Solo: A Star Wars Story comic #3 by Robbie Thompson

"Solo: A Star Wars Story #3" written by Robbie Thompson, illustrated by Will Sliney, Federico Blee, Stefani Renee, and Andres Mossa

     For some reason, I had a lot more to say about this issue than the previous one. While it didn't really stray away from the movie too much and give us much in the way of new footage, I guess reliving the story just got me thinking about some things that have always got me wondering. This was a fine issue overall and I felt like it read super quickly. Plus, the facial expressions were just fabulous--funny as heck! So this was definitely a step up from the previous issue.
     To start, we get a glimpse into Qi'ra's past post-losing Han in Coronet spaceport. While we do see her being bought by Sarkin Enneb and then subsequently being bought by Dryden Vos, the part where she gets caught by Dryden killing her guards and trying to escape is left out, going straight to her being trained in Teras Kasi--which is something that only happened after Dryden gave her a choice about how to proceed. Regardless, the way it's done works very well as it shows her fighting people and Dryden saying, "Learning Teras Kasi will only get you so far, Qi'ra. With Crimson Dawn, in order to truly excel, you have to let go of Proxima's antiquated, narrow-minded ways. You must let go, Qi'ra, of your past." While these words hang in the background, she also kills Sarkin and then the last sentence bleeds right into her running into Han...her past...very powerful beginning to this issue!
     Oh my goodness!!! The facial expressions in this issue are wonderful (see below for an example). Beckett keeps giving the most "What the---!" looks that are simply hysterical. Qi'ra keeps getting some pretty great facial expressions as well. Goodness, Sliney did a bang up job with this issue!! The characters all just look so real!

     Reading through this part of the story--Qi'ra taking the crew to Lando--I'm reminded that I'm a little confused about how she knows so much about Lando when it appears from the Lando: Double or Nothing comic that he only came to Vandor to get his ship back and that he hadn't been there before. Is it just from the tales he's been spinning at Fort Ypso? And how long has he been hanging out at the sabacc table? Qi'ra's obviously at least canoodled with him a little bit and it sounds like she knows a lot about him. Maybe his reputation has just spread throughout the galaxy? I'd love to know more about the adventures of Qi'ra and Lando pre-Solo. Oh yeah!! And then there's Lando's bit, "Dryden said all was forgiven after I did the whole Felucia thing for him." This means that Lando maybe was on Vandor for the first time, but had had run-ins with Crimson Dawn several times before. Okay, it's all starting to make more sense now. I do tend to over think things... I still want to know more about Qi'ra and Lando's relationship though!
     The sabacc game is drawn out beautifully with all the minor characters detailed in brilliant color. What a fun set of panels. The best is below.

     And then finally we get "Circumstances...change." from Lando after Qi'ra asks about his retirement when he so readily agrees to doing the job with them. I LOVE it as it's a direct connection to the fact that his ship is impounded and he needs a way to get it out.
     So overall, a pretty fantastic issue with some truly beautiful imagery. Since they've expanded the series to 7 issues and we're this far into the story at only issue 3, I'm super excited to see where we go from here! What new stuff will be included?!? Looking forward to it...