Star Wars: Lando

Under the Disney umbrella, Star Wars is awakened. In addition to television and film projects, new Star Wars comics from Marvel—also a Mouseketeer—are reshaping and expanding the galaxy far, far away. With numerous comic series featuring main characters such as Luke, Leia, Han and Vader, the surprise hit is Lando Calrissian’s story. Taking place prior to Lando’s Cloud City appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, the roguish gambler gets in over his head when he hijacks an unknowingly important Imperial shuttle. While the other series balance expanding main characters’ stories with maintaining the sanctity of the original trilogy, Star Wars: Lando has more wiggle room in exploring a fan favorite. Through Lando’s relationship with an inspired take on his Cloud City cyborg sidekick, Lobot, we see how risks, payoffs and losing everything can impede a human but not a gambler. Excellent minor characters and artist Alex Maleev’s use of sweeping colors to suggest mood and atmosphere make this series a stellar example of an interstellar soap opera.