Han Solo & Chewbacca #6 - Comic Review

Han Solo & Chewbacca #5 saw the BFF’s take another step backward in obtaining Jabba the Hutt’s bounty. To make matters worse, the Benelex Marshal Service fought back leaving Solo with a blaster bolt in the chest and Chewie being led to prison. To say things look dire would be an understatement, however, Chewie isn’t without allies on the prison planet of Gulhadar. For reasons unknown (at least for now), Maz Kanata is also a prisoner and between her and a friendly new inmate, a Pantoran named Phaedra, they (literally) fight for survival as a team. Phaedra has an escape plan that might be crazy enough to work. Meanwhile Khel’s crew is on a mission of their own to hunt down the Millennium Falcon and with it, the urn everyone has their eye on. Cue classic Star Wars trope of impersonating Imperial officers, but will their plan actually work? The end of Han Solo & Chewbacca #6 takes us to the planet Escalan where a familiar face has washed ashore.

Writer Marc Guggenheim has numerous balls to juggle in Han Solo & Chewbacca #6. After what went down in the previous issue, the cast of characters are scattered, which makes for a great tension-filled story. With so many plotlines going on at once, there is potential for things to get muddled, but Guggenheim wisely keeps all things in balance; progressing the story forward while keeping the dramatic tension at appropriate levels. Issue #6’s title, Dead or Alive Part I, implies that this portion of the story has just begun, and come issue’s end there are a number of plot elements that definitely need to be addressed in future issues. The introduction of new character Phaedra is particularly interesting—I hope we get to see more of her backstory and that she becomes a regular character in the Star Wars universe. That being said, I can’t help but hope this particular storyline gets wrapped up somewhat soon. I’m all for a twisty tale but keeping readers coming back issue after issue without resolution can grow tiresome over time.

The visuals in Han Solo & Chewbacca #6 remain top-notch. Artists David Messina and Paul Fry, colorist Alex Sinclar and letterer Joe Caramagna show their range across no less than 3 planets, with numerous new alien races introduced, all while making sure each storybeat lands. They are more than successful and continue to make the visuals one of the standout elements of the title. Plus, Phil Noto’s cover featuring a caged Chewbacca will entice readers to what’s inside while drawing their sympathy for the beloved Wookiee. This issue gets a Choose Your Destiny variant featuring Mace Windu from artists Chris Sprouse, Karl Story and Rachelle Rosenberg, as well as another variant by David Nakayama, which is cool for its depiction of Han and Chewie, but slightly non-story related for issue #6.

The tension continues to rise, and it’s really anyone’s guess how everything will shake out for our two heroic scoundrels. Han Solo & Chewbacca #6 is on sale now!