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Post by badwolf on Feb 12, 2015 11:13:17 GMT -5
Even though I'm not a big fan of Infantino's style, it is nice to see the book get an regular artist who actually seems to care about his work. Gone is the sketchy look of most of the previous issues (the great Palmer #8 being the exception to that.)
Speaking of #8, I was looking in the back of the Marvel omnibus where they have all the supplemental artwork, and they have reproduced a page of Chaykin's layouts next to the B&W page finished by Palmer. Chaykin's layouts are minimal at most (and one panel is completely blank!), so it seems that Palmer essentially did draw the issue himself. Also, Don-Wan Kihotay has been completely redesigned, the layouts suggesting a much younger man, and originally named Yazu-Wan Kioshi!
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Post by Confessor on Feb 12, 2015 11:34:31 GMT -5
Speaking of #8, I was looking in the back of the Marvel omnibus where they have all the supplemental artwork, and they have reproduced a page of Chaykin's layouts next to the B&W page finished by Palmer. Chaykin's layouts are minimal at most (and one panel is completely blank!), so it seems that Palmer essentially did draw the issue himself. OK, that's interesting. That's exactly as I had expected it to be and how I always understood Chaykin's rough layouts worked. From things Palmer and Roy Thomas have said, Chaykin's layouts were very minimal in those issues. Still, it's nice to hear you confirm it, having seen his layouts with your own eyes. Also, Don-Wan Kihotay has been completely redesigned, the layouts suggesting a much younger man, and originally named Yazu-Wan Kioshi! Oh wow! Now that really is interesting. I had never, ever heard about this. I assume then that the, frankly, awful name Don-Wan Kihotay was a last minute addition on Thomas' part then? I love learning details like this about Marvel's Star Wars comic. Thanks for sharing the info, badwolf. I really do appreciate it. Hopefully you'll be able to offer some more insights into the creative process on other issues as we get to them. |
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Post by badwolf on Feb 12, 2015 11:44:36 GMT -5
Oh wow! Now that really is interesting. I had never, ever heard about this. I assume then that the, frankly, awful name Don-Wan Kihotay was a last minute addition on Thomas' part then? I love learning details like this about Marvel's Star Wars comic. Thanks for sharing the info, badwolf. I really do appreciate it. Hopefully you'll be able to offer some more insights into the creative process on other issues as we get to them. Either that or an editor thought it would be cute. It's just that in the dialogue (the balloons are pasted in on the layout page) that is how he introduces himself. If I see anything else of interest I will definitely share! |
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Post by Confessor on Feb 12, 2015 12:50:35 GMT -5
Pizzazz #10Cover dated: July 1978 Issue title: The Kingdom of Ice! (Part 1) Script: Archie Goodwin Artwork: Walter Simonson (pencils)/Klaus Janson (inks) Colours: Marie Severin Letters: Jim Novak Overall rating: 3 out of 10  Plot summary: Resuming their mission for the Rebel Alliance, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, R2-D2 and C-3PO have travelled to the ice world of Akuria II. As they descend into the planet's atmosphere, their star-cruiser is attacked by a squadron of Imperial TIE fighters. The Rebel's ship receives a hit on its port engine, which causes it to crash onto the planet's surface. The perusing TIE fighters are then suddenly destroyed by laser fire of unknown origin. Luke, Leia and the droids exit their damaged craft, as an unfamiliar land transport advances across the ice plain towards them. Comments: The first thing to saw about this initial part of The Kingdom of Ice is just how much better the art looks than the Tony DeZuniga and Howard Chaykin pencilled issues that proceeded it. It still looks a little rushed and sloppy – the final panel is particularly bad – but I guess that, ultimately, Walt Simonson's second rate work is still preferable to Chaykin or DeZuniga's. Certainly, Simonson's depictions of C-3PO and R2-D2 are, for the most part, head and shoulders above what we've seen before in Pizzazz magazine, in terms of having them look like they do in the movie. Klaus Janson's inks are reliable and bold, and the end result is a nice hybrid of each artist's style, with ample evidence of both on the finished page. Still, I think it's pretty safe to assume that the artists who worked on these Pizzazz strips weren't as concerned with producing top notch artwork as they were on Marvel's mainstream comic books. Archie Goodwin's writing is solid and a definite improvement on the last few episodes of The Keeper's World. His scripting is more in line with his concurrent work in the main Star Wars comic. Gone is the overly childish dialogue that has dominated the Pizzazz strips thus far and in it's place is some solid characterisation, especially of Princess Leia. Without doubt, so far this is the best strip we've had in Pizzazz, in terms of scripting and artwork. Unfortunately, it's also a bit of a dull episode. I guess it is just setting up the beginning of the adventure and hopefully things will get more interesting in coming instalments. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "For an ex-farm boy from a hot desert world like Tatooine...nothing could be much more uninviting than all that snow and ice!" – Luke Skywalker explains how reluctant he is to set foot on the frozen world of Akuria II.
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Post by Dizzy D on Feb 12, 2015 18:40:24 GMT -5
Re: Star Wars #13: the dutch version also has the empty word balloon. From your description I don't think they cut anything for this story.
This comic was not that memorable to me, but it may be because I got it relatively late compared to the other Marvel Star Wars comics. The most interesting thing about the dutch translation is the ad for another comic in the back: a comic adaption of the movie "Annie".
As there are 2 issues in one dutch issue, it looks like they used the cover of issue 14 for the cover of this one.
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Post by Confessor on Feb 13, 2015 8:40:31 GMT -5
Re: Star Wars #13: the dutch version also has the empty word balloon. From your description I don't think they cut anything for this story. Thanks for checking, Dizzy D. Yes, I think the mistake was definitely an over enthusiastic word balloon sticker-in'er, rather than some piece of Archie Goodwin's dialogue being left out. |
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Post by Confessor on Feb 13, 2015 11:56:07 GMT -5
Star Wars #14Cover dated: August 1978 Issue title: The Sound of Armageddon!Script: Archie Goodwin Artwork: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Terry Austin (inks) Colours: Janice Cohen Letters: Denise Wohl Cover art: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Terry Austin (inks) Overall rating: 4½ out of 10  Plot summary: Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca are all imprisoned on Governor Quarg's city-ship on the water world of Drexel. Believing Han Solo to be dead and wrongly assuming that Luke is to blame, Chewbacca attempts to rip the youngster to pieces in their prison cell, while outside a huge battle rages between Quarg's space-wreckers and their enemies, the Dragon Lords. As the conflict intensifies, Quarg's men use their sonic-jammer to ensnare the space-pirate Crimson Jack's Star Destroyer, which is in orbit above the planet. Meanwhile, it turns out that Han in not dead, having been rescued by the Dragon Lords and taken to their secret undersea cave. The leader of the Dragon Lords tells Han that the space-wrecker's sonic-jammer is slowly killing the huge sea-dragons that his people co-exist with, prompting Han to agree to help the Dragon Lords, if they will help him recover the Millennium Falcon from Quarg's men in return. Back on the city-ship, Governor Quarg has found Princess Leia hiding in the Falcon and after a chase through the floating settlement, Luke – who has by now subdued Chewbacca and been freed from his cell – rescues Leia by knocking Quarg into the ocean, killing him. The Falcon then destroys the space-wrecker's jamming equipment. Comments: Issue #14 of Marvel's Star Wars is quite a convoluted episode, with lots of plot development and action crammed into it. Archie Goodwin does a good job of juggling the various plot threads, as the action cuts away from one scene to another with gripping rapidity. As a result, this issue is certainly a quick one to read. However, I also think that the ending seemed a bit rushed, with Governor Quarg's demise and the whole space-wreckers vs. the Dragon Lords plot thread wrapped up in short order on the last page and a half. Still, there's more of the good characterisation of Princess Leia that we saw last issue and having the small lizards that infest the space-wrecker's city-ship turn out to be the sea-dragon's young offspring, who form a spy network for the Dragon Lords, is inventive. I also like the way that Goodwin writes Quarg here: full of hubris and stubborn-minded greed, which blinds him in the heat of battle. On the downside, the fact that Luke an co. just happen to be on Drexel at the precise moment that the fight to end all fights between the space-wreckers and the Dragon Lords kicks off seems a bit contrived. Also, the fight between Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker in the prison cell is a bit corny. In such a confined space, an enraged Wookiee would've made short work of Luke. To then have Chewbacca ultimately defeated by C-3PO getting down on all fours to trip him up, as R2-D2 sprays fire extinguishing foam into his face until the Wookiee passes out, seems, at best, unlikely, and at worst, ludicrously silly. It's interesting that we see a return of Chewbacca the ferocious and ill-tempered brawler in this issue though. We've not really seen this side of Chewie's character since the Roy Thomas-penned issue #7. Something else that I disliked in this issue was Luke punching Han in the face and then threatening him at blaster point. That seemed really out of character for Luke and doesn't really jibe with the relationship that we saw develop between the two men in the Star Wars movie. Besides, Luke later manages to explain his plan of using the Millennium Falcon to destroy Quarg's sonic-jammer to Han in just two panels. Couldn't he have simply explained to Solo what he intended to do instead of socking him in the jaw?! On the art front, Carmine Infantino and Terry Austin's work is of much the same standard as last issue. There's some inventive framing and staging on Infantino's part though. In particular, I've always loved this three-panel sequence...  Infantino's ability to keep up with Goodwin's rapid scene changes, without things ever once becoming confusing for the reader, is excellent. I've said it before and I'll say it again, whatever Infantino's short-comings as a Star Wars artist are, his storytelling with sequential art is always flawless. Also, I love the Infantino/Austin front cover: it's really eye-popping and must've leapt out at kids from the spinner racks. Ultimately, Star Wars #14 is a much more interesting read than last issue, but a handful of silly scenes or out of character moments spoil things somewhat. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Make the trip alone, pudgy! I'm tired of being everybody's pawn!" – Princess Leia Organa gets feisty with Governor Quarg.
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Post by Dizzy D on Feb 13, 2015 15:55:09 GMT -5
Yes, this is the cover that they used for the dutch version and I think they made the right choice.
You already mentioned all the points I noticed: C-3PO tripping Chewbacca (really, have they seen how slow C-3PO moves?) and Luke punching Han instead of just explaining what's going on.
All in all, an improvement on the last issue (even though for me it's just one), but there is better to come.
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Post by badwolf on Feb 13, 2015 16:18:13 GMT -5
Issues #13-15 were another set I got as a three-pack back in the day, so it's fun to revisit them. They don't seem as familiar as I expected though. I guess I didn't reread them as much as my other comics. Chewbacca reminds me of the old JLA foe the Shaggy Man, because of the way his face is colored in these issues.  Speaking of color, I wonder if there has been some subtle tweaking in this omnibus. Compared to the panels of Han going below on the sea dragon about, the ones in my book look washed out in comparison. Not in a bad way, but definitely more subdued. It seems like it's more than just the difference in paper/printing quality. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Feb 13, 2015 19:15:27 GMT -5
I still really hate those dragons though the spy ring thing with the babies was neat.
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Post by Confessor on Feb 16, 2015 13:36:22 GMT -5
Pizzazz #11Cover dated: August 1978 Issue title: The Snow Demons! ( The Kingdom of Ice!, Part 2) Script: Archie Goodwin Artwork: Walter Simonson (pencils)/Klaus Janson (inks) Colours: Marie Severin Letters: Rick Parker Overall rating: 2 out of 10  Plot summary: Having been shot down by Imperial TIE fighters and stranded on the frozen ice world of Akuria II, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia catch sight of a mobile fortress advancing across the ice plain towards them. Meanwhile, the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO have split off from Luke and Leia to investigate the wreckage of a TIE fighter that was perusing the Rebels. R2 reports that his sensors detect that there is no pilot on board the TIE fighter, but before the droids can report this strange fact to Luke, they are surrounded by huge, furry Akurian "snow demons". The snow demons also surround Luke and Leia, but they are rescued by the leader of Akuria II's Rebel forces, Colonel Odan, who takes them on board his War Sled, leaving the droids behind. Comments: In this instalment of The Kingdom of Ice!, the Simonson/Janson artwork is rougher and not quite as refined as it was last issue. Not that it was that refined last issue either, but there's a definite lessening in quality with this episode. Still, Simonson's storytelling is strong and Janson's inking lends weight to Simonson's art, with some nice shadow work. But the overall impression is one of both artists rather dialling it in here. Archie Goodwin's writing takes a turn for the worst in this issue too. To be honest, the opening page reads quite clumsily and all the nice characterisation that we got last issue is basically undetectable in this instalment. Still, the fact that R2 discovers that one of the TIE fighters that was perusing the Rebels last issue was an unmanned drone adds some intrigue to proceedings. So yeah, this isn't a great instalment of The Kingdom of Ice!Incidentally, there's a confusing typo in the story synopsis on the first page of this episode, in which it states that Luke and Leia's spaceship was shot down last issue by Imperial witchcraft. Errr...Imperial witchcraft?! It should surely read Imperial space-craft or some such. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Er...Never mind, Artoo. The mystery of the missing TIE fighter pilot will have to wait! I'm afraid we face more pressing problems!" – C-3PO realises that he and R2-D2 have been surrounded by Akurian snow demons.
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Post by Confessor on Feb 18, 2015 20:38:27 GMT -5
Star Wars #15Cover dated: September 1978 Issue title: Star Duel!Script: Archie Goodwin Artwork: Carmine Infantino (breakdowns)/Terry Austin (finished art & inks) Colours: Janice Cohen Letters: John Costanza Cover art: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Terry Austin (inks) Overall rating: 4 out of 10  Plot summary: The war between the space-wreckers and the Dragon Lords is over, Governor Quarg is dead and his sonic-jamming equipment has been destroyed, while Crimson Jack's Star Destroyer lays in wait for Han Solo above the planet Drexel. As Han, Luke, Leia and the droids leave the planet in the Millennium Falcon, Jack's first mate Jolli launches an attack on the freighter that results in her Y-Wing fighter and the Falcon becoming disabled. During the ensuing stand-off, Solo reveals that Chewbacca has erased all of Jack's navigational charts, while the Wookiee was a prisoner on board his star-cruiser. As a result, Han and Jack agree to swap the charts (which are still backed up on board the Falcon) for a gyro control module, which Han needs in order to make his ship operable again. Meanwhile, Jolli is adrift in her damaged space-craft and requesting assistance, but Jack elects to ignore her pleas. Angered by Jack's response, Jolli fires on her former allies and crashes her Y-wing fighter into the munitions deck of the space-pirate's Star Destroyer, killing the crew and herself. Jack survives the blast only to be shot dead by Solo. Comments: This issue features the conclusion of the Doomworld story arc and it also wraps up the saga of Han Solo and Crimson Jack, which began in Star Wars #7. Archie Goodwin writes a pretty satisfying conclusion to the Drexel adventure, but the contents of this issue feels a little tacked on and designed to tidy up loose ends. I can't help thinking that it would've been better if Goodwin had tied Crimson Jack's demise in with Quarg's, thus giving us a bigger and better finale to the story. Still, the scripting here is reasonably good. In particular, I liked C-3PO's response of "getting down, sir" when Han Solo instructed him to take cover from an approaching enemy space-craft. I could really hear Anthony Daniels delivering that line. Also, having Han mention the Fire Rings of Fornax is a nice touch, since the Corellian smuggler also mentions them in the Star Wars novelization. We find out in this issue that Luke Skywalker can't swim, which makes perfect sense, considering that he grew up on the desert world of Tatooine. Unfortunately, while it might make sense, it's actually a continuity glitch because in Alan Dean Foster's Splinter of the Mind's Eye novel – which was published some 7 months prior to this issue – it is established that Luke can, in fact, swim, but Leia cannot. A number of fans wrote in to Marvel about this continuity error and their missives can be seen on the letters page in future issues. Interestingly, Goodwin would later reveal in issue #36 of the series that at some point between the events of this issue and that later one Luke had, in fact, learned how to swim. Goodwin finally reveals something of Jolli's origins in this issue and why it is that she hates men so much. It turns out that she and her mother were abandoned by her farther when Jolli was just a child, after being told that they weren't "good enough" to remain with him. So, basically, she's got Daddy issues. It's interesting to speculate that perhaps Jolli found a substitute father-figure in the form of Crimson Jack, but that's never made explicit by Goodwin in the story. It's also kinda cool to see Jolli flying a Y-wing fighter, while other member's of Jack's crew pilot Imperial craft, because it ties in nicely with what we saw of Jack's ramshackle collection of fighter craft back in Star Wars#7. As an aside, Jolli's mother looks an awful lot like Domina Tagge, a villainess that we will encounter later on in Marvel's Star Wars series. It's disappointing that we never find out if Han got his Rebel reward back from Jack's ship. Jack stole the money from Han in Star Wars #7 and the Corellian even makes reference to it in this issue. Ultimately, I guess Solo probably didn't reclaim his reward, since by the time he and Leia got aboard Jack's ship, the air supply was rapidly dwindling and Han probably didn't have time to hunt for his money. The Carmine Infantino pencilled and Terry Austin inked artwork in this issue seems less detailed and slightly sloppier than in recent months. Also, I notice that the perspective is really messed up on the opening splash page. Crimson Jack's spaceship seems to be simultaneously coming towards the reader and heading away from us, like some kind of optical illusion. Take a look...  That isn't the only time that we see this problem in this issue either: the perspective of Jack's Star Destroyer is messed up again in the last panel of the 11th page of the story. Something of note in this issue is that Infantino draws what must be the first ever appearance of a TIE bomber (it's shown attacking the Millennium Falcon on pages 7 and 8 of the story). This Imperial ship wouldn't be seen in a Star Wars movie until the May 1980 release of The Empire Strikes Back, which means that Infantino was definitely getting concept art and other reference material from Lucasfilm, while he worked on this series. So there really is no excuse for how poor his sense of Star Wars ship design is. Overall, I find this issue to be much the same as the last two instalments of the Doomworld saga, in terms of the quality of writing. The artwork seems to be of a slightly lower quality and, to be frank, this whole story arc has been fairly mediocre and isn't terrible memorable within the context of Marvel's Star Wars run as a whole. Continuity issues: - Luke tells Leia that he can't swim in this issue, but in the Splinter of the Mind's Eye novel he can, while it's Leia who can't.
Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Kid, I can't recall making anything but fast exits whenever you're aboard my ship!" – Han Solo jokingly reminds Luke that the Millennium Falcon has gotten him out of trouble a number of times in the past.
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Post by badwolf on Feb 18, 2015 23:20:39 GMT -5
I've been really impressed with the amount of detail Infantino and Austin put into the starships, especially compared to the lazy renderings of the earlier issues. It's like night and day.
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Post by Action Ace on Feb 18, 2015 23:37:48 GMT -5
Thank the maker! It's time for issue #16.
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Post by Dizzy D on Feb 19, 2015 5:54:59 GMT -5
Re: the comic itself:
- I missed the first part of this story, but how did a pirate like Crimson Jack managed to get his hands on an Imperial Star Destroyer? You'd think that the Imperial Navy would have something to say about that. It'd be like Somalian Pirates suddenly were going around in an US Aircraft Carrier. (I always had a feeling that the Marvel Star Wars comic didn't have any sense of scale regarding the size of the ships.)
- As a sysadmin, I'm going to use this issue as a cautionary tale for my clients (well, not really). Really Jack, no file security *and* no backups? You deserve everything that happens to you.
- I dislike the whole Jolli having feelings for Han Solo-bit, the abandonement by Crimson Jack should have been enough motivation for her.
- I had noticed the Tie-bomber appearance as well (and the fact that it isn't used as a bomber but a fighter in this issue).
- Really, Jack? You couldn't spear the tractor beam/shield for five minutes to save Jolli, because you had a bad plan? Here is a better plan: do a swap, but don't betray Han immediately > return to your ship > blast the Falcon away with your ship because they need still need time to replace that modulator.
- And a single, damaged Y-fighter managed to take out an entire Imperial Star Destroyer. See my point on scale again. (Though we do get the A-fighter taking out a Super Star Destroyer in Return of the Jedi (though that one had sustained the focused fire of the rebel fleet for some time). My own explanation would be Jack's Destroyer having not enough crew and expertise to run the ship and keep it in good working condition.)
- Re: Luke/Leia not being able to swim. I never read Splinter of the Mind's Eye until much later, but I agree that it makes more sense for Luke not being able to swim of the two.
Re: the dutch edition.
- The dutch issue #8 combines the American issues #15 and #16. The dutch issue was published in 1982 and printed in Finland (why Finland? No idea. I knew Italian printing was cheaper, but that was in the 90s/2000s, maybe in the 70s/80s it was cheaper in Finland), so it's clear how we got a monthly Star Wars title that had 2 American issues in it for so long: we had a backlog to clear.
- The cover used for the combined issue is #15 (I let you know when we got to #16 if that was the right choice).
- They translate the title of the story "Star Duel" with something which pretty much means "Star Wars". So I have a Star Wars comic featuring a story titled "Star Wars". I'm sure there is some Xzibit meme in there somewhere.
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