2. Doomworld

Doomworld is the collection of Marvel comics issues 1-20. I like this paperback format that was published by Dark Horse. Issues 1-6 are the comic version of the movie, and include the scenes included in the book that are not in the original movie. It also includes a scene with Jabba the Hutt, which was added to the movie in a later edition. The big difference is that Jabba the Hut (as it's spelled in the comic) is a green humanoid alien, instead of a giant slug. Another interesting scene is Darth Vader force-levitating a cup of what appears to be coffee, which begs the question of how he would drink it with the mask on his face.

Starting with issue 7, the comic series follows the adventures of Han and Chewbacca. First, they are robbed by a space pirate named Crimson Jack, which forces them to lay low on a planet called Aduba-3. They soon find themselves in the role of protector of a small town there, and hire an eclectic group of mercenaries to help them defend the town. The mercenaries include a giant carnivorous rabbit and an old man who thinks he a Jedi named Don-Wan Kihotay.

This conflict continues through issue 10, while Luke scouts for a new base for the rebellion. In issue 11, Luke and the droids have crashed and Han has again been caught by Crimson Jack, who has also managed to capture Princess Leia. Han and Leia convince Jack to head to Drexel, where Luke has crashed. Han, Chewbacca, and Leia escape from Jack to find Luke, and also crash on the planet.

Luke finds himself in the midst of war on Drexel and is pressed into service by one group while Han has sided with the other. Luke turns on those who forced him to fight and soon finds himself in the brig with Chewbacca and Leia. They are able to escape when Governor Quarg, who had caused them both to crash, decides to try to force down Crimson Jack's ship instead. Luke is able to defeat Quarg and save the day, again.

This brings us to issue 15, where Crimson Jack is eager to get revenge for Han tricking him into this wild goose chase. He's unsuccessful however, and loses to Han in a duel, allowing the rebels to escape.

Issue 16 introduces an all new character, a bounty hunter named Beilert Valance. Valance is chasing after Luke, but confuses him with Jimm, one of the mercenaries Han had hired on Aduba-3. Valance pursues Jimm only to realize his mistake later.

Issue 17 is a flashback issue that tells a story of Luke's life on Tatooine before the arrival of the droids that changed his life.

Issue 18-20 tell the story of how the heroes become trapped on a space station called The Wheel that is dedicated to gambling. The space station is run by Simon Greyshade, who has a very special relationship with the Empire. Luke has been in a coma since the beginning of this story but wakes up and escapes in issue 20. Leia is being held captive by Greyshade, and Han and Chewbacca have been tricked into signing up as gladiators.

And that 's where it stops. I'm not sure why Dark Horse decided to end the collection there, but it did. Recently, Dark Horse has again started reprinting these stories in an omnibus format, and the omnibus includes the conclusion of this story, as well as the conclusion of the Valance story. But I don't have the omnibus, so we'll stop here.

Overall these comics are ok. The characters come across as over the top, formulaic, or just goofy. Every female that makes an appearance seems to have some sort of attraction to Han. The art styles change dramatically during the course of the comics, ranging from adequate to horrible. It's hard to compare art from the 70's to modern comics, but even by the 70's standards I think they could have found better artists. They're fun stories for a diversion, but nothing to take too seriously.

On the left is the collection that I'm reading through, and the new omnibus is on the right: