In Review: Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca (2022-) #9

Synopsis: Han and Chewie and pretty much everyone else has a question. What’s inside the urn that Jabba the Hutt wants so badly? Hint: It’s not ashes.

The Story

Having recovered the urn from Coruscant Han, Thaedra, and Chewie find that its contents do not contain ashes, but instead something entirely different. In order to learn what it is they head to Nar Shadda also known as The Smugglers Moon where Han seeks information from an Ugnaut acquaintance of Lando Calrissian’s. Elsewhere, Marshall Vancto and Han’s father are concocting a plan to capture the smuggler so Vancto can bring him in.

The Artwork

 David Messina gets a fair bit to do in this issue as the story rapidly moves forward from last month. We get two locations, a flashback sequence, and some nice interior work for the Millenium Falcon. The opening sequence where the gang escapes from Coruscant is a bit of a thrill ride. But it’s only the beginning. The real fun begins when the group goes to Han’s Ugnaut acquaintance where they learn that the contents of the urn happen to be the Naural Core of revolutionary Droid Leader Ajax Sigma who has already been mentioned and seen in the Hidden Empire series. The panels where we see Ajax in flashbacks are really good. And we even get a fun nod to L3-37 from Solo: A Star Wars Story. 

Overall

This was a solid issue, which sees the story building towards an exciting conclusion. The use of Ajax Sigma throws an interesting twist in the plot as it may well tie into the Hidden Empire series. I also love how Marshall Vancto and Han’s father are working together as we all know that the arrangement they have isn’t likely to end well.

I look forward to seeing how all of this will play out in the next issue.