|
|
Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jan 9, 2015 12:02:11 GMT -5
I basically agree with Marvel's tag line, I think Star Wars is the greatest space-fantasy film of all. But then I see a big difference between space-fantasy and science-fiction. To me, Star Wars is just about the greatest example of the former, whereas the Alien franchise is a good to terrible example of the latter. The difference being that there is nothing, absolutely nothing in SW that connects it to our known world. It happens a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but nothing in the story has any ties to Earth or the Universe as we know it. Alien, on the other hand is set in our future -- those are human beings on the Nostromo, not Corrilians or Alderaanians. The key word with SW is "fantasy". On the subject of Aliens, the first movie was a total masterpiece. A brilliant, psycho-sexual thriller set in space. The follow up, Aliens was a pretty good sci-fi action film, but nothing compared to the original. It's been so long since I saw Alien 3 or Alien Resurrection, I couldn't really comment. I have no interest in the Alien vs Preditor movies at all. Prometheus was pretty good though. But yeah, as far as space-fantasy goes, Star Wars pretty much beats all comers. As an aside, I think it's telling that the original Star Wars cinema poster, basically makes the film look like a barbarian fantasy in space...  Thinking at the tag line and your comment, space-fantasy is a description of the film. With no ties to anything it could be a story in time's past or future, no one really knows. It's all open to each viewer. It seems so far (at least the one's you've reviewed) that the Star Wars comics, have done good with the characters in telling stories outside the movie at the time these were printed, much like, in my opinion Aliens comics have done. I know that there are a lot more characters in the Star Wars universe to play with, then say Alien/Aliens (though by Alien 3, they are all dead anyway), but do they ever move away in stories from the central cast of Luke, Leia, Han and Vader? I always felt that was the fault of the Alien franchise, in the movies, unlike the comics and novels, being unwilling to let go of Ripley as the central character. I'd trade all three of the last Alien movies and AvP to get Music of the Spears, Sacrifice, Salvation, Hive or Earth Wars which all would have made entertaining movies. Some thrillers and chillers and some blockbuster action movies. All in the right hands could have been better than what we have up to know. But then that's all speculation, isn't? |
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 9, 2015 15:19:01 GMT -5
I basically agree with Marvel's tag line, I think Star Wars is the greatest space-fantasy film of all. But then I see a big difference between space-fantasy and science-fiction. To me, Star Wars is just about the greatest example of the former, whereas the Alien franchise is a good to terrible example of the latter. The difference being that there is nothing, absolutely nothing in SW that connects it to our known world. It happens a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but nothing in the story has any ties to Earth or the Universe as we know it. Alien, on the other hand is set in our future -- those are human beings on the Nostromo, not Corrilians or Alderaanians. The key word with SW is "fantasy". On the subject of Aliens, the first movie was a total masterpiece. A brilliant, psycho-sexual thriller set in space. The follow up, Aliens was a pretty good sci-fi action film, but nothing compared to the original. It's been so long since I saw Alien 3 or Alien Resurrection, I couldn't really comment. I have no interest in the Alien vs Preditor movies at all. Prometheus was pretty good though. But yeah, as far as space-fantasy goes, Star Wars pretty much beats all comers. As an aside, I think it's telling that the original Star Wars cinema poster, basically makes the film look like a barbarian fantasy in space... Thinking at the tag line and your comment, space-fantasy is a description of the film. With no ties to anything it could be a story in time's past or future, no one really knows. It's all open to each viewer. It seems so far (at least the one's you've reviewed) that the Star Wars comics, have done good with the characters in telling stories outside the movie at the time these were printed, much like, in my opinion Aliens comics have done. I know that there are a lot more characters in the Star Wars universe to play with, then say Alien/Aliens (though by Alien 3, they are all dead anyway), but do they ever move away in stories from the central cast of Luke, Leia, Han and Vader? I always felt that was the fault of the Alien franchise, in the movies, unlike the comics and novels, being unwilling to let go of Ripley as the central character. I'd trade all three of the last Alien movies and AvP to get Music of the Spears, Sacrifice, Salvation, Hive or Earth Wars which all would have made entertaining movies. Some thrillers and chillers and some blockbuster action movies. All in the right hands could have been better than what we have up to know. But then that's all speculation, isn't? The Marvel comics stuck with Luke and the gang but once you get to the Dark Horse stuff you see an explosion of variety |
|
|
|
Post by Dizzy D on Jan 9, 2015 16:07:28 GMT -5
There is at least one Marvel story that focuses on a side character (Wedge), but we'll get to that later.
|
|
|
|
Post by dupersuper on Jan 9, 2015 23:37:00 GMT -5
Pizzazz #3Cover dated: December 1977 Issue title: A Dread Discovery! ( The Keeper's World, Part 3) Script: Roy Thomas Artwork: Howard Chaykin (pencils)/Tony DeZuniga (inks) Colours: Marie Severin Letters: Denise Wohl Overall rating: 1½ out of 10  Plot summary: Having narrowly escaped capture by an Imperial fleet, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, C-3PO and R2-D2 have crash-landed on an uncharted jungle planet. While exploring their surroundings, the droids discover the footprint of a huge creature that is presumably somewhere nearby. Meanwhile, the Imperials have located the crashed Rebel ship on their scanners and have dispatched a shuttle craft to apprehend our heroes. Comments: This is another weak instalment of The Keeper's World. The artwork is of the same slap-dash standard as previous parts and fails to impress, while the writing is still way more infantile than in the main Star Wars comic. Actually, while reading issue #6 of the regular Star Wars series, I noticed that there was a plug for Pizzazz magazine and Stan Lee was saying that the magazine was aimed at kids aged 8 to 14, so I guess that sort of explains why Roy Thomas' dialogue here is more simplistic and juvenile. Although, weren't regular Marvel comics aimed at that sort of age group anyway in the Bronze Age? One thing I will say in this instalment's favour is that at least the story starts to get a little bit more interesting here, with the discovery of the giant footprint and with the Empire closing in. For that reason alone, I'm gonna rate it a ½ point higher than the first two parts. But really, this is pretty throwaway stuff, in all honesty. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Princess, this is the kind of sector listed on most star-charts under the heading, 'Here Be Space-Dragons!'" – Luke attempts to explain to Leia just how off the beaten path the planet they've crashed on is. Odd that the princess/senator/rebel leader needs the farmboy who grew up in relative isolation to point this out... |
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220 
|
Post by Confessor on Jan 10, 2015 11:46:50 GMT -5
Odd that the princess/senator/rebel leader needs the farmboy who grew up in relative isolation to point this out... Yeah, Roy's definitely writing Leia as slightly less "street-wise" and more vulnerable than Luke at this point. It's the sort of thing I'm talking about when I say that the characterisation is slightly off in the Pizzazz strip. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2015 9:48:58 GMT -5
I am not a huge Star Wars fan. It's okay, but I'd have never considered reading the comics. That's more my husband's thing. BUT! Roy Thomas wrote this series (I haven't read all reviews yet)  That might enough to get me to read this series. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2015 9:50:28 GMT -5
Yeah, Roy's definitely writing Leia as slightly less "street-wise" and more vulnerable than Luke at this point. It's the sort of thing I'm talking about when I say that the characterisation is slightly off in the Pizzazz strip. Oh.  Well, huh. This saddens me. |
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
|
Post by Confessor on Jan 11, 2015 11:52:50 GMT -5
I am not a huge Star Wars fan. It's okay, but I'd have never considered reading the comics. That's more my husband's thing. BUT! Roy Thomas wrote this series (I haven't read all reviews yet) That might enough to get me to read this series. Roy only wrote the first 10 issues of the series (and the first 6 were the adaptation of the first Star Wars movie). Archie Goodwin took over from issue #11 and from there there were a number of different writers as the series went on. Yeah, Roy's definitely writing Leia as slightly less "street-wise" and more vulnerable than Luke at this point. It's the sort of thing I'm talking about when I say that the characterisation is slightly off in the Pizzazz strip. Oh. Well, huh. This saddens me. Yeah, although this is more true in the Pizzazz strip, rather than in the regular monthly Star Wars comic. But you have to remember that at this early stage, the roles and characters of the central cast weren't as well known or as well defined as they would become. Roy Thomas is definitely writing Leia as more of a "princess" or a damsel in distress in the Pizzazz strip than she really is. As the regular Marvel comic gets into the teens and 20s numbering, Archie Goodwin writes Leia as the feisty Princess that we all know and love much more (and this of course continues in the post- Empire Strikes Back and post- Return of the Jedi issues). |
|
|
|
Post by Action Ace on Jan 11, 2015 17:32:05 GMT -5
I really want to see Leia in full Jedi mode in Episode 7.
Just one cool scene where she's fighting with a lightsaber that's all I ask.
|
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 11, 2015 17:46:02 GMT -5
I'm thinking Leia and all are mostly going to be pass-the-torch type cameos, and the Solo Twins are going to be the main focus.... Hollywood seems to think that movie leads HAVE to be teenagers these days.
|
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
|
Post by Confessor on Jan 12, 2015 5:05:01 GMT -5
Star Wars #7Cover dated: January 1978 Issue title: New Planets, New Perils!Script: Roy Thomas (plot, script)/Howard Chaykin (co-plotter) Artwork: Howard Chaykin (breakdowns)/Frank Springer (finished art and inks) Colours: Carl Gafford Letters: Joe Rosen Cover art: Gil Kane (pencils)/Tony DeZuniga (inks) Overall rating: 4½ out of 10  Plot summary: Han Solo and Chewbacca bid farewell to Luke, Leia and the droids, having decided to leave Yavin 4 and return to Tatooine to pay off their debt to Jabba the Hutt. On their way there, the Millennium Falcon is waylaid and boarded by space-pirates, led by Crimson Jack. The pirates steal the money that Han and Chewbacca received from the Rebel Alliance for rescuing Leia from the Empire, but spare the smuggler's lives. Broke and unable to pay Jabba the money that they owe, Han and Chewbacca decide to lay low on the backwater world of Aduba-3. Shortly after arriving, they encounter an alien priest who pays them to help bury a recently deceased cyborg. The pair complete the task, but not before they have to do battle with an angry mob of local spacers, who object to the cyborg being buried on their traditional mound. Later, while relaxing in a cantina, the two smugglers are approached by a group of locals who have a deadly proposition for them. Comments: So, here we have the first post-movie issue of Marvels' Star Wars comic. The first thing I will say about this issue is that, although it's not perfect, it's head and shoulders above the drek that Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin were concurrently churning out in the pages of Pizzazz magazine. Chaykin provides breakdowns for this issue, rather than the rough layouts that he's recently been doing on the series and as a result, I can detect much more of his influence in the artwork. Having said that, Frank Springer certainly puts his own stamp on things with his finishes and inking, but you can still spot Chaykin's work a mile off. Unfortunately, although the staging and sequential storytelling is very good and very Chaykin, the overall quality of art is pretty poor. There are a few nice looking panels, but the majority of this issue just seems rushed and sloppy. In particular, Chewbacca's face looks extremely weird in a number of panels for some reason. Story-wise, what we have in this issue is essentially a western set in space. That kinda works OK actually, because a lot of the first Star Wars movie was a western set in space too. Among the western tropes on offer in this story we get a half-breed (or a cyborg in this case) who needs to be buried on Boot Hill (make that Spacer's Hill), much to the annoyance of the bigoted townsfolk, resulting in a dramatic shoot-out in the town square. Hilariously, the cyborg in question is quite literally half man, half robot, with his entire left-hand side seemingly robotic, while his right side is human. This isn't the last time we'll see this very literal take on cyborgs in Marvel's Star Wars comic (but more of that later). To further emphasise the western vibe of this story, we learn that Aduba-3 was once a boom planet, during the chromium rush, but now it's a half-forgotten "ghost town" of a world. There's also a wild west-style wanted poster for Han and Chewbacca on the front cover. Things will get even more "western" in coming issues though, with a clear homage to The Magnificent Seven. Roy Thomas's writing is fairly good here. He really tries to give the readers a feel for this galaxy far, far away in his narration boxes, but whereas I really liked the breathless, poetic quality of his caption boxes in the Star Wars film adaptation, here they seem slightly off and, at times, a bit cringe-worthy. It feels as if Roy hasn't quite got the feel of the Star Wars Universe himself. Still, these were the early days of writing for the so-called expanded universe, so we shouldn't be too harsh. While we're on the subject of Thomas's writing, the characterisation of Chewbacca here isn't quite right either. Roy must've taken a lot of notice of that line in the film about Wookiees pulling "people's arms out of their sockets when they loose" because he writes Chewbacca as a ferocious, ill-tempered brawler. Thomas informs us that on the Wookiee homeworld (which will later be given the name Kashyyyk) "violence is such a common occurrence that there are fifteen separate words for it in the Wookiee vocabulary." At one point, Thomas even has Chewbacca go into a berserker killing-rage at the sight of blood! Again, these were very early days, in terms of writing stories that went beyond the movie, so I guess we can excuse these slip ups. The run in with Crimson Jack and his space-pirates at the start of this issue is a nifty little trick to separate Solo and Chewie from their reward money and put the smugglers down on their luck. It also neatly explains why Solo never used his reward to pay Jabba the Hutt off. Maybe this was something that George Lucas insisted on, with his eye already on the sequel, or maybe Roy just got lucky in explaining away a dangling plot thread. Oddly, when Han first spots Jack's ship he says, "At least it's not an Empire ship", but actually Jack's ship is clearly a Star Destroyer, so how does Solo know it's not crewed by Imperials? As for Jack himself, he's a full on, red bearded, "Arrr, Jim lad" pirate in space – albeit one in very short shorts! Some of the members of Jack's crew even wield cutlasses, which is all a little ridiculous and really not very Star Wars-y, but it's quite fun at the same time. We'll see Crimson Jack and his female first mate Jolli again in a few issues time. On a side note, I wanted to mention that early on in this issue Han mentions the planet of Aquilae. This is noteworthy because Aquilae is a planet that is mentioned in the very earliest drafts of The Star Wars (as it was then titled). I know from interviews that I've read that Roy Thomas was given access to George Lucas's earlier drafts of the Star Wars movie, in case there was anything that he could lift from them and use in the comic. This reference to Aquilae is one example of something that Roy definitely borrowed. The cantina sequence towards the end of this comic is kind of interesting too because judging from the attire that the female beings frequenting the establishment are wearing, disco is pretty big on Aduba-3. We also get to see Han and Chewbacca "on the pull" and it seems that Chewie has a thing for humanoid females. I guess some of that Star Wars erotic fanfic and porn featuring him and Leia isn't so far off the mark after all!  Overall, this is a reasonably solid, if somewhat mediocre, issue to begin the post-film adventures with. The artwork is a bit sub-standard and, even when it's on point, it's hardly anything to write home about. Roy Thomas makes a few slip ups with characterisation here and there, but you know what? I really enjoy this issue in spite of its short-comings. I mean, I feel as if I really shouldn't like this issue as much as I do, but it has a certain something – a wide-eyed innocence, maybe, or perhaps that comfy western vibe – that I find awfully compelling. The "western in space" story suits Han and Chewbacca well and there's enough action and drama to make this a pretty enjoyable read, in spite of its shortcomings. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Get a smuggling czar on your tail, ol' buddy, and even a galactic war won't save you" – Han Solo wryly sums up his current situation with Jabba the Hutt to Chewbacca.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 12, 2015 15:05:13 GMT -5
"We got a few more light years to go before we even cut to hyper-space…" Plenty of time, then, Han. In the best of cases it shouldn't take more than a few more years! (But I forget that Mr. Solo is the guy who thought a parsec was a unit of time… he probably was the kind of kid to skip school during the physics class)!  |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,874
|
Post by shaxper on Jan 12, 2015 16:06:04 GMT -5
Star Wars #7Cover dated: January 1978 Issue title: New Planets, New Perils!Script: Roy Thomas (plot, script)/Howard Chaykin (co-plotter) Artwork: Howard Chaykin (breakdowns)/Frank Springer (finished art and inks) Colours: Carl Gafford Letters: Joe Rosen Cover art: Gil Kane (pencils)/Tony DeZuniga (inks) Overall rating: 6 out of 10  Plot summary: Han Solo and Chewbacca bid farewell to Luke, Leia and the droids, having decided to leave Yavin 4 and return to Tatooine to pay off their debt to Jabba the Hutt. On their way there, the Millennium Falcon is waylaid and boarded by space-pirates, led by Crimson Jack. The pirates steal the money that Han and Chewbacca received from the Rebel Alliance for rescuing Leia from the Empire, but spare the smuggler's lives. Broke and unable to pay Jabba the money that they owe, Han and Chewbacca decide to lay low on the backwater world of Aduba-3. Shortly after arriving, they encounter an alien priest who pays them to help bury a recently deceased cyborg. The pair complete the task, but not before they have to do battle with an angry mob of local spacers, who object to the cyborg being buried on their traditional mound. Later, while relaxing in a local cantina, the two smugglers are approached by a group of locals who have a deadly proposition for them. Comments: So, here we have the first post-movie issue of Marvels' Star Wars comic. The first thing I will say about this issue is that, although it's not perfect, it's head and shoulders above the drek that Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin were concurrently churning out in the pages of Pizzazz magazine. Chaykin provides breakdowns for this issue, rather than the rough layouts that he's recently been doing on the series and as a result, I can detect much more of his influence in the artwork. Having said that, Frank Springer certainly puts his own stamp on things with his finishes and inking, but you can still spot Chaykin's work a mile off. Unfortunately, although the staging and sequential storytelling is very good and very Chaykin, the overall quality of art is pretty poor. There are a few nice looking panels, but the majority of this issue just seems rushed and sloppy. In particular, Chewbacca's face looks extremely weird in a number of panels for some reason. Story-wise, what we have in this issue is essentially a western set in space. That kinda works OK actually, because a lot of the first Star Wars movie was a western set in space too. Among the western tropes on offer in this story we get a half-breed (or a cyborg in this case) who needs to be buried on Boot Hill (make that Spacer's Hill), much to the annoyance of the bigoted townsfolk, resulting in a dramatic shoot out in the town square. Hilariously, the cyborg in question is quite literally half man, half robot, with his entire left-hand side seemingly robotic, while his right side is human. This isn't the last time we'll see this very literal take on cyborgs in Marvel's Star Wars comic (but more of that later). To further emphasise the western vibe of this story, we learn that Aduba-3 was once a boom planet, during the chromium rush, but now it's a half-forgotten "ghost town" of a world. There's also a wild west-style wanted poster for Han and Chewbacca on the front cover. Things will get even more "western" in coming issues though, with a clear homage to The Magnificent Seven. Roy Thomas' writing is fairly good here. He really tries to give the readers a feel for this galaxy far, far away in his narration boxes, but whereas I really liked the breathless, poetic quality of his caption boxes in the Star Wars film adaptation, here they seem slightly off and, at times, a bit cringe-worthy. It feels as if Roy hasn't quite got the feel of the Star Wars Universe himself. Still, these were the early days of writing for the so-called expanded universe, so we shouldn't be too harsh. While we're on the subject of Thomas' writing, the characterisation of Chewbacca here isn't quite right either. Roy must've taken a lot of notice of that line in the film about Wookiees pulling "people's arms out of their sockets when they loose" because he writes Chewbacca as a ferocious, ill-tempered brawler. Thomas informs us that on the Wookiee homeworld (which will later be given the name Kashyyyk) "violence is such a common occurrence that there are fifteen separate words for it in the Wookiee vocabulary." At one point, Thomas even has Chewbacca go into a berserker killing-rage at the sight of blood! Again, these were very early days, in terms of writing stories that went beyond the movie, so I guess we can excuse these slip ups. The run in with Crimson Jack and his space-pirates at the start of this issue is a nifty little trick to separate Solo and Chewie from their reward money and put the smugglers down on their luck. It also neatly explains why Solo never used his reward to pay Jabba the Hutt off. Maybe this was something that George Lucas insisted on, with his eye already on the sequel, or maybe Roy just got lucky in explaining away a dangling plot thread. Oddly, when Han first spots Jack's ship he says, "At least it's not an Empire ship", but actually Jack's ship is clearly a Star Destroyer, so how does Solo know it's not crewed by Imperials? As for Jack himself, he's a full on, red bearded, "Arrr, Jim lad" pirate in space – albeit one in very short shorts! Some of the members of Jack's crew even wield cutlasses, which is all a little ridiculous and really not very Star Wars-y, but it's quite fun at the same time. We'll see Crimson Jack and his female first mate Jolli again in a few issues time. On a side note, I wanted to mention that early on in this issue Han mentions the planet of Aquilae. This is noteworthy because Aquilae is a planet that is mentioned in the very earliest drafts of The Star Wars (as it was then titled). I know from interviews that I've read that Roy Thomas was given access to George Lucas' earlier drafts of the Star Wars movie, in case there was anything that he could lift from them and use in the comic. This reference to Aquilae is one example of something that Roy definitely borrowed. The cantina sequence towards the end of this comic is kind of interesting too because judging from the attire that the female beings frequenting the establishment are wearing, disco is pretty big on Aduba-3. We also get to see Han and Chewbacca "on the pull" and it seems that Chewie has a thing for humanoid females. I guess some of that Star Wars erotic fanfic and porn featuring him and Leia isn't so far off the mark after all! Overall, this is a reasonably solid, if somewhat mediocre, issue to begin the post-film adventures with. The artwork is a bit sub-standard and, even when it's on point, it's hardly anything to write home about. Roy Thomas makes a few slip ups with characterisation here and there, but you know what? I really enjoy this issue in spite of its short-comings. I mean, I feel as if I really shouldn't like this issue as much as I do, but it has a certain something – a wide-eyed innocence, maybe, or perhaps that comfy western vibe – that I find awfully compelling. The "western in space" story suits Han and Chewbacca well and there's enough action and drama to make this a pretty enjoyable read, in spite of its shortcomings. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Get a smuggling czar on your tail, ol' buddy, and even a galactic war won't save you" – Han Solo wryly sums up his current situation with Jabba the Hutt to Chewbacca. Though my daughter has now lost interest in pursuing the Star Wars thing, I haven't given up on it and hope to coax her back into it sometime soon. If/when I'm successful, this will be the issue we'll begin with. I'm really looking forward to it. |
|
|
|
Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 12, 2015 17:59:29 GMT -5
Star Wars #7Cover dated: January 1978 Issue title: New Planets, New Perils!Script: Roy Thomas (plot, script)/Howard Chaykin (co-plotter) Artwork: Howard Chaykin (breakdowns)/Frank Springer (finished art and inks) Colours: Carl Gafford Letters: Joe Rosen Cover art: Gil Kane (pencils)/Tony DeZuniga (inks) Overall rating: 6 out of 10 Plot summary: Han Solo and Chewbacca bid farewell to Luke, Leia and the droids, having decided to leave Yavin 4 and return to Tatooine to pay off their debt to Jabba the Hutt. On their way there, the Millennium Falcon is waylaid and boarded by space-pirates, led by Crimson Jack. The pirates steal the money that Han and Chewbacca received from the Rebel Alliance for rescuing Leia from the Empire, but spare the smuggler's lives. Broke and unable to pay Jabba the money that they owe, Han and Chewbacca decide to lay low on the backwater world of Aduba-3. Shortly after arriving, they encounter an alien priest who pays them to help bury a recently deceased cyborg. The pair complete the task, but not before they have to do battle with an angry mob of local spacers, who object to the cyborg being buried on their traditional mound. Later, while relaxing in a local cantina, the two smugglers are approached by a group of locals who have a deadly proposition for them. Comments: So, here we have the first post-movie issue of Marvels' Star Wars comic. The first thing I will say about this issue is that, although it's not perfect, it's head and shoulders above the drek that Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin were concurrently churning out in the pages of Pizzazz magazine. Chaykin provides breakdowns for this issue, rather than the rough layouts that he's recently been doing on the series and as a result, I can detect much more of his influence in the artwork. Having said that, Frank Springer certainly puts his own stamp on things with his finishes and inking, but you can still spot Chaykin's work a mile off. Unfortunately, although the staging and sequential storytelling is very good and very Chaykin, the overall quality of art is pretty poor. There are a few nice looking panels, but the majority of this issue just seems rushed and sloppy. In particular, Chewbacca's face looks extremely weird in a number of panels for some reason. Story-wise, what we have in this issue is essentially a western set in space. That kinda works OK actually, because a lot of the first Star Wars movie was a western set in space too. Among the western tropes on offer in this story we get a half-breed (or a cyborg in this case) who needs to be buried on Boot Hill (make that Spacer's Hill), much to the annoyance of the bigoted townsfolk, resulting in a dramatic shoot out in the town square. Hilariously, the cyborg in question is quite literally half man, half robot, with his entire left-hand side seemingly robotic, while his right side is human. This isn't the last time we'll see this very literal take on cyborgs in Marvel's Star Wars comic (but more of that later). To further emphasise the western vibe of this story, we learn that Aduba-3 was once a boom planet, during the chromium rush, but now it's a half-forgotten "ghost town" of a world. There's also a wild west-style wanted poster for Han and Chewbacca on the front cover. Things will get even more "western" in coming issues though, with a clear homage to The Magnificent Seven. Roy Thomas' writing is fairly good here. He really tries to give the readers a feel for this galaxy far, far away in his narration boxes, but whereas I really liked the breathless, poetic quality of his caption boxes in the Star Wars film adaptation, here they seem slightly off and, at times, a bit cringe-worthy. It feels as if Roy hasn't quite got the feel of the Star Wars Universe himself. Still, these were the early days of writing for the so-called expanded universe, so we shouldn't be too harsh. While we're on the subject of Thomas' writing, the characterisation of Chewbacca here isn't quite right either. Roy must've taken a lot of notice of that line in the film about Wookiees pulling "people's arms out of their sockets when they loose" because he writes Chewbacca as a ferocious, ill-tempered brawler. Thomas informs us that on the Wookiee homeworld (which will later be given the name Kashyyyk) "violence is such a common occurrence that there are fifteen separate words for it in the Wookiee vocabulary." At one point, Thomas even has Chewbacca go into a berserker killing-rage at the sight of blood! Again, these were very early days, in terms of writing stories that went beyond the movie, so I guess we can excuse these slip ups. The run in with Crimson Jack and his space-pirates at the start of this issue is a nifty little trick to separate Solo and Chewie from their reward money and put the smugglers down on their luck. It also neatly explains why Solo never used his reward to pay Jabba the Hutt off. Maybe this was something that George Lucas insisted on, with his eye already on the sequel, or maybe Roy just got lucky in explaining away a dangling plot thread. Oddly, when Han first spots Jack's ship he says, "At least it's not an Empire ship", but actually Jack's ship is clearly a Star Destroyer, so how does Solo know it's not crewed by Imperials? As for Jack himself, he's a full on, red bearded, "Arrr, Jim lad" pirate in space – albeit one in very short shorts! Some of the members of Jack's crew even wield cutlasses, which is all a little ridiculous and really not very Star Wars-y, but it's quite fun at the same time. We'll see Crimson Jack and his female first mate Jolli again in a few issues time. On a side note, I wanted to mention that early on in this issue Han mentions the planet of Aquilae. This is noteworthy because Aquilae is a planet that is mentioned in the very earliest drafts of The Star Wars (as it was then titled). I know from interviews that I've read that Roy Thomas was given access to George Lucas' earlier drafts of the Star Wars movie, in case there was anything that he could lift from them and use in the comic. This reference to Aquilae is one example of something that Roy definitely borrowed. The cantina sequence towards the end of this comic is kind of interesting too because judging from the attire that the female beings frequenting the establishment are wearing, disco is pretty big on Aduba-3. We also get to see Han and Chewbacca "on the pull" and it seems that Chewie has a thing for humanoid females. I guess some of that Star Wars erotic fanfic and porn featuring him and Leia isn't so far off the mark after all! Overall, this is a reasonably solid, if somewhat mediocre, issue to begin the post-film adventures with. The artwork is a bit sub-standard and, even when it's on point, it's hardly anything to write home about. Roy Thomas makes a few slip ups with characterisation here and there, but you know what? I really enjoy this issue in spite of its short-comings. I mean, I feel as if I really shouldn't like this issue as much as I do, but it has a certain something – a wide-eyed innocence, maybe, or perhaps that comfy western vibe – that I find awfully compelling. The "western in space" story suits Han and Chewbacca well and there's enough action and drama to make this a pretty enjoyable read, in spite of its shortcomings. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel: Favourite quote: "Get a smuggling czar on your tail, ol' buddy, and even a galactic war won't save you" – Han Solo wryly sums up his current situation with Jabba the Hutt to Chewbacca. Though my daughter has now lost interest in pursuing the Star Wars thing, I haven't given up on it and hope to coax her back into it sometime soon. If/when I'm successful, this will be the issue we'll begin with. I'm really looking forward to it. The flicked and fleeting interests of youth, oh well. At any rate, some thoughts on issue #6: I've complained about Roy's narration a few times but his work here was fantastic, his blurb about the fall of the Death Star, " The collapsed residue of the Death Star will continue to consume itself for several days forming, for that brief span of time, the most impressive tombstone in this corner of the cosmos." He doesn't just give us a description of what the art is showing, as he had several times in the past, but rather he added an emotional intensity to the scene that the art alone could not have achieved. As for issue #7, Poor Chewie isn't the only one who looks a little strange at times art wise, that poor Bantha was nearly unrecognizable, I certainly didn't know what it was until the priest named it. Over all it was fun though, and as it starts a fun play on the Seven Samurai it has a warm spot in my heart. |
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,220
|
Post by Confessor on Jan 12, 2015 23:45:37 GMT -5
"We got a few more light years to go before we even cut to hyper-space…" Plenty of time, then, Han. In the best of cases it shouldn't take more than a few more years! (But I forget that Mr. Solo is the guy who thought a parsec was a unit of time… he probably was the kind of kid to skip school during the physics class)! Yeah, in my reviews I haven't even bothered picking Han (or any other character) up on confusing measurements of time with measurements of distance. Since that confusion also exists in the actual Star Wars movie itself, it's basically a canonical trait. |
|
