Star Wars #31
Cover dated: January 1980
Issue title: Return to Tatooine!
Script: Archie Goodwin
Artwork: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Bob Wiacek (inks)
Colours: Carl Gafford
Letters: Jim Novak
Cover art: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Bob Wiacek (inks)
Overall rating: 8 out of 10




Plot summary: Luke Skywalker has returned to his homeworld of Tatooine on a mission to recruit blockade runner pilots to aid in the evacuation of the Rebel Alliance's base on Yavin 4. On his way to Mos Eisley spaceport with the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, Luke runs into his old friends Fixer and Camie. They inform him that the House of Tagge is buying all the moisture farms in the area, including the one that Luke grew up on. Luke stumbles upon clues that point towards a secret plan by the House of Tagge and the Empire, although the exact nature of the scheme isn't clear.

Later, in Mos Eisley, Luke reunites with Han Solo and Chewbacca in the same cantina where he had originally met the Corellian smuggler and his Wookiee co-pilot. A guilt-ridden Fixer suddenly arrives to warn Luke that he has informed the Empire of the young Rebel's whereabouts, but before Luke can berate his old friend, a squad of Imperial stormtroopers enter the cantina and a fire fight ensues. Luke, Han, Chewbacca and the droids make their escape in a landspeeder, but, unknown to them, the speeder has been damaged by a stray laser bolt and is leaking coolant.


Comments: This is the first part of the Omega Frost story arc, which runs through issues #31-34. I really love this arc a lot, partially because of my own nostalgic memories of reading it as a kid, but mostly because these are just some really good Star Wars comics. I think the coolest thing about this issue is seeing Luke Skywalker back on his home planet after everything that had happened to him since he left – and remember, this comic was published over three years before Luke returned to Tatooine in Return of the Jedi. Interestingly, at around the same time as this comic was on the shelves, artist and writer Russ Manning also had Luke returning to Tatooine in the "Tatooine Sojourn" storyline from the Star Wars newspaper strip.

Archie Goodwin's writing is really on form in this issue, with a number of great character moments and some nice mining of Star Wars continuity to excellent effect. For example, one of this issue's most fascinating moments comes when Luke returns to the burnt out shell of the Lars' moisture farm, where he grew up, and runs into his old friends Fixer and Camie. Goodwin shows us that Luke still feels the pain and loss of his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's death acutely, while he also casually drops in little references to Luke's deceased childhood friend Biggs Darklighter. Camie's reaction to Luke is very well written too: she still refers to him by his old nickname of "wormie", but is forced to admit that he seems more mature and carries himself in a more confident manner than when she last saw him. For his part, Luke realises that he's changed as well and, as a result, he no longer has much in common with these people who he once called friends.

There's also a neat moment where Goodwin reveals that the locals from around Anchorhead had been told by the Empire that it was Tusken Raiders (or Sand People) that killed Luke's aunt and uncle. As an Imperial cover story, this is a good one and it makes perfect sense because that's exactly what the Imperials did with the Jawa Sandcrawler they destroyed at around the same time, as seen in the Star Wars movie. All in all, this comic features some of the best character writing we've seen in the series so far.

Goodwin also takes the opportunity to reunite Luke with Han Solo and Chewbacca, who we last saw getting the best of Jabba the Hutt in issue #28. I love that we get to see Han and Chewie back in the Mos Eisley cantina where they first met Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi. While it may seem a little contrived that they would just happen to be sat in the exact same cantina, it actually makes sense that the pair would return to Tatooine, given that Jabba (who was a passenger on board the Millenium Falcon at the end of issue #28) uses the planet as his base of operations. Additionally, we know from what Obi-Wan said in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope that the cantina in question was a popular haunt with smugglers, so it's really not so far fetched.

Baron Orman Tagge makes another appearance in this issue and we learn that, in addition to his vendetta against Darth Vader, he is now hell bent on getting revenge on Luke Skywalker for thwarting his plans and destroying the House of Tagge's turbine station in issue #26. We also meet Orman's brothers Ulric and Silas for the first time. Ulric is an Imperial officer (just like Cassio Tagge, who we saw in A New Hope), while Silas is the House of Tagge's chief scientist.

The artwork in issue #31 is of much the same standard that we've come to expect from Carmine Infantino, with all his signature hard-angled tendencies present and accounted for. For some reason, Infantino also chooses to draw Luke and Han brandishing ridiculously long-barrelled blaster pistols in this issue and the next (you can see one on the front cover of this issue). I've no idea why this should be, but these weirdly elongated blasters really used to bug the hell out of me as a kid. We also get some more of Infantino's ungainly or awkward body poses that I've made mention of before. In particular, the panel in which Luke disarms Fixer with his lightsaber has the young Rebel's arm twisted at a quite unnatural and painful looking angle...




Still, as ever, Infantino's art does a wonderful job of conveying both the action and more character-driven moments of Goodwin's script. There's also some wonderfully detailed backgrounds in this comic (although the above panel isn't really a good example of that). But perhaps the biggest news on the art front is that at last, after eighteen issues on the series, Infantino has finally managed to draw Chewbacca correctly! I mentioned in my review of issue #19 that Infantino's depiction of Chewie had always suffered from the Wookiee's face being too hairless and his body fur not quite hanging correctly. Here, we have hair covering all of the Wookiee's face, as it should be, and, while traces of Infantino's artistic idiosyncrasies certainly remain, the way in which he draws Chewie is a huge improvement on past issues.




Bob Wiacek's inking is very sharp in this issue too and there's also some nice colouring from Carl Gafford, who even gets the colour of Luke's lightsaber correct (a rarity in the series so far). Oh, and I must make mention of Infantino and Wiacek's well composed and dramatic front cover, which is one of my favourites from the series.

Overall, issue #31 of Star Wars is a thoroughly enjoyable comic. The plot is pretty intriguing, with the devious conniving of the House of Tagge and Luke's discovery of a mysteriously frozen Bantha in the desert giving the story a suspenseful feel. The script and artwork are both littered with references to the original Star Wars movie, which I got a big kick out of as a child and still really enjoy as an adult. I read the hell out of this issue back when I was a kid (albeit in the black & white Marvel UK reprints) and re-reading it again for the umpteenth time, it's still a real page turner.

Incidentally, I chose this particular issue of Star Wars as one of my picks in the CCF's Classic Comics Christmas event 2014, and you can read what I said about it then here.

Continuity issues:

• It is inferred in this issue that Mos Eisley is Tatooine's only spaceport, but there are in fact others, like Mos Espa, for example.

Favourite panel:



Favourite quote: "That speeder is leaking coolant...it'll be burnt out by morning! If one of our desert patrols doesn't get them out there...the twin suns will!" – An Imperial stormtrooper gloats over the fact that although the Rebels may have escaped his squad, they are doomed to a slow death in the deserts of Tatooine.

I think the Marvel team had some decent access to the Star Wars universe, as there are many early references like this one in the series.

And Confessor, this is seriously one of my favorite stories, though I think the flashbacks in Tatooine Sojourn were slightly better, if only we could take those scenes and splice them into this story and make the perfect comic!

I wonder if there was any communication between these two teams?

Yeah, I wondered about that too. It's certainly tempting to assume there may've been, but then again, it could just as easily be a coincidence.




Oh no, there were Dewbacks on Tatooine right from May 1977, when A New Hope was released in cinemas -- earlier, if you count the photo in the novelization. All the 1997 Special Edition did was make them more animated (and consequently a lot crappier looking IMHO).

Smart arse!

Yeah, the movie I saw in 1977 was called Star Wars too, but then again, there was only one film back then, so any episode number or sub-title was irrelevant really. These days the "A New Hope" tag is useful to indicate exactly which film you are referring to. I try to refer to the original 1977 film as Star Wars as often as possible in these reviews, but the sub-title is useful sometimes for improved clarity.

In general conversation, I usually refer to the films by their titles (The Empire Strikes Back, The Phantom Menace etc). The exception to that would be A New Hope, which I usually just call Star Wars. I think you may be right about it being a generational thing though: I'm old enough to have seen all the SW films in cinemas at the time they came out, but for later generations, I think the Episode numbers may hold more sway.