Han Solo & Chewbacca #7
DEAD OR ALIVE, PART II
It is a dark time for CHEWBACCA THE WOOKIEE. His ship, the ”MILLENNIUM FALCON”, is missing and he has been sentenced to death on the prison planet of GULHADAR.
Fortunately, Chewbacca has found allies on the prison world: the pirate queen MAZ KANATA and a mysterious and resourceful girl named PHAEDRA, who has devised a bold yet dangerous plan to escape.
Meanwhile, Chewbacca’s partner, HAN SOLO, has surfaced on the primitive Outer Rim world Escalon after being fatally wounded….
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: Paul Fry
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Cover artist: Phil Noto
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: November, 16, 2022
So, the opening question of this seventh issue of Han Solo & Chewbacca is; what do you do if you’re a Rodian bounty hunter who thinks he’s killed Han Solo, only to find there’s still a pulse? You might imagine said Rodian would try to finish him off (he does) but instead, the critically injured Corellian is dumped on an out of the way planet, his memory fuzzy and his mojo gone. In fact, with the thick beard you could be forgiven for not realising it’s Solo; even Han doesn’t appear to realise he’s Solo for a while, not until on his way out of a bar he chances upon a holovid of Chewie being prepared for execution.
We swing across the galaxy to the prison planet of Gulhadar where Chewie, Maz Kanata and their prison mate Phaedra are together concocting a plan that involves Chewie taking homemade pills made of cleaning chemicals, all designed to cause a distraction, but one that works so well it leaves Chewie comatose and on the brink of death. Back to Han, who manages to talk his way into catching a lift on a merchant ship before hijacking it as we’re back on Gulhadar and the criminals Ponda Baba and Doctor Evazan as they’re about to be executed, but not before Maz enters and frees them while Phaedra takes care of the guards and finds Chewie who has now groggily come round. The three of them – Chewie, Phaedra and Maz – reunite, only to be boxed in by the guards before Solo arrives in his stolen vessel and carries out a jailbreak.
We end in the most classic of Star Wars styles, as Maz returns to Takodana and Han and Chewie head to Tatooine to find Greedo in Chalmuns cantina, which gives us the delicious view of the enraged Wookiee hauling the terrified Rodian off his feet while Han asks ‘Where is the Falcon?‘
This title has eased its way into becoming a very enjoyable read. With the duo of Han and Chewie a pull for many readers, the 12 issue maxi-series got off to an enjoyable enough start, but the last couple of issues have really seen it hit its stride with interesting concepts and great ‘performances‘ from our leading men. The art by Paul Fry is engaging, the colours from Alex Sinclair adding depth and flair to that art while writer Marc Guggenheim nails the characters. It’s a shame the series is ‘only’ twelve issues – on this form, the stories of Han and Chewie deserve to become an ongoing monthly trip into the underworld of the Star Wars galaxy.
