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Post by Confessor on Mar 4, 2015 11:59:13 GMT -5
Star Wars #20Cover dated: February 1979 Issue title: DeathgameScript: Archie Goodwin Artwork: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Bob Wiacek (inks) Colours: George Roussos Letters: John Costanza Cover art: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Bob Wiacek (inks) Overall rating: 5½ out of 10  Plot summary: As part of a plot by Imperial Commander Strom and Senator Greyshade to defame the Rebel Alliance, an attack by a Rebel X-wing fighter on a pleasure yacht departing from the gambling station known as the Wheel is staged. Although the X-wing is destroyed by Imperial TIE fighters, the scene is watched by the Wheel's patrons, who are appalled by what they perceive as the ruthlessness of the Rebel Alliance. Greyshade has also conspired to have Han Solo and Chewbacca killed, while competing in separate gladiatorial events in The Big Game, but Solo unexpectedly thwarts the senator's plan by defeating his opponent. Meanwhile, the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, who have been appropriated by the Wheel as a gambling stake for Han, are scheduled to have their memories wiped when the Wheel's central computer, Master-Com, intervenes and saves them from their fate. The three droids visit the medical centre to check up on Luke Skywalker, who lays helpless in a Force-induced trance, only to find that he has regained consciousness and escaped. Comments: The Wheel saga continues in this issue with perhaps a little less intrigue and excitement than previous instalments. Archie Goodwin's scripting is as good as ever though and I love how he's writing Princess Leia in this story arc: she's relaxed and diplomatic when she needs to be, like the former senator that she is, but also feisty and cunningly resourceful. In fact, I'd have to say that Leia is the character that Goodwin has the best grip on at the moment, in terms of writing her as she was written by George Lucas. It's a pity Goodwin didn't write Leia like this over in the Pizzazz magazine strip though. As usual, Carmine Infantino's art has me in two minds as to its merits. On the one hand, this issue has all the usual artistic traits that I dislike and have mentioned in earlier reviews – including the unwelcome return of Infantino's tendency to put characters in ungainly, awkward or even physically impossible poses every now and then – but on the other hand, the panel-to-panel reading flow and communicating of the character's emotions is as excellent as ever. Add to that the nostalgia that Infantino's artwork elicits in me and I have a serious love/hate thing going on with this art. However, I must make mention of the, frankly, terrible depiction of an X-wing fighter that Infantino gives us on the opening splash page. I've noted a number of times in these reviews that Infantino seems to have a very poor grasp of Star Wars ship design, but this X-wing fighter really takes the biscuit. It's inaccuracies include – but are not limited to – it having the wrong number of engines, engines in the wrong places, no droid socket, incorrectly shaped "S-foils", and no visible cockpit canopy. Here, take a look for yourself...  Now, putting aside for a second the fact that Infantino and Marvel would've definitely had reference photographs from Lucasfilm to go on, by mid-to-late 1978, when this comic would've been drawn, mania for the first Star Wars movie was at its absolute zenith. Images of X-wing fighters were everywhere: on lunch boxes, on t-shirts, on posters, on gum cards, on pinball and video game machines, in press adverts etc. Given that fact, it boggles the mind how Infantino – the man charged with drawing the official Star Wars comic – could render such an inaccurate drawing of the craft. My only conclusion can be that Infantino had no interest at all in drawing accurate versions of the Star Wars ships, preferring instead to put his own spin on them. As the series progressed, the accuracy of Infantino's spacecraft design would slowly but surely improve, but even in his final few post- Empire Strikes Back issues, his depictions of Star Wars craft still left much to be desired. Something else I want to mention about this issue is that the Star-Words letters page includes a missive from former series scribe Roy Thomas. Thomas praises Infantino's art and Goodwin's handling of the characters, but most interestingly (at least, for me), Thomas makes it clear that he really enjoyed the return of Jaxxon, the green space-rabbit, in issue #16. Thomas calls him "a beloved creation of mine" and notes that Goodwin has developed Jaxxon "almost exactly the way I wanted to see him turn out." He goes on to say, "My only request is that, if there's ever to be a series of Jaxx stories you don't write yourself, I get a crack at it. I was really quite fond of the fellow…and I'm even fonder of what you've done with him." Now, just imagine that for a second: a late Bronze Age era Jaxxon spin-off mini-series written by Roy Thomas! Man, if only... If I've ever read this letter of Roy's before then I had completely forgotten it. So, in celebration of my discovery (or re-discovery) of Roy Thomas's once dreamed of Jaxxon mini-series, here's a gratuitous picture of some sexy Jaxxon cosplay...  Overall, issue #20 of Marvel's Star Wars is another solid, but fairly average issue. Goodwin's plot continues to build towards its conclusion and there's some very good characterisation here, especially of Princess Leia. There's also some excellent sequential artwork from Infantino, but with all his usual annoying artistic idiosyncrasies as well. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Forgive me, partner...it must be difficult for a man of no principles attempting to win the affection of a woman with such high ones." – Commander Strom sarcastically comments on Senator Greyshade's attempts to woo Princess Leia.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Mar 4, 2015 12:24:54 GMT -5
#18 and #19 (was a bit busy so didn't get around to rereading 18 when it came up in this thread.) Hey, no worries. It's always interesting to read your comments, whenever you have the time to read along and contribute. #18: Weird to see a TIE advanced as a regular patrol ship. As far as we've seen in the movies, it was Vader's personal ship, so you'd expect it to be a type that is only used for the elite and not for some regular patrol. And Tagge seems to have more of these. In fact all their TIEs seem to be TIE advanceds. Maybe a sign of the power of the Tagge family? Agreed, it is strange. However, I think the TIE Advanced ships came from Commander Strom's Imperial cruiser, rather than the destroyed House of Tagge ship. I guess the Empire was taking the plan to take over the Wheel pretty seriously and that's how come Strom ended up with a squadron of the latest TIE ships under his command. It's not made clear just how involved the Tagge family is in this plot though. Clearly it's their merchant ships that are transporting Imperial taxes from the Wheel, but are they actually party to the takeover plot? I guess on some level they must be, but it's never made clear if they are involved. I feel bad for that prisoner that was placed on board of the ship (not because he was placed on a ship to die, though that is bad enough. But when Leia announces that he's died, Han just tells Chewie to dump the body.) Ha, ha...yeah, it is a bit harsh. Still, war is hell, I guess!  #19: Han gambling away all his money and then betting his life in some sort of gladitorial game... it just doesn't sound like the Han Solo I know. Yeah, it is a bit contrived and obviously just a way to get Han into The Big Game, where he will inevitably fight against...his pal Chewbacca! Dum-dum-dummmm!!!! As for the ongoing discussion: I always gave most Star Wars characternames a dutch pronounciation (because I was like 6 years old when I read this for the first time and years of education never managed to shake the pronounciation of names that are not actually real words.) and I can't find anywhere on the internet how to phonetically write down a Limburg (south-netherlands) pronounciation of Tagge. (There is a local music group called the Janse Bagge Bend, but a few minutes on youtube give a lot of their songs, but nowhere that their bandname is actually pronounced. If anybody can find it, switch the B for a T). In short, my pronounciation is different from the others so far. I veto the "Tag" pronounciation though to prevent confusion with another Star Wars character Tag Greenly (I don't care if that's a different continuity. Tag and Bink will always be Star Wars to me). So, what is your pronunciation? Can you type it phonetically? |
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Post by Confessor on Mar 7, 2015 4:17:00 GMT -5
Star Wars #21Cover dated: March 1979 Issue title: Shadow of a Dark Lord!Script: Archie Goodwin Artwork: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Gene Day (inks) Colours: George Roussos Letters: John Costanza Cover art: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Terry Austin (inks) Overall rating: 7 out of 10  Plot summary: After making her escape from Senator Greyshade's suite on the galactic gambling station known as The Wheel, Princess Leia locates C-3PO and R2-D2, before also finding Luke Skywalker, who has now recovered from the strange, trance-like state he was in. Luke reveals that his trance was caused by his mind touching another individual's; a person who is strong with the Force, but evil and twisted. Luke strongly suspects that this other Force-sensitive mind was none other than Darth Vader's. Greyshade, meanwhile, has secretly sent his security forces to recover the money that the Empire had stolen from the Wheel, behind the back of his new partner, Imperial Commander Strom. Concurrently, in the gladiatorial arena of The Big Game, Han Solo is preparing to fight in the main event when he realises that one of his opponents is Chewbacca, whom he must kill if he is to survive the contest. Meanwhile, on the planet Ultaar, Darth Vader stands among the bodies of a Rebel information retrieval team, who have been slaughtered by the bounty hunter Valance. Vader realises that he and Valance are both searching for the young farmboy who destroyed the Death Star. Deducing that the boy may be on the Wheel, Vader sets course for the gambling station, determined to find his quarry before Valance does. Comments: Issue #21 of Marvel's Star Wars sees The Wheel saga kick into high gear. Archie Goodwin's plot is really gripping and inventive, amply demonstrating what a good grasp of the Star Wars universe and the workings of the Force he has. As always, his characterisation of the central cast is very good and, like last issue, he writes Princess Leia particularly well here. There's a touching little scene in which the Wheel's central computer, Master-Com, speaks to Senator Greyshade about his fascination with the relationship that Luke Skywalker has with the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, confessing that he would similarly like the senator to be his human friend. Although Greyshade seems to dismiss Master-Com's notion, the conversation clearly effects him emotionally, causing him to reflect on his recent actions towards Leia and the other Rebels. We also learn in this issue that the droid hating bounty hunter Captain Valance, who we met in issue #16, is still on Luke's trail. Most notably though, this issue is important because it sees the return of Darth Vader. The Dark Lord of the Sith is finally reintroduced back into the comic after more than a year, with his last appearance having been at the end of the movie adaptation in Star Wars #6. Although we are first teased by seeing Luke fight a dream image of Vader, the Dark Lord returns for real a few pages later with an absolutely gorgeous splash page by artist Carmine Infantino (see my favourite panel below). Goodwin explains in this issue that Luke's mind touched Vader's while the farmboy was meditating on board the Millenium Falcon back in issue #18, causing the youngster to want to mentally retreat into his own subconscious. Although it probably wasn't intended that way by Goodwin at the time, the way this is all written and explained serves to nicely foreshadow events that will be seen in The Empire Strikes Back, where Luke will encounter a vision of Vader in the cave on Dagobah and then share mental communications with the Dark Lord after Luke is rescued from Cloud City. It's also worth noting that we see the first appearance of Obi-Wan Kenobi's body as a Force apparition, albeit one that exists purely in Luke's mind, rather than a bona fide Force ghost as in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I must admit that it's great to finally see Vader return to the pages of the Star Wars comic. Goodwin writes him expertly here, with all the power and menace that you would expect. We see the Sith Lord being his normal, mercilessly evil self, while brandishing his lightsaber and we even get to see him Force choke an Imperial officer who has had the gall to call him "Dear boy". Yep, this is the Darth Vader that we know and love from the movie.  On the art side of things, there's evidence of all the usual pros and cons I always make reference to in Infantino's artwork and we also have the return of Gene Day on inks. I was very critical of Day's inking in issue #18, but it seems to have improved somewhat in this issue. Infantino's front cover is pretty striking, with the looming figure of Darth Vader announcing the Dark Lord of the Sith's return to the comic and rightly so! This cover must've really caught the eye of kids browsing the spinner racks back in 1979. As an aside, there's mention on the letters page that Chris Claremont (of Uncanny X-Men fame) is working on another Star Wars story, following his excellent "Crucible!" tale in issue #17. According to Goodwin, Claremont is "hard at work shaping up another Star Wars plot for us, this time a two-parter involving Han, Luke, Chewbacca and the Princess." This two part story that Goodwin refers to will actually see the light of day as a double length story in the first Star Wars Annual in late 1979. In closing, Star Wars #21 is a very good read. The Wheel saga is really starting to build to a nice conclusion and the return of Darth Vader to the pages of the comic adds another layer of awesomeness. In addition, Infantino's artwork is probably the best he's done for this story arc so far. Continuity issues: - Luke's lightsaber is red in some of the panels in this issue, although it's coloured correctly in others.
Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Ease the pain, Rebel...? I'll end it entirely!" – Darth Vader cruelly executes a wounded Rebel who is begging for pain relief.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 7, 2015 10:29:01 GMT -5
Star Wars #21Meanwhile, on the planet Ultaar, Darth Vader stands among the bodies of a Rebel information retrieval team, who have been slaughtered by the bounty hunter Valance. Vader realises that he and Valance are both searching for the young farmboy who destroyed the Death Star. Deducing that the boy may be on the Wheel, Vader sets course for the gambling station, determined to find his quarry before Valance does. Vader's quest for Luke's identity was an unexpected and interesting development, and it segued perfectly with The Empire Strikes Back, where he already knows who Luke is. Goodwin's work on the in-between-movies-issues was brilliant! Yeah... No offense to Jaxxon and the rest of the new characters, but to my young self From the late 70s Star Wars was about Luke and Vader! And while a lesser writer could have made the lord of the Sith campy or daft, Goodwin managed to preserve his sense of menace. Oopsie. Well, as long as it isn't green. I always hated the green lightsabers for some reason. I think it looks fake. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Mar 7, 2015 11:05:28 GMT -5
Vader's quest for Luke's identity was an unexpected and interesting development, and it segued perfectly with The Empire Strikes Back, where he already knows who Luke is. Goodwin's work on the in-between-movies-issues was brilliant! Yes, Goodwin's writing from between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back is excellent for the most part...and under a pretty trying (and tying) set of restrictions and conditions placed upon him and Marvel by Lucasfilm. By that I mean, things like not being allowed to have Luke do battle with Vader, not being allowed to advance the Luke, Leia & Han love triangle etc, etc. Considering those handicaps, Goodwin's writing and plots are even more impressive. Yeah... No offense to Jaxxon And I should hope not, lest you be unceremoniously removed from my Christmas Card list.  to my young self From the late 70s Star Wars was about Luke and Vader! And while a lesser writer could have made the lord of the Sith campy or daft, Goodwin managed to preserve his sense of menace. Agreed. Vader is in full on evil, Sith Lord mode from the get go in this issue. The brutality of the scene where he interrogates and then murders a wounded Rebel really shocked me as a kid. It's a scene that has stayed with me to the present day. To be honest, re-reading this comic again for the umpteenth time for this review, I was struck by just what a menacing presence Vader is in the comic. Goodwin is firing on all cylinders here. |
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Post by Dizzy D on Mar 7, 2015 14:04:52 GMT -5
#20 en #21: I agree that Leia is the best part of this storyline so far: managing to free herself, defeating several guards, just generally being clever and competent.
In 2nd place is Darth Vader showing up and a mention of Valance makes it even better.
In third: I also liked the storyline between Master Comp and Greyshade. Greyshade is developing into an interesting villain so far, who thinks a bit more than the other villains have so far.
I'm not big a fan of Luke in a coma and Han and Chewbacca in the gladiator games.
Oh and a positive point again: regular TIE fighters again (escorting Vader's ship).
The dutch edition: They went with the cover to #21. Of course they did. If you're selling Star Wars stories, a picture of Darth Vader, especially if it has been a long since we've seen him, does wonders. It also is the better cover of the two IMHO. The dutch translation of the caption is bad though "Shadow of a Dark Lord!" is turned into "Doom approaches!" No interesting adds this time: just a notice that Fantastic Four will now be 64 pages and appearing every 3 months, instead of monthly.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Mar 8, 2015 9:59:29 GMT -5
#20 en #21: I agree that Leia is the best part of this storyline so far: managing to free herself, defeating several guards, just generally being clever and competent. Yes, the feisty, resourceful princess that Goodwin writes is very much in line with the character created by George Lucas and played by Carrie Fisher. The characterisation of Luke, Han, Chewbacca and the droids is pretty good in the book at the moment, but Goodwin's Leia is absolutely correct. In 2nd place is Darth Vader showing up and a mention of Valance makes it even better. Yes, Vader's return has been well worth waiting for and the mention of Valance, without us actually seeing him, is a very nice touch. I'd argue that it adds an extra layer of threat precisely because we don't actually see the bounty hunter. We just know he's still looking for Luke and that he's out there...somewhere. The dutch edition: They went with the cover to #21. Of course they did. If you're selling Star Wars stories, a picture of Darth Vader, especially if it has been a long since we've seen him, does wonders. It also is the better cover of the two IMHO. The dutch translation of the caption is bad though "Shadow of a Dark Lord!" is turned into "Doom approaches!" No interesting adds this time: just a notice that Fantastic Four will now be 64 pages and appearing every 3 months, instead of monthly. I went to look for the Dutch series that you're talking about on the Grand Comics Database. Is this the series that you read as a kid and are re-reading along with now? www.comics.org/series/20495/covers/ |
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Post by Dizzy D on Mar 8, 2015 11:05:53 GMT -5
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Mar 8, 2015 19:27:56 GMT -5
Star Wars #22Cover dated: April 1979 Issue title: To the Last Gladiator!Script: Archie Goodwin Artwork: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Bob Wiacek (inks) Colours: Bob Sharen Letters: Clem Robins Cover art: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Bob Wiacek (inks) Overall rating: 6 out of 10  Plot summary: On board the galactic gambling station known as The Wheel, Han Solo and Chewbacca, along with a number of other combatants, are entered into a "to-the-death" gladiatorial contest. The pair decide to team up against the other gladiators in order to stay alive for as long as possible, but it soon becomes apparent that the rules dictate that there can be only one survivor in the arena. Meanwhile, Senator Greyshade, who has been orchestrating and manipulating events on the Wheel, presents Princess Leia, who has become the object of his unrequited affections, with a proposition: if she leaves the Wheel with him and his stolen treasure, her Rebel friends can go free. As Leia contemplates her decision, she and Luke watch in horror as Han is apparently slain by his Wookiee companion. Comments: The penultimate episode of The Wheel saga is another fairly strong one. The opening sequence, with Han Solo and Chewbacca fighting in a zero gravity gladiatorial contest, is a very striking and, consequently, memorable one. Archie Goodwin's writing is pretty inventive here too, with the arena resembling outer space and the recoil from the gladiator's needle ray guns propelling them backwards into exploding planetoids. I can vividly remember reading this scene as a little kid, although I found it confusing that Han and Chewie weren't in spacesuits when they were clearly out in space. Obviously, with my limited reading ability at the time (I was only 6), I hadn't quite grasped the fact that the arena was just a mock up of space. Carmine Infantino does a really good job of depicting the various hazards in the arena. The action flows very well from panel to panel in this sequence and he makes the needle rays, disintegrator beams and exploding planetoids look very dangerous. In particular, Infantino does a fantastic job on the page where Han and Chewie are forced to face off against each other. The high emotions that are on display here, as Han urges his Wookiee sidekick to shoot him, are very skilfully expressed through the art, which is suspenseful and loaded with poignancy and stoic heroism. While we're on the subject of the art, there's some very nicely drawn action sequences involving Luke Skywalker battling the Wheel's elite security guards too. The scene in which Senator Greyshade makes Leia a proposal to leave the Wheel with him in order to save her friend's lives, is both interesting and creepy. However, it's slightly problematic for me because, although Luke's reaction is fairly predictable (given his own feelings for Leia at the time), I'm not convinced that Leia would react the way she does here. I understand that she's torn and, of course, she may just be stalling for time, but she seems to be actually considering leaving with Greyshade on some level. I'm not sure I could see the Leia of the Star Wars movies doing that. Goodwin also gives us some more Darth Vader, as we check in on the Sith Lord as he races toward the Wheel in his Star Destroyer. His second in command, Captain Wermis (who we met last issue), is obviously either stupid or a glutton for punishment: he was Force-choked by Vader last issue for his disrespectful tone and, here again, Vader has him writhing on his back on the floor, unable to breathe. Here's a hint, Wermis – if the Dark Lord of the Sith gives you an order, just do it. Don't question him. Issue #22 of Marvel's Star Wars comic is another enjoyable instalment of the Wheel saga. There's some nice sequential art and good action sequences from Infantino, but I think last month's episode was a little stronger overall. Nonetheless, this is still an above average issue of the series. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "I can't believe this! I can't believe we're even discussing this!" – Luke Skywalker reacts in disbelief to Senator Greyshade's proposition to Princess Leia.
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Post by paulie on Mar 9, 2015 14:28:54 GMT -5
I'm absolutely not objective about Gene Day so take that into account when I say that his inks give something to Infantino's pencils that Wiacek's inks do not.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 9, 2015 19:43:36 GMT -5
No! It can't be! Han Solo can't be dead!!!
(But having missed the following issue, to this day I still don't know how he survived)!
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Post by Action Ace on Mar 9, 2015 19:48:24 GMT -5
No! It can't be! Han Solo can't be dead!!! (But having missed the following issue, to this day I still don't know how he survived)! space refrigerator (I couldn't resist ) |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Mar 9, 2015 19:48:36 GMT -5
I'm absolutely not objective about Gene Day so take that into account when I say that his inks give something to Infantino's pencils that Wiacek's inks do not. Well, I definitely prefer Wiacek's inks over Infantino to Day's, as you can no doubt tell from my reviews. But actually, I prefer Terry Austin above either of them. But then that's the beauty of the appreciation or art and of artists, isn't it? One man's meat and all that. Vive la difference! No! It can't be! Han Solo can't be dead!!! (But having missed the following issue, to this day I still don't know how he survived)! It's all explained away with Professor Warren and cloning. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 9, 2015 19:53:52 GMT -5
Superboy punch?
Pod at the bottom of Jamaica Bay?
Deal with Mephisto?
Han's death was true... from a certain point of view?
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Mar 9, 2015 21:42:34 GMT -5
Star Wars Weekly #60Cover dated: April 18th, 1979 Issue title: Pursuit! ( The Kingdom of Ice!, Part 8) Script: Archie Goodwin Artwork: Dave Cockrum Tones: Howard Bender Letters: Rick Parker Cover art: Frank Springer Overall rating: 2½ out of 10  Plot summary: The Ice Worm and the Imperial stormtroopers that it was battling are all dead. Among the carnage, Luke Skywalker, Colonel Odan, the "snow demon" Fafnir and the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO watch as an Imperial commander speeds back to base in a Snow Flyer, with Princess Leia as his prisoner. Luke and Odan pursue the Flyer on Power Skis, eventually managing to stop the craft and rescue Leia, while also managing to capture the Imperial commander. The commander explains that the nearby Imperial base has been notified of his impending arrival and when he doesn't appear, they will send TIE fighters to investigate. Luke and the Rebels travel to the base, where they destroy the main gate, as a large number of Akurian "snow demons" appear at Fafnir's command to help with the attack. Luke appropriates a TIE fighter to aid in the destruction of the Imperial fortress and the Rebels are triumphant. After the battle, Odan pledges that he and his group of freedom fighters will join the Rebel Alliance. Comments: This issue of Marvel UK's Star Wars Weekly featured the conclusion of The Kingdom of Ice! storyline that ran in the pages of Pizzazz magazine from issues #10 through to #16. The Preceding parts of the adventure had all been reprinted for UK audiences in Star Wars Weekly #57, #58 and #59, with the conclusion appearing in the very next issue. However, in the United States, readers had to wait for nearly three years after the cancellation of Pizzazz to read the final part of this story, when it was eventually published in colour in the paperback-sized Marvel Illustrated Books: Star Wars #1 in November 1981. This final instalment of the adventure was retitled War on Ice! for the U.S. market. To be honest, just like all of the Pizzazz strips, the conclusion to The Kingdom of Ice! is nothing to write home about. Dave Cockrum's artwork is serviceable enough, but it looks rushed and sloppy. This instalment was originally published in black and white because, like most British comics of the era, Star Wars Weekly was an entirely black and white publication. As such, instead of a colourist we have Howard Bender credited as tonist. From what I can see, this just means that it was Bender who added all the Zip-a-Tone shading to the artwork. One thing I will say is that the original black and white version of this episode is definitely superior to the reprint in Marvel Illustrated Books: Star Wars #1. Although the reprint has some nice Marie Severin colouring, an awful lot of the panels in the story have been cut in half or re-arranged, in order to fit them onto the smaller pages of the paperback reprint and keep them legible. Also, in the American paperback book, the conclusion to the The Kingdom of Ice! is weirdly reprinted without the preceding episodes, although there is a one-page "story so far" recap, in order to get readers who hadn't been buying Pizzazz three years earlier up to speed. Archie Goodwin's story pales in comparison to his concurrent work in the regular Marvel Star Wars comic. Like earlier instalments of The Kingdom of Ice!, the dialogue is uninspired and seems to have been written for a much younger audience than other Marvel comics of the time. At one point, Goodwin even has the captured Imperial commander giving a Scooby-Doo style speech that basically amounts to, "I'd have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for those pesky Rebels..." The sudden appearance of hordes of "snow demons" to help the Rebels destroy the Imperial fortress on Akuria II comes out of nowhere, with just a cursory "oh, Fafnir must've rallied his people against the Empire" explanation from Luke. That particular plot twist felt very contrived and had me rolling my eyes as I read. Still, at least Goodwin has Leia being a bit more feisty and less of a damsel in distress than she has been in earlier episodes of this adventure. At its conclusion, The Kingdom of Ice! has probably been a better story overall than the earlier The Keeper's World, but then it would have had to go some to be any worse. These Pizzazz strips are fascinating for being early, off the beaten path attempts by Marvel to explore George Lucas's Star Wars Universe, but they are all rather badly drawn and written. Ultimately, I'd say they were only worth reading if you're a die-hard fan of Marvel's Star Wars comics. Continuity issues: None Favourite panel:  Favourite quote: "Looks like the battle between the stormtroopers and the Ice Worm was a draw, Skywalker – both sides lost!" – Colonel Odan surveys the carnage wrought by the Ice Worm's attack on the Imperials.
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