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Classic Star Wars (1992) #15-20
Classic Star Wars: Escape to Hoth
From 1981 to 1984, comic-book greats Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson
turned out a popular series of Star Wars newspaper strips. Featuring the adventures of Luke, Leia, and Han during the time between the first and second movies, these strips are science-fiction adventure at its best. Dark Horse has reformatted the strips to make them work as a continuous story in Classic Star Wars, with Al Williamson himself redrawing and extending many panels for the new format.
turned out a popular series of Star Wars newspaper strips. Featuring the adventures of Luke, Leia, and Han during the time between the first and second movies, these strips are science-fiction adventure at its best. Dark Horse has reformatted the strips to make them work as a continuous story in Classic Star Wars, with Al Williamson himself redrawing and extending many panels for the new format.
208 pages, Paperback
First published October 29, 1995
6 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Archie Goodwin
975 books70 followersArchie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work. For Warren he was chief writer and editor of landmark horror anthology titles Creepy and Eerie, and for Marvel he set up the creator-owned Epic Comics as well as adapting Star Wars into both comics and newspaper strips. He is regularly cited as the "best-loved comic book editor, ever."
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 4, 2020
The Vard arc, started in vol 2 but finishing here, is one of the most uncanny storylines I've found in a comic. It's not at all ambitious, or unusual, really, and yet it still falls so far outside the bounds of what Goodwin's narrative chops can handle that it feels almost bizarre. It's trying to be a story about how General Dodonna's son deserts the Rebels because he's become fatalistic about the Empire's victory and fearful of their retaliation personally. Good enough, something we maybe don't have enough of even lately (Finn's cowardice in TFA is the closest and look at the empathy and interest and development that gets). It's just that the way he behaves. . . does not communicate that. He acts like a straight-up traitor, until the moment when he has to reveal to Luke that he's merely a coward, at which point Luke has a brief conversation that, somehow, totally changes his mind and lets him sacrifice himself in a way that, somehow, Luke manages to turn into what is apparently a success in their mission, though there are no consequences that make a lot of sense (why did they not need plans this time?).
I liked the solar flare escape scene, reminded me of the ambush of the Rebel fleet in the new Marvel Star Wars line. Similarly vapid but a high point for the volume I guess.
The rest of the stories get into the pulp gutter in a far more egregious way than the previous volumes. The fucking Mind Witch, god. Get that shit out of here. Sucking Luke's life energy to make herself young and beautiful again? What is this, TROS (with a lil more misogyny)? The final arc features a couple returning scoundrels (hey Skorr) and an encore performance from the green splotchy tube worm that plays all the monsters in this series. It's fine I guess, by comparison. What bothered me here was when Darth Vader uses a cybernetic link to extend his Force abilities, that ain't him.
I liked the solar flare escape scene, reminded me of the ambush of the Rebel fleet in the new Marvel Star Wars line. Similarly vapid but a high point for the volume I guess.
The rest of the stories get into the pulp gutter in a far more egregious way than the previous volumes. The fucking Mind Witch, god. Get that shit out of here. Sucking Luke's life energy to make herself young and beautiful again? What is this, TROS (with a lil more misogyny)? The final arc features a couple returning scoundrels (hey Skorr) and an encore performance from the green splotchy tube worm that plays all the monsters in this series. It's fine I guess, by comparison. What bothered me here was when Darth Vader uses a cybernetic link to extend his Force abilities, that ain't him.
March 27, 2017
This is the last collection of the old Star Wars newspaper comics, and as the title indicates, it's largely concerned with the Rebellion fleeing Yavin IV for Hoth. This set of stories begins with an attack on Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer, and proceeds as Luke uses the Force to help the Rebels escape the Imperial blockade and finally make it to their new base on the ice planet. Of course, Luke and Han get detoured a fair bit, and even once they get back to Hoth, they're soon off on other adventures with space pirates and bounty hunters. The art and writing here are still just as good as the previous volumes, and I appreciate the fairly sword and sorcery style story where Luke encounters a vampiric mind witch on a jungle planet. I also enjoyed how Han has become aware of the way something bad happens to them any time they land on a random planet on their way somewhere else. However, while I like those two, I wish there was more use of Leia, who's really out of focus in this volume. Also, while it's sort of out of the writer's control, I wish there had been a stronger ending. Things sort of peter out rather than leading right into the opening of Empire Strikes Back, as they could have. Still, it's been fun to read these comics again, and I'm glad Marvel is reprinting them so I can actually own them rather than relying on rapidly decaying library copies. These comics are definitely worth checking out for any Star Wars fan.
January 2, 2015
My first graphic novel ever! I enjoyed it, and I think my 12-year-old son will LOVE it. I've always kind of wondered how they got to Hoth ... I might check out some of the other comics in the series.
January 8, 2021
Star Wars Legends Project #248
Background: Escape to Hoth, released in January of 1996, collects issues #15-20 of Dark Horse's Classic Star Wars reprints (December 1993-June 1994) of the original Star Wars newspaper strips (April 1983-March 1984). Like the previous 2 collections, writer Archie Goodwin and artist Al Williamson continued their collaboration through these issues.
Escape to Hoth picks up where The Rebel Storm left off (my review), a few years after the Battle of Yavin. There's some confusion about the exact timeline placement because apparently the "official" timeline changed at some point to indicate that the Rebels relocated to Hoth 3 years after the Battle of Yavin, but the timeline placement of these stories depicting that event indicates somewhere that it's . . . less time than that. Wookieepedia states that they take place in "0 & 3 ABY." So . . . way to thread the needle, there. Do with that what you will. The main characters are Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Darth Vader. The stories take place in several locations, most significantly Yavin IV and Hoth.
Summary: The Empire finally arrives to launch an all-out attack on Yavin IV, and Luke and General Dodonna's son Vrad volunteer for a suicide mission to delay Darth Vader's fleet long enough for the rest of the Rebel forces to escape. Unfortunately, only Luke knows that the young Dodonna is secretly a coward who plans to sell out the Rebellion to save his own skin . . . and Vrad won't let anyone stand in the way of his escape plan.
Review: Perhaps I'm just ready for a change of pace, but this definitely felt like a step down from the first two volumes. It's finally the big pay-off to a climax that was building all through volume 2, but . . . meh. This Vrad Dodonna character appears out of nowhere, and nothing about the way Luke handles that situation really makes sense. It's trying really hard to load up an already exciting situation with a lot of weighty character drama, which I appreciate . . . it just doesn't really pull it off.
And I know I've complained about this a lot before, even though I've mostly left it alone for this particular run of stories, but . . . there just isn't any reason for the Rebellion to still be sitting on Yavin IV or for the Empire to be waiting around to crush them. I see the hand-waving happening here to explain it, I'm just not convinced. It hasn't felt like a big enough deal to mention mostly because there's so much else going on, but now it's front-and-center and, yeah, still makes no sense.
Anyway, after the excitement of the titular "escape to Hoth" there's a very tacked-on storyline that tries to tie back to some previous story threads involving Han Solo. They're not utterly terrible, but they feel very awkwardly shoehorned in. It's the closest I've seen this strip come to obvious filler. Still, you could do worse, and if you've read this far, you'll likely want to see the resolution of several plot lines that come to fruition in this volume. Or not . . . Either way.
C+
Background: Escape to Hoth, released in January of 1996, collects issues #15-20 of Dark Horse's Classic Star Wars reprints (December 1993-June 1994) of the original Star Wars newspaper strips (April 1983-March 1984). Like the previous 2 collections, writer Archie Goodwin and artist Al Williamson continued their collaboration through these issues.
Escape to Hoth picks up where The Rebel Storm left off (my review), a few years after the Battle of Yavin. There's some confusion about the exact timeline placement because apparently the "official" timeline changed at some point to indicate that the Rebels relocated to Hoth 3 years after the Battle of Yavin, but the timeline placement of these stories depicting that event indicates somewhere that it's . . . less time than that. Wookieepedia states that they take place in "0 & 3 ABY." So . . . way to thread the needle, there. Do with that what you will. The main characters are Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Darth Vader. The stories take place in several locations, most significantly Yavin IV and Hoth.
Summary: The Empire finally arrives to launch an all-out attack on Yavin IV, and Luke and General Dodonna's son Vrad volunteer for a suicide mission to delay Darth Vader's fleet long enough for the rest of the Rebel forces to escape. Unfortunately, only Luke knows that the young Dodonna is secretly a coward who plans to sell out the Rebellion to save his own skin . . . and Vrad won't let anyone stand in the way of his escape plan.
Review: Perhaps I'm just ready for a change of pace, but this definitely felt like a step down from the first two volumes. It's finally the big pay-off to a climax that was building all through volume 2, but . . . meh. This Vrad Dodonna character appears out of nowhere, and nothing about the way Luke handles that situation really makes sense. It's trying really hard to load up an already exciting situation with a lot of weighty character drama, which I appreciate . . . it just doesn't really pull it off.
And I know I've complained about this a lot before, even though I've mostly left it alone for this particular run of stories, but . . . there just isn't any reason for the Rebellion to still be sitting on Yavin IV or for the Empire to be waiting around to crush them. I see the hand-waving happening here to explain it, I'm just not convinced. It hasn't felt like a big enough deal to mention mostly because there's so much else going on, but now it's front-and-center and, yeah, still makes no sense.
Anyway, after the excitement of the titular "escape to Hoth" there's a very tacked-on storyline that tries to tie back to some previous story threads involving Han Solo. They're not utterly terrible, but they feel very awkwardly shoehorned in. It's the closest I've seen this strip come to obvious filler. Still, you could do worse, and if you've read this far, you'll likely want to see the resolution of several plot lines that come to fruition in this volume. Or not . . . Either way.
C+
August 28, 2023
A collection of Star Wars comics from Dark Horse, originally published in 1995 (I have the Boxtree edition). The Rebels are losing battles by choice but Darth Vader suspects all is not what it seems. As it is, Luke & Han are trying to draw attention away from the Rebellion setting up the Hoth base.
Set between “Star Wars” and “Empire”, this has a lot of story to get through but still, on occasion, feels a bit slow though that might be due to the medium (I didn’t read the story in the original publication). The artwork is excellent, as you’d expect and there’s some smart writing too and it mentions Ord Mandell (as referenced in “Empire”) but doesn’t fully explain it (perhaps that’s in a different book). If you like “Star Wars” you’ll love this and I would recommend it.
Set between “Star Wars” and “Empire”, this has a lot of story to get through but still, on occasion, feels a bit slow though that might be due to the medium (I didn’t read the story in the original publication). The artwork is excellent, as you’d expect and there’s some smart writing too and it mentions Ord Mandell (as referenced in “Empire”) but doesn’t fully explain it (perhaps that’s in a different book). If you like “Star Wars” you’ll love this and I would recommend it.
April 12, 2020
The Rebel Fleet leaves Yavin for Hoth but the Imperials block their path. Luke focuses to steer them around the solar flares, which is awesome.
Luke bothers me in these issues because he's still a bit too cocky and is too open about being with the Rebels. And then he accidentally leads him and Han into trouble.
It's mainly about the two of them with a bit of the droids. But that continuity works.
Dengar is called Zuckass which is funny.
I love that Han tells Luke that Luke having more friends than Vader does is a benefit.
Luke bothers me in these issues because he's still a bit too cocky and is too open about being with the Rebels. And then he accidentally leads him and Han into trouble.
It's mainly about the two of them with a bit of the droids. But that continuity works.
Dengar is called Zuckass which is funny.
I love that Han tells Luke that Luke having more friends than Vader does is a benefit.
January 3, 2020
Still fun to read these newspaper strips, but I think this volume didn't get the same editing love from Dark Horse at the first two. I was surprised they didn't bother to fix the many times the bounty hunter Dengar was referred to as "Zuckass". I think a similar mix up occurred the monthly Star Wars comics as well.
February 3, 2016
The final adventures of the Rebel Alliance chronicled by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson is collected in this Dark Horse treasury from the mid-90s. In this volume, the Rebels seek to establish their new base on the ice planet of Hoth. But first the Alliance fleet's caravan must escape an Imperial blockade. Then Luke is stunned by a blast from his past before accidently getting Han captured by a band of bounty hunters under the employ of one Boba Fett. Lastly, Luke and Vader have one more battle through the Force before this epic comic strip comes to an end.
If you are disappointed that this series is through like I am, remember 2 things. First, the next thing that happens in Star Wars timeline is the events of Empire Strikes Back- so you haven't missed anything. Second, though the Goodwin/ Williamson run is through, it's not the end of Classic Star Wars. No less than 2 Han Solo adventures are contained under the imprint title and with volume 4 of this series, you'll get the Russ Mannings run on the strip that occurred before Goodwin took over as scripter. I told that this was a confusing title!
None the less- those adventures are on my wish list and I loved the Goodwin/Williamson books. Goodwin was a gifted storyteller of Star Wars and I just can't say enough about Al Williamson. His art is just that damn good! If you overlook these treasuries you're really doing yourself a disservice!
If you are disappointed that this series is through like I am, remember 2 things. First, the next thing that happens in Star Wars timeline is the events of Empire Strikes Back- so you haven't missed anything. Second, though the Goodwin/ Williamson run is through, it's not the end of Classic Star Wars. No less than 2 Han Solo adventures are contained under the imprint title and with volume 4 of this series, you'll get the Russ Mannings run on the strip that occurred before Goodwin took over as scripter. I told that this was a confusing title!
None the less- those adventures are on my wish list and I loved the Goodwin/Williamson books. Goodwin was a gifted storyteller of Star Wars and I just can't say enough about Al Williamson. His art is just that damn good! If you overlook these treasuries you're really doing yourself a disservice!
July 24, 2011
Over all good storylines with some familiar faces from the movies. I liked the illustrations. There were a few stories that I didn't really care for, or that didn't fit in with what occurred later in the movies and novels, but I did like most of them. The one that I really took issue with was the story that killed off General Jan Dodonna. Since he is in much later stories it doesn't really work. I kept waiting to see how he survived... maybe that will come in the next graphic novel??? I liked the mon calamari being brought in as well as some familiar bounty hunters. And it was good to see that Jabba the Hutt actually looked like he did in the movies and not like the weird little alien guy that was portrayed in previous editions (but I believe those were marvel comics and not dark horse).
Definately would recommend to Star Wars fans as a fun read.
Definately would recommend to Star Wars fans as a fun read.
July 5, 2013
Excellent collection. These star wars comics are pulpy and uncomplicated and take you back to a simpler time of comics. They also make you remember when star wars was fun and silly in the expanded universe and things like canon where scoffed at. For example in this series we have Luke and Han fighting a mind witch. Delightful and highly recommended.
April 15, 2015
The rebel fleet have to escape Yarvin through an imperial blockade. Han and Luke need to make sure no one knows that the new rebel base is on Hoth. Another series of adventures that are of their time. This volume does include a lot of bounty hunters, pirates, and Darth Vader. A good read.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews