– Spoiler Review –
Return of the Jedi – Jabba’s Palace #1 kicks off a series of one-shots celebrating the film’s 40th anniversary this year, providing stories with different points of view on the original trilogy capper. Written by Marc Guggenheim, with art by Alessandro Miracolo, RotJ – Jabba’s Palace #1 peers into the unlucky backstory of one of the film’s droids with a somewhat complicated but overall fun tale.
To help ground us on how the tale inside Return of the Jedi – Jabba’s Palace #1 ties into the film, the issue opens with a scene which should be familiar to anyone who’s watched it: Threepio and Artoo down in the dungeons after Luke Skywalker’s message to Jabba the Hutt, being processed by less than friendly droid EV-9D9. To inform them what disobedience will cost them, we learn the previous protocol droid who translated for Jabba was set for disintegration. Ever wonder why? Well, that’s the thrust of RotJ – Jabba’s Palace #1, digging into the life of Eightyem and how he ended up falling from Jabba’s favor.
Eightyem’s tale begins with him growing bored of his role as translator for Jabba, finding the work rote and uninspiring, and quite frankly beneath him, per his entertaining omniscient narration throughout the issue. Everything changes when the slickly dressed Twi’lek Silvan Kaan comes to Jabba’s Palace, whose way with words embroils the court in a complicated, twisty, yet interesting scandal. It all starts with Kaan noticing Eightyem and using his particular skills to gain his trust, offering the droid freedom if he only completes three, simple though yet to be named, favors. The droid believes he’s immune to Kaan’s ways, but as his narration (and ultimate fate) suggestions, he isn’t. What follows is a winding tale, where via Eightyem fulfilling the favors, Kaan gains access to Jabba’s records and bank accounts, using them for information, not money, and fermenting animosity amongst the denizens of Jabba’s court to achieve goals we’re not necessarily clued into. The story took a little to get going, as I wasn’t quite sure where it was all heading, but it really picks up as Kaan begins a scheme pitting too members of the court against one another, a familiar face in Ree-Yees and a new in an Ithorian Charn Roondha. Throughout it all, Eightyem tells us how things unfold, queueing us in on Kaan’s plans, while admitting how he seems confident in the moment for the most part, but he knows now what a fool he was. A new bounty hunter patrolling the Palace has been watching Eightyem, and while he’s not sure what exactly the droid and the new Twi’lek are up to, his vigilance is what brings their whole scheme crashing down on both of them. Compared to the usual straight up violence, thievery, or thuggery one would expect, this whole narrative elevates Jabba’s Palace with courtly intrigue, as you’d expect in the halls of a medieval castle or something, and I quite enjoyed this different look and take on life during the Hutt’s reign.
Alessandro Miracolo provides art for Eightyem’s doomed story, while he’s joined by colorist Dee Cunniffe, and Clayton Cowles on letters. Miracolo is relatively new to Star Wars comics, starting with the third issue of the Obi-Wan miniseries from 2022 and a recent issue of Bounty Hunters, but each appearance has made me want him back more, with RotJ – Jabba’s Palace #1 being no exception. Drawing out emotions for a droid character I feel like has to be one of the harder things an artist for Star Wars comics have to do, unless they go for an exaggerated style, so I loved how it was a real conversation between colorist and artist to effect as much as they could from Eightyem. Late in the issue, when Bane Malar first confronts our droid, one panel is colored in the beige, sandy look of the palace, and Eightyem narrates he believes the man will figure out what he’s up too, and then the next panel switches to a moody blue, indicating darkness and treachery with Kaan, though Eightyem looks the same in both panels. Without even changing his look, the colors convey the change in mood, how Kaan’s words cast doubt on Eightyem’s beliefs already about Malar. Early in the issue, I really like the haughty look Miracolo poses Eightyem with when the droid is telling us his responsibilities are beneath him, the droid’s lower mouth piece’s chin up, like a royal would when seeing a peasant. The following page perfect describes the monotony, each panel basically the same besides the newest person coming before the illustrious Jabba, though it all shifts a little when Silvan Kaan appears. Kaan’s disinterested look in the next panel, like being here isn’t anything special although Eightyem believes it is, tell us a lot about Kaan and his own superiority complex, as well do his shiny clothes and flowing robes. Only a few pages later, leaning over Jabba’s finances, he takes on a far more sinister look, teeth sharp and grin large, hands and fingers up in anticipation of their prize, while Cunniffe’s colors cast him in the shadier looking blues used when they are usually doing clandestine things. I liked the Ithorian word bubbles for Roondha when he don’t necessarily need to know what he’s saying and then the switch to translation when he do, though Cowles returns to Ithroian for the big scream as Roondha is thrown into the Sarlacc Pit, as we all know for sure what he’s saying then. Jabba’s big Palace stopping shout, almost as big as his head, and translated to basic, shows why he says little otherwise, so that when he does, it shatters whatever is happening before him.
Here are a few other things:
- There will be a total of 8 (!) one-shots for this 40th Anniversary celebration of Return of the Jedi, so plenty more side tales like this to help us see parts of the film and its characters from a new point of view. The remaining issues include: Ewoks, written by Alyssa Wong with various artists providing unique interior work, including Peach Momoko!; Lando, written by Stephanie Phillips, will detail some little maneuvers he and Chewbacca take together, like trying to steal from Jabba!; The Empire, which follows a technician on the moon of Endor. The rest we don’t have solicits for but they include: The Rebellion, Max Rebo, Emperor Palpatine, and lastly Smugglers.
- This isn’t the year’s only way to celebrate Return of the Jedi via publishing: From a Certain Point of View – Return of the Jedi is set to release September 5!! We don’t know all the stories yet but at least we know the authors.
Return of the Jedi – Jabba’s Palace #1 is a solid way to kick off these new points of view on the film, as the background droid’s past ends up being far more intriguing than imagined.
+ The way the art team conveyed Eightyem’s emotions
+ Weaving tale of deceit was intriguing…
– …though it took a bit to get going
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.