Between Books - Star Wars: Han Solo

When I first saw Star Wars, Luke was my favorite.  But by The Return of the Jedi, Han was my favorite of the big three.  I mean, he did get the girl!  Maybe that says more about me growing up then the saga.  So hearing that Marvel was going to produce a Han Solo focused mini series really excited me.  But it scared me too, because what if it was not great!

Star Wars: Han Solo by Marjorie Liu with art by Mark Brooks follows Han Solo as he and Chewbacca are called into covert action by the Rebel Alliance.  Princess Leia needs a fast ship, and the Millennium Falcon is entered into the Dragon Void race.  At each stop, Solo must recover a member of a Rebel spy network including a traitor who has exposed their activities.  The scoundrel rebel has to balance the competitive nature of his fellow racers with the stress of Imperial entanglements and antsy Rebel spies.  If forced, which will Han choose...the mission or the race?

Overall, I was happy with Liu's story.  It is a straight out adventure tale with a hero I like at its center.  While the story is not overly complex, it does leave the reader wondering who the traitor is?  And we get to witness Solo's tension.  Leia made it clear, the race is nothing but a cover story.  In the end if he must choose it is the race he is to abandon.  But can he do that and still be true to his nature?  To me the story really does not take us deeper into Solo's personality, really with the reader getting the smuggler we expect.  The story does give us foreshadowing to his post rebellion career, as a race promoter.  And it helps connect dots to the older Solo and his love of racing.

Star Wars: Han Solo is an adventure romp.  It does not add deeply to the canon.  But it likely gives Solo fans like me something we want, more screen time!

Between Books - Aftermath: Life Debt

Among the things I was not looking forward to among all of Disney's new Star Wars offerings was another Aftermath book.  So it was with great hesitation I borrowed, not bought, Aftermath: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig.  Because honestly, I could not have any lower expectations!

Wendig throws his readers early into the action. We join Norra Wexley and her band of Rebels (or New Republic commandos), comprised of surviving characters from the last book, as they serve as an extraction team.  They find, kidnap and extract Imperial war criminals so they can be tried for their atrocities by the New Republic.  However, the actions of others pull her into a different story. Princess Leia calls upon Wexley and her crew to find and return another type of scoundrel. Her husband Han Solo has gone missing. His partner Chewbacca was captured in an attempt by the pair to organize an attack to free the  Wookie's home world Kashyyyk from Imperial control.  Solo refuses to come home until he can recover his partner despite his wife's pregnancy.  But do Wexley's actions fill the needs of the New Republic or the Imperial remnant and its leader Grand Admiral Rae Sloane and her secret advisor?  And can you team survive the strain of the twists and turns of this adventure?

Let me just jump to the big reveal, and that's not the home world of the Imperial secret advisor!  I loved Aftermath: Life Debt.  It started hard for me, as I could not remember who all these new heroes from the first book was.  So watching a group I did not really know extract an unknown to me villian in a new to me setting, I was a little lost. But within the first 30 pages it turned quickly for me. I began to identify and feel for Norra's band.  I found I cared for this group, their emotions and what was going to happen to them.  The group is largely a team of dubious personalities, so just the question if how do former bounty hunters and imperials move forward within the New Republic was fascinating.  And unlike Bloodlines, it had just enough politics. I t is close enough to the Rebellion we see how Leia struggles with the new politically correct structure the New Republic is becoming. That is even more interesting and helps advance Leia closer to the Resistance intellectually more then the actions of Bloodline.  And Wendig makes me care about the politics outlined in this book as the New Republic debates what can they do for Kashyyyk, a work full of Wookies that I do care about. 

In the first book of the trilogy Wendig touched briefly on classic Star Wars heroes.   In this volume he goes all in. And so we get Han Solo...and a lot of him.  And it is the Solo we want and hope from, a lovable scoundrel. Wendig does a nice job highlighting the Solo/Chewbacca relationship, even when the Wookie is not there.  He makes it clear the Chewbacca is not a sidekick or pet. Chewbacca is an equal partner!  And the descriptions of this relationship really further cement how I feel about this dynamic pair.


But that's not to say I do not care about the new heroes.  Norra is a good examples.  She's a former Rebel, a soldiers, a mother to the future Snap Wexley, a wife to a missing husband and more.  I care about her future and her relationships with not just her team but also her family and potential love interests.  And honestly I could not say that after the first book!

I really enjoyed Aftermath: Life Debt. I do not always recommend many Star Wars books bases on plot and writing. This however is one I fully recommend!

Between Books - Aftermath

I continue my quest to prepare for Star Wars: The Force Awakens with Aftermath by Chuck Wendig.  I started the book knowing this was official canon that also serves as part of “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.  And I opened the book excitement to find out officially what happened to Han, Luke and Leia after the Battle of Endor.  But what I got was very different.

I have decided to write this synopsis from the window of a casual Star Wars fan.

On a world you don’t know in the Outer Rim, the Empire attempts to regroup after the loss of the Emperor, Darth Vader and the Death Star.  Wedge Antilles travels to this world in a scouting mission and stumbles into the Empire’s planning conference.  Imperials you don’t know capture the Rebel hero and dream of a Imperial tomorrow.  On the planet you don’t know, a Rebel, bounty hunter, former Imperial and streetwise kid, all of which you don’t know, struggle to make their way in the galaxy while also potentially sabotaging the Empire’s talks.  These heroes you don’t know are the only hope for Wedge’s freedom, a hero you might know.  Interspersed in this adventure are interludes from throughout the galaxy as people you mostly don’t know, but hey Han and Chewy show up, are forced to answer issues caused by the fracturing Empire and the rising New Republic.   One thing is made clear, the struggle you know is not yet over!  

I will continue to argue that Star Wars works best with a visual element.  And with all apologizes to Chuck Wendig who was given and job and did his job, Aftermath has this problem and more working against it.  First, Wendig puts us in a new world and uses aliens where we have to rely on either our imagination visual reference or the internet to create a picture of the mind.  But unlike an original science fiction novel our mind pushes for a visual reference for the mind’s eye.   Our minds know this galaxy and pushes to provide the right image instead of accepting imagination.  Second, Wendig is largely using original characters to this story, this trilogy wow really, so readers are left frustrated wanting to spend time with original trilogy characters who are largely absent.  And finally the plot is not what a casual Star Wars fan would want since it is really about this new group of heroes for which we have no context.  The blunt reality is Wendig’s book would be a good science fiction story.  But it fails in meeting the needs of causal and hard core Star Wars fans.  

What I really want to know is what happened after Return of the Jedi.   And Aftermath gives us a big picture.  The Empire is hurt but not eliminated.  And a power vacuum has been created with multiple voices trying to fill the void.  The Rebel Alliance is also in transition as they move from a guerilla underground movement to a legitimate authority in several planets and systems in the universe.  Both sides are scrambling to keep or take power.   In short there is enough contested territory that the war is far from over.  And so I can use this to enter the movie with the sense that a long struggle continued or even continues into the future.  The other aspect I take from the book is the ideas that were found in the Expanded Universe to be frank with a New Republic, Mon Montha as the key political leader, Wedge Antilles as a flying legend and Imperial Moffs and Admirals fighting to become key political players.  

Aftermath by Chuck Wendig is set to prepare me for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  In the end it was largely failed for me.  What could be a solid science fiction story is high jacked by the constraints of Star Wars.  And of course there is the slight problem that it does not even close to meet the expectations of casual and even hardcore fans.

Between Books - Smuggler's Run

I am totally excited about Star Wars: The Force Awakens!  But I am spoiler free, well except for what Disney wants me to know.  So I have made a pact to prepare for the movie by only knowing beforehand what has been officially released under the "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens" label.  And I was lucky enough to get my first installment from the library, because I generally do not buy Star Wars prose books since they are generally lacking.

Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure by Greg Rucka starts in what we assume is the Force Awakens era.  A group of thieves consider how to get their hands on a fast ship and which one they would want.  An old man hears this conversation and spins a yarn about the Millenium Falcon literally days after the destruction of the Death Star at the Battle of Yavin.  Han Solo is pressed into service by the Rebels to retrieve a reconnaissance soldier from the Outer Rim.  Of course it cannot be easy as he is being chased by one of the finest officers in the Imperial Security Bureau.  Can Han and Chewy save this key rebel or will he be delivered into the hands of the Empire?

So I started here on my Star Wars: The Force Awakens quest because I am very familiar with Rucka's work in comics.  His Gotham Central run is gritty and classic.  His creator owned title Lazarus is smart, edgy and great science fiction.  And he had shown he could take a superhero into space with Cyclops.  But this is a categorized as a children's book by the library.  So Rucka's work has death and action, but it lacks our hero or villain diving into an overly excessive dark place.  And perhaps needing to be a short book of under 200 pages and having a strong author like Rucka helped it overcome issues I see in other Star Wars books.  Rucka is "faster more intense" with quick cuts like Star Wars is meant to be.  He does not have a lot of pages to work with so his story moves fast!  There is no time of Han or Chewy to contemplate their belly buttons!  And so it is fairly engaging despite being for young adults/mature kids.  I would have likely loved this in Junior High!  But it is all high-action, there is nothing deep here. 

This volume promises hints of what is to come in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  For me the biggest non-reveal is that Han and Chewbacca still live into the future.  But the trailers have already shown us they are home.  I do find it interesting that the story includes a beloved Marvel plot point, can Han pay off Jabba?  And I found it interesting that Imperial Center is out and the familiar Coruscant is being used instead.  Perhaps the new name given by the expanded universe is out.  Finally, and again I do not believe this spoils anything, there are still a few Clones in the Stormtrooper ranks.  I would say that I had an enjoyable brisk Star Wars adventure, though perhaps not a strong prequel.  Because honestly there are not many big reveals.   

Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure by Greg Rucka is a fun and quick read.  And honestly, that helps it feel like Star Wars!  I definitely would suggest this to any pre-teens who are interested in science fiction and required reading for Star Wars fans preparing for a little film!  

Between Books - Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago....Volume 3

Lately I have been super busy...so I have treated myself.  I have taken the time to dive into the classic Marvel Star Wars comics found in Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago....Volume 3!

Han Solo has been taken by Boba Fett and is in the clutches of Jabba the Hutt.  But that does not mean that the Rebels can only put their efforts into freeing their companion.  No, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca the Wookie balance attempts to strike against the Empire with finding a safe base of operations for the struggling Rebellion.  The Rebels have to survive Imperial super weapons, organic technology, traitors, love and a unexpected trip to Mars!  And sometimes in flashbacks, Han Solo makes an appearance. 

This volume really focuses on Luke and Leia.  The over two years of comics in Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago....Volume 3 represent a time when Han Solo was frozen in carbonite and unavailable for comic stories since his fate had not resolved on the big screen.  Therefore, Lando stands in for his absent friend as the pilot of the Millennium Falcon and resident rogue.  Though Leia and Luke are not always happy with the relationship.  This leaves the story vacuum to be filled by Leia and Luke.  Leia focuses on leading the rebellion with the occasional longing for her missing love Han.  And Luke is thrown into tons of action as he fights water thieves, has to clear himself for a crime he did not commit, or did he, and not finding as much time as desired to experiment with the power of the Force.  

Did I mention that the Rebels visit Mars?  One of the story arcs uses unused art from John Carter, Warlord of Mars.  The art is very clearly the John Carter and Dejah Thoris character models.  And Tharks are aplenty just with miscolored skin.  But the world of swords and flyers is clearly the Mars of Marvel comics, with Luke and Leia drawn in.  And I have to admit, it is really weird reading a story where Leia is catching the attention of John Carter, I mean Aron Peacegiver, under the watchful eyes of his very Martian but not pigmented red Martian wife!  The two universes are truly matched up and for anyone reading both titles, like listeners of the Comic Book Time Machine, the mash-up is easy to see.

Now a lot of people have trouble with Jaxxon the green rabbit. But Jaxxon had only a limited run in the Marvel comics.  But for me one might begin to wonder if the title has jumped the shark with the Hoojibs of Arbra.  These cute rodent like Rebel allies are clearly wiser than one might think.  And are truly a key ally to the Rebels.  But if the Hoojibs do not take you out of the story, perhaps Luke Skywalker in the gear of a medieval knight jousting may toss you for a loop!  Regardless these stories and comics are still enjoyable for the Star Wars fan,

Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago....Volume 3 though out of print is a treat for the Star Wars fan.  With stories primarily by David Michelinie and art often featuring Marvel legend Walter Simonson, the volume is fun and action packed.  The volume is definitely a treat, despite the occasional story and visual reaches.  

Between Books - Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago....Volume 1

Star Wars

Marvel

Combined!

Yeah decades before Disney acquired both companies, this happened.  From 1977 to 1986 for 107 issues and three annuals Marvel Comics published Star Wars the licensed and official comic.  As a kid I read some of these issues and I still have some in my personal collection.  But with Disney now filming Star Wars Episode VII I really wanted to reconnect with these stories.  This was reinforced by the fact that I have been enjoying Brian Wood’s Star Wars published by Dark Horse.  And in 2015 Marvel will get this title back as it all comes back into the family.  In talking with friends I decided the way to jump back in was through collections which led to me picking up Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago…Volume 1 reprinting issues one through 27.  

The first six issues written by Marvel legend Roy Thomas and drawn by Howard Chaykin adapts Star Wars or what we now call Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope.  With issue seven stories begin to follow our heroes after the Battle of Yavin.  The volume includes creative staff changes with most prominently Archie Goodwin taking on much of the writing duties and Carmine Infantino providing art.  These stories separate Luke, Han and Leia into their own adventures.  Han takes on a space pirate named Crimson Jack, becomes a hired gun for farmers with a posse including the talking giant Rabbit named Jaxx, and eventually works his way back to the rebellion.  Meanwhile, Luke searches for a post-Yavin home for the rebels, is hunted by a self-hating cyborg and fights water dragons.  And Leia seeks out the lost Luke who has lost contact with the alliance.  The heroes all reunite on a water world which features the water dragons, giant floating wood cities, and a society divided.  And throughout the stories the shadow of Darth Vader hangs over our heroes.  

These issues are a fantastic adventure for the Star Wars fan.  The fun all starts in the first six issues and their very different take on the original Star Wars film.  The reader knows something is different as the art on page 14 shows Darth Vader using the Force to levitate a cup of what we assume is coffee over to his gloved hand.  And then he begins to drink his beverage, as the reader struggles with the question of how the liquid is getting through the mask.  Hardcore Star Wars fans would likely complain that Darth Vader would never use the Force for something so minor.  But everyone else will still be stuck with the question of how is Vader drinking without a straw?  Another change is Luke flies against the Death Star with Blue Squadron, not Red.  And while we are at it Wedge is in a Y-Wing not a X-Wing.  There are also concepts brought forward that we would not question until other movies were developed.  For example, Blue Leader makes it appear that he knew Luke Skywalker’s father as a good pilot from the Outer Rim, a place we now know Anakin Skywalker never flew through or lived in as an adult.  So yes there is plenty in this story that does not add up with what we know today as canon.  For me, my favorite new moment is Chewbacca getting his medal after the Battle of Yavin.  But of course he has to put it on himself as Princess Leia is not tall enough to present it properly. 

Speaking of Chewbacca the Wookie, Carmine Infantino is a comics legend.  But he really had no idea how to draw a Wookie.  There is way way to much skin in Chewy’s face! 

With the movie in the rearview mirror, Marvel’s staff was able to expand on the Star Wars universe.  We find out, for now, why Han Solo did not pay off Jabba the Hutt.  And I had heard about Jaxx, but I was shocked how easily this rabbit fell into this universe.  And I did search future volumes for more of the big-eared one.  Valance the bounty hunter gives Marvel the opportunity to explore the complexity and illogical basis of racism as he hates all droids!  And he despises the droid-loving Luke Skywalker.  Marvel legend Chris Claremont gets an opportunity to craft a Luke Skywalker/Cinderella story!  And we get to see fantastic environments, I really did enjoy the water world story that finishes the volume.

I can report it is awkward anytime Luke and Leia kiss!  But let us be fair, they did not know!

Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago…Volume 1 is a fun trip.  Star Wars fans really should pick-up this collection to explore Han, Luke and Leia’s past.  And I am only looking forward to more adventures in future trips in a Comic Book Time Machine. 

Between Books - Star Wars: Scoundrels

Recently I mentioned to a friend that I was planning on reading Star Wars: Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn. Despite the fact he really did not know much about the Star Wars Expanded Universe, his reaction was to say, “That’s what Disney is going to make the Han Solo movie from right?” After reading the book I would say, maybe, but some major rewrites would be needed.

Star Wars: Scoundrels is for Star Wars a small story. The action is almost exclusively on one world and the fate of the galaxy is not in the balance. Solo is recruited by Eanjer Kunarazti to recover 163,000,000 credits on encrypted credit tabs stolen by a local gangster on the planet Wukkar. Despite his rising star within the Rebellion after the Battle of Yavin, Solo is still a man with a price on his head. Seeing this as an opportunity to pay off Jabba the Hutt, Solo takes the job. The book follows Solo as he gathers his team, makes his plan, and attempts to steal back Eanjer’s credits. The Ocean’s 11 style caper sees the number of targets grow for Solo’s team as they add to the plan stealing the blackmail files of galactic gangsters Black Sun. Will Solo and his team make it out alive (okay you do you know that Solo is going to make it since this story is set before Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)?

This is the Ocean's 11 of the Star Wars universe. It is a true caper story. We get the whole setup of building the team, making the plan, and trying to pull it off. Unlike a lot of Expanded Universe stories it is a small tale. There is no major planet hopping with almost all the action occurring on Wukkar. And the story sticks to the main cast, where there is no attempt to pull Princess Leia or Wedge Antilles into a Solo story. There is one character, Winter, who will be familiar to even casual fans of the Expanded Universe but will probably be new to fans who have only seen the films. This does not distract for the story. For first timers, Winter’s role does not need background information and for those familiar to her it honestly makes her relationship to the Solo family, wink wink, even stronger.

I do worry that I had too high of expectations for this book. It is written by Zahn who really is the dean of the Expanded Universe. You generally cannot go wrong with a Zahn Star Wars tale. And though the book is solid, I at times found it bland! It was okay but it does not compare to his Thrawn trilogy. But I should not compare, with the Thrawn trilogy being an epic tale and this being a small story. Maybe it’s because the scope allows for more character and less action. I could have used faster more intense. And maybe I have become accustomed to action packed quick paced Zahn stories. The story could really use some faster more intense. It is nice to see Zahn’s efforts focused on an original trilogy character instead of relying on his own creations of Thrawn and Mara Jade.

The big question is would Disney use Star Wars: Scoundrels for one of the reported Star Wars standalones movies, I have had friends state they thought this was the Han Solo movie plot. Well, let me say it could happen but not without a lot of editing. Admittedly this formula is one that has shown to work on the big screen. And I expect that the Han Solo movie would probably be on a smaller less epic scale (though can anything with Solo not be epic). So I think some of the right elements are there. But I do thing the screenwriters would have to change the time frame of this story. This book is set after the Battle of Yavin (the destruction of the first Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope). And I do not believe audiences would buy a Solo story after those events that did not have Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams as their respective characters. And I think that the movie going audience would need to be introduced in the movie to Black Sun in a more comprehensive way. And I think the key scenes would have to transition more quickly on the screen. Unless you have read Expanded Universe stories or seen some key episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, this criminal organization is completely new. But it is doable as a standalone theatrical release concept.

Star Wars: Scoundrels is the caper story of the Star Wars universe. Compared to other books by Timothy Zahn it is smaller and honestly slower. If one wanted to see Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian in Ocean's 11, this may be the story for you.