Han Solo & Chewbacca #5
THE CRYSTAL RUN, Part 5
It is a golden age of criminal enterprise. With the evil GALACTIC EMPIRE preoccupied with bringing the galaxy under its thumb, scoundrels and thieves are free to ply their illegal trade with abandon.
The vile gangster Jabba the Hutt has hired Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Greedo to steal an urn containing the ashes of his archrival.
But now both the urn and the man claiming to be Han’s father are missing—along with the ”MILLENNIUM FALCON”— with Graves’ security detail and the bounty hunter Krrsantan closing in…
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: David Messina
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Cover artist: Phil Noto
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: August 10, 2022
So, what would you do if you’re facing down Krrsantan as he rages towards you at full speed, blood up and ready to tear limbs? Probably what Han Solo does, pray for divine intervention, which comes in the form of a Corellian freighter as it swoops up and lays down a hail of fire, giving Solo and Chewie chance to step on board. There they find T’onga, Akoo, Khel Tanna, and Ooris Bynar waiting for him, none too happy, as is Greedo who connects a solid punch to the smugglers jawline for abandoning him on Corellia. They’re all after the urn, which Solo reveals is on Antillion, and promises to take them once he’s found his Dad and the Falcon. However, their insistence – at gunpoint – changes his mind, and to Antillion it is.
The urn is gone, and Solo realises his ‘Dad’ has it, and the Falcon, and that he’s likely been duped. Luckily, he planted a tracker on him and we swing to Lakar, where Solo Senior is being abducted by the bounty hunter Vancto, who was given information by Bib Fortuna regarding the con on Solo and the elder Solo’s real identity of Corbus Tyra. The tracker reveals where he is, and where he’s been taken; Paqualis II in the Inner Rim.
Solo, Khel Tanna and her crew arrive in the freighter, diving into action as Vancto fires back, Tyra trying to run before Solo lights up the advancing security officers and Chewie hurls down a thermal detonator, throwing Vancto off the platform as Tyra joins Chewie and the team in battling back. A perfect plan, if not for Vancto grabbing the lip of the platform and blasting Chewie as the rest of the team leap aboard the freighter, with absolutely no intention of rescuing the wookiee. Solo isn’t too pleased with that, and won’t be any happier when he wakes up after being shot by Greedo, while Chewie is sent into detention on the prison planet of Gulhadar, where Ponda Baba and Doctor Evazan are being held and we end with Chewie being greeted by Maz Kanata.
Yes, the galaxy clearly only contains 1000 people, but still this is kinetic, busy fun as Marc Guggenheim delivers a snappy tale powered by crisp artwork by David Messina and Alex Sinclair. We’re halfway through this 10 issue series, and while it’s not going to shake the galaxy to its foundations, it’s exactly the kind of fast-paced action adventure Han Solo and Chewbacca should be having in the pages of comics and novels, detailing why he has the reputation he does and giving us a tour of the galaxy that barely pauses for breath.
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