Force in Focus: Star Wars #79

"The Big Con"
January 1984

In a Nutshell
Lando & Chewbacca go undercover to discover the final location of Han Solo.

Script & Plot: Jo Duffy
Breakdowns: Ron Frenz
Finishes: Tom Palmer
Colors: Glynis Wein
Letters: Joe Rosen
Editor: Louise Jones
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
Lando & Chewbacca, looking for information on Han's whereabouts, arrive on Arcan IV to meet with a gang led by Lemo & Sanda, who had previous dealings with Han. Aware that the gang is hunting for a pair of relics, the Dancing Goddess & the Minstrel, Lando sells them the idea that Han is an accomplished treasure hunter who can help them, if they in turn can locate Han. The gang invites Lando to dinner, planning to find out what he knows about the relics, then kill him. At dinner, they get him drunk, but also let slip that Han will soon be arriving at Jabba's palace. However, the intoxicated Lando accidentally blows his and Chewbacca's cover, leading to a speeder chase that culminates in Dafi, one of Lemo & Sanda's gang, spotting the Minstrel in Lando's possession. Claiming it for herself, she turns on the rest of the gang when they arrive, and in the ensuing confusion, Lando & Chewbacca return to their ship, pleased to have finally located Han, and as they leave the planet, Lando wonders what the gang would have done had they known he also possessed the Dancing Goddess all along.

Force in Focus: Star Wars #72

"Fool's Bounty"
June 1983

In a Nutshell
Luke & Lando escape from Drebble, but their search for Han leads to another dead end.

Script & Plot: Jo Duffy
Breakdowns: Ron Frenz
Finishes: Tom Palmer
Colors: Stan G.
Letters: Joe Rosen
Editor: Louise Jones
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
Surrounded by goons led by Bossk & IG-88, Luke & Rik Duel manage to escape, but Lando & Dani are captured. Luke attempts to contact Chewbacca & Artoo back at the Falcon, but the pair have entered the city, and briefly encounter one of the native Stenax. Lando & Dani are taken to Drebble, who hired the bounty hunters to capture Lando, and they briefly manage to escape. But Drebble's goons herd the pair into a carbon freezing chamber. Luke & Rik intervene in attempt to ave their friends, but are overwhelmed. Just then, Chewbacca bursts in leading a group of Stenax, having coerced them into helping him. He knocks out Bossk & IG-88, after which the rest of the goons quickly retreat or are defeated. Luke & Lando apologize to Chewbacca for reaching another dead end in the search for Han, as Rik ponders how to convince the Stenax to help him free Chidho. As the Falcon departs Stenos, Luke is stunned to discover that Dani has stowed away on board, having decided it was time to take a vacation from Rik, and that she wanted to spend it with Luke.

Force in Focus: Star Wars #71

"Return to Stenos"
May 1983

In a Nutshell
The search for Han leads Luke & Lando back to Stenos.

Script & Plot: Jo Duffy
Breakdowns: Ron Frenz
Finishes: Tom Palmer
Colors: Christie Scheele
Letters: Joe Rosen
Editor: Louis Jones
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
On the trail of Bossk & IG-88, the Millennium Falcon returns to Stenos. Leaving behind Chewbacca & the droids, Luke & Lando head to a nearby tavern. Inside, Lando is spotted by Drebble, a past associate who offers anyone in the bar 10,000 credits to capture him, triggering a melee. During the ensuing fight, Luke gets them out of the bar, but the pair is separated. To escape the mob, Luke ducks inside a nearby building, and finds Rik Duel & Dani, missing their associate, Chihdo. Asking for his help, they lead him outside, where Lando rushes up, telling Luke he's found Han. They trail a pair of thugs carrying a carbonite block to a large building. After Luke contacts Chewbacca to tell him they've found Han, he & Lando fight their way inside, only to discover the block contains Chihdo, not Han, and that they're been surrounded by a group led by Bossk & IG-88.

Force in Focus: Star Wars #70

"The Stenex Shuffle"
April 1983

In a Nutshell
Jo Duffy debuts with a flashback tale featuring a trip of new characters.

Plot/Script: Mary Jo Duffy
Pencils: Kerry Gammill (pp1, 5-16, 18-21), Tom Palmer (pp2-4,17,22)
Inks: Tom Palmer
Colors: Glynis Wein
Letters: Joe Rosen
Editor: Louise Jones
Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
Luke and Lando, their respective searches having led them in the same direction, approach the planet Stenex, a place which Luke visited earlier, shortly after he and Han joined the Rebellion. Luke proceeds to tell Lando of how he, Han and Leia came to the planet in search of a missing Rebel cell, finding instead Rik Duel, an old associate of Han's, and Rik's partners. Duel tells Leia that he was tasked by the Rebel cell's leader to stay behind after the rest of the cell fled the incoming Imperial occupation to search for a hidden artifact that could be valuable to the Rebellion. Leia and company agree to help Duel, but when they find the artifact, a statute of a local Stenaxes' god, Duel claims it for himself, intending to sell it to the local Imperial governor, after turning the Rebels over to him. As the Rebels fight back against the summoned Stormtroopers, the native Stenaxes intervene. After they defeat the Stormtroopers, Han points them towards Duel. They attack the exchange between Duel and the Imperial governor, leaving Duel to curse Han's name as the Millennium Falcon flies off. Luke tells Lando they never learned what happened to Duel and his crew, but Lando hopes the Stenaxes will be grateful enough to help them find the bounty hunters Luke & Lando are now seeking, for Han's sake.

Force in Focus: Star Wars #69

"Death in the City of Bone!"
March 1983

In a Nutshell
Leia & Fenn Shysa team-up to free Mandalore from Imperial rule.

Writer: David Michelinie
Pencils: Gene Day
Inks: Tom Palmer
Colors: Glynis Wein
Letters: Joe Rosen
Editor: Louise Jones
Mandalorian Protector: Jim Shooter

Plot
Leia & Threepio are brought to the Imperial base on Mandalore, and taken before Suprema, the Imperial leader, who declares he will soon kill Fenn Shysa. But as Leia & Threepio are led away by Stormtroopers, one of the troopers turns out to be Shysa in disguise. He cuts a deal with Leia: help him rescue one of his soldiers, Tobbi, and he'll help her capture Dengar. They free Tobbi from his cell, after which Fenn signals his troops outside the base to attack. The group commandeers an airspeeder and heads for Suprema's headquarters, triggering a slave uprising inside the base. Confronting Suprema, Tobbi is lethally shot, but lives long enough to open the doors to the base, allowing the slaves to escape, and then close them before a squad of Stormtroopers can capture Leia, Threepio & Fenn. In the process, he triggers a chain reaction that destroys the base, killing Suprema. Catching up to Dengar, Fenn forces him to admit he wasn't working with Boba Fett, but gives Leia a clue to his possible whereabouts. Meanwhile, Lando & Chewbacca meet an informant about Bossk's whereabouts, but Lando is less than happy when he learns the location.

Force in Focus: Star Wars #68

"The Search Begins"
February 1983

In a Nutshell
Leia meets Fenn Shysa on Manadalore while searching for Dengar.

Script: David Michelinie
Layouts: Gene Day
Finishes: Tom Palmer
Colors: Glynis Wein
Letters: Joe Rosen
Editor: Louise Jones
Corellian Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
Luke, Leia & Lando depart Arbra, each in search of a different bounty hunter who may be able to provide information as to the whereabouts of Boba Fett & Han Solo. Leia, looking for Dengar, lands on the planet Mandalore. She and Threepio come across a group of Imperial-backed slavers, but before they can intervene, the slavers are attacked by soldiers wearing armor like Boba Fett's. Leia meets their leader, Fenn Shysa, and he takes her back to his village, where she learns about Boba Fett's past and discovers that Shysa has captured Dengar, who was attempting to claim a bounty on Shysa. Dengar agrees to tell Leia everything she wants to know in exchange for breaking him free. That night, while Leia distracts Shysa and knocks him out, Threepio frees Dengar. But as the three race for Leia's ship, Dengar reveals that he's altered their deal, having signaled the local Imperial troops in the hopes of capturing an even bigger bounty than Shysa, just as Leia & Threepio are surrounded by a contingent of Stormtroopers.

Force in Focus: Star Wars #67

"The Darker"
January 1983

In a Nutshell
Chewbacca & Threepio battle an ancient evil inside Arbra

Script: David Michelinie
Layouts: Ron Frenz
Finishes: Tom Palmer
Colors: Glynis Wein
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Louise Jones
Hoojib Wrangler: Jim Shooter

Plot
On the way to a briefing, Artoo overhears a call for help and follows it into one of the base's many tunnels, an action spotted by one of the Hoojibs. At the briefing, Leia announces that the Rebels have learned one of three bounty hunters worked with Boba Fett to capture Han Solo, and then was cut out of the deal by Fett, so the Alliance intends to find all three in the hopes they'll turn on Fett. As the Rebels prepare to depart, the Hoojibs tell Threepio about Artoo's absence, leading he & Chewbacca to journey deep inside the base. They eventually discover a massive ancient city protected by a force barrier, and inside, a damaged Artoo along with a creature called the Darker, who claims to be the dark energy of the original Arbrans taken physical form. Able to control emotions, he fills the Hoojibs with fear and turns Chewbacca's devotion to his friends into rage, setting him after Threepio. Stumbling across a library, Threepio learns that the Darker can be dispersed by coming into contact with the energy field surrounding the city. After Threepio breaks the Darker's control by calling on Chewbacca's affection for Han, Chewbacca throws the creature into the field, destroying him. Returning to the surface, they are greeted by a Rebel pilot who tells them Luke is looking for them, and to get ready to depart: their "vacation" is over.