Good afternoon,
Today's topic is the sixty-sixth issue of the first Star Wars comic book series. The cover showed Luke Skywalker outside the entrance to a cave where his X-Wing fighter had been stored, watching a quartet of Imperial TIE fighters fly past. The story was called "The Water Bandits!" The issue had a cover date of December 1982.
The tale began on the planet Beheboth, where Skywalker was forced to land after learning that his ship was unable to enter hyperspace and return to the Rebel home planet of Arbra (after suffering minor damage caused by a pistol shot on Golrath last issue). He hid out in a cave, watching TIEs fly by, not noticing him at all. He thought he had enough provisions to last a while, until he opened a container and discovered that his food had been infested by sand lice.
Luke then decided to venture out to the nearest town of Garrotine in search of food and water. The smell of baked bantha from a nearby establishment aroused his interest. He was able to use his credits to buy food, but was informed that water wasn't available for strangers. His pointed objection to that statement drew the attention of a trio of patrons. They tried to subdue him, and a fight broke out. Even though Luke held his own, the melee was ended by a warning shot from a native named Darial.
Skywalker's attackers knew that Darial was loyal to their plight against the brigands and understood why she stood up for the stranger in their midst. Luke was thankful for her intervention and was convinced to join her crew after seeing a trio of Stormtroopers searching for him just outside the restaurant. The pair then took Darial's landspeeder to her farm. The farm had a tall wall around it and was heavily guarded.
It was a moisture farm, one that was not that dissimilar from the one Luke grew up working on back on Tatooine. Darial assigned Luke to protect the farm, even though the young Jedi doubted it needed much protection from him. She sat with him during his first watch duty that evening and explained how the employees had grown into a community where everyone trusted each other. Darial was about to say more when she suddenly fell ill, and a set of strange green telepathic organisms filled the air. Luke soon lost consciousness, much like Darial did.
Skywalker awoke the next morning to find Darial missing and the base had been trashed. One of her counterparts informed him that brigands had attacked and taken her. He pointed the way to her base, which was a destination that Luke was determined to reach. He made the journey alone and had no sooner entered the complex when he was taken by gunpoint to the brigands' leader, Gideon Longspur.
The villain had indeed captured Darial. He was also holding the green organisms in a glass dome. They were called Terriths and were empathic organisms that were being forced to do the brigands' bidding. The beings were made of an energy mist that could be drawn into vaporators. Once inside, they would then combine with the existing condensation chemicals to create an odorless, colorless gas that could make humans unconscious. That would then leave their employers free to raid and pillage as they saw fit.
Luke and Darial were then put in a cell together. They were weaponless, but still far from helpless. Several Terriths floated around in the air, wishing to help the farmers. They fluttered around the air in front of the guards, distracting them from their game of cards at the table in front of the cell. Luke then used the Force to open their cell and escape.
By the time that Darial and Skywalker reached the central chamber of the brigand fort, Longspur was waiting for them, with Luke's ignited lightsaber in his hands. Luke's attacker was reckless and used the blade to accidentally break the glass dome that held the rest of the Terriths. Luke then knocked out his foe and reclaimed his father's weapon.
Outside, dozens of soldiers were charging to attack. The Terriths asked their rescuers to trust them. They did, and Darial fired at the water tanks next to them. They broke open, and gallons of water flooded the plains, washing away the enemies in the process. Luke and Darial fled to higher ground, where they waited for some time.
Afterward, they returned to the farm with the Terriths. Their new friends were gracious enough to seed the clouds so that rain fell upon the land for the first time in years. The farmers could now collect as much water as they wanted. That image was one that Luke held onto as he eventually left the planet after having repaired his X-Wing and set a course for Arbra.
I didn't have this issue until just a few years ago. When it first came out, we didn't have comic book shops in my area, and I was lucky to find issues when I could at my local drug store or big box retailers. This was an interesting one-off, and I'm glad that I finally acquired it. It was an interesting story, featuring characters who sadly have yet to return to the Marvel Star Wars universe. This was also the last issue that Walt Simonson worked on. He would go on to be the writer and artist for The Mighty Thor and later team up with his wife, Louise Simonson, on the X-Factor title.
Well, that's it for now. Next time, I'll tackle the sixty-seventh issue of this series. A new penciler joins David Michelinie and Tom Palmer to chronicle an offbeat story that happened right before the Rebels were about to resume their search for Han Solo. It involves R2-D2, C-3PO, Chewbacca, several Hoojibs, and a mysterious character that none of them expected. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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