Charles Soule Meets Lando Before The Empire

by Vince Brusio

With a resume that already has him on the winning team at Marvel Comics, Charles Soule lands a primo gig in writing about the Star Wars pirate, Lando Calrissian, which he teams up with Lobot for those yearning for Star Wars nostalgia! Read more about Star Wars: Lando #1 (MAY150764) in this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview!

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PREVIEWSworld: With Star Wars: Lando #1 (MAY150764), we are introduced to a new series that lays out unknown history for the one-time pilot of the Millennium Falcon. Correct? Or have these stories been passed around galaxy bar tables, and we Earthlings are just hearing about them for the first time?

Charles Soule: Correct! To my mind, Lando Calrissian is one of the coolest characters in all of Star Wars whose history we know absolutely the least about. We know that he used to own the Falcon until he lost it to Han Solo, we know he’s not all that trustworthy (but wants to be), and…?

This series is designed to remedy some of that. Lando is one of those guys who just radiates backstory. It’s not my intention here to tell his “origin story” or anything like that – for example, we won’t see here how he loses the Falcon. I think that sometimes those stories are better left to the imagination. In this series, we meet Lando before The Empire Strikes Back, when he’s just trying to figure out a way to get himself out of a particular jam he’s fallen into. As we’ll learn, that sort of thing happens to Lando all the time.

PREVIEWSworld: What’s your attraction to Lando as a character? How did you go about signing on for this gig, and how did you make yourself think like the scoundrel? Do you have some skeletons that help you identify with the schemes of pirates?

Charles Soule: I signed on the minute they asked! I mean, it’s a Star Wars story about Lando Calrissian. Hard to say no. Most of my research was focused on re-watching the Original Trilogy a few times – never a chore. I realize he’s not in A New Hope, but it was important to me to get the flavor of the universe right, and the first movie is where so much of that was established.

I take issue with your use of the word “scoundrel,” though! Lando’s no scoundrel – or at least he doesn’t want to be one. I prefer to think of him as misunderstood.

PREVIEWSworld: In writing this series, what editors did you work with to stay true to the Star Wars universe? What guidance were you given? Or were you the pilot of your own X-wing fighter?

Charles Soule: The editor for this series is the wonderful Jordan D. White. It’s been my pleasure to know Jordan for a long time, and we’ve worked on other series before. So, we have a good working relationship already established, which means it’s easy to work out story beats. Jordan’s really sharp about Star Wars in general, and he’s been great about guiding me to stories I might have missed and helping me shape my own. Really, though, I think he and I just like talking about Star Wars. We’d probably do it anyway, even if we weren’t working on the comics.

PREVIEWSworld: Without spoiling anything, what could you say about this new book that excites you? What makes writing the book “fun”?

Charles Soule: Lando has his own very specific feel that’s a blast to write. He’s a charming rogue – he’s out for himself, but he still tries to be loyal to his friends, to the extent he can. He never wants to cause trouble for other people, but trouble’s never far behind him, and people he associates with often tend to get swept up in its wake. That’s a fun character to write.

Plus, it’s sort of a heist story, with a crew of assorted ne’er-do-wells with various cool skills… and Lobot’s in it. If Lobot’s in a story, I’m automatically interested – even more so if I’m writing it.

PREVIEWSworld: Lastly, can you pull back the curtain and tell us how you felt when you first saw the finished artwork come back from Alex Maleev? Is it obvious that he felt the Force when bringing your ideas to the canvas?

Charles Soule: Oh, we’re doing Star Wars metaphors? Okay, no sweat. Mr. Maleev is indeed an artistic Jedi, and his pen is his lightsaber, which he wields with consummate skill and precision, lopping off the arms of every creative wampa or rancor to cross his path. The first sequence of the book is written to convey Lando with his desperate charm turned up to 11, and when I saw that come back, I knew we were going to be in great shape. The book looks fantastic, and the story’s a blast. It might just be the most fun you have in a comic this year.