Star Wars: Return of the Jedi--Jabba’s Palace #1 Review
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: Alessandro Miracolo
Colorist: Dee Cunniffe
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Ryan Brown; Lee Garbett & Laura Martin; Peach Momoko; Alex Maleev
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: March 29, 2023
In Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker gifts Jabba The Hutt See-Threepio and R2-D2. The droid tasked with assigning duties mentions the last protocol droid angered Jabba and disintegrated him. C3PO watches as the droid gets torn apart. What's that droid's story? If you've got the mojo to enter Jabba’s palace, let's walk into Star Wars: Return of the Jedi--Jabba’s Palace #1 and find out!
Story
His name was Eightyem. He handled all of Jabba’s dealings. He was proficient at his job. Like Luke, the droid often gazed up at Tatooine’s twin suns at sunset and wondered if he could do more with his life. Remember the Twi’lek—the guy with the head-tails--who discovers Luke after he enters Jabba’s palace? When Luke says he wants to speak with Jabba, remember how the Twi’lek responds, "Jabba, no bother?" One day another Twi’lek joins his fellow. His name is Silvan Kaan. Like Luke, Kaan will eventually bother Jabba too. But first, Kaan will ingratiate himself with the master of Tatooine.
Kaan is a smooth talker who makes friends. He encourages Eightyem’s dreams of freedom and promises to remove his restraining bolt in return for three favors. The droid's actions—deviations from his duty to Jabba—give Kaan access to information that solidifies his position with Jabba. But not everyone is happy with the new order, and Eightyem is too naïve to realize the risks he’s undertaking.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi--Jabba’s Palace #1 isn't a dialogue-heavy comic. Nor is it a five-minute read. Marc Guggenheim sprinkles in enough dialogue to help us feel what Eightyem experiences. The little protocol droid relates his story as a memoir. He understates and explains the accompanying visuals without drawing undo attention to his thoughts or feelings, waxing poetic, or blaming others for his errors in judgment.
Art
Alessandro Miracolo’s art seems the perfect fit for the kid-friendly toy focus of Return Of The Jedi. He fills Jabba’s with all the aliens and bounty hunters we remember, including the little elephant musician. Eightyem looks cute but wistful. Clad in striking attire, Kaan affects dramatic poses. The Twi’lek’s eyepatch suggests he’s a pirate at heart. While most of the aliens look action-figure fun, Jabba never seems less than imperious. He is a Hutt and commands a criminal empire. Even more than in the movie, in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi--Jabba’s Palace #1, Jabba reminds me of Leto II Atreides, who ruled Arrakis—and thus, the civilized universe--for thousands of years in Frank Herbert’s novel God Emperor Of Dune.
Dee Cunniffe’s coloring may not be bold and vibrant, but his softer shades blend well with Eightyem’s memoir. Each character stands apart from his fellows. Nothing gets murky or lost in the shadows. His cinematic style makes Kaan and Jabba stand out as the orange rays of sunset stream through the circular windows of Jabba’s court. He even spotlights characters by subtly adding background light amid surrounding darkness.
Clayton Cowles makes Star Wars: Return of the Jedi--Jabba’s Palace #1 easy to read with large print and bold stressed words. While most characters get circular dialogue balloons, Eightyem speaks with rectangular ones, and his connecting arrows resemble lightning bolts. Once, when Jabba is outraged, his giant words inhabit a white dialogue balloon outlined in red. But mostly, we follow Eightyem’s commentary of white letters in rectangular blue narrative boxes. Like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs, we follow the fragile protocol droid's footsteps until his journey ends.
Final Thoughts
This tale of a droid with grand dreams will charm lovers of Lucasfilm lore. Star Trek fans may hiss when Kaan makes his entrance; like Captain Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, they may feel compelled to yell, "Kaaaaaaaannnnnn!" Eightyem reminds me of Yoda's words to Obi-wan in The Empire Strikes Back. While the droid's thoughts are always far away, he has patience. And while Luke has anger in his heart, Eightyem doesn’t.
Droids fill the Star Wars universe. Some, like R2-D2, have great character. Others—like C3PO—have great comic potential. Most merely do their jobs—clocking in and out of their duty shifts—without drawing attention to themselves. Eightyem reminds me a little of L3-37 in Solo: A Star Wars Story. He would have cared about droid rights. He might even have fought for them. Who knows what he might have done but for the restraining bolt that held him captive in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi--Jabba’s Palace #1?
Rating 8.7/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch
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