Ray Murtaugh

Out of the frying pan... just as Han Solo and Chewbacca manage to escape the wiles of Mystra and the arena of Raskar with the last of the legendary power gems... Luke and Threepio turn up missing. They've in fact crash-landed on the ice planet Hoth, where they're rescued by a mysterious benefactor who has decidedly different plans for the pair than her father: he wants to off Luke and dismantle the loyal droid for scrap!

As Luke leads the Rebel fleet on its escape to its new base on Hoth, the Rebels' new allies, the Mon Calamari, plan a diversion to help them escape an Imperial blockade. But the Imperials soon realize that the Mon Calamari attacks are a diversion for the real Rebel escape, and they set off with the intent of destroying the Rebels once and for all. Meanwhile, Han, Chewie, and C-3P0 take off in the Millennium Falcon to find an alternate escape route to Hoth, but what they discover is a seemingly impassable route that would take them dangerously close to a gigantic stellar flare!

Developments in our favorite far-away galaxy a long time ago are winding their way rapidly to the point at which the events of the movie The Empire Strikes Back begin -- with the Rebels engaged in battle with Empire forces on the ice planet Hoth. But before that, our Rebel heroes will have to face a regular rogues' gallery of Star Wars rapscallions and wretches -- Darth Vader, Raskar, Skorr, and even that most nefarious of bounty hunters... Boba Fett! This wonderfully received reprint series comes to a climactic conclusion with a special 48-page issue featuring Al Williamson's original newspaper strip art, new never-before-seen Al Williamson Star Wars art, and, of course, a brand new Al Williamson cover! Who could ask for more!

Artoo-Detoo and See-Threepio search for Luke and Leia, but will their quest leave them dismantled on a decidedly anti-droid Gambler's World? Dark Horse has unearthed a series of strips by the famed Russ Manning and presents them here for the first time ever in color! These strips have been reformatted and expertly retouched by Rick Hoberg, who worked with Manning on the original strips. As a special treat, Star Wars fan and Madman creator Michael Allred has created a classic color cover for this issue.

Artoo-Detoo and See-Threepio continue their search for the kidnapped Luke and Leia on Gambler's World. The two droids come up with some innovative plans to rescue their masters, but will they work against the scheming of Darth Vader and the mysterious Blackhole? These strips, which ran in newspapers from 1979 to 1980, have been reformatted and expertly retouched by Rick Hoberg, who worked with Russ Manning on the original newspaper strips. Hoberg adds a great color cover to top off the package.

Having finally met up with the rebels of Vorzyd-5, Luke is selected to meet with the secret government contact who can help the Rebel Alliance defeat the Empire. But as he follows the instructions on his way to meet the contact, he is closely monitored by Blackhole's personal cadre of stormtroopers! Meanwhile, Princess Leia has been kidnapped by the gang of freelies, who want nothing to do with the Rebel Alliance, or the Empire, for that matter!

Luke Skywalker is ordered by Rebel Command to abandon a reconnaissance mission. It seems that appearances of unscheduled transport capsules have coincided with the destruction of Rebel bases, and just such a capsule has landed -- on Tatooine! Luke must return to his home planet, now a bustling locus of trade and a hotbed of rebellion, to discover how the Empire is finding out about the hidden Rebel bases. He finds the answer, but will it be at the cost of his life?

Princess Leia narrowly escapes an Imperial blockade and is forced to crash-land on a nearby planet... a planet that happens to be an Imperial labor colony! There she discovers that the colony is one of the Empire's main sources of volatile megonite moss, a central ingredient in Imperial ammunition. What's worse, Leia is pressed into service by Lady Tarkin, the angry, bereaved wife of Grand Moff Tarkin, who died aboard the Death Star. Now Leia has to find a way to escape from a colony riddled with Imperials, on a planet where a single misstep can kill!

A peaceful scientist has created a device capable of turning a planetary wasteland into a paradise, but the Empire has exactly the opposite in mind! Luke Skywalker and Han Solo encounter the scientist's stowaway daughter on board the Millennium Falcon, and before they know it, they are swept along in a desperate race to catch up with the climate-altering spaceship, which has left a trail of damaged planets in its wake!

While delivering a cache of pre-Empire textbooks to an outlying system, Luke Skywalker encounters Imperial forces as they take an entire school hostage! A young prodigy escapes, and he alone can offer the rallying cry that could save the children...and the Rebel Alliance as well!

Crucial components of the Rebel Alliance's X-wing fighters have been compromised by a neutral planet's desire for profits. Some people in Tun Wala would sell the units to the Empire as soon as they'd sell them to the Rebellion! Now Darth Vader is on his way to the planet to destroy the Rebels, and, neutral or not, the planet itself!

Boba Fett makes his first appearance ever in this issue of Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures! The galaxy's meanest bounty hunter made his debut in the Star Wars daily newspaper strips reprinted herein, featuring Luke and Han hunted on an icy tundra by the enigmatic masked man, Boba Fett!

Even with less than twenty minutes of "screen time" to his credit, the most popular character from the Star Wars trilogy is Boba Fett. Dark Horse offers a number of comics featuring the merciless bounty hunter, but it all starts here, in this trade paperback collecting Russ Manning's Star Wars newspaper strips. It was in these strips, which originally ran in 1979 and 1980, that Boba Fett made his very first appearance in print, making this a true must-have item for anyone looking to become a Jedi Master! The artwork has been colored, reformatted, and expertly retouched by Rick Hoberg, who worked with Manning on the original strips. Relive the adventures that thrilled readers seventeen years ago! Experience the very first comics appearance of the infamous Boba Fett (dated prior to his motion-picture debut)! And delight in Star Wars legend Al Williamson's new color cover, dedicated to Manning!