Chewbacca #1 Review

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HRRAAAA! HRUUNGH! HRRRAAARRARGHHR!

Warning: The article contains spoilers for Chewbacca #1.

Chewbacca #1

Writer: Gerry Duggan | Artist: Phil Noto | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

I always thought it was Chewbacca that rubbed off on Han Solo. After all, it is apparent from the movies that on some level, Chewbacca was a check for the scoundrel’s conscience. However, after reading issue one of Chewbacca, it appears that maybe Han Solo influenced his big hairy friend as well. Everyone’s favorite wookiee has embarked on an important and personal secret mission somewhere in the Outer Rim, after experiencing trouble with his fighter craft, he awakens on a planet to discover he doesn’t have the parts necessary to repair his ship. Fortunately, he is near civilization, but unfortunately, he doesn’t have enough money to buy the parts he needs. Like any good scoundrel (he does qualify after hanging around Han Solo all these years) he manages to win the credits he needs by playing Sabacc. However, he is still a wookiee with a heart of gold, and he can’t help but offer assistance to a young lady pursued by thugs.

When I mentioned that Han Solo had rubbed off on Chewie, that probably wasn’t entirely accurate. The opening crawl for this issue makes it clear that Chewbacca has an important personal mission. He has somewhere to be. So, when Zarro, the young lady, pleads for his help, it is understandable that Chewbacca may be reluctant. Unlike Han, who simply didn’t want to get involved with the Rebellion against the Empire, Chewbacca has a mission. We don’t know yet what that mission is, but it is clearly important to Chewie.

Actually, what exactly Chewis is thinking is hard to say. He has dialogue in this comic. However, if you have seen any of the Star Wars movies, then you are familiar with what that dialogue is. Simply put, it is all some variation of “HRRAAAA!” “HRUUNGH!” or HRRRAAARRARGHHR!” Fortunately, Phil Noto has provided plenty of spectacular art to provide context.

Zarro’s father had managed to get in over his head by going into debt with a local crime boss name Jaum. The debt was tied to Imperial credits, which have been devalued somewhat since the destruction of the Death Star. Although, Zarro and her father weren’t quite sent to the Spice Mines of Kessel, they were sent to the Andelm Beetle Caverns, which are not one amongst the garden spots of the galaxy. Arrax, Zarro’s father, manages to provide an escape for Zarro and demands that she never return home or to the mines. He doesn’t want her to share his fate.

This is a fun book. So far, it doesn’t tell the larger story that Princess Leia or Lando, the two mini-seriesthat preceded it, did. The themes of dealing with slavery and the little guy confronting the long odds are front and center int his book. It was somewhat surprising and amusing to find out that Chewbacca can apparently fit in an A-Wing. On top of that, he somehow managed to crash one as well. There are plenty of stories and twists available for this book. The Imperials arrive in the end and negotiate with Juam to acquire large quantities of Dedlanite for an unknown purpose. The nature of Chewbacca’s mission is still a mystery, but he’ll have plenty of obstacles to deal with along the way to completing that mission.

A few fun items: translated, the Aurabesh on Zarro’s shirt on the cover says “Trouble.” It looks like some of the letters on the shirt are either upside down or backwards inside the book. The message that alarms and awakens Chewbacca says “Engine Failure.”

Favorite Panel:

Phil Noto’s work is quite fun in this issue. There are a lot of great panels. I rather enjoyed seeing Chewbacca wander around the city and it is fun watching Zarro plead with Chewbacca until he just can’t take it anymore and agrees to help. Therefore, I selected one of those panels for this week’s favorite panel.