Long before he was Han’s trusted sidekick, Chewbacca was a frustrated teenager who had to learn some lessons about growing up.
What They Say:
Journey back nearly two hundred years before the events in A New Hope as Chewbacca relates a story from his youth on Kashyyyk! Determined to prove themselves eligible for the rites of adulthood, Chewie and his young friends venture into the perilous Shadowlands in search of adventure. But they find far more than they bargained for when they stumble upon slavers plotting a raid on the Wookiee village. The accidental encounter becomes one of Chewie’s most formative experiences – one he wishes hadn’t happened at all!
The Review:
This graphic novel is listed as “juvenile”, and intended for younger readers. With that in mind, I also solicited the opinion of my nine year old son, and included some of his thoughts in the review.
The story begins six months after the Battle of Yavin. Han, Leia, and Chewbacca are riding in the Millennium Falcon delivering supplies for the rebellion. Han behaves recklessly, which angers Chewbacca and prompts him to share a story from his childhood to explain why he is so careful in protecting his friends. The setup is short, and a little forced, as we are directly told the lesson we are expected to learn from Chewbacca’s tale. This didn’t appear to bother my young reader, though, as he just plunged right into the tale.
We flashback – It is 185 years before the Battle of Yavin, on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is on the cusp of adulthood and frustrated with the adults who haven’t yet allowed him to participate in the Hrrtayyk, the Wookiee coming of age ceremony. To prove that he is no longer a child, he leads his companions into the Shadowlands, a forbidden area. His rash decision puts his friends in jeopardy when they come across a trio of slavers.
The story, overall, is one of action and brash youth, appropriate for the target audience. We see Chewie first with his tools in hand, a reminder of the technical expertise he’ll show with Han in later life. Chewbacca leads his friends into danger, but shows courage and fighting ability as he takes on giant snakes and the slavers in the Shadowlands. The pacing of the story is quick, with lots of action sequences.
I had some trouble with Chewbacca’s reasoning for heading into the Shadowlands, though. He wants to convince the elders that he is ready to be considered an adult, so he heads into a forbidden area, with his friends and two “pups” in tow? He didn’t have a quest, or a goal, he just wanted to do something he wasn’t allowed to do. In fairness, adolescents don’t always have a fabulous reason for many of their rash choices, but it still seemed like they could have given him a slightly better reason for taking his friends into that dangerous area.
The art is beautiful. The overall style was muted, but with a gentle glow to the backgrounds and characters. I loved the tiny details in the Shadowlands, with things like the mushrooms, flying fish-like creatures, and small reptiles. When an enormous snake jumps out at Chewbacca, the fangs are downright frightening. The slavers were also well drawn, and a close-up of the female slaver – Nishrah’s- face is one of my favorite panels. The images carried most of the weight in the Shadowlands, as there were numerous fighting sequences. My son, as a devoted comic book reader, gave them a huge “thumbs up”. I found that I needed to go back over the pictures a few times to be sure I understood the events, but I’m still new to the graphic novel format. I also had some difficulty with keeping the Wookiee’s names straight, with names like Saarcheen and Barraak. The artist did a great job differentiating the characters, though, with the three larger Wookiees having distinctly different head fur styles.
By the end of the story, Chewbacca has learned his lessons about risking his friends through rash decisions, acting like an adult, and showing courage and honor. His friend Ralrra also managed to warn the village of the slavers and bring help in time to save them all. While I felt the lessons are laid out for the reader a bit too directly, they are still lessons I’d be happy for my son to learn from the story.
In Summary:
I adore Star Wars, and love the character of Chewbacca. I feel like he is an old friend, and I enjoyed getting a small peek into his childhood. You don’t need to be an avid Star Wars fan, though, to like or understand the story. It could be a good way to hook younger readers into some of the characters that make up the larger Star Wars world. I did have to continually remind myself as I read that this story was designed to capture the attention of a younger audience. Some of the lessons were delivered in a heavy handed style, but the story was solid and entertaining. The dialogue was simple, but the action scenes were what really carried the plot forward, and they were well drawn and powerful.
I enjoyed the artistic style of the book. With the muted colors, and all of the images having a gentle glow to them, it made the story feel like a memory. I loved the way the Wookiees were drawn, with the young ones and their big eyes being downright adorable. The extra wildlife on Kashyyyk was magical in feel, and added a nice layer of fantasy to the scenes. My favorite touches were with the hair of the various characters. The Wookiees had distinct fur styles that were well drawn, and Nishrah the slaver’s hair always surrounded her beautifully.
Overall, for the target audience, it was a solid story with a positive message. I enjoyed reading it. My son read it multiple times, and found it highly enjoyable. This is a fun graphic novel for kids who want to learn a bit more about the childhood of a beloved character from the Star Wars universe.
Grade: B
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