Hi there,
Today I'll be writing about the sixteenth issue of the first Star Wars monthly comic book. The cover showed images of R2-D2, C-3PO, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, and the rabbit Jaxxon in the background, with an unknown soldier in the foreground. The story was called "The Hunter!: The issue had a cover date of October 1978.
The tale began with the man from the cover, who was known as Valance, launching an attack on a base with his allies. The soldiers pushed their way to the records section of the Telos-4 medical station before obliterating the records with their laser weapons. One of the patients, a man named Don Wan Kihotay (who you may remember from Han and Chewie's adventure after the destruction of the Death Star), talked aloud about his exploits with Amaiza, Jaxxon, Han, Chewbacca, and a boy and his droid.
One of Jaxxon's soldiers overheard the old man's mutterings and reported immediately to his superior. Valance then ordered his men back to his ship, now that they had a new objective. A short while later on another planet, Jaxxon and Amaiza were parting company when the long-eared pilot was captured. His captors pumped him for information about Solo and his young companion with the robots.
Jaxxon wasn't about to spill the beans, but Amaiza inadvertently provided the details that Valance's men were looking for in her attempt to rescue her friend. Jaxxon and Amaiza then raced to Aduba-3 to inform their former colleague Jimm about the threat. Jimm and Merri were skeptical, since after their initial battle against Serji-X, Jimm had since retired from combat and settled down with Merri, who was due with their first child.
None of them knew just how close Valance's ship was to the system. The bounty hunter thought back to his days in service to the Empire and the injuries he'd suffered during a Rebel bombing on an outlying world. The Imperials left the wounded warrior back on Telos-4 to die, and Valance knew that he could never again be of service to their cause.
However, he did stay abreast of their efforts to squash the Rebellion, including the recent infiltration of the Death Star by Solo and his companions. He was most interested in the farmboy and the droids who had accompanied Han and the Wookiee on that mission. His vessel had no sooner entered Aduba-3's atmosphere when it was attacked by the Rabbit's Foot, Jaxxon's light cruiser.
A brief space battle ensued, and Jaxxon and Amaiza eventually retreated to the planet's surface. Valance's ship was in hot pursuit, and it didn't take very long for them to find their attackers' craft. A squadron of his best men was sent out on foot, unaware that they were walking into a trap.
Amaiza opened fire on the intruders, and a blast from Jimm's pistol sent a herd of Banthas stampeding across the open field. Valance emerged on the scene afterward. When he caught up with Han's former employees, he finally realized that Jimm wasn't the same farmboy from the Death Star transmission tape. Angered, he fired a hand weapon at the trio.
Jaxxon, Amaiza, and Jimm got back up and watched the enemy ship blast off into space. They were wondering why they'd been sought after in the first place. None of them knew Valance's secret, which was displayed in the last panels: when he was repaired after the Rebel attack, portions of his body were replaced with cybernetic parts. Rather ironic that the droid-hater was partly mechanical.
This was penciler Walt Simonson's first issue of Star Wars. He would return for a memorable run after the Empire Strikes Back adaptation. Valance proved to be an intriguing character. He was the first-ever bounty hunter featured in this series, before we even knew about Boba Fett. Although his run on this title was rather short, it was memorable. Valance would resurface in the newer Marvel Star Wars comics and was a major character in the 42-issue Bounty Hunters comic book.
Well, that's it for this article. Next time, I'll recap the seventeenth issue of Star Wars. X-Men scribe Chris Claremont and Incredible Hulk and G.I. Joe penciler Herb Trimpe team up as guest contributors as they chronicle a tale from Luke Skywalker's past, not long before the incidents that occurred in the first film. Until then, have a great week, and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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