Published: September 28, 2022
Rating: Rated T
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: David Messina
Colourist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Phil Noto
The synopsis;
CHEWBACCA BEHIND BARS!
• Chewie is held captive on the prison planet of Gulhadar!
• And you’ll never believe who his cellmates are. None other than Maz Kanata and Boba Fett!
• And whatever happened to the Millennium Falcon?
The review;
Mark Alders: Last issue everything seemed to fall apart for our heroes (or I should say fall even further apart!). Han had been eliminated, Chewbacca captured and no-one caring about the pair but more for an urn that could make everyone a lot of credits. Sounds like a true Han and Chewie story! It really feels we’re entering uncharted terrain here, that this story could just about go anywhere.
What really stands out for me is Chewbacca. I didn’t know just how much we would see of Chewbacca in this issue, or if his time in prison would go unseen. But we see a lot. It’s interesting because we know the fate of Chewie (and Han), we know that ultimately, they are going to get through this and be okay. Yet from the very first pages, you feel every punch, kick and hit that Chewbacca takes, to the point it’s almost uncomfortable to read because you’re worrying about him! The artwork here really helps to sell each bit of damage that the Wookiee has to take, you can see (and feel) the pain, the exhaustion that is starting to take its toll on our favourite co-pilot. Was it just me Kat who was having so much empathy?!
Kat Rees-Jauke: Chewie is such a gentle and loving character, so seeing him have to show a more aggressive side just broke my heart. On the prison planet of Gulhadar it’s open season amongst the prisoners, with the Marshals not really bothered, and Chewie’s basically having to fight off everyone. He’s not starting these fights, but he’s perfectly capable of finishing them using some trusty arm ripping. Although we’re in a galaxy far, far away, it really felt like when Groot ended up in prison during Guardians of the Galaxy.
Which makes Maz Kanata the equivalent to Rocket! She’s also on Gulhadar for some crime or other, although the pirate queen seems to be taking it in stride. While she was introduced during the Sequels, Maz’s species (currently unknown) is very long lived, so it’s fantastic to see her appear in Han Solo & Chewbacca. It’s building up that history which is very obvious in The Force Awakens.
Maz is one of those characters that I adore and the continual additions to her backstory are great. We see more depth to her here and in The High Republic series. But I think it’s very clear why she starts falling for Chewbacca in her flirty way, his endurance, his never giving up is very endearing! I want to know more about Maz but also Chewie. When they’re reeling off his crimes, I was like hang on, we don’t know what all these things are for, I’d love to have some comic issues tell us about these events. And the sentencing, love that its done based on the life span of the creature!
Maz isn’t the only familiar face we get to see in this issue, we see a notorious duo return, bringing with them a bit of dark humour with them, which I have to admit had me chuckling to myself! Were you happy to see that the doctor was back in the house Kat?
Having Ponda Baba and Doctor Evazan cameo is a great reference! These two are just a walking horror movie and I think Guggenheim bringing them in actually balances the prison inmates. There are some, like Chewie and Maz, who have been caught trying to make a quick bunch of credits, however then there’s others who are truly sadistic criminals. Speaking of credits, we’ve not addressed the cosmic elephant in the room, and that’s Han’s not dad; con-artist Corbus.
After fooling Han and Chewbacca for a time, Corbus almost got caught alongside the wookiee, but he unfortunately managed to get away. Now, he wants to find the Falcon again to retrieve the urn he hid to earn a small fortune off Jabba the Hutt. And how is he doing that? By conning his way into an Imperial impound facility where the Corellian freighter is currently being held. While Guggenheim wrote this issue beforehand, it ties perfectly into Cassian Andor’s line from the new show “you just walk right in and pretend you belong.”
It so does and I love (accidentally or not) how it fits so beautifully with the show. Without Han in this issue, Guggenheim must rely on Corbus and Chewbacca to carry the whole comic, and they do, surprisingly well. Knowing the fate of characters can sometimes be a negative in terms of story writing, yet here, we can really see the benefit. Our empathy with Corbus is nil; he’s a guy we don’t like. Yet knowing that Han and Chewie are actually going to be ok, are actually going to get the Falcon, we read the Corbus storyline with a perverse pleasure that it’s all going to go horribly wrong. And when it does, well, I couldn’t help but grin. Not only do we get to feel a bit smug because Corbus hasn’t got what he wanted, but we see Han is always Han, that he’s got it where it counts (kid).
The story does get carried well by Corbus and his group, but I still feel uncomfortable when it’s someone else walking onto and piloting the Falcon, like a huge injustice is being done, that only Han and Chewie should be in that cockpit. Not only that, but they seem to know the Falcon better than us the reader!
I was a bit hesitant about Corbus having such a prominent role in this story, but Guggenheim wrote it in such a way that it’s delightful each time things go wrong for the conman. Corbus thinks he can outsmart everyone, but we see that he’s not quite as good as he thinks. He had stashed the urn safely away, yet upon opening the secret compartment it’s empty. Which makes me think Han took it. Just how many secret compartments does the Falcon have, and who would know where they’re all located? Hopefully our favourite smuggler.
Well as soon as the urn was revealed (or not!) I was like, that’s “Han Solo!” It was a great way to still feel Han’s presence even though he wasn’t there. Another great issue that felt very different to what has come before but as always, beautifully told and beautifully illustrated. This is the sort of Star Wars stories I want and Han and Chewbacce are in really safe hands with Guggenheim (well – if you don’t count the torture, humiliation, supposed death, fights…). I imagine Han will return next issue but I’m a little worried just how far Chewbacca is going to have to go to ensure his escape.
Availability;
Han Solo and Chewbacca is an ongoing series available from Marvel Comics. This issue is retails at $3.99 and is available via the Marvel App, comiXology and all good comic book stores.
