Review: Star Wars- Chewbacca (2015)
Quick Summary
Pros: Chewbacca is as fun as readers would expect him to be. The artwork looks good throughout the collection.
Cons: The supporting characters are pretty lackluster. This negatively affects Chewbacca’s communication with the reader. The villain is generic and forgettable.
Overall: Though not necessarily a bad book, this volume does not have much going for it either. It relies heavily on Chewbacca’s ability to bring fun and charm, which works in most places. However, a subpar supporting cast and some generic storytelling significantly dampens this experience. Fans who really love Chewbacca and want more from him may enjoy this but those looking for a more unique story should look elsewhere.
Story
Star Wars: Chewbacca, by Gerry Duggan, is a moderately entertaining story about Chewbacca rescuing a planet from the influence of an evil man. Unfortunately, a lackluster supporting cast has a deep negative impact on the story as a whole. It makes it hard for Chewie to shine, which makes the volume less fun. There are still plenty of moments where Chewbacca has classic opportunities to shine. However, with these moments being the collection’s singular major highlight, it might not be enough for the majority of readers.
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The volume begins with Chewbacca waking up from a crash landing on an unfamiliar planet. Soon after gathering his wits, he becomes embroiled in a slave uprising thanks to Zarro, an escaped slave who wants to save the rest of her people. A short while later, Chewbacca is fighting villains and facing fears in order to free the entire planet.
This premise leads to some stereotypically fun moments from Chewbacca himself. These moments range from seeing him physically overpower any and all enemies to seeing him show the bravery and adherence to justice that readers know him for. The highlight here occurs after Chewbacca and Zarro succeed in their mission and Chewie gives Zarro the medal he won back when he helped destroy the Death Star.
Though Chewbacca is great throughout the volume, the other characters are nowhere near as interesting. Zarro is the only minor character who receives any sort of character development, yet it is nowhere near enough to make her an interesting lead. Even the villain ends up being incredibly generic and does nothing to distinguish himself from fictional slavemasters in numerous other stories.
While a lackluster supporting cast would be only a minor flaw in other comics, it is a critical error in this one. Chewbacca’s nonverbal nature necessitates heavy amounts of dialogue and exposition from other characters. However, when those characters don’t stand well on their own, it has a large impact on the quality of the storytelling. The story occasionally uses flashbacks to get around this but the flashbacks happen far too infrequently to provide much help. In the end, this has a significant negative impact on the story as a whole.
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Art
One of the collection’s most noticeable positives has to be the artwork. Phil Noto presents Chewbacca, and the unfamiliar planet upon which he has adventures, with a great deal of skill. The stylized take on the Wookie warrior instantly sets him apart from the background and allows him to stand out on every page he inhabits. In addition, a wonderful array of colors give the book some visual variety and give this new world some visual beauty. Overall, this is a good looking book that highlights Chewbacca in a way fans are sure to appreciate.
Continuity
Star Wars: Chewbacca takes place sometime after Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope. However, this book’s ties to the movie are extremely thin and only amount to a few quick references.