Good morning,
Hope everyone's having a great Sunday! It's time for me to discuss the seventy-ninth issue of the first Star Wars comic book title. The cover showed Lando Calrissian (in his Captain Drebble disguise) clutching a wanted poster of Han Solo and Chewbacca. The story was called "The Big Con." The issue had a cover date of January 1984.
The tale began with a picture of Han Solo (a reproduction of his headshot that was prominently used in press features to promote the Return of the Jedi movie) that had been placed on the wall of a tavern on the planet Arcan IV. Several patrons discussed their contempt for their fellow scoundrel before booing and tossing items at the picture. Some expressed regret at not collecting the bounty that had been posted for Solo.
The criminals who had gathered in the seedy establishment were lamenting Han's capture, because they knew that he would have been valuable to their pursuit of the lost Dancing Icon and Minstrel icons. A few mimutes later, Chewbacca pounded at the door of the bar, and was quickly allowed in. He sat by himself for a few moments, before the reason he'd arrived spoke up. Lando, in his Captain Drebble disguise, stood in front of the patron. He introduced himself before taking a seat at Chewie's booth.
Lando layed it on thick, saying that he and his Wookiee friend had heard about their caper, and that they were willing to help for a cut. The gang's leaders, Lemo and Sanda, decided to hear him out. Lando explained that he knew what they were looking for and that Solo was an expert at finding artifacts. He was talking about the affair on Stenax (recounted in issue #70) when one of the patrons pulled a blaster on him. The alien was stunned to see a knife embedded in his chest shortly thereafter. He fell to the floor before uttering his final word of amazement.
The group turned and saw that one of the knives was missing from Drebble's bandolier. That left no question as to who had thrown the weapon, which Drebble apparently preferred after stating that blasters made him nervous (even though Lando carried a holstered pistol at his side). Lando and Chewie departed after annoucing where their ship was docked.
Inside the Cobra, the two Rebels had a chance to relax. Lando knew that what he said was hokey, and admitted that he preferred using the name of a formal rival as his alias. He added that he had possession of both idols that Lemo and Sanda's gang were searching for, after winning them in a card game several years ago. He took one of them with him after the duo were invited to dinner by the gang.
After a few appetizers and drinks, Lando drunkenly admitted that they were searching for Han, and had even been to Tatooine, where he had not arrived yet. He went on to say that Solo had other enemies right before several blasters were pointed at him. Chewie tossed a table, and grabbed his friend. They took the nearest hovercar and escaped, with the gang members in hot pursuit.
Lando asked a streetwalker for directions a short while later, not knowing that he'd been given false information. He headed straight into oncoming traffic, but still managed to avoid trouble. At one point, Chewie lunged at their attackers, leaving Lando to fly alone. It wasn't long before both Chewbacca and Lando's cars collided with each other.
Dafi was the first gang member to catch up with the heroes. However, she was too preoccupied with possessing the Minstrel statue that fell out of Lando's pocket to eliminate her foes. She grabbed the idol and fired wildly at her companions, allowing Lando and Chewie to retreat. In space, Lando recapped the mission. They were no closer to finding Solo, and lost one of the statues, but still had the Dancing Goddess.
Instead of a traditional letters page, the last page of content was a story featuring assistant Eliot R. Brown showing readers a cheap way to make a Darth Vader costume until George Lucas intervened. This issue was published during the infamous assistant editors' month, when the regular editors and management had gone to California for a convention. Many issues from that month contained some humorous content, or ran stories that deviated from their regular storylines.
The one thing that bugged me about this story was that Lando, as Drebble, said that he abhorred blasters, but wore a blaster at his side. He also allowed Chewbacca to carry his bowcaster rifle. Lemo and Sanda were interesting, and we'd see more of them in the future. I don't think that Dani survived, though.
That's it for this morning. Later today, I'll discuss the eightieth issue of this title. This was the final issue before the Return of the Jedi adaptation. Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and C-3PO journey to a world under Imperial control. There, they finally learn the fate of missing Rebel pilot Tay Vanis and his faithful droid. It would also be the last time that Darth Vader appeared in this series. Until then, have a great day and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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