Comic Book Galaxy explores Marvel‘s Star Wars comic book releases and provides a discussion point on the culture and climate of the Star Wars comic book universe.
It’s a shortened week, due to the Labor Day holiday, but never fear, Comic Book Galaxy is here! We will look at the week that was in comics, as well as tantalize your comic book taste buds with what’s new and fresh from the comic book oven. Last week featured Han Solo #3, and this week brings us another offering of Poe, as he tries to flee Megalox prison in one piece in the pages of Poe Dameron #6. And while we’re on the subject of the Black Squadron leader’s adventures, how about we take a closer look at Grakkus the Hutt? Not too close though. He bites. (Probably.)
The Week That Was
Highlights from Han Solo #3
- Han Solo and Chewbacca endure an almost impossible obstacle in the Dragon Void run, with a 12-hour-straight portion of the race in which the participants must maintain a super-high velocity. It is intense, but Han is Han and pulls it off.
- As detailed last week, Han Solo and Leia let their respective guards down briefly, as they subtly express their true feelings for each other.
- There’s a spy amongst the cast of characters Han Solo is supposed to rescue. Not only is Han dealing with the other racers, but now he’s got a double agent to worry about. Who is the informant amongst this collection of Rebel spies? If you find out, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Millennium Falcon, care of Han Solo and Chewbacca. It would save them such a headache.
Top of the Stack: What’s Out This Week
Poe Dameron # 6
In this issue of Poe Dameron, Poe and his Black Squadron compatriots need to figure out a way to sneak Grakkus the Hutt out of Megalox prison and take on some of its permanent residents. Plus, they have to do so before Agent Terrex kills Grakkus. So, to recap, Poe is about to throw down with some nasty criminals, and has to inconspicuously smuggle out a Hutt. Good luck with that.
Word Balloon: Ready? Set? Hutt!
I’ll never forget the first time I saw Return of the Jedi. The anticipation was unprecedented for me; it had been three years since The Empire Strikes Back, and I finally got to see things I’d only dreamed about. Many stand out, of course (Luke Skywalker as a Jedi Knight, the fate of Darth Vader, Han Solo’s escape from carbonite, etc.), but the film moment that first blew me away was the appearance of Jabba the Hutt.
He was huge! He was grotesque! He spoke Huttese like a boss! He was…eating frogs? Gross. Anyway, it left an impression on me and many Star Wars fans. Leia the Hutt Slayer took care of him eventually, but the Hutt species had made its mark.
Fast forward to the current day: we’ve met a number of different Hutts, each one bringing a foul stench in their own right. However, Star Wars #9 brought us the first visual of a new Hutt unlike those that came before him: Grakkus the Hutt. He ups the ante, and brings some new tricks to the table that would make any slug-like creature proud. He’s not your average crime lord. And he’s certainly not your typical Hutt. But what stands out about Grakkus?
How about this: he’s got legs, and he knows how to use them. Grakkus possesses cybernetic legs that allow him to move around like a spider, but with more purpose and arrogance. He’s also buff. No, you aren’t imagining things; the dude is buff. He’s got a straight up six pack, too (it’s probably more than six, but I’m not about to get up close and personal with him).
Grakkus the Hutt also has a collection that is not favorable for Luke Skywalker. He collects artifacts from the Jedi Order. It’s fair to say he’s obsessed, actually. Lightsabers, holocrons, and bones of Jedi Masters are a part of his hobby, and he even tries to add Luke Skywalker to the mix. He’s greedy, like many of the Hutts we’ve encountered before, but since he’s concerned with money, power, and Jedi souvenirs, he shows both passion and purpose. He’s no joke.
His machinations make him more compelling too, as we’ve seen in the pages of Poe Dameron. He’s wily, confident, and dangerous, and Poe will have to bring his A game if he’s going to find the whereabouts of Lor San Tekka from Grakkus the Hutt. I cannot wait to see how it all plays out. Bo shuda!
Dan Zehr is a high school English teacher with an MS in Teaching and Learning, and runs Coffee With Kenobi (with co-host Cory Clubb), a Star Wars podcast that analyzes the saga through critical thinking, analysis, interviews, and discussion. He is also the Rebel teacher in the Target Rogue One commercial, and is an avid comic book consumer and longtime reader of the medium.
