The bad news is, there’s already a contradiction in the first two pages of this digest - the timeline page claims this story takes place one year before the battle of Yavin, and then the text on the first page of the comic itself states this is two years before that same battle. The good news is, that’s about the only thing which bothered me about this enjoyable romp featuring Han and Chewie. If you’d like to learn more, click on the link for the full spoiler review.

Things start out bad for Han and Chewie - a deal gone south in a string of deals that haven’t worked out the way Han had planned. Chewie is unhappy with the situation, and Han is wondering if they should take a break from being partners. But before they can discuss it further, a crime lord named Solly whom Han owes money comes calling. He needs a droid recovered, and he’s not going to take no for an answer. The droid has been captured by the Imperials, and since it has a record of all his syndicate activities on it, he can’t afford for the Imperials to break into its memory.

And to ensure Han goes through with this request, Solly is going to keep Chewie his captive at his base in the Hollow Moon of Khorya. Han meanwhile is partnered up with another man in Solly’s employ, Billal - who knows Han from growing up together in Shrike’s Home for Wayward Boys. Billal is trouble and Han knows it; even so they find a way to work together, though it’s amusing to see how many times he’s willing to sell out the people he’s working with or for. First Billal’s the one responsible for giving the driod to the Imperials in the first place, then he destroys the droid, then he betrays Han to the Imps. But in an ironic twist, the Imperials turn around and offer these two smugglers the chance to stay out of a jail cell by infiltrating Solly’s hollow moon and bringing down the crime lord’s defense grid.

Meanwhile Chewie has been fighting in gladiator games at Khorya, under the name Chokk. He’s defeated the greatest warrior in the arena, and is now being heaped with rewards - a life of luxury he’s never known before. But the rest of the gladiators warn him, one day he will lose and it’ll all go away - and he sees how poorly the rest of them are treated. Chewie winds up leading a revolution just as Han and Billal return - making for a great climax to a very enjoyable story.

The art was a nice style, a little anime-ish but not too over the top. The story was very enjoyable, even if there were a few minor bumps. I didn’t buy the whole ‘Billal and Han are like brothers’ idea the story tried to push - I’ve never heard of this guy before and he’s supposed to be like a brother to Han? I also think it’s too bad Chewie didn’t use the name Snoova - it would have been a nice connection to Shadows of the Empire. But overall, I liked where the story went - a little unpredictable, with nice character moments and a good solid ending. If you like adventures featuring Han and Chewie, you can’t go wrong with this one.