Hello there,
It's time for me to talk about the ninety-seventh issue of the first Star Wars comic book series. Except for the top left-hand corner, the cover was all about the bad guys. Four Stormtroopers and seven Nagai were the focus of the images drawn by Cynthia Martin and Art Nichols. The tale was titled "Escape." The issue had a cover date of July 1985.
The story started on the planet Kinooine, as Imperial remnants and Nagai left their ships and began exploring their new surroundings on foot. Their fleet had arrived to establish a base on that world. The Nagai Den Siva and Lumiya were already there. Siva was interrogating a pair of Rebels, but Lumiya had not reported in after going after her nemesis, Luke Skywalker.
What the enemy forces didn't know was that Lumiya (aka Shira Brie) was not far away. She was being held by Luke and Kiro, who were eavesdropping on the new arrivals. Meanwhile, Dani was being tortured by an analysis grid as Den and the Rebel Faron watched. The Nagai was impressed by the Zeltron's fortitude, but wasn't so distracted tha the couldn't end Faron's life, after having observed him removing a knife from his captor's belt.
Luke tied Lumiya to his ship's front landing gear while Kiro recovered in the water. Skywalker assisted him in preparing a fresh water tank before the two friends went to free their companions. Minutes later, they encountered a Nagai patrol. Luke was able to use a Jedi mind trick to convince his foes to leave them be, until Lumiya brought them to their senses. Kiro was forced to kill some of their opponents because Shira had left him no choice.
Back on Endor, Admiral Ackbar and Mon Mothma had gathered Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, the four Zeltron teens, C-3PO, R2-D2, the Hoojib Plif, and several Ewoks to discuss the Nagai threat. It had been confirmed that the Nagai had been working with Imperial collaborators. Plif and his telepathic Hoojib brethren had watched the Nagai prisoners. One of them, the man called Knife, had a connection to Han that made him despise the Correllian. Lando was just happy that he was able to get his ship back from the slaver who'd escaped with it on Kashyyyk.
Solo expressed concern about Luke and his team, since they hadn't reported back in a while. He offered to go retrieve him, which was turned down by their superiors. Mothma agreed with Ackbar's decision, adding that it would be up to the leaders to decide. Han stormed off, stating they could run their next war without him.
Back on Kinooine, Dani felt broken. Not even Siva's attempts at rousing her were effective. It wasn't until she saw her love, Kiro, again that she felt better. While Kiro was leading her away, Luke was skulking around the compound, looking for information that might be of use to the Alliance.
The Jedi was very stealthy and evaded detection by Nagai and Stormtrooper patrols. Once he had what he wanted, he left. Dani and Kiro were outside heading toward the ship when Siva blocked their path. He engaged the Iskalonian in a battle of blades, and the two combatants eventually fell into the waters below.
Luke came across Dani, who was still standing on the ledge, looking for any signs of life from her paramor. The only thing that either of them saw was blood, which could have been from either Den or Kiro. Luke gradually coaxed Dani to press on, and the two returned to the ship. However, by the time they returned, Lumiya had escaped.
This was the most serious issue of the series since Martin took over the penciling chores, but the art was still sloppy in places. Even the Stormtroopers on the front cover looked a bit askew. I was somewhat surprised by Mothma and Ackbar's resistance to Han's request, but I suppose that they had the greater good in mind, even though they weren't technically back at war at the time. Lumiya proved to be an interesting character and was even featured in some of the subsequent Star Wars novels.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I have a filler issue to discuss. Writer Archie Goodwin and artist Al Williamson return to chronicle a yarn that involves Han Solo and Nien Nunb. The two fly the Millennium Falcon together for the first time to a planet on a mission that Solo is less than enthusiastic about. They also encounter a familiar menace along the way. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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