Star Wars comics review: Han Solo & Chewbacca 6

WARNING: This post contains SPOILERS for Han Solo & Chewbacca #6

I’ve read comics for what feels like forever, however, I’ve just started reading Star Wars comics—like the books I’m currently going through, it initially felt like too much to start that journey. While catching up on Han Solo & Chewbacca, I noticed that comics offer another unique opportunity to tell Star Wars stories.

At the same time, especially in stories with legacy characters, it feels like stories can begin to contradict each other. Could that be because there are so many creators working on these stories or that there are so many stories (both in canon and legends) that we have a hard time keeping everything straight? Probably a combination of both.

Han Solo & Chewbacca #6 “Dead or Alive, Part I”

As the StarWars.com preview showed us, the opening pages of Han Solo & Chewbacca #6 show Chewbacca getting into a prison fight. With Maz Katana cheering him on, and a bit of help from their new friend Phaedra, Chewie is able to win the fight with minimal injury. From there, the issue follows two plotlines with barely a mention of the other titular character, Han Solo.

While Chewie is, as Maz puts it, exercising—getting into more fights—she and Phaedra begin to scheme an escape from the Prison Planet of Gulhadar. The timing couldn’t be perfect as Chewie is eventually brought before the tribunal for sentencing. As it turns out, the Wookie has ten warrants for his arrest; which doesn’t include the warrants the Empire has out on him.

Meanwhile, on Iakar, Khel Tanna and her crew, including Corbus Tyra, are attempting to recover the Falcon so they can get that million-credit urn. It’s actually a very well-thought-out plan, considering the Falcon is being held at the Imperial Impound Facility. Regardless, things don’t necessarily go their way.

Wookies Need Their Exercise

It’s very tricky to expand the stories on legacy characters. We know what we know about them from the movies, very specifically these characters that have been with us since 1977, and it’s hard to accept additional chapters of their story. There’s always a chance you alienate your audience. Han Solo & Chewbacca #6 (and the series thus far) avoids that. Despite the title of the book, these feel like new chapters of Han Solo’s story.

Marc Guggenheim does a wonderful job on Han Solo & Chewbacca #6 (again, and the series thus far). This particular issue seems nearly flawless and tied the sequel trilogy into the story in a natural way. In the first issue or two, Guggenheim had some eye-rolling moments of dialogue, but since then it’s been pretty great. And while it’s hard to nail the voice of legacy characters, I love all the secondary characters he’s brought into this story. Furthermore, the way this story ties in both the sequel trilogy and the original trilogy is quite remarkable.

Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca. Image courtesy StarWars.com

While the characters in Han Solo & Chewbacca #6 (and the series) look like comic book characters, David Messina and Paul Fry do capture the essence of some of the characters we’ve seen on the big screen before, specifically Max Katana. The weakest work in this issue, which is a shame because of how much he’s featured, is Chewie. He just looks a little off. That said, Messina and Fry make this feel like Star Wars, though that’s only enhanced by the one and only Alex Sinclair on colors. When it needs to be bright and colorful, the pages are. When it needs to be a bit more dull and dreary, like in the Impound scenes, the pages are.

Conclusion

Han Solo & Chewbacca #6 is another great issue in this limited series. This issue specifically ties in with the sequel trilogy, but the series has added to Han Solo’s story by expanding upon what we know of the smuggler in the original trilogy. If you’re a fan of Han Solo, you need to be reading Han Solo & Chewbacca (though, fans of Chewie will specifically love issue 6)!

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What did you think of the latest issue of Marvel’s Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca? Let us know in the comments below and stick with Dork Side of the Force for more Star Wars news and reviews!

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