Marvel Star Wars: Issue 7: New Planets, New Perils!

Marvel's adaptation of Star Wars was a financial hit. Such a huge hit that Jim Shooter credited it (and Roy Thomas, who arranged the deal with Lucasfilm) with saving Marvel's financial bacon in 1977-78.  The movie was a smash, and the comics sold accordingly, so naturally it made sense for all parties involved to continue making more Star Wars to fit the demand.

There was one problem: Movies take time to write, shoot and edit. It would be a few years before The Empire Strikes Back.

Re-enter Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin (now with Frank Springer on inks), Issue 7 is the first piece of what would be called “Expanded Universe” fiction ever released for Star Wars. Hitting stands in October of 1977, predating Splinter of the Mind's Eye by four months.

It starts, logically enough, right after the movie. The Rebel Alliance knows it needs a new base of operations since after the destruction of the Death Star, the Empire will come looking for revenge. Han and Chewie have more pressing issues: their debt to Jabba. Opting out of the Rebellion, they make haste to Tatooine with a cargo hold full of money.

Pants Optional

Along the way, they're waylaid by space pirates under the command of the physically imposing Crimson Jack. Shaken down for the money, Han & Chewie are forced to detour to a crappy backwater desert that's an even bigger podunk than Tatooine: Aduba-3.

There, the two get involved in a fracas where an insectoid alien priest is trying to bury a cyborg who looks an awful lot like a Legion of Super Heroes villain in the spacers' cemetery, and the spacers won't have it. Its a simple enough job after a shootout, and the “star-hoppers” (as spacers are called a bunch in this issue) celebrate their winnings in the local cantina, where a group of villagers show up looking for help.

This is part filler issue and part setup. It sets up Luke & Leia searching for a new Rebel Base (that would eventually be Hoth, but its doubtful Marvel, or even Lucas, knew that at this point) and we shift to Han & Chewie smuggler shenanigans. Crimson Jack and his first mate Jolli make a strong initial impression and leave, which leaves them open-ended for a return appearance.

The arrival on Aduba-3 shifts into a Western mode, with a frontier boom town that went bust. The anti-robot prejudice is an interesting angle that will be revisted again and again in early Marvel Star Wars because the Empire's anti-alien prejudice wasn't established yet.

By itself, its a decent issue and a necessary downshift in focus from a giant space battle for the fate of the Rebellion. It can't quite shake off that filler issue vibe, though.