"Planet of the Dead" is a comic book story spanning 12 pages, originally featured in Star Wars Tales 17, with the script penned by Steve Niles. This narrative was later made available again, six years afterward, as a complimentary, independent comic on October 31, 2009.
Han Solo and his Wookiee companion, Chewbacca, find themselves in possession of some precious, luminous Tandgor gems. Solo believes these gems can settle his outstanding debts and finance upgrades for the Millennium Falcon. When the Falcon's fuel reserves dwindle, they navigate towards a small, unnamed planet. Solo's sensors detect no signs of life, suggesting the planet is entirely deserted.
Upon landing, Solo and Chewbacca disembark into the dense fog, only to be immediately confronted and overwhelmed by moaning, skeletal figures – the undead. After Chewbacca repels the attackers, they quickly retreat to the Falcon, discovering that the fuel line has been deliberately severed. It appears someone, or something, wants to prevent their departure.
Equipping themselves with weapons, the Falcon's crew venture back out and encounter a local woman and her child. She reveals that the crew of a 'Great Interplanetary Ark' met their demise when their vessel crashed in the planet's fog. As a result, they are cursed to roam the planet as corpses, terrorizing the inhabitants each night.
By utilizing the Tandgor Gems to create lines, Han establishes a makeshift landing strip that dispels the fog. A spectral image of the long-crashed ship uses this runway to land, bringing peace to the spirits of the deceased crew. Consequently, the living dead cease their nightly reign of terror over the planet's residents.
Han and Chewbacca depart the planet without any profit, but they are compensated with enough fuel to complete the remainder of their journey.
