Force in Focus: Star Wars #80

"Ellie"
February 1984

In a Nutshell
The "Search for Tay Vanis" concludes as Luke & Leia find their long-sought-after quarry.

Plot & Script: Jo Duffy
Breakdowns: Ron Frenz
Finisher: Tom Palmer
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Louise Jones
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
Posing as traders, Luke, Leia & Threepio arrive at an Imperial base on planet to which they were directed by Tay Vanis' last message. They ask Ellie, the droid managing the flow of supplies in the hangar, to search for Vanis, which triggers an alarm. Luke & Leia manage to escape the Stormtroopers which arrive in response, taking Ellie with them. She tells the Rebels Vanis is being held at a nearby castle, but on the way, they spot a crashed X-wing. Investigating, they discover a recording from Vanis stating he left the sought-after data tapes with Ellie, with orders to destroy them should no Rebels contact her in two days. However, Ellie has vanished, so the Rebels proceed to the castle, where they track Vanis to a locked room. Entering, they trigger a recording from Darth Vader, who reveals he captured Vanis some time ago but, knowing Luke would eventually find him, let the search for Vanis continue to occupy both the Rebels & bothersome Imperial officers. Deeper in the room, the Rebels find a vegetative Vanis. Luke wants to bring him back to the Alliance, but Ellie says saving Vanis would be no kindness. She withdraws the tapes, having held onto them despite Vanis' orders to destroy them, knowing someone from the Alliance would come for them one day. With that, she embraces Vanis, and self-destructs, killing them both. Determined to leave a monument to both Ellie & Vanis, Luke causes the castle to explode, then contacts Admiral Ackbar, telling him they retrieved the tapes, but that Vanis was already gone before they arrived.

Force in Focus: Star Wars #77

"Chanteuse of the Stars"
November 1983

In a Nutshell
Luke & Leia sneak into a diplomatic summit in search of info left behind by Tay Vanis.

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

Plot
Returning to the Rebel base on Arbra, Leia, Luke, Lando & Chewbacca are stunned to learn that the Rebellion has intercepted Imperial information on the whereabouts of Tay Vanis that was seemingly intercepted by Han Solo. Rebel command sends Lando & Chewie to follow up that lead, while Luke & Leia, accompanied by the Hoojib Plif, are sent to a diplomatic summit on Kabray station to follow another Vanis lead. Upon arrival, Luke & Leia split up to search the station for information reportedly left there by Vanis. Luke & Plif search the private suites and discover a data card left behind by Vanis, as well as a plot to kill an Imperial Governor visiting the station, while Leia searches the kitchens and is mistaken for Shirley, the Chanteuse of the Stars meant to perform for the Governor. As Leia begins the performance, Luke attempts to intercept a bowl of poisoned soup, but is waylaid by a group of Zeltrons until one of the Lahsbee delegates transforms into a monstrous Huhk. In the commotion, Luke knocks away the soup and Plif advises Leia to keep singing, as it seems to calm the Huhk. The crisis averted, Luke is left hoping Leia knows a lot of verses to the song she's singing.

Force in Focus: Star Wars #76

"Artoo-Detoo to the Rescue"
October 1983

In a Nutshell
Artoo helps the Rebels escape Gamandar as Darth Vader targets Admiral Tower for endangering Luke.

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

Plot
Darth Vader meets with his officers aboard the Executor to discuss the situation on Iskalon, but is enraged when he's contacted by K-3PX and learns Luke Skywalker was on the planet when Admiral Tower ordered the attack on Pavilion. On Iskalon, as Luke, Leia & Kiro tend to the dead, Kendle appears, having declared herself the head of the school and falsely blaming the Rebels & Kiro for the destruction. On Gamandar, Admiral Tower interrogates Mone & the captive Rebels, during which Mone learns Kendle betrayed them. Tower is interrupted when he is arrested on Vader's orders & dragged away. This gives Artoo an opening to free the Rebels, and they escape aboard the Falcon as Vader orders Tower's execution & prepares to go to Iskalon to search for Luke. On Iskalon, Luke, Leia & Kiro are outnumbered when the Falcon arrives. Kendle is killed in the ensuing conflict, and Mone mourns both her death & her betrayal. He then declares that from now on the school will reside in the depths of Iskalon, shunning contact with airbreathers as long as the Empire remains.

Force in Focus: Star Wars #75

"Tidal"
September 1983

In a Nutshell

Script/Plot: Jo Duffy
Layouts: Ron Frenz
Inks: Tom Palmer
Colors: Glynis Wein
Letters: Joe Rosen
Editor: Louise Jones
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

Plot
A revived Kendle seemingly leads Luke & Leia out of the underwater wreckage of Pavilion, but she abandons them when confronted by Kiro, a fellow native of Iskalon. Elsewhere, Lando, Chewbacca, Mone & the droids arrive on Gamandar. As Artoo goes off on his own, Lando, posing as a war profiteer by the name of Drebble, leads the rest of the group to a meeting with Admiral Tower. Though Tower plays along, unbeknowst to the Rebels, he is well aware of who they really are, thanks to a spy on Iskalon. Later, under the cover of looking for droids to resell at profit, Lando and the rebels seemingly discover Tay Vanis' former droid, K-3PX. Back on Iskalon, Kiro leads Luke & Leia to the surface, where he reveals that Kendle betrayed them to the Empire - he overheard her contacting Admiral Tower. Luke realizes what this means for their friends on Gamandar who, sure enough, are now imprisoned in an Imperial cell.

Force in Focus: Star Wars #74

"The Iskalon Effect"
August 1983

In a Nutshell
The search for Tay Vanis begins on the waterworld of Iskalon.

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

Plot
Sent by Rebel command to the watery world of Iskalon in search of missing Rebel agent Tay Vanis, Luke, Leia, Lando, Chewbacca & the droids meet with Primor, leader of the planet's aquatic School. They learn that Vanis' droid, K-3PX, contained all the information Vanis had gathered about the Empire's secret project, and was last seen at the Gamandar Citadel, an Imperial base on the nearby planet Gamandar. Lando & Chewbacca decide to infiltrate the citadel along with the droids & Mone, Primor's son, leaving behind the more recognizable & notorious Luke & Leia on Iskalon. Instead, Primor takes them exploring underwater, during which Luke spots Kendel, Mone's wife, inside the air-breathing underwater city of Pavilion, her breathing apparatus smashed. As he & Leia rush to get her back in the water, on Gamandar, Imperial Admiral Tower, upon receiving news of the Rebel presence on Iskalon from his spy, fires a massive missile at the planet. The missile flies past the Millennium Falcon, then impacts near Pavilion, creating a massive tidal wave that floods the city.

Force in Focus: Star Wars #73

"Lahsbane"
July 1983

In a Nutshell
The Rebels search for the datatapes of a crashed pilot on a strange planet.

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
Having arrived on the planet Lahsbane in search of data tapes left behind by a downed Rebel pilot named Yom Argo, Luke & Threepio learn from the natives that the tapes have been taken to the Lahsbee's Forbidden City, which is surrounded by a large canyon the Falcon can't traverse due to pollen from the planet clogging its intake valves. As Artoo & Chewbacca work to repair the ship, an Imperial shuttle arrives on the planet, also seeking the tapes. As Luke & Lando attempt to hide the Rebels' presence from the Imperials, Leia & Dani take hot air balloons to the Forbidden City. Learning of their actions, Luke follows aboard a hang glider, while Lando is attacked by a Huhk, the hulking, monstrous adult form of the diminutive Lahsbee, which, according to Threepio, are quarantined in the Forbidden City. Lando manages to stun the Huhk, while Leia & Dani locate the tapes amongst a large treasure trove in the city. Just then, they are attacked by a group of Huhks. As both have lost their blasters, they're saved by the timely arrival of Luke. With the Falcon repaired and the tapes in hand, the Rebels leave the planet, while Dani absconds with the Imperial shuttle, having successfully looted the treasure from the city.