‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Chewbacca’ (2000) (Comic book review)

Although the propaganda in conjunction with Disney’s “Star Wars” reboot would have us believe that the Expanded Universe was licensed fan fiction, the reality is that readers saw EU stories as being the true continuation of the saga. As such, we were hit hard by the death of Chewbacca – which was approved by George Lucas – in the 1999 novel “The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime.”

As a eulogy for the beloved Wookiee, Dark Horse released the four-issue “Chewbacca” (2000), featuring 10 reminiscences from Chewie’s friends as told to R2-D2 and C-3PO, who record the interviews. While the quality of Darko Macan’s stories (as illustrated by a variety of artists) varies from bad to mediocre to good, the overall product effectively captures the universal truisms of grief.

Macan doesn’t pull any punches or sugarcoat anything. In Han’s tale, Han’s last words are:

“(Jaina) made a drawing for him that day. ‘I love you, Chewie.’ I should have told him that myself! He saved my children! He was always there for them. He died for them! And I never told him.”

Earlier in the story, the droids come upon Han fixing something on the Falcon and talking to Chewie, having momentarily forgotten his best friend was dead.

In Leia’s tale, Han’s wife regrets her feelings of jealousy over Chewie having a piece of Han that she didn’t have access to. Luke’s tale, meanwhile, tells of the fateful Sernpidal events (which Luke felt through the Force) that led to Chewie’s death and ends with Rafael Kayanan’s evocative panel of Han slumped over the back of the Falcon’s empty copilot chair, a tear falling down his cheek.

For continuity buffs, Issue 2 is notable, as it finally tells the story of Han and Chewie’s first meeting, something that Lucas declared off-limits even to A.C. Crispin, who penned the “Han Solo Trilogy” a few years before this. Unfortunately, Macan’s yarn isn’t very deep. Imperial Lieutenant Solo is ordered by his superior, Nyklas, to kill any Wookiees he finds on a derelict ship, and Han chooses not to. Han’s defection and friendship with Chewie are implied, but I would’ve liked this yarn to be more detailed.

The visuals are a highlight throughout “Chewbacca,” because we get to see planets and characters not often portrayed in the comics. Most notably, we see Jacen, Jaina, Anakin and a Yuuzhan Vong, characters who were generally the exclusive realm of Del Rey Books up until the “Invasion” comic series in 2009. Also, it’s neat to see the lush planet of Kashyyyk portrayed in tales of Malla’s first impressions of her future husband (something that was further chronicled in Crispin’s trilogy) and Chewie’s fight with a vicious rival suitor, a rare albino Wookiee. In the fight, the Wookiee falls all the way down to the dark surface of Kashyyyk, “down where having white fur is not a good idea.”

My favorite entry is “A Slaver’s Lot,” where an old Trandoshan slaver explains that enslaved Wookiees were easy to control since there was so much inter-clan feuding among them. Chewbacca unites them and leads a revolt:

“I’m not a coward,” Chewie says (translated from Shyriiwook). “I would gladly fight each one of you, but I won’t do it here! I’ll do it on Kashyyyk, where my bones will join those of my ancestors, where my fur won’t make a Trandoshan slaver rich!”

Artist Jan Duursema provides the visual punchline, as we realize that Chewie had ripped off all four of the Trandoshan’s limbs — they grew back, but are now just spindly stubs.

“Chewbacca” is a nice tribute to a beloved character, and easier to digest than the several books of a grieving, angry Han in the first half of the “New Jedi Order” series. (There were also plenty of great things about the “NJO,” and I look forward to re-reading the series at some point.) I suppose it’s possible that the “reality” of Chewie’s death will fade when we see him alive and well in Disney’s “Episode VII” in 2015. But I think it will always pack a genuine punch because Macan, the artists and the “New Jedi Order” writers put so much care into doing justice to Chewbacca’s death and life.