Star Wars #79
By Jo Duffy, Ron Frenz and Tom Palmer
Even with all the constant product beaming its way from a galaxy far, far away, I keep trying out new Star Wars comics. They're usually fairly bland and disappointing, and full of 12-part sagas that explain why some lightsabers are green, but I keep looking at them all the same, because I'm trying to capture the thrills of reading this issue back in early 1984.
It's a simple done in one, when Lando and Chewbacca were searching for Han Solo (which I never really understood, even as an eight-year-old, because it was obvious that Han was being taken to Jabba's joint). But it's got a spark that is often missing in modern Star Wars, full of action and event, and plenty of silly little jokes.
Duffy's script doesn't treat the characters are untouchable icons, but leans hard on the charming rogue factor, and isn't afraid to show Lando making stupid mistakes. He drives the wrong way down a hyper-highway and gives the game away after a few drinks, and some of it is pure slapstick - the part where he puts the wig and eyepatch on the wrong way and blinds himself still makes me laugh.
And when everything goes wrong with the intergalactic gangsters and the shit hits the fan, there is some high-speed action through the crowded space city. Frenz's art isn't quite as defined as it will be, leaning less into the retro look that he will become associated with, with Palmer's typically detailed inks giving it real heft.
It's a tiny part of the overall Star Wars saga, but not everything has to be the most important thing ever, It can just be a fun romp, at ultimate velocity, with lasers flying all around.
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