CREDIT: Marvel
Rating: 4/5 – “HRAAAAAAA!!” * (This Book is Good)
By ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
It seems as though the comic stands are packed with Star Wars books right now, and judging by the sales numbers, Marvel is smart to keep creating them. Last month Marvel had three of the Top ten books including the best selling book of the month, the first issue of Star Wars: Shattered Empire and the worst selling Star Wars title is still strong enough to crack the top twenty. Marvel is putting some of comics top talents on these books and the first issue of Chewbacca is no exception with art by the ultra talented Phil Noto.
The first scene we see Chewbacca in is in a full page splash of him laying down in a bed of flowers, hands behind his head, and with the slightest of smiles on his lips. It’s a beautiful page as Noto shows the lighter side of the imposing and powerful Wookiee. The colors drew me in as the light brown fur contrasted nicely with the pinkish hues of the flowers. Of course this book isn’t filled with panels of Chewbacca lying around. Prior to that scene we’re introduced to Zarro, a young girl who, along with her father, are forced into slavery. Eventually Zarro runs into Chewbacca who takes on the mission of saving her, and stopping the forced slavery which kicks off plenty of action and adventure.
Writer Gerry Duggan is able to effectively write a character without any dialogue except for “Hrraaas” and “Wraaaas”. Unlike Marvel’s other non-speaking star, Groot, Noto has to rely less on a cartoony art style and more on subtle facial expressions, and for the most part it works. There are a couple scenes that come off a little stiff, but Noto is able to effectively animate Duggan’s script. Since this is only a mini-series, reading about a character who has to be translated won’t be an on-going chore. Duggan and Noto have introduced a solid story with two characters that seem to play nicely off of each other. Chewbacca is another example of the quality in Marvel’s Star Wars line-up of comics and so far, they’ve yet to miss the mark with me.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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