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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 29, 2021 12:58:20 GMT -5
I forgot to mention that in Fall 1984 & in Fall 1985, two made-for-TV Ewok films came out, the "Caravan of Courage" and "The Battle for Endor". While COC was just OK, I felt Battle for Endor was excellent. This was a great sci-fi drama that had a lot of fantasy-like elements, including a witch that could change form. It was interesting that while these were released only on TV in the U.S., they were released theatrically outside the States. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravan_of_Courage:_An_Ewok_Adventureen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewoks:_The_Battle_for_EndorBoth of those movies are on Disney+, at least here in the U.S. Yeah, both are indeed on Disney+ now as well as the Ewoks cartoon and the Boba Fett cartoon from the Christmas special. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 29, 2021 13:00:07 GMT -5
Darth Vader Strikes! April 20th-July 26th 1981 Written by Archie Goodwin Art by Al Williamson LA Times  Summery: Fresh off the defeat of the Death Star, Darth Vader has a new weapon in mind for his vengeance against the Rebel Alliance; a Super Star Destroyer a battle ship larger than any other in the Imperial Navy. However, after detailing his plans to the rest of the Admiralty he runs into opposition and although his abrupt show of Force(sorry I couldn't help myself!) quells their arguments they secretly plot behind his back, hoping to dethrone the "wizard" and regain the power they believe is due their rank. Understanding that direct confrontation is useless the Admirals think on the down fall of Moff Tarkin and believe that the solution to their issue with Vader may lie similarly with the Rebels. Meanwhile, back on the fourth moon of Yarvin Luke Skywalker battles with his emotions about Leia and her flirtations with Han. Feeling left out, Luke sulks in the shadows but before he can make moves of his own an unidentified object enters the system and Luke and R2 scramble to intercept it. Strangely, rather than an overt threat our heroes find that the object is a drone craft used for delivering messages in areas that are prohibitive to sight to sight communication and inside the drone the Rebels uncover an astonishing message...from the Imperial Admiralty! In their holographic message the Imperials lay out their shared hatred of Vader with the Rebels and share with them information about Vader's new super weapon along with an opportunity for a rebel to infiltrate the project. Seeing it as a way to gain Leia's attention Luke volunteers and heads to the ship yards of Fondor with R2 and 3PO in tow where they come face to face with Vader's new project:  However, although it first appears that the insertion into the ship yard is successful all is not as it seems as we see that Vader's attack on Admiral Griff was a ruse and that they are well aware of the arrival of the rebel spy. It seems that like the other Admirals Vader sees the Rebels as a perfect weapon against his own enemies; by drawing out his detractors with an over abundance of force(sorry again!) he hopes to discredit them by "uncovering" their relationship with the rebel spy. But as the noose closes around the "conspirators" Griff and Vader encounter something they did not anticipate...their spy is sensitive to the Force and sensing Vader's presence he alerts the other Admirals to Vader's approach. But although the premonition allows Luke to escape with the knowledge he gained of the super star destroyer Vader's aims are achieved as he still captures his enemies along with learning that Obi-Wan had an apprentice. Review: After an almost two month break...we're back! And I couldn't be more pleased to continue reading the Star Wars strip as it seems like it just keeps getting better and better. In this latest chapter we see the creation of Vader's flag ship the Executioner which was seriously one of the coolest looking ships in Star Wars; I've always loved its sleek, predatory design. It took the imposing look of the Star Destroyer to new heights, taking the already imposing dagger shape of the original design to the next logical step with an even greater dagger shape complete with a sharper angle, simplified deck housing resembling the smooth steel of a blade and even the handle. It's simply an amazing design and Williamson, like his depictions of everything else Star Wars, absolutely nails it even in his illustrations of it in its incomplete state. On top of that, not only do we get an authentic Star Wars look but also a story that once again feels authentic as well. Goodwin nails the voices of Luke, Han, Leia and 3PO which is fantastic but better than that he gives us some fantastic insight to Vader. Characterized in a New Hope by Tarkin as a blunt instrument we see here, as well as in Empire Strikes Back, that Vader is the Emperor's right hand man not just because of his imposing stature and skills with the Force but also for his intelligence. Like his nuanced plan to capture Luke in Empire, we see here a truly duplicitous plan to entrap his enemies; Vader could have easily over powered them physically but sees that that would only create more animosity so instead he manipulates them into betraying the Empire. That cloak and dagger aspect gives the story a real mature sense of action that the previous stories lacked and sets up elements that we see unfold in Empire making this a true treat to read. A+ I enjoyed this story a lot. More excellent art by Al Williamson, and a very good story by Archie Goodwin. This story has suspense, and a pretty good Star Wars feel to it. I do find it interesting that there’s a plot here involving Imperial officers trying to overthrow Vader. There was a similar plot in the Marvel comic, though I’m guessing that this came first. Good dialogue here, especially by Threepio. Tanith comes on a bit too strong here. She must be part Zeltron! Luke feels sorry for himself and blames himself for something that’s not his fault (getting stranded on that planet) – that must be Goodwin’s Marvel training. I'm not sure who came up with the plot idea of having the rank and file Imperials want to take down Vader first but its definitely been something just about everyone has done since then. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,202 
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Post by Confessor on Jul 29, 2021 14:24:45 GMT -5
I do find it interesting that there’s a plot here involving Imperial officers trying to overthrow Vader. There was a similar plot in the Marvel comic, though I’m guessing that this came first. I'm not sure who came up with the plot idea of having the rank and file Imperials want to take down Vader first but its definitely been something just about everyone has done since then. Both of the plots against Darth Vader from his Imperial officers were more or less published simultaneously. Archie Goodwin's newspaper strip adventure "Darth Vader Strikes" was published from April to July 1981, whereas David Michelinie's "Resurrection of Evil" hit stands in June 1981. So, yeah...technically the newspaper strip got there first, in terms of publication date, but in terms of when each story was being written, it must've been around the same time. Actually, given the close proximity of the two stories and given that Michelinie had only just taken over from Goodwin on the monthly Marvel comic book, I've always wondered whether there was some cross pollination here. Maybe Goodwin had been planning to tell the story in the SW comic and told Michelinie about it or gave him his story notes (Goodwin was still working for Marvel, so he'd have no reason not to share ideas with the SW comic's new writer)? Or maybe it was Michelinie's idea and he mentioned it to Goodwin who then borrowed it for the newspaper strip? Or maybe it was just a coincidence? |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 29, 2021 14:39:22 GMT -5
I do find it interesting that there’s a plot here involving Imperial officers trying to overthrow Vader. There was a similar plot in the Marvel comic, though I’m guessing that this came first. I'm not sure who came up with the plot idea of having the rank and file Imperials want to take down Vader first but its definitely been something just about everyone has done since then. Both of the plots against Darth Vader from his Imperial officers were more or less published simultaneously. Archie Goodwin's newspaper strip adventure "Darth Vader Strikes" was published from April to July 1981, whereas David Michelinie's "Resurrection of Evil" hit stands in June 1981. So, yeah...technically the newspaper strip got there first, in terms of publication date, but in terms of when each story was being written, it must've been around the same time. Actually, given the close proximity of the two stories and given that Michelinie had only just taken over from Goodwin on the monthly Marvel comic book, I've always wondered whether there was some cross pollination here. Maybe Goodwin had been planning to tell the story in the SW comic and told Michelinie about it or gave him his story notes (Goodwin was still working for Marvel, so he'd have no reason not to share ideas with the SW comic's new writer)? Or maybe it was Michelinie's idea and he mentioned it to Goodwin who then borrowed it for the newspaper strip? Or maybe it was just a coincidence? That's pretty interesting, I'll have to store this away in the old brain bucket in case I ever get the chance to meet Michelinie at a con or something. It was also used really well in the opening story for Dark Horse's 2002 Star Wars: Empire and then again(though less than satisfyingly done) in the latest Vader book by Marvel. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 29, 2021 15:10:52 GMT -5
I do find it interesting that there’s a plot here involving Imperial officers trying to overthrow Vader. There was a similar plot in the Marvel comic, though I’m guessing that this came first. I'm not sure who came up with the plot idea of having the rank and file Imperials want to take down Vader first but its definitely been something just about everyone has done since then. Both of the plots against Darth Vader from his Imperial officers were more or less published simultaneously. Archie Goodwin's newspaper strip adventure "Darth Vader Strikes" was published from April to July 1981, whereas David Michelinie's "Resurrection of Evil" hit stands in June 1981. So, yeah...technically the newspaper strip got there first, in terms of publication date, but in terms of when each story was being written, it must've been around the same time. Actually, given the close proximity of the two stories and given that Michelinie had only just taken over from Goodwin on the monthly Marvel comic book, I've always wondered whether there was some cross pollination here. Maybe Goodwin had been planning to tell the story in the SW comic and told Michelinie about it or gave him his story notes (Goodwin was still working for Marvel, so he'd have no reason not to share ideas with the SW comic's new writer)? Or maybe it was Michelinie's idea and he mentioned it to Goodwin who then borrowed it for the newspaper strip? Or maybe it was just a coincidence? Thanks for the info. I was too lazy to look it up. Yes, I'd love to know the story behind these stories! |
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Post by dbutler69 on Jul 31, 2021 10:04:26 GMT -5
The Serpent MastersJuly 27th-November 1, 1981 Written by Archie Goodwin Art by Al Williamson LA Times  Summery: After his Mission to Fondor, Luke Skywalker learns that his benefactor Tanith Shire is more than just the refuse tug captain she claimed to be. As R-2 and 3-PO alert their master that they are quickly running out of air Tanith tells Luke that it's not important as long before they run out of air the ship will crash...just like the dozens of other drone barges that she stole! She reveals that she's not just some hard working galactic citizen but actually a career criminal, how ever much like Han never thought he'd have to smuggle himself Tanith never thought she'd have to escape in one of her stolen drones and so she has no idea how she'd survive the crash, luckily though Luke is able to come up with a last second idea; the fire suppressant foam! Buffered by the foam our heroes survive the landing and find themselves on the planet Ophideraan and into the clutches of the Serpent Masters.  The serpent masters are a group of scavengers who enjoy left over storm trooper armor and riding giant flying snakes, and they just happen be holding Tanith's father hostage in order to force her to steal for them. Enslaved, Luke attempts to master a serpent but his ride ends in failure, however as he recovers from his fall he remembers that before the serpent masters had deactivated his droids that they were discussing an odd signal they were picking up a strange signals from the flying serpents and so he sets out to reclaim them...by using his light saber to cut hand holds into the crater so he can climb to his droids. Once rescued Luke learns that the masters control their reptilian steeds with a special frequency and so R2 transmits the frequency and Luke takes to the air to combat the slavers. During the fight Luke realized that the master's signal was coming from an amulet around his neck and so Luke ripped it off and tossed it off the cliff causing the master to leap off the ledge to his death and with the signal gone the other riders lost their mounts as well. With that done Tanith and her people are free and Luke heads back to the Rebellion. Review: Unlike the last strip which felt much more like the films in tone this one was much more like early strips, only with out the kitch that made those comics so endearing. Although I liked the look of a storm trooper with a Roman style cape, their use here seemed kind of lazy; sure they're scavengers so I can see them using scraps of what ever but these guys talked like storm troopers too so it just felt like they couldn't be bothered to create a new villain. On top of that there was a pretty big gap in logic in that Luke was enslaved...but they let him keep his light saber. That just seems like way too big an over sight and gives them a very easy out with the plot that, like the design of the serpent riders just felt very lazy which is odd because the last chapter was so good. TThe only real highlight was this call back to Obi-Wan...although Luke looks more like Han than himself, but the sentiment is great and old Ben looks great. Grade: D
I agree about the lightsaber and I also didn't really like that most of these pirates wore stormtrooper armor. I thought it was a decent enough story, but it certainly had its flaws. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 31, 2021 18:14:40 GMT -5
The Serpent MastersJuly 27th-November 1, 1981 Written by Archie Goodwin Art by Al Williamson LA Times Summery: After his Mission to Fondor, Luke Skywalker learns that his benefactor Tanith Shire is more than just the refuse tug captain she claimed to be. As R-2 and 3-PO alert their master that they are quickly running out of air Tanith tells Luke that it's not important as long before they run out of air the ship will crash...just like the dozens of other drone barges that she stole! She reveals that she's not just some hard working galactic citizen but actually a career criminal, how ever much like Han never thought he'd have to smuggle himself Tanith never thought she'd have to escape in one of her stolen drones and so she has no idea how she'd survive the crash, luckily though Luke is able to come up with a last second idea; the fire suppressant foam! Buffered by the foam our heroes survive the landing and find themselves on the planet Ophideraan and into the clutches of the Serpent Masters. The serpent masters are a group of scavengers who enjoy left over storm trooper armor and riding giant flying snakes, and they just happen be holding Tanith's father hostage in order to force her to steal for them. Enslaved, Luke attempts to master a serpent but his ride ends in failure, however as he recovers from his fall he remembers that before the serpent masters had deactivated his droids that they were discussing an odd signal they were picking up a strange signals from the flying serpents and so he sets out to reclaim them...by using his light saber to cut hand holds into the crater so he can climb to his droids. Once rescued Luke learns that the masters control their reptilian steeds with a special frequency and so R2 transmits the frequency and Luke takes to the air to combat the slavers. During the fight Luke realized that the master's signal was coming from an amulet around his neck and so Luke ripped it off and tossed it off the cliff causing the master to leap off the ledge to his death and with the signal gone the other riders lost their mounts as well. With that done Tanith and her people are free and Luke heads back to the Rebellion. Review: Unlike the last strip which felt much more like the films in tone this one was much more like early strips, only with out the kitch that made those comics so endearing. Although I liked the look of a storm trooper with a Roman style cape, their use here seemed kind of lazy; sure they're scavengers so I can see them using scraps of what ever but these guys talked like storm troopers too so it just felt like they couldn't be bothered to create a new villain. On top of that there was a pretty big gap in logic in that Luke was enslaved...but they let him keep his light saber. That just seems like way too big an over sight and gives them a very easy out with the plot that, like the design of the serpent riders just felt very lazy which is odd because the last chapter was so good. TThe only real highlight was this call back to Obi-Wan...although Luke looks more like Han than himself, but the sentiment is great and old Ben looks great. Grade: D
I agree about the lightsaber and I also didn't really like that most of these pirates wore stormtrooper armor. I thought it was a decent enough story, but it certainly had its flaws. There were definitely some cool elements, and I loved the serpents themselves. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Aug 1, 2021 10:17:48 GMT -5
Deadly Reunion
November 2nd, 1981- February 3rd, 1982
Written by Archie Goodwin
Art by Al Williamson
LA Times
 After defeating Serpent Masters and freeing Tanith's people, it seems Luke is finally going to be able to rejoin the Alliance...unfortunately ship doesn't have the capacity for long hyperspace journeys but all is not lost as the heroes are able to raise the Rebel command on a secret channel and are able to find a place where they can be picked up: Kabal where it just so happens is also where Leia went on her diplomatic trip. As we see though, it isn't only Luke who is making his way to Kabal, but also an Imperial Star Destroyer; it seems the neutrality of Kabal has been deemed illegal by the Emperor and Kalbal and any other planet that would claim neutrality in the civil war are now considered legitimate military targets. Luke and company arrive just as the attack is about to begin, Tanith tries to persuade him to come back with her but Luke explains that his loyalty to the Rebels is too strong and so the two must go their own ways, but not without one last passionate embrace...that Leia just happens to witness. Before the two can talk about what just transpired the imperials attack and as it seems all hope is lost Leia begins to tell Luke about her feels for him only to be interrupted in classic form by Han Solo:  As they jet off on the Millenium Falcon their escape seems all but assured, but at the last second the stress on the shields from Imperial fire causes a malfunction with the Falcon's wiring which makes it so they cannot jump to hyperspace. All is not lost however as just as it appears that the Falcon's goose is cooked the TIE bombers call off their pursuit in the wake of the Rebel fleet's transponder but all as not as it seems because instead of the fleet our heroes are greeted by a grave yard of derelict star ships that they mysteriously cannot escape from. Exiting the Falcon to discover who is keeping them captive Luke and Han uncover that they are the "guests" of a mad Imperial scientist who is slowly dying from an advanced case of radiation poisoning that he contracted when Rebels destroyed his laboratory. Although the suit he has developed slows the effects of the disease he is none the less racing to his own demise, but be that as it may he has decided what little time he does have left seeking revenge against the Rebels by luring them to a maw of his own making around a super dense dwarf star that will slowly kill his prisoners just as the radiation is killing him. In a flash of brilliance though, Han comes up with a brilliant escape plan using the same bombs the scientist used to create the dwarf star to rock the Falcon out of the star's clutches on the winds of the ensuing explosion. Review: This was a pretty fantastic strip, I loved how it played with the love triangle between Luke, Han, the sense of continuity between this strip and the last two was great and Leia and the space mystery plot was a nice change of pace. Although it really only lasted a few panels, the relationship between Luke and Leia was well done in the wake of Tanith's departure; we saw Leia go from looking hurt to feisty to just about to fall for Luke in a few short panels and rather than feel rushed, Williams made it feel totally natural with the facial expressions he chose. But the best part of that development was the appearance of Han out of the blue breaking up Luke and Leia's moment in a way that echoes the way 3-P0 broke up Han and Leia in Empire Strikes Back which was hilarious. All of that though is even more brilliant because of the way it bridges the gaps between these three stories, that love triangle connects the stories together as a cohesive whole that was seriously lacking in all the previous strips. Not that the more episodic feel to the previous strips was bad mind you, that really created a very old school sci-fi Lost in Space/ Star Trek kind of feel to the adventures of Luke and his friends but the more long form story telling that these stories represent creates a more sophisticated feel which aside from Prince Valiant I've never seen in a daily comic strip. The plot itself here also feels more grown up than your typical Star Wars story as well, with the mystery of why the TIE's stopping attacking them and then why they couldn't escape themselves having an almost noir feel that I would more closely associate with Battle Star Galactica than Star Wars, but not in a jarring way. Reading it though I wonder who originated the idea of blowing something up in order to escape a gravitational anomaly? I've seen it in Battle Star Galactica, Star Trek the Next Generation, Treasure Planet and even the reboot Star Trek film, so although it wasn't a novel solution it was still fun. More than anything though I love the plot because it gave Williamson an excuse to put Han and Luke in beautifully drawn retro space suits which I seriously loved:   Grade: A
Personally, I didn't like this story nearly as much as the previous few stories. The art was great, as usual, and they did a good job of showing Imperial brutality, but I thought the plot with Arakkus a bit silly, and I don't understand why, at the end, Han is wasting time and jeopardizing their lives in some vain attempt to try and save Arakkus. Oh well, to each is (or her) own. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Aug 2, 2021 8:59:16 GMT -5
Traitor's GambitJanuary 5th- March 7th, 1982 Written by Archie Goodwin Art by Al Williamson LA Times  Summery: Escaping the gravitational clutches of the dwarf star the Millennium Falcon bursts off towards the Rebel base only to be stopped mid jump by a desperate warning to avoid Yarvin as it was under attack. Fearing that the information Luke gathered about the Empires new super star destroyed might be lost to the rebellion if they were caught our heroes divert their journey to Aquarius to meet with a new ally that Leia met on Kabal. Upon arrival however Han gets cold feet about Leia's new friend when he recognizes the name of the leader from his prior life as a space pirate, but Leia insists that Silver Fyre is a legitimate asset to the Alliance. While Leia goes off to meet with Fyre, Han and Luke are taken to their new quarters. While on the lift down Han continues to educate Luck on his past experiences with Fyre, and although Luke points out that Han had changed and that Fyre deserves the benefit of doubt he keeps chiding Han for continuing to mention the information Luke stored in R2's hard drive. It turns out though that Han wasn't too wrong as unbeknownst to Luke he had a device that detected eavesdropping machines and that he was intentionally mentioning the droids in order to draw Fyre out, but it seems she has a plan of her own. The next morning Fyre summons Han, Luke and Chewie to an underwater hunt, they try to protest so they can protect the droids but they are cut off as Leia gave Fyre permission to use Han and his crew as she needed in running the under water base. Split up the three speed off into the inky depths in search of a beast that commonly attacks the base, Han fears the droids will be attacked while they are diverted but Fyre has other plans. Once alone on the skimmer Fyre confides in Han that the original plan was to gain Han's trust by "rescuing" one of his comrades as she fears that Han's distrust could ruin her standing with the rebels but she claims to have changed her mind and simply tells Han what she's about rather than putting one of his friends at risk but before she can call off the hunt the creature attacks.  Seeing Luke in trouble Han dons scuba gear to head in to the rescue and his copilot isn't far behind. They grab Luke and make their escape but the Demonsquid is hot on their trail but just before it can grab them Fyre sweeps in and kills the monster. But it's not so clear cut as when they went for the rescue they found Luke stunned and Fyre's second in command was missing, causing Han to trust Fyre as they search for the traitor. As Kraken nears his prize we see a blaster follow him in...
 And it's princess Leia to the rescue! It turns out Han's feelings were wrong all along, but Leia planned on using that as a cover for her own hunt for the traitor.
Review: Wow, that ending blew me away! When I saw the blaster enter the scene I thought for sure it was Han to the rescue so when it was revealed to be Leia I burst out into an ear to ear grin. Though she only appears in a few scenes here, setting up the new allies and then the reveal at the end Archie uses what appearances she does have to really set her up as a strong, competent leader. From the first receipt of the distress signal she has a plan on where they need to go and once their she completely shuts down Solo and then saves the day. That's the leia I love and it was awesome to see that and again as this story builds off the last three the strip really has an epic feel to it that's fun to read. There may have been a few individual stories I liked more than these strips but the fact that they are interconnected really elevates them.
Grade: A
I thought this was a decent enough story. I loved seeing Leia come to the rescue. I think Luke called Artoo "little guy" way too much, though. Once would have been fine, but he did it repeatedly, which just doesn't sound right to me. More creat art, though the "demonsquid" looked way too much like a terrestrial octopus. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 2, 2021 9:38:23 GMT -5
Traitor's GambitJanuary 5th- March 7th, 1982 Written by Archie Goodwin Art by Al Williamson LA Times Summery: Escaping the gravitational clutches of the dwarf star the Millennium Falcon bursts off towards the Rebel base only to be stopped mid jump by a desperate warning to avoid Yarvin as it was under attack. Fearing that the information Luke gathered about the Empires new super star destroyed might be lost to the rebellion if they were caught our heroes divert their journey to Aquarius to meet with a new ally that Leia met on Kabal. Upon arrival however Han gets cold feet about Leia's new friend when he recognizes the name of the leader from his prior life as a space pirate, but Leia insists that Silver Fyre is a legitimate asset to the Alliance. While Leia goes off to meet with Fyre, Han and Luke are taken to their new quarters. While on the lift down Han continues to educate Luck on his past experiences with Fyre, and although Luke points out that Han had changed and that Fyre deserves the benefit of doubt he keeps chiding Han for continuing to mention the information Luke stored in R2's hard drive. It turns out though that Han wasn't too wrong as unbeknownst to Luke he had a device that detected eavesdropping machines and that he was intentionally mentioning the droids in order to draw Fyre out, but it seems she has a plan of her own. The next morning Fyre summons Han, Luke and Chewie to an underwater hunt, they try to protest so they can protect the droids but they are cut off as Leia gave Fyre permission to use Han and his crew as she needed in running the under water base. Split up the three speed off into the inky depths in search of a beast that commonly attacks the base, Han fears the droids will be attacked while they are diverted but Fyre has other plans. Once alone on the skimmer Fyre confides in Han that the original plan was to gain Han's trust by "rescuing" one of his comrades as she fears that Han's distrust could ruin her standing with the rebels but she claims to have changed her mind and simply tells Han what she's about rather than putting one of his friends at risk but before she can call off the hunt the creature attacks. Seeing Luke in trouble Han dons scuba gear to head in to the rescue and his copilot isn't far behind. They grab Luke and make their escape but the Demonsquid is hot on their trail but just before it can grab them Fyre sweeps in and kills the monster. But it's not so clear cut as when they went for the rescue they found Luke stunned and Fyre's second in command was missing, causing Han to trust Fyre as they search for the traitor. As Kraken nears his prize we see a blaster follow him in...
And it's princess Leia to the rescue! It turns out Han's feelings were wrong all along, but Leia planned on using that as a cover for her own hunt for the traitor.
Review: Wow, that ending blew me away! When I saw the blaster enter the scene I thought for sure it was Han to the rescue so when it was revealed to be Leia I burst out into an ear to ear grin. Though she only appears in a few scenes here, setting up the new allies and then the reveal at the end Archie uses what appearances she does have to really set her up as a strong, competent leader. From the first receipt of the distress signal she has a plan on where they need to go and once their she completely shuts down Solo and then saves the day. That's the leia I love and it was awesome to see that and again as this story builds off the last three the strip really has an epic feel to it that's fun to read. There may have been a few individual stories I liked more than these strips but the fact that they are interconnected really elevates them.
Grade: A
I thought this was a decent enough story. I loved seeing Leia come to the rescue. I think Luke called Artoo "little guy" way too much, though. Once would have been fine, but he did it repeatedly, which just doesn't sound right to me. More creat art, though the "demonsquid" looked way too much like a terrestrial octopus. I think making the demonsquid look like a regular octopus was a play on the dinosaurs from the original Flash Gordon movie serials...that were very clearly iguanas :  |
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Post by dbutler69 on Aug 3, 2021 9:18:50 GMT -5
The Night BeastMarch 8 - May 16, 1982 Written by Archie Goodwin Art by Al Williamson LA Times  Summery: With the help of Silver Fyre's band of space pirates the Rebels are able to force the Imperials to call off their bombardment, but not before awakening something from the Massasi ruins that the Rebels call home. In the run up to the celebratory ball to mark their victory both Han and Luke vie for Leia's hand, and while she seems to lead each to believe she'll join them in the end she accompanies General Dodonna instead.  However this spurning isn't the worst of their problems as the dance is interrupted when one of the sentry towers comes crashes to the ground. When the Rebels run to the area to investigate they find that the collapse was no mechanical failure but that it appears to have been snapped off at the base by hand. With his absence noted from the both the party and the investigation suspicion on who could have caused the damage shifts to Chewbacca, but as Han defends his first mate's honor they hear a racket and uncover Chewie fighting some creature in the jungle:  In an attempt to save their friend Han and Luke open fire on the creature but their shots are some how blocked and Luke believes the creature may be using the Force. With that in mind Luke uses the Force himself to try and track the beast and uncovers a chamber in the ruins that were disturbed by the Imperial's attack. With the help of R2 and 3PO Luke discovers that the creature is a watch dog left behind by the former inhabitants of the ruins, who were indeed Force sensitive. Those inhabitants not wanting their enhanced powers to alter the course of the galaxy boarded ships and left the planet behind to live in seclusion so that the other peoples in the galaxy could develop at their own paces but they left behind the creature to protect their secret. Seeing that the creature intends no harm Luke concocts a way to get it aboard a ship and convinces it that he is returning to his masters and rocket's the creature to safety. Review: Like the Serpent Masters this chapter didn't feel Star Warsy to me even though it contained all of the members of the original cast. The idea of bringing a horror plot into the Star wars universe is an interesting experiment, and the premise of an ancient creature being awoken by war is fun but tonally it just feels discordant with what I expect from a Star Wars story. It's not with out its merits though, I liked the play between Luke, Han and Leia and the art as usual was fantastic; in fact the whole story almost feels like it came into existence because Williamson wanted to draw a fight between the wolf man and the creature of the black lagoon and decided to squeeze it in by substituting Chewie for the Wolfman:  Grade: C- Agreed. This was one of the weaker stories so far, if not the weakest I've seen of the Goodwin/Williamson run. By the way, Leia is admonishing Han not to "forget Luke" then a little while later she's the one who is ditching Luke for the greater good of the rebels while Han is the one who goes off on his own to try and rescue Luke. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Aug 3, 2021 9:23:48 GMT -5
The Return of Ben KenobiMay 17 - July 25, 1982 Written by Archie Goodwin Art by Al Williamson LA Times  Summery: With the Imperial blockade around Yarvin IV in danger of falling apart due to the Rebels new allies Darth Vader comes up with a new plan: He'll break their spirit by "resurrecting" their greatest hero Obi-Wan Kenobi. By surgically altering an actor to look like Kenobi and out fitting him a full gamut of technology to replicate a Jedi's force abilities and aiding him in leading a "rebellion" against the Empire in order to draw out and capture Luke Skywalker in order to stretch their military power to allow the blockade of Yarvin to fall into place. Hearing about the fake Obi-Wan's exploits Luke does exactly what Vader was hoping and headed out to Aridus with C-3PO. Upon landing on Aridus Luke and 3PO come across an attempt by the local rebels to over throw an Imperial weapons transport, but the rebels are seriously out matched and so Luke jumps into action. Using a pair of proton charges Luke jumps to their aide and not only defends the rebels but destroys the Imperial transport...but by sacrificing his own health as debris from the blast knock him violently to the ground rendering him unconscious. In a scene we are readily familiar with as the smoke clears and C-3PO comes to his master's aid he sees an old man leaning over the prone form of his master.  Through a series of campaigns the impostor gains Luke's trust all the while reporting back to Vader. However, while the impostor Obi-Wan works with Luke the youth's earnestness begins to effect him and instead of delivering him to Vader he aborts the mission and manages to save Luke's life in the process...but at the cost of his own.
Review: This was one of my favorite strips so far, I've liked many of the strips put out so far and they've had many elements to them that endeared them to me but this was the first one that really captured the feel of A New Hope. It has the Rebellion against the Empire, Vader against Luke and Obi-Wan, the little guys getting a hand from the heroes and a sacrifice to save the day; it was mythic and exciting and just plain fun. It hit all the right bits that made me love the series but at the same time presented a new angle to the story, it had all the trappings of the original but it was unique as well.
Grade:A
I agree. This was an excellent story. Yes, it was too obvious that the actor was going to wind up betraying Vader, and it's not exactly new, but it was really well done. Plus, I liked Willamson's depiction of "Ben" and some more good dialogue by Goodwin. I loved Vader's sneaky plot here! One nit is this personal force shield that Vader supplied "Ben". If these things exist, why aren't they standard issue for stormtroopers? Or at least, if they're expensive, they might still use then in certain circumstances. Anyway, this is one of my favorite of the comic strip stories so far. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,202
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Post by Confessor on Aug 3, 2021 14:08:48 GMT -5
The Return of Ben KenobiMay 17 - July 25, 1982 Written by Archie Goodwin Art by Al Williamson LA Times Summery: With the Imperial blockade around Yarvin IV in danger of falling apart due to the Rebels new allies Darth Vader comes up with a new plan: He'll break their spirit by "resurrecting" their greatest hero Obi-Wan Kenobi. By surgically altering an actor to look like Kenobi and out fitting him a full gamut of technology to replicate a Jedi's force abilities and aiding him in leading a "rebellion" against the Empire in order to draw out and capture Luke Skywalker in order to stretch their military power to allow the blockade of Yarvin to fall into place. Hearing about the fake Obi-Wan's exploits Luke does exactly what Vader was hoping and headed out to Aridus with C-3PO. Upon landing on Aridus Luke and 3PO come across an attempt by the local rebels to over throw an Imperial weapons transport, but the rebels are seriously out matched and so Luke jumps into action. Using a pair of proton charges Luke jumps to their aide and not only defends the rebels but destroys the Imperial transport...but by sacrificing his own health as debris from the blast knock him violently to the ground rendering him unconscious. In a scene we are readily familiar with as the smoke clears and C-3PO comes to his master's aid he sees an old man leaning over the prone form of his master. Through a series of campaigns the impostor gains Luke's trust all the while reporting back to Vader. However, while the impostor Obi-Wan works with Luke the youth's earnestness begins to effect him and instead of delivering him to Vader he aborts the mission and manages to save Luke's life in the process...but at the cost of his own.
Review: This was one of my favorite strips so far, I've liked many of the strips put out so far and they've had many elements to them that endeared them to me but this was the first one that really captured the feel of A New Hope. It has the Rebellion against the Empire, Vader against Luke and Obi-Wan, the little guys getting a hand from the heroes and a sacrifice to save the day; it was mythic and exciting and just plain fun. It hit all the right bits that made me love the series but at the same time presented a new angle to the story, it had all the trappings of the original but it was unique as well.
Grade:A
I agree. This was an excellent story. Yes, it was too obvious that the actor was going to wind up betraying Vader, and it's not exactly new, but it was really well done. Plus, I liked Willamson's depiction of "Ben" and some more good dialogue by Goodwin. I loved Vader's sneaky plot here! One nit is this personal force shield that Vader supplied "Ben". If these things exist, why aren't they standard issue for stormtroopers? Or at least, if they're expensive, they might still use then in certain circumstances. Anyway, this is one of my favorite of the comic strip stories so far. This is definitely one of the more hokey of the Goodwin/Williamson strips, but it's also pretty enjoyable. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Aug 4, 2021 9:34:04 GMT -5
The Power GemJuly 26 - October 3, 1982 Written by Archie Goodwin Art by Al Williamson LA Times  Summery: With the excitement of the false Kenobi and the Night Beast finally passed the rebels settle down to examine the plans for Darth Vader's super star destroyer that Luke stole. To General Dodonna's dismay unlike the Death Star the critical weakness of the Empire's new super weapon could not be reached through its shields, however all is not lost as Leia remembered a story her father once told her about a group of pirates who used mysterious gems to disrupt the force fields of freighter back in the old days of the old Republic. Unfortunately for the rebels the gems were lost when the Jedi Knights broke up the pirate fleet but Leia hopes that Han Solo as a smuggler may know more than the records of the Republic. Han had heard the stories, but expressed skepticism that the gems ever existed and suggested that perhaps the stress of leadership is getting to her and refuses to go on a wild goose chase. However, with the mention that perhaps Luke will help Han agrees to go on the hunt. They begin their search at Junk Fort Station, a galactic "wretched hive of scum and villainy" where Han hopes to find a lead but the price on Han's head proves to be a detriment as they come under fire from some of the locals:  However while Han was fighting Chewie found a lead and after the dust clears they follow up on Chewie's information only to find that they are not the only ones looking for the gems but unfortunately the only way to get past them is to engage in gladiatorial combat for the gem. While Chewie holds everyone's attention in the arena Han sneaks into the main chamber where the gem is kept only to find that at it's extreme age it only has enough power left in it to perhaps punch through one last force field. Seeing that the jig is up the old pirate in charge agrees to Han's scheme, all he needs is one use and so he would not reveal the scam which would save the pirate's hide and give the alliance what they need.
Summery: The hits just keep coming with this excellent Han Solo story. Instead of making a straight forward hero Goodwin finds a way to put Han on a quest to save the rebellion while maintaining his roguish nature. He's cornered into embarking on the quest by Leia through his jealousy of Luke, he finds information the hard nosed way through a brawl and buying a guy a drink and then tricks his way into victory. It's probably the most fast paced strip to date and it's mix of nostalgia with the bar room setting and the comment about having experience about,"shooting under the table" and the new elements about the old republic and the gladiatorial arena give it a brand new feel and a new direction with out feeling un-star warsy like the earlier Night Beast. About the only gripe I have is that they've amped up the threat level of the super star destroyer so that it's more terrible than the Death Star, I mean it's an awesome vessel to behold and one of my favorite ships from the films but it was never more than just Vader's flag ship not a threat to the stability of the entire rebellion. But other than that one tiny issue this was a great story.
Grade:A I liked this story a lot. The setup with the power gem is kind of hokey, and Chewie fighting in an arena with people gambling on the outcome was also done in the Marvel comic series (though it didn’t quite come off here, as it turns out) but this story was a lot of fun. By the way, Leia says that she was a little girl in the days of the old Republic, but thanks to the prequels, we know that can no longer be true. Some more good Han dialogue here. I like how he keeps mentioning that he’s going to bill the rebel alliance. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Aug 4, 2021 9:35:34 GMT -5
I thought this was a decent enough story. I loved seeing Leia come to the rescue. I think Luke called Artoo "little guy" way too much, though. Once would have been fine, but he did it repeatedly, which just doesn't sound right to me. More creat art, though the "demonsquid" looked way too much like a terrestrial octopus. I think making the demonsquid look like a regular octopus was a play on the dinosaurs from the original Flash Gordon movie serials...that were very clearly iguanas : Could be. Of course, they stuck a horn on a lizard in those movies because they lacked the money and/or technology to do something better. In a comic, the budget is unlimited.  |
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