi. Comments: Star Wars #90 sees most of the central cast returning to the forest moon of Endor, after their respective missions to invite delegates to partake in the new Alliance of Free Planets. Han Solo and Chewbacca are still away on the Wookiee homeword of Kashyyyk, as we will see next issue, but this story brings Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO, Kiro and the Rik Duel gang back together, as the various galactic delegates invited to Endor assemble for their first meeting. As such, this issue serves as something of a culmination of writer Jo Duffy's loose Alliance of Free Planets story arc. Interestingly, given the discussion that Roquefort Raider and I were having recently about the state of the Empire in the post- Return of the Jedi comics, Mon Mothma makes it plain here that, in the Marvel continuity, the surviving Imperial leaders capitulated following the Battle of Endor. So, that means that the small pockets of Imperial resistance that the Rebels have encountered in the comic since then are disobeying orders and resisting the Alliance on their own. Editor Ann Nocenti confirms this on the letters page of issue #91, explaining that, although the major Imperial strongholds surrendered, there are still outlying planets that harbour rogue Imperial forces that are rebuilding themselves in order to exact revenge on the Alliance. This issue gives us another well written script from Duffy, in which we learn that Kiro felt the Force when he was disarming the device on the planet Shawken, back in issue #87, and as a result, now wants to be trained by Luke in the ways of the Jedi. The fact that Luke refuses, fearing that he might make the same mistakes that Obi-Wan Kenobi made with Anakin Skywalker's training, with terrible consequences for the galaxy, is sensible and seems very in character. I know that other, later expanded universe sources showed Luke founding a whole new Jedi order in the years after Return of the Jedi, but the wariness he shows here is entirely understandable, in my view. Duffy also gives us a very interesting scene between Luke and Leia, in which they discuss their new-found status as siblings and as Vader's children. It's interesting that this scene was even written because Duffy was given pretty strict instructions by Lucasfilm not to reference the family connection between Luke and Leia in the Marvel comic, but she does so with great maturity and understanding of the characters. For his part, Luke admits that he's told no one about his sister or who his father is, and he advises Leia to do the same, lest it bring up any awkward questions – yeah, like how come you kept hitting on and snogging your sister all those times, Luke?!  Duffy also examines – in a fairly throwaway manner, admittedly – the problems of having trained military personnel sitting around together, when the war is over. Here we see tempers starting to flare among the restless former-Rebels and it's a shame that Duffy didn't run with this sub-plot in future issues. Something else to note, is that Star Wars #90 is the last issue to be pencilled by Bob McLoad. McLeod had only been the series' regular penciller for a short period, beginning with issue #85, and he left due to dissatisfaction arising from his working arrangement with the series' inker, Tom Palmer. He would soon be replaced by Cynthia Martin, starting with issue #94. As McLeod's swansong on the series, this issue features some really nice interior artwork and the cover is especially striking, showing, as it does, Leia symbolically split down the middle, torn between her role as a diplomat and as a Rebel soldier, while the phantom presence of Darth Vader looms over her. All in all, I have to say that this is a bit of a "treading water" issue, insofar as not much actually happens in it. Still, it's an enjoyable enough read. One minor complaint would be that the whole thing about the Alliance meeting, whereby, if you were there, you get a vote, but if you weren't, you don't, seems really contrived – not to mention worryingly undemocratic. Fortunately, aside from a brief mention in issue #97, its not something that was ever really referenced again anyway. For the most part though, this is another solid, if slightly insignificant and humdrum, issue from Duffy and Co. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "We have enough true enemies in common that we must never turn on one another and injure our comrades, only because we are idle and angry." – Kiro attempts to make his fellow Alliance members see reason and stop their fighting.
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
|
Post by Confessor on Oct 12, 2016 6:44:10 GMT -5
I meant to post this earlier in my reviews, while Ron Frenz was still the regular penciller on Star Wars, but I forgot. Anyway, better late than never; here's a gorgeous cover for Marvel Age #10 (cover dated January 1984), drawn by Frenz and inked by comics veteran Jack Abel. I love the slightly Golden Age vibe that Abel's inks bring to this cover...  |
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
|
Post by Confessor on Oct 12, 2016 12:52:03 GMT -5
Star Wars #91Cover dated: January 1985 Issue title: Wookiee WorldScript: Mary Jo Duffy Artwork: Tony Salmons (breakdowns)/Tom Palmer (finished art & inks) Colours: Glynis Wein Letters: Ken Bruzenak Cover art: Tony Salmons (pencils)/Tom Palmer (inks) Overall rating: 6½ out of 10  Plot summary: Chewbacca and Han Solo land on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk in the Millennium Falcon, accompanied by Lando Calrissian in the Cobra. Excited to finally be reunited with his family, Chewie hurries towards his home, only to find the way blocked by a strange, pale-skinned individual who has Chewie's brother-in-law, Vargi, backing him up. Introducing himself as "Knife" – a nickname that the Wookiees have given him, due to their inability to pronounce his real name – the pale-skinned humanoid menacingly suggests that they all go to Chewbacca's home for refreshments. Upon arriving at the treetop dwelling, Chewbacca finds that his family are not at home, so the group enter and wait. As Han and Lando discuss their suspicions about Knife, Chewie's son, Lumpy, enters the house, along with three desperate looking Wookiees who hold the child at blasterpoint, while also training their weapons on Han, Lando and Chewbacca. Knife explains that he is holding Chewie's family hostage, as a means of ensuring his compliance in his scheme to re-establish the slave trade on Kashyyyk, which had recently collapsed in the wake of the Empire's defeat. Assuming that Knife is working for the remains of the Empire, Han tells the alien that the Alliance had assumed their might still be Imperial strongholds at large on some worlds, but the pale-skinned warrior reveals that he isn't in the employ of the Empire and hints at a much more powerful organisation backing him. As Chewbacca is paraded through the streets to demoralise the other Wookiees and end their resistance to the slave trade, Han and Lando escape from the cell that they have been put in. As Lando heads for the Cobra to send a distress signal to the Alliance and grab as many blasters as he can, Han sneaks up to the slaver's transport ship and frees Chewbacca from his shackles. Unfortunately, he is caught in the act by Vargi, who viciously beats Chewbacca as a punishment for Han's actions, while the Corellian is held at gunpoint. Watching his friend being mercilessly beaten is more than Han can take and he angrily lashes out at Vargi, but is brutally pummelled by the much stronger Wookiee. Han's actions inspire Chewbacca and a number of other Wookiee slaves to break their bonds and wrestle with their captors. Seeing that things are beginning to fall apart, Knife takes aim at Chewbacca with a throwing dagger, but the weapon is shot from his hand by Lando, who appears with Chewie's wife, father and child in tow. At this, Chewbacca gives full vent to his rage and knocks Vargi unconscious with one punch. As the Wookiees celebrate the overthrow of the slavers, Knife manages to slip away, stealing Lando's ship and escaping from the planet. Comments: Star Wars #91 sees us return to the Wookiee home planet of Kashyyyk (misspelt here as "Kazhyyyk"), which was first seen in the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, back in 1978. The Holiday Special was also where we first met Chewbacca's wife, Malla (misspelt here as "Mala"), his son, Lumpy, and his father, Itchy – all of whom appear in this comic. This isn't the first time that the Marvel Star Wars comics have shown us the Wookiee world though, since we glimpsed it during a flashback sequence in Star Wars Weekly #95 from late 1979. Russ Manning also used the planet in his Star Wars newspaper strip in 1979. However, this is the first time that we've seen Kashyyyk after the fall of the Empire. Although readers of the series wouldn't have known it at the time, this is quite a significant comic because it represents the start of a long build up towards the Nagai invasion (and, by extension, the Nagai–Tof War), which will begin in earnest with issue #97. I guess that you could justifiably point to issue #88 and the first appearance of Lumiya as the start of the lead up to the Nagai invasion, but since this issue gives us our first look at a Nagai warrior, in the shape of Knife, I usually regard this as the start of it all. Knife himself sort of looks like a paler, skinnier version of Frankenstein's Monster or maybe the Marvel supervillain Tombstone. Writer Jo Duffy has mentioned in various interviews that his appearance was very much influenced by Japanese manga and anime, which she was a huge fan of. Personally, I'm not sure that I can see all that much of a manga influence in Knife's design, but judge for yourself...  With Knife's first appearance, we are purposely told very little about the character and only handed a few clues as to his origin and true purpose. At one point, Han Solo notes that, although he's been from one side of the galaxy to the other, he's never before seen the particular species that Knife is. The pale-skinned warrior also lets slip that he isn't working for the Empire, as Han suspects, but another, supposedly more powerful group. These little titbits will all tie-in with future issues, where we will learn that Knife is from a warlike race called the Nagai, who come from outside of the Star Wars galaxy. At this point, however, readers are just left with a lot of questions. This is a decent and satisfyingly structured story, which puts Chewbacca firmly in the spotlight, by placing his family in peril. It features all the usual good characterisation of the main Star Wars cast that we've come to expect from Duffy, but, while the basic story is a compelling one, there's quite a lot left unexplained. For instance, just how did Knife single-handedly set up a slaving operation, among a population of some of the galaxy's strongest and most ferocious beings? Then there's the question of why Wookiees would turn on other Wookiees and sell them into slavery? Finally, what repercussions will there be for those Wookiees who worked for Knife, such as Chewie's brother-in-law, Vargi? Unfortunately, Duffy doesn't give us any answers to these questions, which sort of makes the story feel a bit incomplete or two-dimensional. In terms of the artwork, this is Tony Salmons's one and only contribution to the series. I like his story telling abilities quite a bit, and interestingly, there are noticeably more panels than usual without dialogue in this issue. As a result, in terms of moving the narrative forward, the artwork has to do more of the heavy lifting than usual. However, Tom Palmer's inking is quite uneven in places. It looks fantastic on some pages and rushed on others, giving a decidedly mediocre feel to the comic as a whole. This is unusual for Palmer and, I should add that, even when the work is not his best, his fluid and easily identifiable inks give the art here a sense of uniformity or continuity with the preceding McLeod pencilled issues. Overall, this is a good, entertaining issue, with some serviceable artwork, even if it's not quite up to Palmer's usual high standard. As previously noted, it's an important issue within the context of Marvel's Star Wars series for featuring the first appearance of the Nagai, who will go on to become major villains in the series. As a side note, on the letters page of this issue and again in #93, editor Ann Nocenti says that the old antagonist Domina Tagge (who last appeared in issue #50) will be making a return to the book in an upcoming storyline. However, Domina doesn't appear in any of the sixteen remaining issues of Star Wars, which could mean one of three things: 1) Nocenti was mistaken, 2) Domina was ultimately replaced by another antagonist in one of Duffy's scripts, or 3) Duffy hadn't gotten around to re-introducing the Tagge sister when the series ended. Continuity issues: - The planet Kashyyyk is misspelled as Kazhyyyk.
- Chewbacca's wife Malla has her name misspelled as Mala.
Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "The Empire? Do you truly believe I represent that pathetic little outfit?" – Knife dismisses Han Solo's assumption that he is affiliated with the remains of the Imperial forces.
|
|
|
|
Post by huladollar on Oct 12, 2016 14:16:22 GMT -5
Great reviews as always, Confessor, and, dang, you're typing 'em up faster than I can comment!  I want to do that cool cut 'n' paste the quotes thing but I gotta walk the dog and then grade a stack of student papers, so I'm just going to refer to the stories by issue number: Re Star Wars #90: Totally agree with your analysis: a fun filler episode, that, yes, deals with the life choices Leia has to make, but does feel like running in place (my version of your "treading water" comment). And yeah, I was and still am bugged by the wholly contrived "You missed the meeting, so you can't take part in the new government... Buh-bye!" plot point. "Sorry, General Washington... You missed the meeting, so we can't let you run for President." "But I was on a mission for..." "We said sorry! Moving along now!" This was obviously done to prevent readers from asking about future issues: "Why are these characters always taking off to other planets instead of running the new government?" but all it did was replace that question with another one: "Did the Rebellion leaders really just call a meeting *and* arbitrarily decide that anyone who's not at that meeting can't take part in the new government? What the gosh-darned heck?" (Phrasing that politely.) And the whole thing is so pointless... We really wouldn't have cared if our heroes kept going off and having adventures instead of staying home and voting on the new Constitution or whatever. The whole thing is fantasy; we can hang. But, as you say, this was never really brought up again, so ultimately it's just kind of goofy without impacting anything. Re Marvel Age #10: Hey, I have that issue! In fact, when I first came across this thread, I was going to offer to scan it and send it to you, until you mentioned it early on (I think around the "Tarkin" storyline, which is referenced in the "Marvel Age" interview), so I realized you have a copy of your own. Back in the day, before the internet, reading this issue was a rare behind-the-pages look at putting my favorite comic book together and thus a real treat for me. Re Star Wars #91: Years ago, on another SW Marvel comics review website (the name of which, alas, I no longer remember), the reviewer described this issue as featuring "Chewie's family, still fighting for their place in the canon," which made me laugh. Always fun to read your reviews and the comments left by others. 16 issues left and counting! (Plus the Ewoks and Droids overviews, of course!) |
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 12, 2016 15:03:54 GMT -5
Great review, and I now regret not having followed Star Wars after the third movie!
I wonder if Tony Salmons's art was all that visible under Tom palmer's inks, given that Salmons usually uses inks much more sparingly than Tom. In any case, as I love both men's work, I'm curious about the result.
Regarding the slavery thing : I remember reading something (in those apocrypha-filled years between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back) about Han and Chewie's friendship having begun when the former freed the latter from slavers... Could it be that Knife and his allies simply revived or kept the Wookie slave trade active?
Since we know little about Chewie's world, it could also be that the Wookies are not as nicely united as we were led to believe in the prequel movies (or as Han suggests above)... Perhaps they, too, have factions hostile to each other, and are not above capturing and selling enemies into slavery. Maybe the empire just took advantage of that.
It's funny to see the Holiday Special given such a seal of approval. I really don't mind, because as bad as it was the show really "felt" like the original Star Wars (at least its opening scenes). The reused special effects, Han in his original jacket, and even the idea of Wookieworld being a forest planet, it all felt right. (And the came the "3D" animated acrobats.... but that's another matter).
Knife turned out to be someone Han had known as a kid, right?
|
|
