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Star Wars Adventures: Smuggler’s Run #1 is a comic book adaptation of Greg Rucka’s 2015 novel Smuggler’s Run: A Han Solo Adventure. The comic is published by IDW and is adapted by Alec Worley with art by Ingo Röming and letters by Amauri Osorio.
Han Solo and Chewbacca are tasked by Princess Leia to recover a Rebel asset and smuggle him out from under the eyes of the Empire and Jabba the Hutt. It takes place in the early days of the rebellion when Han is still more interested in credits than anything else, but like any story of this sort, of which there are many, Han’s heart of gold simply cannot help eeking through as he accepts the mission and does his darnedest to evade Imperial Commander Beck and Jabba’s goons.
The characters we know act just the way we know them: Han selfish but well-meaning and Chewbacca as loyal as ever. Meanwhile, Commander Beck may not stand out as unique in the gallery of Imperial meanies—save for the imposing cybernetic eye she sports. She does, however, serve her purpose well of menacing, aggravating, and being entirely cruel. One new character does somewhat stand out, Delia Leighton, an old friend of Han’s who helps him in a pinch. But, this could be just because she is the only brightly colored drawing in the whole comic.
The whole of Smuggler’s Run #1 is very grimly colored. No matter the locale, save for a single hideaway towards the end, it is muddy and murky. To be fair, the planet our heroes find themselves on is covered in unbreathable gas. But with so much brown and grey, it’s not the prettiest to look at for most of its pages.
The characters are nice to look at, though and the movement in the action sequences is well-portrayed. Han is styled in a way that makes him look maybe a bit younger than he is, or to closer resembler Alden Ehrenreich than Harrison Ford, but it’s not a problem by any means. Chewie and Leia are also a bit stylized, but ultimately look alright. The design of Commander Beck is quite imposing though, despite her not standing out very strongly as a new character.
The lettering in Smuggler’s Run #1 is also slightly stylized in a way worth just mentioning. The letters all have a tilt to them, which doesn’t look bad, but it also doesn’t strike me as particularly Star Wars-esque or anything. It’s definitely a choice, although I am unsure whether it is affecting or not.
Star Wars Adventures: Smuggler’s Run is nothing special. This type of Han Solo story feels like it has been told repeatedly in recent years, and while this is an adaptation of a 2015 novel, it’s not this aspect that causes the story to feel trite. For what this issue does deliver, the story is decent, and the heroes and villains are well-characterized. But, if you are looking for just one Star Wars story to read among the many options, the mainline ongoing series may be a better choice.
Star Wars Adventures: Smuggler’s Run is available wherever comics are sold.
Jason is the Sr. Editor at But Why Tho? and producer of the But Why Tho? Podcast. He’s usually writing about foreign films, Jewish media, and summer camp, when he isn’t working as a music educator in his day job.