Han Solo & Chewbacca #4 is both a semi-silent, action-packed romp seen through the eyes of Chewbacca and a quippy action romp featuring Chewbacca and Han Solo’s (apparent) biological father going on a rescue mission to rescue Han. It’s a decent story with some great dialogue that moves the story along, but the art is mediocre, resulting in an altogether disappointing package.
Han Solo & Chewbacca #4
VC’s Joe Caramagna (Letters); Marc Guggenheim (Writer); Nic Klein (Cover); Javier Garron and Jesus Arburtov (Cover); David Messina (Art); Phil Noto (Cover); Alex Sinclair (Cover); Chris Sprouse, Karl Story & Neeraj Menon (Cover)
Marvel Comics
July 20, 2022
Han Solo & Chewbacca #4 is all Chewie, all the time. If you’ve ever seen The Star Wars Holiday Special and spent a full five minutes listening to Wookiees howl and moan at one another, this might seem like a nightmare. But thanks to some particularly compelling lettering from VC’s Joe Caramagna, being alone with Chewbacca as he tries to get his best friend back isn’t the worst experience imaginable.
For those who haven’t followed the series from its epoch, Han Solo & Chewbacca is a pre-A New Hope adventure in which Han and Chewy agree to retrieve the ashes of Jabba The Hutt’s greatest rival from the planet of Antillion. Along the way, they receive aid from a man claiming to be Han’s father — Jonash Solo, a member of the Corellian royal family. In the previous issue, Han was kidnapped by Krrsantan, a Wookie bounty hunter.
The first chunk of the issue follows Chewie’s attempt at stopping Krrstan from absconding with the urn and Han — he’s unsuccessful but quickly manages to get a tracker on the ship. Following inside the Falcon with Jonash in tow, Chewbacca and the elder Solo head to Mollo Tanka, a jungle-like planetoid with lush forestation. Here, Chewbacca will test his mettle against Krrsantan’s allies in a quest to save Han and reclaim the ashes.
If you love Chewbacca, then this is the issue for you. Strong, dependable, and capable, the whole comic hinges on him being a likable pivotal character and in that respect, he comes through in spades. His rapport with Jonash is fun, but there isn’t much on-page time devoted to it, as Jonash spends most of the issue unconscious after taking a blaster hit. Things pick up after the mid-way point when Chewbacca locates his best pal. When Han takes center stage, Guggenheim’s work shines; he’s terrific here – full of dry wit and affection for his old pal.
Messina’s art, however, is only all right; everyone looks as on-model as possible, but only a few panels, like Chewbacca’s multiple battles with Krrsantan, really pop out and catch the eye. There’s a flatness to everything, a lack of life, even though it’s fairly visually appealing. As I said above, the lettering — with its sharp-edged sound effects, done up in red or pitch black — is what stands out here. Caramagna’s work is extremely effective in how it uses color, font shapes, word placement, and bubble shapes to draw the reader’s eye and keep them fully engaged with the story. It’s his work that’s the issue’s true stand-out.
Han Solo & Chewbacca #4 ends on a cliffhanger. While I don’t recommend keeping this one at the top of your Star Wars-related pull list, I’m just intrigued enough by Han and Chewie’s death-defying adventure that I want to find out what happens to them next.
