Good afternoon,
Today's blog article is all about the twenty-fourth issue of Marvel's first Star Wars comic book series. The cover showed Obi-Wan Kenobi preparing to defend a protocol droid from several weapon-toting adversaries. The tale was titled "Silent Drifting." The issue had a publication date of June 1979.
The story started out in space, as the Millennium Falcon was attempting to flee a pair of pursuing TIE Fighters. Its captain, Han Solo, decided to let his vessel lie motionless after a hit on the back quarter. This lured the unsuspecting Imperial craft in, only to be blasted from forward and aft cannons.
Han, Chewbacca, and Luke Skywalker marveled at the ease of their victory. Princess Leia told Kuke that it was a strategy very similar to one utilized by Ben Kenobi several years ago. It was a story that her late father, Bail Organa, had told her about an event back in the days of the Old Republic.
Kenobi was a passenger on a pleasure ship. The Jedi Master had mostly kept to himself until a protocol droid named 68-RKO struck up a conversation with him. The droid was on his way to Alderaan to enter into service for Bail and asked the Jedi if he could act as his owner until they arrived, since he knew how poorly droids were treated and viewed by some at the time.
Obi-Wan was more than happy to share his quarters with the friendly translator droid. However, they soon came across a rather surly bar patron, who asked RKO why he wasn't in storage. He didn't take too kindly to being tripped by the Jedi, and rose to attack the warrior, who merely stood his ground and activated his lightsaber, pointing the energy blade at his leaping assailant.
Afterward, a criminal named Augustus Tryll invited Kenobi to a private chat. He asked the Jedi if he'd be interested in forming a partnership with him. Ben knew Tryll's reputation and politely declined before leaving to show RKO his quarters. The duo was on their way when a voice came over the intercom, reminding all passengers to deactivate all privately owned machinery before they entered the Merson asteroid belt.
This was a necessary action because the Mersons were hostile to Republic forces. Shutting those devices down would usually allow ships like that to traverse the asteroid belt without incident. Later that evening, a crewman knocked on Kenobi's door, stating that the captain was requesting the Jedi's assistance. Ben and RKO were escorted to the captain's quarters, where they soon saw the reason for concern.
A pair of Merson ships had been detected in the asteroid belt for the first time. Once other passengers were alerted to this via viewscreens, rumors began to circulate. Obi-Wan eventually realized that they were there because a signal must be alerting them from inside the very craft that they were on.
The pleasure ship was only equipped with a pair of standard energy cannons. Fortunately, they would be enough. The Merson fighters were eventually positioned directly in front and behind the ship, respectively, and each one was taken out by a separate cannon's blast.
RKO informed Kenobi that the signal was coming from the lounge where they had first met. Ben went to investigate and dealt with passengers' anxious accusations and demands for answers. Some suggested that Tryll was behind the signal. Kenobi used the Force to identify the signal's source, which was the fermentation device behind them. He tossed his lightsaber at the machine, and its blade annihilated the device, subsequently terminating the signal in the process.
Without the signal, the additional Merson ships in the asteroid belt had no idea that a Republic cruiser was in the vicinity. The rest of the journey was peaceful for Kenobi, RKO, and the rest of the crew and passengers. Luke enjoyed hearing about his former mentor. Han dismissed the Force, as usual, but was happy that his ship was fully functional again and could be on its way free from danger once more.
I enjoyed this story that was written by Mary Jo Duffy. This was her first script for this title. She would return to plot most of the stories from issue #70 to the final issue, #107. It was a nice bridge issue between storylines. Bob Wiacek continued to improve as an inker and helped to overcome some of Carmine Infantino's rough pencil work.
That wraps up this article. Tomorrow, I'll concentrate on the twenty-fifth issue of this title. Archie Goodwin returns to begin a new storyline. The heroes make their way back to Yavin, and there will be new ships and new menaces along the way. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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