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   From: BillV2320@webtv.net   
      
   The 5 Best (and 5 Worst) Marvel Star Wars Comic Stories    
   By Chris Cummins in Comics  , Daily Lists    
   Friday, July 13, 2012 at 8:06 am   
   Second only to the Kenner action figures, Marvel's Star Wars comics are   
   the most enduring collectibles spawned from George Lucas' sci-fi   
   saga.These printed adventures presented adventures packed with   
   imagination and new characters that helped make the wait between movies   
   seem a bit more bearable. In all, the series ran 107 issues that spanned   
   from 1977 to 1986 (with the post- Return of the Jedi issues being the   
   only new Star Wars content released until Timothy Zahn's Heir to Empire   
   novel hit stores in 1991). Thanks to relatively cheap back issues and   
   trade paperback collections from Dark Horse -- a company that continues   
   to produce new Star Wars stories to this day -- newbies can seek out   
   these vintage tales while older fans can revisit them to have their   
   nostalgia itch scratched. Having recently done exactly this myself, I   
   thought it might be interesting to see how these comics have held up. To   
   my surprise, they remain (for the most part) as fun to read now as they   
   did over 30 years ago. Today's Daily List examines the five best and   
   five worst Star Wars stories that Marvel ever produced, excluding the   
   film adaptations and the Droids and Ewoks tales from Star Comics.   
   Whether you agree with my picks or not, this trip down memory lane will   
   transport you back to a time when everything was Star Wars... and Star   
   Wars was everything. THE BEST: 5) Behemoth from the World Below   
   The tenth issue of Star Wars had an elderly shaman conjuring up a huge   
   lizard to protect his village from the arrogant outlaw Serji-X. But   
   before you can say "bantha poodoo," the old man met his maker, and the   
   beastie began rampaging. Fortunately, Han Solo, Chewie and the ragtag   
   band of misfits they hung around with early in the comic's run (which   
   included the divisive talking green rabbit Jaxxon and would be-Jedi/Obi   
   Wan parody Don-Wan Kihotay) were on the case to stop the space reptile   
   and save the day. Apart from a brief interlude about Princess Leia's   
   ongoing search for Luke, this issue is all action. In other words,   
   exactly what kids back in the 1970s wanted from their Star Wars comics.   
   Fun fact: This adventure marks the first (but obviously not the last)   
   time Han Solo yielded a lightsaber 4) To the Last Gladiator!   
   The Wheel was a gambling resort/space station free from Imperial control   
   that was the setting for several issues in the comic's first year.   
   (Think of it as a mash-up of Deep Space Nine and the Borgota). The most   
   memorable of these tales had Han Solo and Chewbacca engaged in   
   zero-gravity combat against a variety of intergalactic lowlifes. After   
   their common foes were vanquished, they were forced to square off   
   against each other. Anyways, knowing that they had to fight in order to   
   save Luke, Leia and the droids, they share a silent goodbye before   
   Chewie shoots his scoundrel pal right in the chest.Obviously Han wasn't   
   going anywhere, but the cliffhanger was a great tip of the hat to the   
   movie serials that inspired George Lucas' space opera in the first   
   place.It's worth mentioning that this installment also featured some   
   great political intrigue involving the Empire's plans for the cosmic   
   casino, but the Han and Chewbacca smackdown is the biggest draw.  3)   
   Silent Drifting   
   For the most part, venturing into Ben Kenobi's back story was a no-no   
   for the Marvel Star Wars stories. A notable exception is this tale from   
   writer Mary Jo Duffy. After a close call with some TIE Fighters,   
   Princess Leia recalls a story about a similar escape that Obi Wan made   
   while aboard a pleasure ship. (Sadly he was there for business, so   
   readers don't get to witness any Jedi Gone Wild shenanigans). In the   
   flashback, Kenobi is dressed in a slick black suit with blue highlights   
   and a white belt that make him look like an intergalactic member of   
   S.H.I.E.L.D.--it's a really cool outfit, and yet another example of how   
   Lucas dropped the ball in the prequels by having the all of the Jedis   
   dress in the same robes. When some pirates begin approaching the vessel,   
   the passengers assume there is a traitor aboard who has signaled the   
   enemy ships. As all hell begins to break loose, Kenobi embarks on a   
   Sherlockian investigation that unearths the truth: the pirate ships are   
   attracted to microwaves emitted from a alcohol-fermenting device on his   
   ship. After he destroys the device, the enemy cruisers are no longer   
   able to track their moves and life aboard the vessel returns to the   
   vice-indulging norm. I'm not sure if the grace-under-pressure young   
   Kenobi here influenced the take on the character that we see trying to   
   figure out who ordered the army in Attack of the Clones, but I am   
   eternally relieved that this issue at no point features a 1950s-style   
   diner. Sweet lord, I will never get over that atrocity. 2) Valance the   
   Hunter   
   You'll notice that this side of the list is completely devoid of any   
   issues that were released post- Return of the Jedi. That's because none   
   of the adversaries from the later run of the comic were exciting or   
   inventive enough to actually be a part of the Star Wars films   
   themselves. This wasn't always the case. Take Valance for example. While   
   working as a Stormtrooper for the Empire, he was critically wounded   
   during the attack on the first Death Star. In order to save his life, a   
   medical droid had to transform him into a cyborg. This didn't sit too   
   well with Valance, who used fake skin to cover up his half-robotic   
   appearance. After beginning a second life as a bounty hunter who   
   specialized in killing droids, he had his self-hatred thrown into   
   upheaval after he discovered that Luke and the droids were BFFs.   
   Inspired by this, he learned to love himself. Cue The Smiths' "Accept   
   Yourself."  Valance was fascinating, a foe whose ferocity was even   
   respected by Darth Vader himself. The only downside to the character was   
   that he was written out of the comics too soon. If there's ever anyone   
   who deserves to be revived for today's Expanded Universe tales, it's   
   him. 1) Shadeshine   
   Han Solo is so great that alien races build statues in his honor. That's   
   one of the revelations fans were treated to in the second Star Wars   
   Annual. When The Empire Strikes Back put Han in Carbonite, it seriously   
   limited his story possibilities in the ongoing comic. Fortunately the   
   magic of flashbacks neatly circumvents this problem. And so we have this   
   pre- Star Wars tale that illustrates how Han got laid by a space babe,   
   overthrew a despot who was really into shitty jewelry and generally made   
   life awesome for the poor bastards who were stuck living on the   
   unimaginatively titled world of Ventooine. Way to go Han, even stuck in   
   Carbonite you get better stories than Luke. THE WORST: 5) Jawas of Doom   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)