Renn Volz and his daughter Mira Volz have finally invented the Ion Ring ship. It possesses the power to change the climate of entire planets. Whether the world is too hot and needs cooling or vice-versa, this ships the key. However like most positive things there is a dark side to this ship. If used by the wrong hands it has the capabilities to turn planets into uninhabitable wastelands, much like those of Tatooine or Hoth.
The pair of inventors test it out over the world of Zerm, a constant place of storms and strange weather. But not anymore, as the experiment worked turning a living hell into a warm beautiful tropical paradise. However the celebrations don’t last long as the evil galactic Empire turns up and boards the ship, taking control.
Mira gets taken hostage by the Imperials. The sadistic Imperial officer in command, Captain Bzorn, tells Renn that unless he starts using the Ion Ring ship to destroy secret Rebel bases he will kill Mira. Fearing for his daughter’s life, Renn agrees to the Imperial terms and sets course for the first target, Rion, a tropical paradise. However unbeknownst to her father and Captain Bzorn, Mira has slipped from the grip of the Empire and seeks cover in a near spaceship. This very spaceship belongs to the one and only Han Solo, who discovers her alongside Luke Skywalker, C-3PO and R2-D2. She explains her situation to the group and after hearing the potential threat, decides to help. But how will they manage to make contact with her father before he destroys their home world Kessel?… .
The Review
In this issue of early adventures the reader will be diving into some intense blaster fire with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, R2-D2 and C-3PO. Alongside the famous band of Rebels come two inventors, Renn Volz and his daughter Mira Volz with the evil Imperial Captain Bzorn. Having these four main characters work together really creates an unpredictable storyline as Hans’ witty mind merges with the sympathetic Luke. An awesome mix which would make nowadays comics much more interesting.
This issue is admittedly very satire with a very 70’s storyline of love, evil crossing good and heroism. So this may not be a fresh original storyline but can be a walk down memory lane for some. The pure imagination of the mind can also be admired here with the strange looking spaceships and weird alien people. A true depiction of classic sci-fi. One thing that didn’t add up for me was Han was delivering spice to Jabba. If I recall correctly from the film, Jabba and Han had a major falling out. So whether this was a research error or the two characters made up, who knows.
The illustrations were also fab, using a foreground-background colour difference. For example, if two characters were in the foreground, talking to the characters in the background, the background characters would be grey with the foreground characters coloured. This was almost like watching a film when the camera focuses in and out from characters. The Kessel Run was also mentioned and even used in this issue, making a NEW RECORD! (But we don’t find out what it is).
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