When Disney acquired the rights to Star Wars, fans knew that there was change underway for the related comics.  As been previously published by Dark Horse, there was going to be change underway as Disney associated Marvel picked up the rights to the sci-fi space opera franchise.  While some change was to be expected, the degree of change maybe was not.  First of all, it was declared that all new Star Wars content from that point forward would become canon, something which fans had always been cautious about under Lucas as a kind of shell game with his different classifications of Star Wars continuity.  It was bittersweet as some beloved Expanded Universe content was lost, but at least fans knew that they could fully invest in what was to come.  There would be no more Ewoks movie or Droids cartoons to confuse what belonged in the continuity and what not.  While this was an interesting enough change in itself, the next interesting change was the focus.  While there was to be a main series featuring the regular heroes, other characters were also getting their own spin-off series, though the choices might have seemed strange.  Darth Vader, Princess Leia and then Lando, one of whom was the villain, and the other two, who while liked, were often not the most liked.

While the idea of a Lando miniseries might have seemed weird at first, the impression lasted only into the first pages of the new series.  It was an unconventional choice, but it worked, and for the reasons that good stories often work, as stories need either strong characters or a strong concept, but work best with both, and the series proved that it could handle both.  The plot was simple enough, Lando was owing the wrong people a favor and the payoff meant simply to steal a ship from a shipyard.  The problem which was unknown beforehand was that the ship was the Emperor’s personal and that the thievery would set off immediate repercussions.  This issue deals with those repercussions, as it plays out mostly as a space chase sequence reminiscent almost of the pursuit off of Hoth in Empire Strikes Back.

Once again this series proves to have a winning formula.  The medium of comics is perhaps not the best suited for the grand scale of Star Wars, but this compensates well for it.  The space chase sequence is well executed despite the two dimensional nature of the medium, but it is made up for with a neat twist and excellent artwork.  On the whole this series is an unexpected success, with moments in the first two issues that surprise and keep the reader guessing where it is going.  The Marvel Star Wars team finds itself another hero in Lando, and proves that there are still lots of good stories to be told in a galaxy far far away.

Story:  Charles Soule Art: Alex Maleev
Story: 8.8 Art: 8.8 Overall: 8.8  Recommendation: Buy