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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 11, 2015 21:12:09 GMT -5
OK, I re-read The Gambler's World today and here are my thoughts... Before I really get into things, I just want to say that the idea the Rebellion would be loosing battles against the Empire in a galactic civil war on purpose, to garner support and to recruit more members just seems ridiculous. But we'll just accept that as it is and continue. I agree that Blackhole is a very striking looking and memorable villain. It's probably been around 15 years or more since I read this story and to be honest, Blackhole and how he looked are the only things I remembered about it. So yeah, a very memorable character design. Pity that Russ Manning couldn't come up with a better name than "Blackhole", but I guess it's a code name, rather than a real name, so I'll let him off. I like that Manning has drawn a ship for Luke & Leia that is clearly based on the original concept art for the Rebel blockade runner. Manning must surely have been supplied with still shots and concept art from Star Wars by Lucasfilm, in the same way that Roy Thomas et al were over at Marvel. Vorzyd 5 is a very un- Star Wars-y sounding planet name. Also, upon arrival at the Gambler's World, what the hell has Leia got in her hair? She seems to be wearing a sprig of leaves or something, right smack in the middle of her cinnamon buns hairstyle. Very weird, although it disappears after she's taken into custody.* It's not explicitly stated in the strip that Luke is using the Force to win the game in the casino and Luke himself doesn't seem to be aware that he is either. He's just being uncommonly lucky at the game, as far as anyone is concerned. There's a later reference to Luke's luck when he draws the short straw and has to go and meet the secret Rebel contact on Vorzyd 5 (who turns out to be the president). The black stormtroppers are an interesting twist on the regular Imperial stormtroopers and I must say, I quite like the look of them. Also, I like the sub-plot about the "Freelies" trying to steal R2 and 3PO. Another thing that's interesting is the way that the whole story is being told to a Rebel super computer called Mistress Mnemos by C-3PO. That's an interesting plot device, but ultimately, it's kind of unnecessary and doesn't really add anything. The spy-eye hovering surveillance devices that the Imperials use to follow Luke on his way to meet with the secret Rebel contact are apparently whizzing from side to side too fast to be seen. If they were moving that fast, they'd be generating an awful lot of noise from the air displacement -- Luke would definitely hear five of them hovering just above his head! Overall, I enjoyed this story a lot more than I thought I would. I do still prefer the later Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson strips, but these are a lot less "kiddy" or "juvenile" than I remember them being. I also appreciate Manning's art a lot more than I did the last time I read these comics. There's a clarity to his line work that is very pleasing and his set detail -- while a little stylised and not terribly Star Wars-y at times -- is really nice. Of course, Manning's art still looks a lot more cartoony than Williamson's later strips, but I definitely like the artwork a lot more than I used to. Incidentally, I read in the back of Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures #1 that these Star Wars strips were the last continuous work that Manning took on before he died of cancer in 1982. Anyway, I'm glad I took the time to re-read these today. So thanks for prompting me to do that thwhtguardian. * - This might be harder to spot in the original black & white strip, I guess. But in the colour Dark Horse reprints the sprig of leaves is coloured green and sticks out a mile. Yeah, I thought it weird that the Force wasn't the given reason why Luke won the game, though I suppose at this stage of the game he doesn't know much about the Force so I suppose it fits. And I agree whole heartily about the super computer plot, it came completely out of left field, to the point where I thought I had missed a strip; though it does become clearer in the next story which ran on the Sundays during this strip so I suppose if we were reading this as it came out I suppose we wouldn't been as lost. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Jan 11, 2015 23:43:05 GMT -5
And I agree whole heartily about the super computer plot, it came completely out of left field, to the point where I thought I had missed a strip; though it does become clearer in the next story which ran on the Sundays during this strip so I suppose if we were reading this as it came out I suppose we wouldn't been as lost. I also thought this story ended pretty abruptly. It was kinda like, everything was rolling along and then in two panels, it was all over. So, what's up for review next, thwhtguardian? Is it the so-called Constancia Affair storyline or the untitled story set on Kashyyyk? Or maybe you're gonna go straight into Tatooine Sojourn? |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 12, 2015 12:29:53 GMT -5
And I agree whole heartily about the super computer plot, it came completely out of left field, to the point where I thought I had missed a strip; though it does become clearer in the next story which ran on the Sundays during this strip so I suppose if we were reading this as it came out I suppose we wouldn't been as lost. I also thought this story ended pretty abruptly. It was kinda like, everything was rolling along and then in two panels, it was all over. So, what's up for review next, thwhtguardian? Is it the so-called Constancia Affair storyline or the untitled story set on Kashyyyk? Or maybe you're gonna go straight into Tatooine Sojourn? It will indeed be the Constancia Affair, I just received the KB Toy's 1998 reprint on Saturday so expect it either later today or tomorrow. I can't seem to find a copy of the Kashyyyk story as it was never reprinted and I have yet to locate a seller who has the original strips like I did with the Tatooine Sojourn and Princess Leia, Imperial Servant so I may be viewing it slightly unscrupulously. |
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Post by Confessor on Jan 12, 2015 13:21:35 GMT -5
I also thought this story ended pretty abruptly. It was kinda like, everything was rolling along and then in two panels, it was all over. So, what's up for review next, thwhtguardian? Is it the so-called Constancia Affair storyline or the untitled story set on Kashyyyk? Or maybe you're gonna go straight into Tatooine Sojourn? It will indeed be the Constancia Affair, I just received the KB Toy's 1998 reprint on Saturday so expect it either later today or tomorrow. I can't seem to find a copy of the Kashyyyk story as it was never reprinted and I have yet to locate a seller who has the original strips like I did with the Tatooine Sojourn and Princess Leia, Imperial Servant so I may be viewing it slightly unscrupulously. Ooh...was it pricey? The KB Toy's reprint book seems to go for silly money. I hunted for ages for it at a price that I thought was acceptable. It's a shame, but the strip is quite heavily edited in that re-print. There's a whole framing sequence involving the droids that is missing. I know you're not a fan of digital comics, especially those of dubious origin, but if you want, I cam send you scans of the unreprinted Kashyyyk strip. Totally up to you, of course, but PM me your e-mail address if you're interested. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 12, 2015 14:43:51 GMT -5
It will indeed be the Constancia Affair, I just received the KB Toy's 1998 reprint on Saturday so expect it either later today or tomorrow. I can't seem to find a copy of the Kashyyyk story as it was never reprinted and I have yet to locate a seller who has the original strips like I did with the Tatooine Sojourn and Princess Leia, Imperial Servant so I may be viewing it slightly unscrupulously. Ooh...was it pricey? The KB Toy's reprint book seems to go for silly money. I hunted for ages for it at a price that I thought was acceptable. It's a shame, but the strip is quite heavily edited in that re-print. There's a whole framing sequence involving the droids that is missing. I know you're not a fan of digital comics, especially those of dubious origin, but if you want, I cam send you scans of the unreprinted Kashyyyk strip. Totally up to you, of course, but PM me your e-mail address if you're interested. Ah, I didn't know it was that heavily edited. I got mine for only 15 bucks on Ebay which wasn't too bad, but I know that these kinds of things can and often do go for stupid money. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 12, 2015 19:11:18 GMT -5
The Constancia Affair
March 11-July 8th 1979 Written, Penciled and Colored(?) by Russ Manning Inked and Lettered by Mike Royer Published by the LA Times Syndicate  Summary: The Imperials have discovered that the people of the planet Constancia possess strong telepathic powers and so they set out to conquer the world and enslave its people. Of course the Rebels won't stand for this and so they dispatch Luke,3PO and R2 to travel to the planet along with the Constancian leader to devise a plan to drive the Imperials away...but enroute they come under attack and are destroyed leaving only R2 and 3PO drifting alone in space! All is not lost though as Han, Chewie and a woman named Gyla just happen to be cruising around the area and they pick up the droids distress signal. While the droids recharge 3PO fills Han and the gang in on what happened but before he can finish the Falcon also comes under Imperial attack. Thankfully Chewie is able to lose the Imperials inside the ice ring that surrounds Constancia. As they sit in wait, planning their next move they uncover a hidden base and once inside they become reunited with Luke, who was saved via tractor beam by the base's commander Sharlee. Using some battle armor Han and Sharlee are then able to board and capture a ship called an Imperial Boarding Craft, which while resembling a Tie-Bomber is actually a slightly larger craft capable of holding a small platoon of Storm Troopers, which they use to somehow defeat the imperials. Review: This is an incredibly quick read, taking place over only 18 installments back in 1979, and although packed with lots of action and a promising beginning it fizzles at the end. For one, other than their telepathy we never really learn why the Imperials want the Constancians, or what was keeping them from taking the planet while the Constancian leader sought aid from the Rebels. Further, although we see the heroes parade we never saw how Luke and the Gang actually beat the Imperials other than a small skirmish with a few Tie-fighters...so it's a lot of flash with very little substance but the flash is pretty neat. For instance in the character Gamine we get a character that looks strangely slightly similar to the early concept art of Yoda:   And the dress that Manning designs for Han's new lady companion was pretty stunning:  And Chewie gets a space suit. But over all it was a fairly disappointing story that had some great art, but not great enough to really redeem the strip. Grade: C- |
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Post by shaxper on Jan 12, 2015 19:18:26 GMT -5
Let's hope this story arc is not a Harbinger of all that follows.
How long did the strip run for, anyway?
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 12, 2015 19:26:54 GMT -5
Let's hope this story arc is not a Harbinger of all that follows. How long did the strip run for, anyway? Manning's Run on the strip only lasted until August of 1980, though his last story was finished by Rick Hoberg and Alfredo Alcala due to his failing health. I've read ahead a little and it does pick up, although that uptick comes with other writers coming along and Manning just handling the art which is slightly sad as I loved his prose. Perhaps the slight decline in story telling was health related? Who knows. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 13, 2015 20:26:45 GMT -5
The Kashyyyk Depths
Sundays July 15 - September 9, 1979
Written, Penciled and Colored(?) by Russ Manning
Inked and Lettered by Mike Royer
Published by the LA Times Syndicate
Summary: Han, Chewie, C-3P0 and R2-D2 travel to the Wookie home world of Kashyyyk to participate in the Life Day celebration. However, when they arrive they learn that Life Day has been canceled because the forest below has been deemed to dangerous to travel through causing a shortage a Wookie delicacy known as the Orga root. Chewbacca has other ideas however and after fighting with the Wookie Elder through an an interpretive dance battle an agreement is struck and Chewie, Han and the gang set off to gather the special root. Once under the canopy they discover a group of Imperial soldiers hacking through the plants, which as it turns out are sentient being on Kashyyyk and further that Wookies can communicate with the plants. As the gang looks on the plants overwhelm the storm troopers and the science team they are escorting, thankfully through Chewie's intervention they are able to save one of the scientists who turns out to be Gyla, Han's lady companion who we met in the last story. After a short conversation with the plants Chewie is able to retrieve the root and the gang travels back to the canopy to celebrate Life Day. Review: This is another short Sunday strip that ran concurrently with Gambler's World, but while the first Sunday strip was lack luster to say the least the Kashyyyk Depths was incredibly entertaining. It's not that the story was any more layered or complex than the Constancia Affair or Gambler's World but the energy is much greater and the world Manning shows us here feels so incredibly alive. Although we don't learn much of the Wookie culture between the dance off and the introduction of the ability to commune with the plants of Kashyyyk they feel like an organic creation. It's just so fun that I simply can't fathom why this story has never been collected, with the quality of the Constancia Affair I can understand why it was only ever collected once for an exclusive give away for a second rate toy store(KB Toys) but this is a great little story so it just seems weird that it wasn't collected. About the only reason I can think of for why this has never once seen the light of day is that this story is a slight take off of the Star Wars Christmas Special which Lucas absolutely loathes. That's just speculation on my part mind you, but it seems plausible to me. On a slightly interesting note, Russ manning features a black Storm Trooper here, and while I doubt a wider exposure to this strip would have quelled the controversy of a similar Storm Trooper in the new Star Wars trailer it is interesting to see that Manning felt that the empire was diverse:  Grade: A |
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Post by Confessor on Jan 14, 2015 20:07:30 GMT -5
OK, I'm playing catch up here! Here are my thoughts on The Constancia Affair... I see that things startt off with another sequence featuring C-3PO telling the Rebel super computer, Mistress Mnemos, the events of this story. Again, what's the point? Like I said before, it's an interesting feature, but it really serves no purpose at all ultimately. Worse still, there are some glaring continuity issues during this sequence...not least when Mistress Mnemos refers to Luke Skywalker's father as being named Tan Skywalker. The Wookieepedia website tells me that this continuity error has since been rectified by a later writer establishing that "Tan" is a title-rank bestowed upon exceptionally skilled pilots. In reality though, this is clearly just a case of Russ Manning picking a name out of the air for Luke's father. We also get C-3PO telling us that he was first activated centuries ago on the planet Affa...wrong! Once we get into the adventure proper, there's an unintentionally humorous panel early on that made me snigger like a schoolboy...  Immature of me, I know, but there it is.  I quite like the character of Gyla Petro, although it's frustrating that we never really learn what she's doing riding around in the Millennium Falcon with Han and Chewbacca during this story. Of course, more will be explained about her and her relationship with Solo in the next Sunday strip, The Kashyyyk Depths. Like you though, thwhtguardian, I really like her outfit here a lot. Something that's quite interesting, from a nerdy Star Wars fan's point of view, is the appearance of a TIE bomber in this strip (in the sequence where the Empire are pursuing Han and Sharlee in the life pod). TIE bombers wouldn't be seen on the cinema screen until May 1980, a good year after this strip was published. Like I suggested before, Manning definitely had access to behind the scenes movie stills and production art from Lucasfilm. With that being undoubtedly the case, it's wholly feasible that the design of Gamine was somewhat influenced by the early concept art for Yoda, like you suggest thwhtguardian. Personally, I can't say that I've ever thought Gamine looked like the early design for Yoda, but you may be right. There's some more really nice Russ Manning artwork in this strip. Again, I find that I'm liking his artwork much more nowadays than I used to. It is a bit cartoony, but not really as much as I used to think it was. In particular, I really like this big panel, showing one of the pursuing TIE fighters slamming into a huge chunk of rock and ice among the planet Constancia's rings...  Like you, thwhtguardian, I have this strip reprinted in the KB Toys one-shot that Dark Horse put out, but I'm also reading along with a .PDF copy of the original newspaper strip. I must say that I much prefer the colouring of the original strip than I do the reprint. Also, there's a fair bit missing from the reprint, which makes the ending in particular very abrupt. In the original newspaper strip, the ending is still kinda sudden, but there's a little more to it, with C-3PO informing Mistress Mnemos that the Constancians later erected a monument to Han, Luke and Chewbacca for their help in getting Gamine to the planet. All in all, this was a decent adventure, but it feels incomplete and lacks the intrigue and plot twists of The Gambler's World. I would definitely rate it lower than that adventure as a result. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 14, 2015 21:03:11 GMT -5
OK, I'm playing catch up here! Here are my thoughts on The Constancia Affair... I see that things startt off with another sequence featuring C-3PO telling the Rebel super computer, Mistress Mnemos, the events of this story. Again, what's the point? Like I said before, it's an interesting feature, but it really serves no purpose at all ultimately. Worse still, there are some glaring continuity issues during this sequence...not least when Mistress Mnemos refers to Luke Skywalker's father as being named Tan Skywalker. The Wookieepedia website tells me that this continuity error has since been rectified by a later writer establishing that "Tan" is a title-rank bestowed upon exceptionally skilled pilots. In reality though, this is clearly just a case of Russ Manning picking a name out of the air for Luke's father. We also get C-3PO telling us that he was first activated centuries ago on the planet Affa...wrong! Once we get into the adventure proper, there's an unintentionally humorous panel early on that made me snigger like a schoolboy... Immature of me, I know, but there it is. I quite like the character of Gyla Petro, although it's frustrating that we never really learn what she's doing riding around in the Millennium Falcon with Han and Chewbacca during this story. Of course, more will be explained about her and her relationship with Solo in the next Sunday strip, The Kashyyyk Depths. Like you though, thwhtguardian, I really like her outfit here a lot. Something that's quite interesting, from a nerdy Star Wars fan's point of view, is the appearance of a TIE bomber in this strip (in the sequence where the Empire are pursuing Han and Sharlee in the life pod). TIE bombers wouldn't be seen on the cinema screen until May 1980, a good year after this strip was published. Like I suggested before, Manning definitely had access to behind the scenes movie stills and production art from Lucasfilm. With that being undoubtedly the case, it's wholly feasible that the design of Gamine was somewhat influenced by the early concept art for Yoda, like you suggest thwhtguardian. Personally, I can't say that I've ever thought Gamine looked like the early design for Yoda, but you may be right. There's some more really nice Russ Manning artwork in this strip. Again, I find that I'm liking his artwork much more nowadays than I used to. It is a bit cartoony, but not really as much as I used to think it was. In particular, I really like this big panel, showing one of the pursuing TIE fighters slamming into a huge chunk of rock and ice among the planet Constancia's rings... Like you, thwhtguardian, I have this strip reprinted in the KB Toys one-shot that Dark Horse put out, but I'm also reading along with a .PDF copy of the original newspaper strip. I must say that I much prefer the colouring of the original strip than I do the reprint. Also, there's a fair bit missing from the reprint, which makes the ending in particular very abrupt. In the original newspaper strip, the ending is still kinda sudden, but there's a little more to it, with C-3PO informing Mistress Mnemos that the Constancians later erected a monument to Han, Luke and Chewbacca for their help in getting Gamine to the planet. All in all, this was a decent adventure, but it feels incomplete and lacks the intrigue and plot twists of The Gambler's World. I would definitely rate it lower than that adventure as a result. With the knowledge that Manning left the strip early due to his health I wonder how much of these plot threads like 3PO's conversations with Mistress Mnemos and Han's relationship with Gyla were meant to be developed further in future strips that sadly died with Russ. I mean, he did have something of a track record with introducing elements and never doing much with them in Magnus, but his Tarzan work was very tight so I want to believe he was planning on going somewhere with Mnemos(though for the life of me I can't see where). I guess we'll never no. And yeah, though I haven't been keeping track of continuity glitches like you have, there are several here. I didn't catch the one about "Tan Skywalker" but the one about 3P0 and R2 being centuries old stuck out like a sore thumb making me wonder how much access Manning really had to the behind the scenes stuff. |
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Post by Confessor on Jan 14, 2015 22:02:24 GMT -5
With the knowledge that Manning left the strip early due to his health I wonder how much of these plot threads like 3PO's conversations with Mistress Mnemos and Han's relationship with Gyla were meant to be developed further in future strips that sadly died with Russ. I mean, he did have something of a track record with introducing elements and never doing much with them in Magnus, but his Tarzan work was very tight so I want to believe he was planning on going somewhere with Mnemos(though for the life of me I can't see where). I guess we'll never no. And yeah, though I haven't been keeping track of continuity glitches like you have, there are several here. I didn't catch the one about "Tan Skywalker" but the one about 3P0 and R2 being centuries old stuck out like a sore thumb making me wonder how much access Manning really had to the behind the scenes stuff. Well, I don't believe for a second that George Lucas had any idea in 1979 that C-3PO would eventually turn out to have been built by Darth Vader. So, who knows, maybe the "first activated centuries ago on the planet Affa" thing did come from Lucasfilm. However, my guess would be that, just like the Tan Skywalker thing, Manning simply made it up himself and Lucasfilm didn't query it. Don't forget, we were still 4 years away from Luke's father's name being revealed as Anakin anyway, so it's highly probable that even Lucas hadn't decided what Luke's father was gonna be called yet. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 14, 2015 22:14:47 GMT -5
With the knowledge that Manning left the strip early due to his health I wonder how much of these plot threads like 3PO's conversations with Mistress Mnemos and Han's relationship with Gyla were meant to be developed further in future strips that sadly died with Russ. I mean, he did have something of a track record with introducing elements and never doing much with them in Magnus, but his Tarzan work was very tight so I want to believe he was planning on going somewhere with Mnemos(though for the life of me I can't see where). I guess we'll never no. And yeah, though I haven't been keeping track of continuity glitches like you have, there are several here. I didn't catch the one about "Tan Skywalker" but the one about 3P0 and R2 being centuries old stuck out like a sore thumb making me wonder how much access Manning really had to the behind the scenes stuff. Well, I don't believe for a second that George Lucas had any idea in 1979 that C-3PO would eventually turn out to have been built by Darth Vader. So, who knows, maybe the "first activated centuries ago on the planet Affa" thing did come from Lucasfilm. However, my guess would be that, just like the Tan Skywalker thing, Manning simply made it up himself and Lucasfilm didn't query it. Don't forget, we were still 4 years away from Luke's father's name being revealed as Anakin anyway, so it's highly probable that even Lucas hadn't decided what Luke's father was gonna be called yet. You raise a good point, this is sort of like trekking through some high weeds of the wilderness where very little is set in stone. I remember being frustrated by that quality growing up, but now as I read these and the Marvel books I find that I really enjoy that everything can go feeling, even if it can lead to some inconsistent story quality. |
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Post by Confessor on Jan 17, 2015 3:58:53 GMT -5
Ok, I've just read The Kashyyyk Depths and here are my thoughts...
Predictably, we start off with more Misteress Mnemos nonsense, which as ever is totally surplus to requirements. Interestingly, with its references to the Wookiee festival of Life Day, this story ties in nicely with the notorious Star Wars Holiday Special, which had aired on U.S. television almost a year earlier. Unfortunately, there's a continuity glitch here, in that C-3PO explains to R2-D2 (and the reader) that the Wookiee Life Day comes around only once every three years. But weren't the gang all here last year for the Life Day celebrations that we saw in the Holiday Special? This can't be set 3 years later, because three years after the events of the Holiday Special Han was frozen in carbonite. Oh well...
The artwork here is really nice....probably better than in The Gambler's World or The Constancia Affair. I agree that the layered eco-system of Kashyyyk feels "alive" and very exotic. Russ Manning really let's his imagination flow while drawing the flora and fauna of this world, and you kinda get a sense that he's really enjoying himself here. You can almost feel the sticky, jungle heat and hear the bizarre cries of alien animals far off in the undergrowth. Although, I notice that Manning can't seem to make up his mind whether the planet is spelled Kashyyyk or Kashyyk.
It's nice that we learn something about Gyla Petro in this issue too. Turns out that she's a botanist working for the Imperials when Han first meets here, although there's a whole other story of her being suspected of being an Imperial spy that we don't get told about. While that is kinda frustrating, on the other hand, it's kinda cool that there are other, untold tales that 3PO needs to relay to Mistress Mnemos. Talking of Han and first meeting with Gyla, it's weird that Han is concerned about the plants attacking and killing the Imperials. I mean, he says that the troopers deserved to be attacked by the plants, but the scientists didn't?! They're all Imperials though surely, aren't they, Han? Anyway, it's a shame that we don't learn more about Han and Gyla. Are the lovers? Friends? Who knows!
Personally, I've always found it interesting when Han, Luke, Leia et al go to the Wookiee homeworld, so this adventure scores points for me there. It's also interesting to learn that in Wookiee culture stomping your feet seems to be the accepted prelude to having a fight.
All in all, this was a pretty short but sweet comic strip. It didn't overstay its welcome and, although it was pretty inconsequential, it was a load of fun to read. I think Manning's artwork here is the best that he's done on these Star Wars newspaper strips.
So, I assume that Tatooine Sojourn is next up for review, thwhtguardian?
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jan 18, 2015 21:25:42 GMT -5
So, I assume that Tatooine Sojourn is next up for review, thwhtguardian? Ask and you shall receive: Tatooine Sojourn
September 10th to November 5th, 1979
Written by Steve Gerber
Penciled and colored by Russ Manning
Inked and Lettered by Mike Royer
Published by the LA Times Syndicate
 Summery: While out on deep space reconnaissance mission Luke and his trusty droids are hastily reassigned to a new mission on Tatooine, making this Luke's first return home since leaving with Obi-Wan, Han and Chewbacca. As he prepares to approach his former planet he intercepts a mysterious transmission telling him to head to the Mos Eisley Cantina for information about what the Imperials are up to. Landing at the space port Luke discovers that since he left the Imperials have set up a permanent base in Mos Eisley leading it to look much larger than when he once knew it. At the Cantina Luke meets his contact, a feline like alien named Anduvil of Ogem who explains that the Imperials newest scheme is the mysterious extraction of sensitive Rebel intelligence that has led to the destruction of several rebel bases as well as a mysterious infectious disease...a disease that shows up in the Cantina just as they are discussing it as they notice a Jawa exhibiting the symptoms of the disease causing Anduvil, Luke and his droids to flee to the dune sea where they take refuge in Obi-Wan's old home. Once there they learn that they did not leave soon enough as Luke is exhibiting the early stages, and to make things worse they become captured by the Empire. Once on base Luke learns that the Imperials have manufactured a strain of the disease that implants an image of an often visted star system onto the eyes of those afflicted which is how they are getting their information. Thankfully though, with the help of R2 and C3P0 Anduvil is able to obtain the antidote that Luke needs as well as there safe escape. Review: This strip is important to note for two reasons: it is the first strip to run both during the week and Sundays giving it a mix of short black and white strips and longer colored features and because it is the first story not written by Manning. On the first front this is an interesting change because the changing format gives it a very different pace as the three panel black and white strips tend to be more character focused with the larger, Sunday color strips are more action focused. The back and forth between these two types of strips really gives the story a much more balanced pace than we've seen in the past. Secondly we have the change in writers from Manning to Steve Gerber of Guardians of the Galaxy and Howard the Duck fame and the whole plot around a disease that paints stars in the eyes of the afflicted really feels very Gerber to me which gives this strip a much more Marvel feel than the previous chapters. In addition to that though, and much more importantly, we get some real characterization here as Gerber works not only to give us a glimpse at how Luke views his exodus from home but also stops to give us a real supporting character in Anduvil; she could have easily been a stock rebel informant there just to give Luke a needed info dump, but instead she is a much more realized character with her own personality and motivations which is refreshing. Both of those elements are great and represent serious improvements in the strip, but for me the real highlight came in the form of Luke's flashback to the last time he was at the Cantina: 
The depictions of Obi-Wan, Owen, Beru,Han and Chewie are truly spot on here and the way they are rendered as black and white ghosts layered over the colored back ground is a great way to highlight their unreality making this some of the best visual storytelling that Manning has put forward thus far. It's just a terribly unique, beautiful and very effective way of showing us the flood of memories that bombard Luke as he enters the Cantina.
I think the only failing here is that shortly after Luke gets to Tatooine we loose the emotional punch of Luke's return home in favor for action. The action is great, don't get me wrong, but with the strong start about Luke not wanting to go home and his reflections about all the changes in Mos Eisley upon his landing I was just expecting a more personal journey here but instead of following through on that it just gets jettisoned and the ensuing plot with the star eyes though entertaining feels a little un-Star Warsy.
Still, over all this was a good story even if it didn't fulfill the promise of its strong beginning.
Grade: B+ |
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