Page 58 - Star Wars Insider #181

NEW PLANETS, NEW PERILS

big continuity problems, which 03
it seemed likely I would with
Darth Vader or Luke and Leia.
“Staying away from Vader
was the main restriction,” he
continues. “I could have used
Luke and Leia, but there was this
feeling, without any details being
given to me, that I should not
do anything about a potential
romance between Han and Leia,
so I didn’t really know where to
go with it. I would have had to
tiptoe around, and while I liked
those characters, it was really
Han and Chewbacca that I liked
the best. There weren’t many
restrictions on what I did with
those guys, as long as I just had
some adventures with them,
wandering around the universe
after the events of Star Wars.
I didn’t have to tie it in with
the Rebellion or anything that
happened after the Death Star
blew up.”
‘Aw, Shucks’
As he started to plot out the
story that comprised Star Wars
#7-10, Thomas felt his Western-
influenced adventure suited the

appeal of Han Solo’s character:
“He’s your Western loner, the
04
kind of guy who rides into town
and gets into some trouble and
cleans things up. He’s a smuggler
and a criminal, but he wasn’t
really hurting anybody. He was
just getting by. And that’s what
appealed to me. All he had to do
was wander into a place, and
something was going to happen,
somebody was going to offer
him something, or try to take like a Gary Cooper type character 03 Han Solo’s acquired wealth.
something from him, or appeal rather than a Roy Rogers.” motley group “Crimson Jack and Jolli,”
of heroes, the
to him in some way. He was a For Stars Wars Issue #7, the Star-Hoppers Thomas elaborates. “I gave the
very easy character to hang a first to be published following the of Aduba-3. feeling that they had a past

hook on. He didn’t have to be adaptation, Thomas wrote “New together. Han already had a past
04 Tom Palmer
involved with rebellions. He Planets, New Perils,” a story that shared art with Jabba the Hutt. So I fi gured
was just getting by in life, and served as a bridge into the main duties with if he was a pirate and smuggler,
Chaykin on
was going to get into all sorts of story planned for the following he’d know other pirates, so why
issue #10.
adventures and exploits. three issues. Han and Chewbacca wouldn’t those guys rob each
“Han has this nice, roguish said goodbye to Luke and Leia other? The name Jolli came from
feel that’s all there in George’s and blasted off in the Millennium Jolly Roger, and Crimson Jack
writing,” adds Thomas. “He’s a Falcon to pay their debt to Jabba sounded like a good pirate name
character who could be heroic the Hutt. However, a group of to me! With Han’s reward from
and yet at the same time, it was space pirates had designs on the Rebellion taken from him, he
this ‘Aw, shucks’ kind of heroics, relieving Han of his recently was back to square one. Han has

58 / STAR WARS INSIDER