To address aquagoat's question, which I've been meaning to respond to for a couple of days now...

I liked a fair few of the SW comics that Dark Horse put out, especially X-Wing: Rogue Squadron, Empire, Rebellion and Dark Times. In particular, I thought Mick Harrison and Douglas Wheatley's Dark Times was absolutely fantastic. It had no ties to the central cast of characters and minimal ties to any of the films, choosing instead to follow the adventures of the exiled and hunted Jedi Knight Dass Jennir and his friend Bomo Greenbark. But nonetheless, it was a really gripping read and Wheatley's artwork is simply to die for.

There were some very good SW mini-series that Dark Horse put out too, such as the Dark Empire trilogy, River of Chaos, the Crimson Empire trilogy, and the adaptation of Splinter of the Mind's Eye. Their re-publishing of the Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson SW newspaper strips in Classic Star Wars, followed by the Russ Manning strips in Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures, resulted to two must-read series as well.


As for Marvel's new Star Wars comics... *sigh* let me first up say that I only read the first three issues of the main Jason Aaron penned and John Cassaday drawn Star Wars series before I dropped it. I thought it was a seriously flawed comic.

For one thing, Cassaday's artwork was all over the place, in terms of quality; sometimes it looked absolutely gorgeous and other times it looked rushed and dialed-in. There was also a strangely static quality to his art, even in the big action sequences, that made his figures look more like mannequins than living, breathing people.

But Aaron's so-called "scripting" was even worse than the art. The characterisation was really poor, with the "voices" of the main cast seeming to be all wrong to me. I remember that there was a confrontation between Luke and Vader at the start of issue #2 that was appallingly badly written. Not to mention the fact that it didn't really align with established SW continuity, as seen in the films (why was there no mention of this encounter on Dagobah, during Luke's jedi training, or between Luke and Vader during the lightsaber duel in The Empire Strikes Back?). Issue #2 of this series was so bad, in fact, that at one point I actually exclaimed out loud, "who's writing this s**t?!", prompting a strange look from my wife.

I dunno, maybe the main series got better over time. But I was burned badly by those first 3 issues and wouldn't touch the series with a barge-pole now. I've heard good things about Marvel's Darth Vader and Princess Leia series, but I haven't tried them. As far as the early issues of Marvel's ongoing Star Wars title goes though, these were quite simply some of the worst Star Wars comics ever published in IMO.

I wouldn't say 'plenty' of books. THere's the terrible Aftermath trilogy by Chuck Wendig.. the most excellent 'Lost Stars' books, Bloodline and the Princess Leia book by Claudia Gray... a few YA titles that focus on specific characters that tie into the movies directly("Before the Awakening" is pretty good, I haven't read the others). The 'Cobalt Squadron' book that I assume talks about Rose and her sister (haven't read that one). I think there's a PHasma book I have no interest in, then there's a Canto Bright short story collection that, I assume, attempted to be this generations 'Tales from Mos Eisley'

There's sort of a new Han Solo series, marketed under 'Flight of the Falcon', but I don't think those go past RoTG, as the marketing was around the movie.


I think that's about it, really... there's one about that bounty hunter in the Last Jedi coming out, as well as one titled 'Alphabet Squadron' which seems to be an attempt to be this generations Rogue Squadron, with the hook that there's one of each type of fighter.

I take your point about having to overlook the comic violating continuity that was first revealed in the prequels, but the thing is, Mike W. Barr actually violates continuity as it stood in 1981. As I said in my review, even back in 1981 it was well known, to anyone who had been paying attention, that the Jedi were outlawed and exterminated with the rise of the Empire. So, there's no way that Jedidiah could've been prevented from joining the Jedi order because he had to stay and protect the Royal Family of Velmor from the Empire -- because there would've been no Jedi order to join, if the Empire was at large. There's just no excuse for that kind of sloppy story researching, in my view.

As for Leia, it's not so much that she might feel that a union between herself and Prince Denid might be good for the Rebellion (Leia's nothing if not a pragmatist, after all). It's more the fact that as soon as Denid comes on the scene, she forgets all about Han Solo. I can except that she might see the strategic advantages of marrying Denid, but I'd have liked to have seen her balancing that against her love for Han. Having her basically forget about Han at the drop of a hat in this way is both at odds with the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but also at odds with the remainder of the Marvel run.

However, my biggest gripe about this issue is just what an asshole Luke Skywalker is towards Jedidiah. The poor SOB is suffering from cognitive impairment, due to brain damage, and Luke treats the alien in a very insensitive manner, calling him an embarrassment to the Jedi order at one point, I believe. As if Jedidiah can help being brain damaged? Yeah, Luke comes across as a colossal d**k in this comic.


You know, I really liked Star Wars #49 a lot when it came out in 1981. And I think it's still highly regarded by many fans of the series. But for me, as I've gotten older, I've come to realise that the story has many, many flaws. Yes, the comic is pretty much pure eye candy to look at, but the script leaves an awful lot to be desired.

Actually, I've kinda wondered if this tale was written, at least partly, before Empire came out. It would've been on the stands in April 1981, so almost a year after ESB was released, but as you say, it kind of has the feel of a pre-ESB story in some respects. Of course, Leia is sporting her Empire era hairstyle, which woukd indicate that the comic was created after ESB had been seen, but I don't know... As you say, Luke is his usual, pre-ESB jealous self, and even the title, "The Last Jedi" (referring to Jedidiah) only makes sense if we don't know about the existence of Yoda yet.

Wow! Talk about one man's meat, and all that... You and I have polar opposite opinions of these two issues. Star Wars #50 is one of the best issues of the entire run, IMHO. The artwork is fantastic, the story gripping, and the spot-on characterisation of the central cast make this issue seem like a missing instalment of the movie franchise: like Star Wars: Episode V½ or something.

Yes, there are minor problems with the plot, such as Domina Tagge's plan to wipe out the Empire and Rebellion not really making a whole lot of sense, but to nit-pick things like that is mean-spirited. Star Wars #50 represents the pinnacle of Goodwin's writing on Star Wars, and is a fitting end to his run on the series.




Yes, after a year of Han being absent from the SW comic, having him appear in "The Crimson Forever!" was really cool, even if it is only a flashback.



Yeah, late period Infantino is hard on the eyes and, as I've stated a lot of times already in this thread, I never thought his art was a particularly good fit for Star Wars, despite his sci-fi comic pedigree.

Breaking radio silence again to say: Great job, Confessor, on part 2 of the Classic Comics Marvel Star Wars podcast. Love hearing this stuff discussed, enjoy hearing your voice, enjoy the knowledge and the love of the Marvel SW comics you and Crimebuster bring to the discussion. I feel like I'm reliving my youth as I drive around in my car and do yardwork (both things I did while listening to part 2) while pretending to be an adult. Looking forward to parts 3 (my favorite era of Marvel SW) and 4!

For the sake of future historians reading this thread: link to the thread with a link to the podcast:

classiccomics.org/thread/6072/22-star-wars-marvel-confessor

By now, most have learned the unfortunate news that actor Peter Mayhew--best known (professionally) as Chewbacca--has passed on (on April, 30), at the age of 74.

As in the case of Carrie Fisher, I thought a tribute to actor and character through the lens of the Marvel adaptation would be appropriate in this thread...