Also, if Bey’s father was a Corellian, and his mother a Nagai, why is he a giant?? Neither of those races are giants.

Star Wars #101
Cover dated: November 1985
Issue title: Far, Far Away
Script: Mary Jo Duffy
Artwork: Cynthia Martin (pencils)/Art Nichols (inks)
Colours: Glynis Oliver
Letters: Rick Parker
Cover art: Bill Sienkiewicz
Overall rating: 3 out of 10




Plot summary: At the Alliance base, Han Solo and Princess Leia are in the middle of a lover's tiff, when Han feels the hand of Fenn Shysa on his shoulder and is thrown to the ground. As the Corellian picks himself up, the former Mandalorian Supercommando explains to Leia that he has come to Endor to help the Alliance of Free Planets in its fight against the Nagai invasion. As Leia and Fenn depart, Han is left to become reacquainted with Shysa's companion, Bey, an old friend of his from childhood.

Shortly afterwards, Han is sent on a mission in the Millennium Falcon, with C-3PO, R2-D2 and a group of Hoojibs led by Plif, to investigate a series of strange balls of energy that have been appearing in the local sector. As they near the phenomena, the Falcon is zapped by a bolt of energy and thrown through space to a far off world, where it crash lands. As Han clambers out of the downed craft, he comes under fire from a group of brigands who are in pursuit of a young couple on horseback. Solo intervenes, saving the two lovers and sending the brigands running. The young woman, who is impressed with Han's heroics, introduces herself as Princess Risa and her companion as Prince Gil. She explains that their fathers rule warring sides of the planet, but a truce has been struck and the pair will soon marry to secure a peaceful future for their world. Risa's father, King Cleroff, soon arrives on the scene and the princess explains to him how Solo saved her and Gill, while the King's brother and court vizier, Marius, instructs the royal servants to drag the Falcon back to their kingdom.

Back at the royal palace, Han is welcomed and made comfortable, but finds himself missing Leia. Plif reports that he and the droids will have the energy that caused them to end up on this remote planet drained from the Falcon's engines by morning, but Han has realised that Risa has fallen in love with him and so he plots to restore Gil in her affections before leaving. Han arranges for the brigands to abduct Gil and instructs Cleroff to pay the ransom, thus earning the gratitude of Gil's family and maintaining peace. However, when the party leave to pay the ransom, they are captured by brigands and Marius is revealed to be intent on usurping the throne. Fortunately, Han had already guessed this and, in fact, his plan was designed to expose the treacherous vizier. As Cleroff's guards apprehend Marius and the bandits, the King and Prince Gil are saddened to see Han leave, while Risa, who is now once more in love with Gil, is indifferent. After finding his way back to Endor in the Falcon, a grateful Han is reunited with Leia, who he now appreciates more than ever.


Comments: Star Wars #101 features another one of those stories set on some quasi-meadieval world, which we get from time to time in the Marvel series (see issues #64 and #89 for some other examples). Unfortunately, the chronology of the series gets all messed up here too, with the events of this issue taking place before #99. While talking to Patrick Daniel O'Neill in Starlog #120 from 1987, writer Jo Duffy recalled that the shuffling of issues at this point in the series was her idea: "Issue #101 was supposed to appear three months before it did, so we wound up introducing a character after he had already appeared. All we could do was run a box and explain what happened. I suppose I could've rewritten the story, but we had been working for about a year, building up some background on Han Solo, introducing characters from his past; we were doing an examination of themes of friendship and betrayal. It was absolutely essential, for the chronology, that the story in issue #101 take place before #100, because it was an important part of the theme."

The character that was introduced in this comic, but who had already appeared in issues #99 and #100 that Duffy refers to, is Han Solo's childhood friend Bey. I've discussed Bey in some detail in my reviews already, but it's interesting how he and Han's dialogue in this issue, regarding Solo's somewhat cavalier attitude towards his romance with Princess Leia, ties in perfectly with what we learned in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens about how their relationship ended.

Duffy's script for this issue is nothing special and the story as a whole feels rather unnecessary. Still, I do quite enjoy the weird grouping of Han, the droids and the Hoojibs in this story, and some of the latter's dialogue is fairly amusing. However, the fact that Han states that he regards the Hoojibs as vermin, doesn't sit well with me at all; Han's been around these creatures long enough now to know that they are intelligent, telepathic beings, who have been of great assistance to the Rebel Alliance. His disdain for them seems rather silly and, thus, quite out of character.

Something else that doesn't quite feel right is that, at one point, Han seems to be genuinely considering staying on this strange world and courting Princess Risa. Risa herself seems like a typically fickle, spoilt princess, while Prince Gil is clearly a bit of a drip and, overall, the pair are both utterly forgettable characters. Still, I enjoy the fact that Duffy kind of teases us with the idea that Solo is manipulating things in order to have Risa for himself, when, in fact, he is scheming to ensure that she and Gil will be happy together after he leaves the planet.

Cynthia Martin's artwork is just as flawed and unappealing to me as in other recent issues. I mean, what's up with that depiction of the Millennium Falcon from the last page?




Seeing such a well known and beloved spaceship drawn in such an inaccurate way is very jarring. Martin's art is also taking on some definite Japanese manga influences around this point in the series. While that might have been brave new territory for a mainstream American comic book in 1985, it's not something that I personally like for Star Wars at all. Also, I've always considered Bill Sienkiewicz's front cover for this issue to be the ugliest cover of the entire run.

Summing up, this issue is basically a weird and highly forgettable solo adventure for Han and it really has very little to do with the ongoing Nagai invasion plot. In addition, the lesson that Han is supposed to learn from Princess Risa, and how it helps him to appreciate what he has with Leia, is all a bit soppy for my tastes. All in all, Star Wars #101 is a boring and largely inconsequential comic that you could easily skip, without ever missing it.


Continuity issues: R2-D2 is shown to be equipped with a laser blaster here, but that contravenes accepted Star Wars canon.

Favourite panel:


Favourite quote: "According to the charts, we aren't anywhere in known space or hyperspace. We're without controls, going full-speed through nowhere!" – Han Solo alarmedly describes the Millennium Falcon's current location to C-3PO.

Star Wars #102
Cover dated: December 1985
Issue title: School Spirit!
Script: Mary Jo Duffy
Artwork: Sal Buscema (breakdowns)/Sam de la Rosa (finished art & inks)
Colours: Petra Scotese
Letters: Rick Parker
Cover art: Kerry Gammill (pencils)/Sam de la Rosa (inks)
Overall rating: 5 out of 10




Plot summary: Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian have returned to the planet Iskalon to bring word of Kiro's death to his people. However, the Nagai invaders have reached the planet and established a base there, from which they mean to enslave the Iskalonian population. Luke and Lando arrive on the remains of the subaquatic city of Pavillion, where several Nagai slavers have just finished slaughtering a group of Iskalonians. Below them, the Iskalonian leader, Mone, and a group of School members swim up from the depths to investigate the disturbance. As they break the surface, Mone and his followers find the Nagai warriors slain, but Skywalker insists that it wasn't his or Lando's doing. As Luke relays the news of Kiro's death, he is shocked to learn that the Iskalonians believe Kiro to be alive and on Iskalon, fighting against the Nagai.

Elsewhere, at the Nagai base, Luke and Lando's arrival has been detected and a squad of warriors are dispatched to capture them. As the invaders storm Pavillion, Mone's companion Dania leads the School into the depths to safety, while Luke, Lando and Mone engage the Nagai. During the battle, Kiro appears, slaying several of the slavers, before returning to the sea. In the aftermath of the attack, Luke realises that a number of the School have been captured and transported back to the Nagai base. Fearing that they will commit suicide in order to avoid slavery, he and Lando don underwater breathing equipment and embark on a rescue attempt.

Upon reaching the Nagai's underwater base, Luke hands Lando his makeshift lightsaber, before igniting his own blade, as they begin hacking away at the building's support struts. Kiro reappears and enters the base to rescue his people, with Luke following close behind. Inside, Kiro quickly eliminates the Nagai guards and, with Luke's help, frees the Iskalonian prisoners, but during the fight he is shot in the stomach. Luke frees the School just as Lando finishes cutting through the building's supports and the structure collapses, as Luke and the Iskalonians escape.

Later, as Luke pensively surveys the oceans about him, once again believing Kiro to be dead, the Iskalonian suddenly appears alive and well. Kiro explains that, on Kinooine, he allowed Luke and Dani to believe that Den Siva had killed him because he needed to return to his homeworld and protect his people from the Nagai. He didn't want Dani to waste her life waiting for him to return, so he let her believe that he had perished. Kiro asks Luke and Lando to keep his secret and not to tell Dani that he is still alive, so that she can mourn him and finally let go of his memory.


Comments: Star Wars #102 sees the return of artist Sal Buscema, with his second contribution to the series, following issue #93, "Catspaw". Just as with that earlier comic, Buscema's artwork looks lovely here – and probably seems better than it is, coming on the heels of Cynthia Martin's recent efforts. There are plenty of inventively composed panels on display and some beautifully drawn underwater scenes too. I should also note that Petra Scotese's colouring really enhances these aquatic sequences, bringing the underwater locale vividly to life...






I also really like the way in which Buscema draws the Nagai; their weirdly elongated heads seem creepier and much more sinister under his pen than they do in Martin's manga-influenced art. Kerry Gammill's action packed front cover, with it's declaration of "Kiro's Back!", must've been an irresistible sight to fans of the long-lost Iskalonian when they saw it on the news stand.

One slight grumble about the art would be that when the Nagai tower is first shown on page 8, it's drawn as having been being built on a rocky landscape above the water. Iskalon has no land, but that's definitely how the tower is pictured here, with clouds visible in the sky overhead, proving that it's situated above the water...




Subsequent scenes featuring this tower show it to be located underwater, on the sea bed. I'm not sure whether it's Buscema or inker Sam de la Rosa who is at fault here, but since Buscema only did panel breakdowns for this comic (which often don't include any background details), I'm guessing that it was de la Rosa who mistakenly drew the tower above water. Clearly Scotese perpetuated that mistake by colouring the Iskalonian sky and billowy clouds appropriately.

As for Jo Duffy's script, this is a fairly well structured tale and it's good to be back on Iskalon and to catch up with Mone, who has found himself a new companion named Dania Francis, following the death of his treacherous wife, Kendle. The water world of Iskalon really is one of Duffy's best and most memorable locations from the series and it's fitting that readers should be transported back here for the ending of Kiro's character arc (this would be his last appearance in the series).

Incidentally, when editor Ann Nocenti was asked about the possibility of any upcoming romance for Luke on the letters page of Star Wars #96, she used the phrase "there are a lot of 'fish' in the sea" to hint that the young Jedi would perhaps become romantically involved with an Iskalonian. There's no evidence of that here and this would be the last time that readers would see the water world in the Marvel run, so perhaps this was simply a story idea that went unused due to the series being cancelled?

I enjoyed the little fake out that Duffy hands us early on in this story, in which she leads us to assume that it's Luke who has killed the Nagai on Pavillion, when he and Lando Calrissian first arrive, before revealing that it was actually Kiro. However, there appears to be a continuity goof when one of the Nagai recognises Luke and Lando from the recent battle on Endor. But since Lando was in his ship, the Cobra, high above Endor during the battle, so how would any of the Nagai be able to recognise him? It also caused me to raise an eyebrow when the Nagai refered to that battle as "the second Battle of Endor" since, for them, it was actually the first. I mean, I can definitely understand the Alliance referring to the Nagai attack on Endor as "the second Battle of Endor", because it was their second battle conducted on or above the forest moon, but why would the Nagai call it that?

Something else that prompted incredulity for me was the way in which Luke, Kiro and the other Iskalonians all managed to survive the Nagai tower toppling over and breaking apart. I suppose that underwater, the building would've fallen much slower than if it been above the surface, but still. I also found it mildly annoying that in the aftermath of the destruction, we find that Kiro is supposedly dead...again! Only for it to be revealed that, actually, he managed to survive (again!). I tell you, that little Iskalonian has more lives than a cat!

However, by far the biggest problem that I have with this issue is concerning Kiro's decision to return to Iskalon without first letting Dani know that he had survived his fight with Den Siva. In addition, he makes Luke and Lando swear to keep the secret of his survival from the Zeltron – his rationale being that Dani will be better off thinking that he died on Kinooine, since he can't be with her while he's away defending Iskalon, which, frankly, sounds like the biggest load of clichéd rubbish I've ever read!

I mean, I understand that Kiro would want to defend his people, but why does he have to abandon poor Dani or, worse, let her go on believing that he's dead? Wouldn't it have been kinder to send word to the Alliance that he was alive and well on Iskalon, and let Dani decide for herself whether to wait for him or join him? As we've already seen in the series, Dani is really hurting over her loss, so Kiro going back to Iskalon and not letting her know that he's alive seems like a pretty mean thing to do to someone that he supposedly loves – especially since he's wrong about his actions sparing her feelings and, in fact, Dani will be heartbroken and miserable throughout the remainder of the series. In addition, by roping Luke and Lando into his deception, it makes them look rather less than heroic too, since they are essentially now co-conspirators in Dani's suffering. Ultimately, we'd never get to see Dani learn that Kiro was still alive, due to the series being cancelled with issue #107.

Overall, Star Wars #102 is superior to recent instalments of the series, but it's still not anything much to write home about. The artwork is really nice and the plot is reasonably well executed, but this definitely feels like Duffy cruising on autopilot and it's not up to the standards of her earlier writing on the series. "School Spirit!" also provides a problematic and rather unsatisfying climax to Kiro's character arc, which is unfortunate.


Continuity issues: One of the Nagai slavers recognises Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian from their involvement in repelling the recent attack on Endor. However, Lando was involved in the space battle above Endor and therefore concealed within in his ship, the Cobra, so how would any of the Nagai recognise him?

Favourite panel:


Favourite quote: "I am glad to see you both … but there is no time for talk or joy now." – Kiro hurriedly greats Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian before entering the Nagai base to rescue his people.

By the way, I wonder of the Hiromi helmsman Mr. Tahkay was named after George Takai?

Star Wars #105
Cover dated: May 1986
Issue title: The Party's Over
Script: Mary Jo Duffy
Artwork: Cynthia Martin (layouts)/Steve Leialoha (layouts)/Ken Steacy (inks)
Colours: Glynis Oliver
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Cover art: Cynthia Martin (pencils)/Ken Steacy (inks)
Overall rating: 3 out of 10




Plot summary: Luke Skywalker and Plif are captives of the Hiromi in the kitchen of the royal palace of Zeltros, as a group of green-skinned Tofs suddenly break down the door. Elsewhere, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca are being held at gunpoint, along with the Zeltron king and queen, by a group of Nagai warriors. Princess Leia and Dani have also been taken captive by the Nagai and are being monitored by Den Siva, who has, in turn, been captured himself by a squad of Tofs. As the Tofs force Den to betray his Nagai comrades, Leia's four Zeltron attachés are dragged into the room as captives. Moments later, a group of Hoojibs arrive, creating a diversion and allowing Leia and Dani to attempt an escape.

Meanwhile, back in the palace kitchen, Luke – with help from a mass of Hoojibs – uses the Force and his skill with a lightsaber to kill the Tofs who are holding him. Escaping with the Hiromi in tow, he and the Hoojibs quickly find and best another gang of Tofs who are pursuing Dani and the princess. As these Tofs are tied up, Dani and Leia depart to rescue Han, Lando, Chewbacca and the other guests in the royal court, while Luke, the Hoojibs and the Hiromi set off to attack the Tof command ship and rescue Leia's four Zeltron escorts.


Comments: Frankly, the title of this story, "The Party's Over", could well be seen as a comment on the declining quality of the Star Wars comic at this point in the run. This third episode of the Nagai–Tof War story arc is more or less on a par with the last. The Hiromi continue to be bumbling and incompetent to the point of annoyance; the Tofs fail to come across as anywhere near as threatening as writer Jo Duffy clearly wants them to be; Cynthia Martin's artwork – with Ken Steacy doing the inks – is sloppy, overly cartoonish, and really not a great fit for Star Wars; and it still feels like the central cast are being sidelined by all the various invading alien races and original characters that now frequent the pages of the comic. On top of all that, even some of the more interesting original characters, like Den Siva, fail to shine in the way that they have done in other recent issues.

Regarding the Tofs, who are green-skinned space-buccaneers, I suspect that, given Duffy's love of all things manga and Japanese, they were influenced by the work of Leiji Matsumoto on series such as Captain Harlock or Space Battleship Yamato (a.k.a. Star Blazers). Both of those manga series utilised a futuristic take on antiquated naval imagery in their spaceship design and costuming, just like Duffy and Martin do with the Tofs. Personally, I don't have any problem with the Tof's wearing traditional pirate garb, since space-pirates who dress like Earth pirates are something we've seen in the Star Wars comic going back all the way to the very first post Episode IV – A New Hope story in issue #7. Of course, later on we'll see them flying in star-cruisers that look like pirate galleons, which is something I definitely do not like, but I'll get to that in my next review.

There's much to complain about or criticise in this issue, but focusing on the positive, something I do like is that it's nice to see Plif and the Hoojibs playing a larger than usual role in the story. It's also interesting to learn that the Hoojibs can dodge most attacks, due to their telepathic powers enabling them to know in advance from which direction an attack is coming, which makes a lot of sense. It's also great to see the feisty creatures, or "little hoppies", as the Tofs call them, getting stuck into a fight and helping the Alliance. That's something that we've not seen enough of in the series, since their debut in issue #55. I have to say, although they are often there in the background, the Hoojibs have generally been underused in the Star Wars comic.

While we're on the subject of the Hoojibs, who are seen leaping into action on this issue's cover, I'd like to dedicate this review to Icctrombone . He posted this front cover over in the "Impossible and Goofy Covers and situations" thread some weeks back and I know that he really loves space-rodents in general and a certain green-skinned space-rabbit in particular.

To sum up, this is another lacklustre issue of Star Wars, with some not terribly good artwork, a rather pedestrian plotline and too much focus on characters other than the core cast. It's fast getting to the point where this series needs to either shape up or be put out of its misery. For better or worse, in a couple of issues time, the latter is exactly what happens.


Continuity issues: On the front cover, the Tof's skin is incorrectly coloured with a Caucasian flesh-tone, when it should be green.

Favourite panel:


Favourite quote: "Their thoughts are … revolting." – Plif the Hoojib relays the Tof's unsavoury intentions to Luke Skywalker.

Star Wars #106
Cover dated: July 1986
Issue title: My Hiromi
Script: Mary Jo Duffy
Artwork: Cynthia Martin (layouts)/Ken Steacy (inks)
Colours: Daina Graziunus
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Cover art: Cynthia Martin (pencils)/Joe Rubinstein (inks)
Overall rating: 3½ out of 10




Plot summary: On the planet Zeltros, Luke Skywalker leads a mission to assault the Tof command ship and rescue Princess Leia's four Zeltron attachés, with Plif the Hoojib and a group of Hiromi in tow.

Meanwhile, Princess Leia and Dani are attempting to rescue Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca and a number of other guests of the Zeltron royal court, who have been taken prisoner by the Nagai. As the two women near the area in which their friends are being held, Dani spies the Nagai warrior Den Siva in the custody of a group of green-skinned Tofs, following his capture and betrayal of his own race to save her. Soon the green-skinned aliens take the rest of the Nagai prisoner too, but blaster shots begin to strike the Tof guards, as Dan and Leia mount their rescue. During the fight, a wounded Nagai soldier takes aim at Dani, but Den saves her before surrendering to the the Zeltron, and proposing a partnership between his people and the Alliance of Free Planets.

Elsewhere, Luke and his group board the command ship using a security code obtained from one of the Tofs that he and the Hiromi captured. As Luke takes on a number of attacking Tof guards, Plif and the Hoojibs drain the ship's systems of power, while the Hiromi rescue the four imprisoned Zeltrons. Before leaving the Tof ship, Luke plants explosives to destroy the craft.


Comments: The Nagai–Tof War continues with this fourth instalment, which has a terrible title that is presumably a punning play on the phrase, "my hero!" The Hiromi themselves continue to irritate me, but actually, I must admit that, in this particular issue, writer Jo Duffy succeeds in making at least some of their dialogue slightly humorous – which is a first! It's also interesting to see the Hiromi openly revising their recent history, as they begin to talk about how they have always been loyal members of the Alliance of Free Planets, while conveniently glossing over the fact that they originally intended to conquer the Alliance and enslave the galaxy. Despite all this, the bumbling incompetence, cowardice and ill-conceived humour of these poorly designed, bug-aliens is still extremely annoyingly to me, for the most part.

In fact, there is an intrinsic problem with Duffy's sub-plot about the Hiromi discovering their courage in this issue, which is that she has done such a good job of making these aliens seem incompetent and lacking in valor that it's hard to believe that they could, for example, intimidate a Tof soldier to such an extent that he would reveal his command ship's security code. I just can't buy into that working at all.

As an aside, I can't help but wonder if the name of the Hiromi navigator in this issue. Mr. Tahkay, is a nod to actor George Takai who played helmsman Sulu in Star Trek? Given Duffy's fascination with all things Japanese and Sulu's Asian heritage, it certainly seems likely.

Like last issue, Duffy's script is rather pedestrian and not terribly exciting. Still, we get the climax of Den Siva's character arc, when he not only betrays his own people to save Dani, who is the object of his obsessive love, but also suggests the forming of an alliance between the Nagai and the Alliance of Free Planets.

As for the art, Cynthia Martin's work is as ugly and cartoony as ever, generally speaking, but there are actually a few rather pretty looking panels in this comic. Take this depiction of a Zeltron temple, for instance...




On the other hand, the depiction of those space-buccaneers, the Tofs, as having sailing ship-like space-galleons is just a terrible idea. As I mentioned in my last review, this was most likely Duffy's idea, rather than Martin's, and was probably inspired by the work of Leiji Matsumoto and his Captain Harlock or Space Battleship Yamato series, which both use antiquated naval imagery in their starship design. Still, space-galleons are a big no-no for me in sci-fi – especially when they are drawn as badly as they are here!

All in all, this is yet another lacklustre issue of Star Wars, with bad art, a workaday script and way too much focus on the Hiromi, Nagai and Zeltrons, at the expense of the stars of the series. The final panel of the comic shows us that, after nine years of publication, the writing is definitely on the wall for the series...




Continuity issues: None

Favourite panel:



Favourite quote: "I … suspect that our allies, the glorious Hoojibs, have been feeding off the energy in the security systems. Forward … er … and if anyone wishes to hold hands until we reach a more brightly lit corridor … I, for one, shall ask no questions afterwards!" – Captain Hookyr of the Hiromi timidly leads his men through the darkened interior of the Tof command ship.