It seems pretty iffy that a wookiee could pretend to be one of the Empire construction crew, but I can roll with it.

Star Wars #52
Cover dated: October 1981
Issue title: To Take The Tarkin
Script: David Michelinie
Artwork: Walter Simonson (pencils)/Tom Palmer (inks)
Colours: Don Warfield
Letters: John Morelli
Cover art: Walter Simonson
Overall rating: 9 out of 10




Plot summary: Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO have infiltrated the Empire's new battle station, The Tarkin, on a mission to destroy it. However, Darth Vader is also on board the Tarkin and is arranging a confrontation with Luke, little knowing that a group of his own officers are conspiring to assassinate him. As the Rebels split up and undertake their respective mission assignments, the assassination attempt on Vader's life fails, but succeeds in robbing the Dark Lord of an opportunity to confront Luke. An angry Vader elects to focus on apprehending the Rebels, but vows to deal with those responsible for the attempted assassination later.

Once they've destroyed the Tarkin's tractor beam generator and sabotaged the firing mechanism of its ionic cannon, the Rebels escape from the battle station in a stolen Imperial transport, as TIE fighters – including one piloted by Vader himself – give chase. Fortunately, Lando Calrissian has stowed away aboard the Millennium Falcon and he comes to the rescue of his friends in the Corellian freighter. With Vader's TIE fighter disabled and drifting in space, the Tarkin's superlaser is pointed towards the fleeing Rebels, but as the sabotaged ionic cannon fires, it explodes, destroying the battle station.


Comments: Star Wars #52 concludes the Tarkin story arc in a very satisfying fashion. Walt Simonson's artwork is on a par with last issue, serving David Michelinie's script with all the movement, pace and fluid, cinematic feel that we saw in the previous instalment. There's also more of the impeccably drawn Star Wars space craft and tech on display here, with the tractor beam generator seen in this issue looking very similar to the one from A New Hope, which makes sense, since the Tarkin has been designed using the same technology as the Death Star. I also love the helmet that Simonson has Princess Leia wear, as part of her construction worker's disguise, with, what appears to be, two telescopic protrusions coming out of the top. One slight criticism of the artwork would be that, in places, Tom Palmer's inking looks a little less focused than usual and a little rushed or sloppy in certain panels. Still, it's certainly on point for most of this issue.

As for Michelinie's writing, something that I really like – and something that we will see more and more of, as his run progresses – is that he gives the Imperial stormtroopers individual voices and even names on occasion. Up until now, the stormtroopers we've seen in the comics have mostly been anonymous foot soldiers (which, to be fair, is exactly how they are portrayed in the Star Wars films too). In giving them some kind of personality, Michelinie hints at a larger, more three-dimensional life for these soldiers, beyond the confines of the comic page. It's a nice touch and something I really enjoyed as a kid and still enjoy as an adult.

As noted in my review of last issue, I think the sub-plot about a group of Imperial officers planning to assassinate Darth Vader is a really good one and it comes to a head here in the only way it ever really could: in abject failure. Still, the scenes in which Vader and Luke are almost sucked out into the vacuum of space through an open airlock, provide a great example of Simonson and Michelinie working in complete synergy. The art perfectly captures the fury of the howling wind that almost drags Luke and Vader to their doom, as it escapes from the Imperial battle station, while juxtaposing these tense scenes with the anxiety on the face of the Imperial officer whose finger is on the airlock release button. There are also some nice comedic touches in this scene which I enjoy, like Luke's proton grenade bouncing off the top of Vader's helmet, as it's sucked out of his hand.

Something else that's neat in this arc is how Michelinie deals with Luke, Leia and Chewbacca's distrust of Lando Calrissian, following the events of The Empire Strikes Back. We saw the Rebels elect to leave him out of the mission to destroy the Tarkin last issue, with Leia, in particular, being rather snappy with him. But in having Lando stow away on the Millennium Falcon and save the day, we see the former administrator of Cloud City earning his comrade's trust and taking his place among the central cast. It's great to see Michelinie address these trust issues because it would've been all too easy to have just had Lando immediately assimilated into the cast, as if nothing had happened on Cloud City. There's also a nice character moment in the scene where Lando bribes a patrol of stormtroopers with some fake Gannarian narco-spice. While I'm not entirely convinced that the Empire's finest would fall for such a transparent ruse, it's a great example of how Michelinie writes Lando as his own character and not simply a Han Solo clone.

The way in which the Tarkin was destroyed, with Leia reversing the polarity of the ionic cannon, so that the superweapon effectively "shot itself", seems a bit simplistic and contrived, but it's not enough to spoil the story or detract from an otherwise great issue. I must say that the Tarkin saga is a really accomplished debut for Michelinie and, as we shall see, even better was to come.

Continuity issues: None

Favourite panel:



Favourite quote: "Luke, sometimes you almost make me miss Han Solo's boneheaded optimism!" – Princess Leia Organa teases Luke Skywalker about his sometimes pessimistic outlook.

It’s a bit hard to believe that just throwing a stormtrooper into the generator would destroy it, causing such a huge explosion (p.8)

Star Wars #53
Cover dated: November 1981
Issue title: The Last Gift from Alderaan!
Script: Chris Claremont
Artwork: Walter Simonson (pencils)/Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Tom Palmer (inks)/Alan Kupperberg (inks)
Colours: Glynis Wein
Letters: Shelly Leferman
Cover art: Walter Simonson
Overall rating: 6 out of 10




Plot summary: While on a mission to investigate Imperial activity in the remote Shiva system, Princess Leia's ship and the docked shuttle craft she is in are both damaged by a space mine. Launching the crippled shuttle in an attempt to prevent further damage to the Rebel mother ship, Leia crash lands on Shiva IV, where she is attacked by a band of savage alien warriors. She is saved by a group of friendly natives, led by Aron Peacebringer and Kéral Longknife, who rescue the princess and return with her to the capital city of Illyriaqüm.

Some weeks later, Leia is still living in Illyriaqüm among the Calians, who are the native human inhabitants of Shiva IV. The princess attempts to warn Aron and his wife Alisande about the dangers of the Empire, but the warlord is not convinced that such a threat really exists. Little does Aron know that his comrade Ygal Delois is in league with the Imperials and is planning a coup d'état, after which he will supplant Aron as the planet's ruler.

Later, at a ceremonial ball for the Calian nobility, Aron admits to his wife that he has feelings for Leia, while Alisande tells him that he must choose between the two of them. Aron follows Leia outside, where he and the princess are both attacked and abducted by huge Imperial stormtroopers, before being brought before General Sk'ar as prisoners.


Comments: What's this? The return of artist Carmine Infantino to the pages of Marvel's Star Wars comic? Well, sort of. The bulk of this issue originates from an unused story that Infantino had drawn for Marvel's John Carter: Warlord of Mars series. Apparently, by mid-1981, a number of Marvel's comic books were starting to slip behind schedule and miss shipping dates, so Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter came up with the solution of reusing left over art inventory from various cancelled series and re-working it into the company's ongoing books. Thus, the editor of Star Wars, Louise Jones, was given left over art from the cancelled John Carter comic. Chris Claremont was then asked to re-work that art into a Star Wars story, with Walter Simonson adapting and adding to Infantino's pages where needed. Of course, anyone who is familiar with the John Carter comic will plainly recognise the figures of John Carter, Dejah Thoris and Tars Tarkas, who are renamed here as Aron Peacebringer, Alisande and Kéral Longknife respectively, while Shiva IV is obviously Mars (or, more accurately, Barsoom). When fans later wrote in noting the similarities between the characters in Star Wars #53 and the John Carter comic, Marvel simply passed it off as having being "inspired" by the John Carter stories, rather than revealing the true origin of the issue.

Personally, I've always felt that the John Carter-esque setting of this issue seems a little out of place in a Star Wars comic. Edgar Rice Burroughs's John Cater novels are widely considered to be the granddaddy of all space opera and they were certainly influential on George Lucas when he was developing Star Wars, so the merging of the two franchises should theoretically work. However, in spite of the admirable attempt that Claremont and Simonson make to mold a Star Wars tale from a John Carter story, the Barsoomian setting looks a little too different to the "used galaxy" aesthetic that we've come to expect from Star Wars to be truly successful. Still, I guess Claremont resolves the jarring differences between Burroughs's setting and Lucas's somewhat by having the Shiva system be on the edge of known space.

On the artistic front, something I really want to make note of here is that Simonson and inker Tom Palmer do a fantastic job of aping Infantino's style on the first 5 pages of this story. The pair had to imitate Infantino's style to the greatest possible degree in order that this framing sequence, along with whatever new panels or alterations were necessary to turn the Barsoomian story into a Star Wars one, fit together with Infantino's existing work to form a cohesive whole. Just look at page 3 for example: it's a dead ringer for Infantino's work and yet, it's not drawn by him at all...




Simonson gave some details about the creation of this issue in a 2015 post on his official Facebook page...

"The basic idea was to use as many of the [John Carter] pages as possible with as few changes as possible. Some extra pages had to be done and some panels altered to a greater or lesser degree to get everything to fit together. That was my job, along with the covers. I don't know that it was the best way to make comics, but it was an interesting intellectual puzzle to try to solve in a readable fashion. It was fun, challenging, interesting and curious to do, whatever the final outcome."

Simonson goes on to reveal that the reason that there are giant Imperial stormtroopers in this issue and on the front cover is because they were converted Tharks, which, in case you don't know, are 15 foot tall Barsoomian aliens. I can vividly remember how weird it seemed to me back in 1981 to have stormtroopers of such a gigantic size and this is definitely one aspect in which the story feels decidedly un-Star Wars-y.

As an aside, not only does Simonson do a grand job of imitating Infantino, in one panel he inserts a cheeky little swipe from Howard Chaykin and Steve Leialoha's adaptation of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Check out this image of panel 2, page 3 (on the left) juxtaposed with Chaykin and Leialoha's take on Kenobi from Star Wars #2 (on the right)...




While we're on the subject of artwork, check out the gorgeous cover that "The Last Gift from Alderaan!" had in the UK, when it was published in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Monthly #143...




I've including the above cover because this is how I first experienced this issue as a kid living in England and also because it's one of my favourite Marvel UK Star Wars covers. Unfortunately, I have no idea who the artist is. Anybody got any ideas?

Claremont's writing of Princess Leia in this comic is very interesting. I love that we get to see the terrible burden of leadership on her shoulders, coupled with understandable "survivor's guilt" over the destruction of her homeworld by the Empire, and how that loss spurs the princess on as a Rebel warrior. We also see Leia beginning to enjoy the normal life she's now leading among the Calian nobility, which is kind of how she would have lived had the Rebellion not started and Alderaan not been destroyed. The vulnerability the princess exhibits here makes her all the more human and makes this issue one of the most compelling and believable examinations of Leia's character we've seen in the series so far. It's also kinda neat to see Leia through the eyes of an outsider like Aron Peacebringer, who understandably has a crush on her. To him, she seems very exotic, with her lighter skin colour and cute foreign accent when she's speaking Calian.

As for Aron himself, unsurprisingly he seems like an almost identical character to John Carter and much of this issue is narrated by him in the first-person, just as Carter narrated his own adventures in the John Carter: Warlord of Mars comic. Aron's wife, Alisande, is a strong character and certainly a wise woman, who acts as her husband's lover, confidant and political adviser. It's also a nice touch on Claremont's part that initially Leia doesn't understand the language that the Calians of Shiva IV speak. All too often in the Star Wars comic – hell, not just in the comic, but in the films too! – characters from the various star systems speak perfect "Galactic Standard". By having the Calians speak in a tongue that neither Leia, nor her translatorcomp, can understand, Claremont reinforces the notion that Shiva IV is an extremely remote planet and very different from the rest of the Star Wars galaxy.

As for General Sk'ar, who serves as the main Imperial villain in this issue and the next, he, like the giant stormtroopers at his command, was no doubt originally meant to be a Thark and has been redrawn as a towering, purple-skinned alien. In the years since this issue was published, it's been suggested by various expanded universe writers that the Empire is an institutionally racist organisation when it comes to non-human types and, as a result, none of their officers or leaders are alien, like Sk'ar is. Of course, back in 1981, there was no real reason why Sk'ar couldn't be an Imperial general, but why isn't he wearing an Imperial officer's uniform? I mean, if the Empire can stretch to providing extra large stormtrooper armour for his troops (who, I assume, are all of the same race as Sk'ar), why can't the Imperial tailors knock up a uniform for him? It's only a little detail, but the way Sk'ar is dressed kinda bugs me.

Something else that bugs me is how the fire on the Rebel cruiser can continue to burn in the vacuum of space. At one point, the ship's first officer even states that the ship is open to space and loosing air because of the damage caused by a space mine, so how could the fire really be a threat? That doesn't make sense at all. There's also a minor continuity error in the opening pages of this comic, when the Rebel ship that Leia is on is referred to as a Rebel blockade runner, despite Simonson's art clearly showing that it isn't.

Overall, Star Wars #53 is a weird one and definitely not one of Claremont's better efforts on the series. Of course, that's no doubt due, at least in part, to his having to re-work a John Carter: Warlord of Mars story into a Star Wars one, using pre-existing artwork. That's a horse before the cart way of producing a comic and, I suppose, it's a tribute to his talents – as well as those of Simonson – that it works as well as it does. Still, I remember as a kid thinking that this issue was a bit dull, stylistically at odds with the look and feel of the Star Wars universe, and not really in keeping with the flavour of other recent issues. As an adult, my opinion hasn't changed at all.

Continuity issues:

• The starship that Leia begins her mission on is described as being a Rebel blockade runner, yet it looks like an entirely different vessel.

Favourite panel:



Favourite quote: "Tonight, Aron -- dancing, talking...flirting -- I was happy. I had no cares, no responsibilities. I saw a part of myself I've denied ever since the Rebellion began. I wasn't Leia Organa -- princess-senator, Rebel leader, warrior. I was a woman -- no more, no less -- enjoying myself at a fabulous party. I forgot...too much." – Princess Leia mournfully explains to Aron Peacebringer how much she feels the burden of duty to the Rebellion.