Han Solo
When the Star Wars expanded universe first began, the checkered lives of Han Solo and Chewbacca were a fertile source for exciting tales of rebellious, law-bending adventures. In the late 1970s, a trilogy of novels and the first story-arc in the Marvel Comics series focused on the smuggling duo. Solo's more distant past wasn't told until the early '90s, during the Bantam Books run of Star Wars novels.

Han's early years with Garris Shrike aboard the Trader's Luck and the Ylesia storyline are all from The Paradise Snare (1997, Bantam Books), the first novel of the Han Solo Trilogy by A.C. Crispin. Thrackan Sal-Solo, however, first appeared in Ambush at Corellia (1995, Bantam Books), the first book of the Corellian Trilogy. The Jubilar free-for-all comes from Tales of the Bounty Hunters (1995, Bantam Books).

Han's academy years occur in between the first two books of the Han Solo Trilogy, so they are not told as dramatized events. However, they are referenced in The Hutt Gambit (1997, Bantam Books) and other sources. The incident with the U-33 loadlifters was told as an anecdote in Han Solo and the Lost Legacy (1980, Del Rey Books), while the mascot moon incident with Mako Spince comes from the text pages of Dark Empire #3 (1992, Dark Horse Comics). The actual first meeting of Han and Chewbacca was told in Chewbacca #2 (2000, Dark Horse Comics).

The Life of a Smuggler recaps the events from The Hutt Gambit, but in addition to spinning a new story, that novel also had compiled many previous accounts of Han's free-for-all days. Shug Ninx and Salla Zend, for example, are from the comics series Dark Empire (1991-1992, Dark Horse Comics) and Xaverri from The Crystal Star (1994, Bantam Books), but both those sources are set years after the Galactic Civil War, so they only mention these early days as recollection.

The fateful sabacc game that won Han the Millennium Falcon is dramatized in Rebel Dawn (1998, Bantam Books), the final novel of the Han Solo Trilogy. That Han had won the Falcon from Lando dates back to The Empire Strikes Back, and the novel Heir to the Empire (1991, Bantam Books) revealed that Han selected his freighter from a lot of ships belonging to Lando, but the actual winning of the Falcon was not shown until Rebel Dawn. An alternate, and ultimately apocryphal version of this event was shown in "In the Beginning..." Star Wars Tales #11 (2002, Dark Horse Comics).

Han Solo's Corporate Sector Blues, though occurring in the middle of the events of the Han Solo Trilogy, were actually first told almost two decades earlier in Brian Daley's seminal trilogy of Solo adventures. Han Solo at Star's End (1979, Del Rey Books) described Han's first adventure with Bollux and Blue Max. Han Solo's Revenge (1979, Del Rey Books) began with the Cult of Varn incident on Kamar and was about the CSA slaver ring that Solo helped expose. The last book, Han Solo and the Lost Legacy (1980, Del Rey Books), contains the tale summarized in the Destitute in the Tion section. Skynx's role in the subsequent Dellalt Project was first revealed in the first edition of The Essential Chronology (2000, Del Rey Books).

Return to Ylesia is also a return to Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy, which had built-in "interludes" to account for the earlier Daley novels that occur during the same time period. Rebel Dawn continues chronicling the Hutt intrigue and the growing Rebellion, and the way both events intrude upon Han Solo's life. In the midst of these events is Star Wars: Underworld -- The Yavin Vassilika (2000-2001, Dark Horse Comics), a five part comics mini-series that was gathered into trade paperback in 2001. The final segment of the Solo biography, The Last Spice Run, is again from Rebel Dawn.

Lando Calrissian
Hello, what have we here? In much the same way Han Solo's past was opened up for exploration in the early days of the expanded universe, Calrissian got a chance to star in a series of paperback novels, set years before his involvement in the Galactic Civil War. Before the events of that trilogy, Lando was depicted in a "guest appearance" aboard the Star of Empire liner in Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire (1997, Dark Horse Comics / Boulevard Books). Lando's first meeting with Solo, and the incident wherein he drugged Boba Fett, is from The Hutt Gambit (1997, Bantam Books).

The events of The Sharu Awaken are from Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu (1983, Del Rey Books), the first book of a trilogy. The Battle of Nar Shaddaa is covered in 1997's The Hutt Gambit, and the second book of the Calrissian trilogy, Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon (1983, Del Rey Books) covers Back to Oseon segment.

The section Fortune Won, Fortune Lost was first presented in the first edition of The Essential Chronology (2000, Del Rey Books). It helped explain the vanishing of Lando's fortune between books two and three of the 1983 trilogy by revealing that Drea Renthal stole it from Calrissian.

To Save the ThonBoka encapsulates the final novel of the trilogy, Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka (1983, Del Rey Books). It ends with the mysterious enormous droid-ships that, oddly enough, have not appeared anywhere else in Star Wars fiction. The Priole Danna festival sighting was new information introduced in the first edition of The Essential Chronology.

The section Entrepreneurism, specifically the berubium mine and Lando's stint with Drea Renthal, come from the beginning scenes of Rebel Dawn (1998, Bantam Books). That book also contains the historic sabacc game between Lando and Han with the Falcon at stake, and the second run-in between Calrissian and Boba Fett. The scam on Pesmenben IV is briefly mentioned in the novelization of Return of the Jedi (1983, Del Rey Books). The Vassilika plotline is from the aforementioned Star Wars: Underground -- The Yavin Vassilika comics series (2000-2001, Dark Horse Comics).

The Battle of Taanab, listed as one of Lando's achievements in "The Respectable One", was first briefly mentioned in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (1983). The novelization added mention of the Norulac raiders. The battle itself was detailed in a Galaxywide NewsNet story that ran in Star Wars Adventure Journal #5 (1994, West End Games). Though Hologram Fun World first appeared in the children's book Queen of the Empire (1993, Bantam Skylark), Lando's first investigation of the resort and his run-in with Project Starscream is from the fourth book of the Galaxy of Fear series, The Nightmare Machine (1997, Bantam Skylark).

Baron Raynor was first introduced to readers in Galaxy Guide 2: Yavin and Bespin (1989, West End Games). This sourcebook detailed the nature of Cloud City's government, and the progressive changes that Calrissian initiated once he became administrator of the floating metropolis. The incident with EV-9D9 threatening the city was told in her featured story in Tales from Jabba's Palace (1995, Bantam Books).

Finally, the confrontation with Darth Vader, is of course from the film that debuted the dashing rogue: Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back (1980, Lucasfilm Ltd.).

The Skywalkers
The reasoning behind keeping the surname Skywalker for Luke was first posited in "Sandstorm," Star Wars Tales #15 (2003, Dark Horse Comics). The name "Prestor" was added to Bail Organa's name because that he is how was identified in the Star Wars Radio Dramatization (1981, NPR). Perhaps the best recap of young Leia's life was published in "The Princess Leia Diaries" Star Wars Tales #11 (2002, Dark Horse Comics). That short story took many different previously published elements of Leia's young years and combined it into a single tale. Leia's friendship with Winter was first recounted in Heir to the Empire (1991, Bantam Books). Her tutelage under Giles Durane was told in the Marvel UK Comic, Star Wars Weekly #104-106, reprinted for American audiences in the novella Star Wars: Four New Adventures in Full Color (1981, Marvel Illustrated Books).

For those seeking out the Star Wars Tales issues mentioned in this section, #11 was included in Star Wars Tales Volume 3 trade paperback (2003, Dark Horse Comics) while #15 is included in Volume 4 (2004, Dark Horse Comics).