CHEWBACCA (2015) #1
Written by GERRY DUGGAN
Art by PHIL NOTO

 
Following the harrowing events of the Battle of Yavin, our hero Chewbacca is off on a secret personal mission. However, it appears as though the loaner A-Wing he’s using is a hunk of junk. He gets stranded on the remote Andelm-4, where he doesn’t have the money for the spare parts he needs. Along the way he gets tangled up with a young girl in need.

We don’t even have to know what his secret mission is. Chewbacca is tasked with delivering a mysterious package to someone somewhere, but that’s totally just the setup to another fix with the Empire. It’s the brutish, kind love he shows all deserving that makes this so enjoyable. That and the fact that Chewbacca is a character that uses no conventional means of communication. He just does a lot of… “HRRRAAAAGGR.”

The feisty Zarro is a young native to Andelm-4 (which could be a planet or moon), and her father Arrax owes the wrong people a lot of credits – namely Jaum, a helmeted gangster who’s greased enough pockets to get away with everything. They get thrown into forced labor camps where they mine high quality Dedlanite for some sinister purpose. However, Zarro escapes. While on the run, she crosses paths with our favorite wookiee.

Already this is proving to be one helluva fun read. Gerry Duggan knows his Star Wars, especially Chewbacca, making the character’s rough, guttural outbursts feel warm, enthusiastic, and kind of cuddly. There’s a few funny Sabacc references to note also.

I’m not sure how Phil Noto did it, but the art is stunning. The hard lines merge with the soft color palette to a degree that makes the pieces highly dynamic. The pages pop. The colors feel wholly new to Star Wars, and yet right at home. Andelm-4 is, after all, a new setting which has previously gone unexplored. And I cannot wait to see how the story develops.

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