Review by Ian Keogh

To sum up: Han and Chewie are attempting to retrieve an urn for Jabba the Hutt, who’ll pay a lot for it. However, they’re not the only ones looking for the urn, and at the end of Part One Han was apparently killed, and Chewbacca was in a tough prison.

Marc Guggenheim spends time with the latter over the opening chapter here, but drags out the possible mystery of Han’s death. The problem with that is only youngest readers, and few of them are likely to be drawn to a Han Solo graphic novel, are going to believe he’s actually dead in the first place. The same sort of transparently false chapter ending cliffhanger was used more than once in the first volume, and a writer of Guggenheim’s stature ought to be capable of better. So, Han’s not dead, but unseen for one of the five chapters in which he has title billing.

As seen by the piercing portrait of Peter Cushing, David Messina’s art is every bit as accomplished as it was on the opening volume, and his action scenes match the quieter moments. Once again, he’s lavish with the details on the technology from the armour to the spacecraft, and the characters he designs are distinctive. This time round he’s not responsible for drawing the entire book, as Paul Fry supplies the second chapter. Had Fry drawn the story from the start there’d be no complaints, as his style is different, but also provides everything needed. It’s just not at the same level as Messina, though.

After two chapters reuniting the cast, Guggenheim once again turns their attention to the urn, missing since the end of the previous volume. It’s retrieval will be no less complicated after the reset, not least because Han doesn’t know there are others on his trail. Misgivings about cheap cliffhangers apart, Guggenheim and Medina keep the complications coming and the pitfalls massive, while giving Han’s fly by the seat of his pants character a good outing, and Chewbacca plenty of worthwhile opponents along the way.

The resolution is tidy, and over two volumes The Crystal Run should appeal to anyone who’s enjoyed Han and Chewbacca’s contrary relationship in the past.