Barrelling onward, and closing toward the big 5-0 landmark...

Monday, Strip 41 -- Smiley is unabashedly comic relief at this point, which I realize is risky because it immediately steers him into one of two columns. One, welcome humor. Two, unwelcome. It's really dependent on the reader's predisposition to humorous sidekicks. While I recognize -- and relish -- Smiley's potential for annoying behavior, I do realize that at three panels a day, a little goes a long way.

It's really awkward to have Sammie sitting at the booth without his hands showing (hands are a big part of "acting" in comic art) but I couldn't well give up the shock that's going to appaer in Strip 42 too early.

And yes, that is indeed little Gribbet in the final panel. Given that we know he's Skorr's expeditor, and that we saw Skorr suddenly take interest in Raal last week, you know his presence within earshot of this trio can't be good news.

And I couldn't resist. There is a fly in Gribbet's soup. Presumably, he ordered it that way.

Tuesday, Strip 42 -- This says innumerable things about the nature of Raal, Sammie and Smiley's friendship, doesn't it? There's also something telling about this Ord Mantell diner that you can take someone hostage in broad daylight and not worry too much about it.

I previously discussed the word "koovy" in another set of annotations. It's a great word. I am tirelessly championing its inclusion into everyday speech.

And here we go again with datapads. This strip is unusual for its reliance on handheld data. Given that Star Wars characters don't leave little yellow post-it notes with instructions lying around, everything has to be conveyed with a PDA, which kind of stretches credibility, but it's an accepted convention.

Wednesday, Strip 43 -- We're still on Ord Mantell, but now at a fairly crowded starport. The honeycomb nature of these docking bays will become important next week. The freighter parked closest to us is a Corellian YT-1300, with some modifications.

As we get down to ground-level, we see that Kestrel's hired it. The old timer pilot isn't identified as anything other than "Old Timer" in the script -- so don't worry if you don't recognize him as an obscure reference or anything, He's not supposed to be anyone, other than a quintessential tired old soul that grates on your nerves when you happen to be in a hurry, as Kestrel is.

She's got her travel bag on her... and she travels light, suggesting that she's been one on the move.

Thursday, Strip 44 Despite a bird-like name, Kestrel has a lot of cat-like characteristics -- lithe, solitary, and very high strung, as a pin-drop in panel two has her rather jumpy. Though she tends to be no-nonsense, she's not above some dark humor, like her observation in panel three.

Having a YT-1300 in the strip makes it easy to identify where the characters are, geographically, since we're so familiar with the Falcon.

Friday, Strip 45 -- Although this scene is constructed as a deliberate homage to the Emperor's arrival at the Sith medical center in Episode III, it's not Coruscant we're seeing here. We're still on Ord Mantell, and we're suddenly thrown back to someone we haven't seen in weeks.

The Imperial pageantry builds up (shuttle, troopers at attention) to reveal Mar Barezz. He's decked out in a fur-lined cloak the kind worn by Admiral Griff in the Williamson strips (you'll find the classic webstrips heavily -- and lovingly -- referenced during Rookies).

His arrival is like the start of an unseen stopwatch. Something's going down, and you can bet it's not good.

That's it for this week. Next week, Rookies hits 50 as our would-be heroes discover that leaving Ord Mantell isn't as easy as 3, 2, 1...

ph