Hello and welcome to Laughing Place’s ongoing analysis of Marvel’s original Star Wars comic book. Issue #8 was released on November 8, 1977, nearly six months after the movie came out in theaters. This would have been the only new Star Wars content released around this time, as the first Expanded Universe novel Splinter of the Mind’s Eye would not be published until February of 1978. In the bullet-point list below I’ll go through this issue panel by panel and point out any interesting tidbits or oddities that jump out to me.
- Cover: “Eight Against a World!” This is the first appearance of Jaxxon, the notorious green rabbit-like Lepi smuggler who has only recently been reincorporated back into the main Star Wars canon. The cover also advertises a Luke Skywalker adventure contained within, as the previous issue focused almost entirely on Han Solo and Chewbacca.
- Page 1: “Eight for Aduba-3” is this issue’s official title, likely inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.
- Page 3: I like the variety of looks used for the cantina patrons here. One is some sort of cyborg with his brain under a glass dome, one is a three-eyed lizard person, and one just looks to be a gorilla.
- Page 4 (panel 2): According to Wookieepedia, the alcoholic drink Nikta has only even been mentioned once after this.
- Page 5: The similarities between this story and Seven Samurai grow more evident. I should note that the “Bounty Hunters” episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the “Sanctuary” episode of The Mandalorian both also borrow the same plot.
- Page 6 (panel 1): The name “Cloud-Riders” was much later repurposed for the Enfys Nest’s gang of marauders in Solo: A Star Wars Story. The character name “Serji-X Arrogantus” was inspired by famed MAD Magazine writer and illustrator Sergio Aragonés. He even has the same kind of moustache.
- Page 7 (panels 4-5): Why is Han meeting with his potential recruits while shirtless?
- Page 8 (panel 2): Outside of a Star Wars role-playing game, the Spiner species was never seen again after this four-issue story.
- Page 8 (panel 5): Amaiza Foxtrain is another long-lost Legends-canon character that was recently revived for IDW’s kid-focused Star Wars Adventures comic book. The Black Hole Gang has also popped up here and there since this story.
- Page 8 (panel 6): They’re still spelling “Hutt” as “Hut,” but that won’t change until Return of the Jedi.
- Page 9 (panel 3): Don-Wan Kihotay is an obvious combination of Don Quixote and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
- Page 9 (panels 4-5): Han says “The Jedi have been outlawed since the rise of the Empire” and “Darth Vader destroyed the Jedi years ago.” Apparently he knows much more about Jedi history than we’ve been led to believe.
- Page 10 (panel 2): Jaxxon insists he’s not a rodent, which reminds me of a certain space-faring raccoon.
- Page 11 (panel 5): “Starkiller,” as most Star Wars fans know, was Luke Skywalker’s original last name.
- Page 12 (panel 3): The transition to Luke’s story is an interesting one with Han being reminded of his friend by young Jimm Doshun.
- Page 14: Luke’s “deadly mission” only lasts a couple pages in this issue, and doesn’t offer much in the way of conflict whatsoever. I’d feel a little cheated if I’d bought it based on that blurb on the cover.
- Page 17: “Next: Showdown on a Barren World!”
