– Spoiler Review –
Rey and Chewbacca feature in Hyperspace Stories #4, as the pair find their peaceful Life Day celebrations on Kashyyyk interrupted by a bounty hunter. Whimsically written like a rhyming holiday tale, it’s a fine return for the series.
In my 2022 Star Wars Comics Year-in-Review, I singled out Dark Horse’s Hyperspace Stories for the delightful character pairings they’ve put together so far, and I looked forward to where and who the series could feature next in such a way. In its fourth issue, Rey and Chewbacca take the stage in a tale set sometime between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, though I ended up wanting a little more for their time together. I understand it’s a little difficult to write character interactions when one being doesn’t speak a lick of basic, but I felt like the storytelling conceit of this being a holiday tale, complete with rhyming narration over dialogue, took away from these two having more interactions. Don’t get me wrong, with Life Day as the focus for the reason Chewie and Rey are even on Kashyyyk, I quite enjoyed the idea of making it a whimsical, holiday tale, a facet I often enjoyed with its fun rhyming despite it seemingly stretching in a few places, but since it seems to cut on the chance for more Rey and the Wookiees directly chatting, interacting, and getting to know one another, the conceit ends up being a little disappointing.
All that being said, Rey is a delight this issue, showing how deep her compassion can go, trying to stop the bounty hunter on her own since she blames herself for bringing trouble, as well as her endless determination, not only trying to bring the hunter to justice, but prevent them from dying as well. Taking the blame, believing she is the problem, is very Rey, as she’s far too hard on herself far too often, but it’s what’s helped her survive on her own by demanding herself too always be better. And when she does interact with the Wookiees, it’s a joy, as her excited personality, drinking in the Life Day festivities and the culture of Kashyyyk, makes it feel all the more wondrous to be seeing in the comic. I also loved how Chewbacca has embraced Rey time and time again in the wake of Han’s death, making her feel welcomed and giving her someone to lean on, and letting her partake in Life Day and meet his son Lumpawaroo shows how willing he is to be her friend. Because of the Twi’lek bounty hunter Mwarr Ja’Randa, they don’t get to interact much, Rey rushing after the hunter to end the threat they pose to the trees and people of Kashyyyk, but I did enjoy how it’s Chewie, along with Rey’s blessing, who extends even more love and acceptance at the end, helping maybe turn Ja’Randa around. Instead of capturing her or letting her go, she’s embraced with Life Day cheer, a fitting ending for the holiday genre writer Amanda Deibert is going with here.
Hyperspace Stories issues have connective tissue via a little doll given to a young Wookiee by her Senator father in the opening issue. The doll has flited through the other issues, either hinted at Leia having it to Finn and Poe finding it very helpful in their escape from the First Order, with Finn giving it to Rey when they returned, and now it’s found its way home. Viivieenn, the young Wookiee in issue #1 is a little older now, seen early in the issue reminiscing about her father as part of Life Day festivities, and later she’s part of the climax to stop the bounty hunter. Once everyone is saved and Life Day can resume, Rey finds herself called by the Force to give the doll to her, reuniting the two after all this time. It’s a sweet little moment though it leaves me curious…is this the end of the connective tissue and another little object or story like it will feature in the remaining issues? We don’t know what Viivieenn’s father Yarua put in the doll, however, so maybe we’ll start exploring that going forward. I do hope there’s more to it than that, as while this was sweet and I enjoyed it, it would be anticlimactic to some degree if this is where the doll’s story and its contents come to a close…though there are 8 issues left so I’m hopeful there’s more to come, especially as the series switches to focusing on villains.
Having been there for her introduction, artist Lucas Marangon, colorist Michael Atiyeh, and lettering duo Tyler Smith & Jimmy Betancourt are back for Viiveenn’s return. I really liked the wide-eyed optimism Marangon brings to Rey’s expressions in the opening the issue, reminding me of Daisy Ridley’s acting with Rey’s exuberance for seeing the galaxy after leaving Jakku. As I mentioned in my review of issue #1, I liked Marangon’s Wookiees and he gets to draw a ton more in his own style here, yet Chewie is familiar enough, especially with Atiyeh’s coloring, that it’s easy to tell him apart, while how they scaled up Viiv, retaining a doey-eyed face to some extent since she’s older but not that much older, while leaving her pig-tails makes it easy to recognize her as well. The feast towards the end the Wookiees share for Life Day made me hungry, and still does looking at it again, while I loved the visual of Ja’Randa roasting food by shooting it, some of the resulting splatter getting on a Wookiee and Chewie laughing next to them. The double-page spread when Rey extends the Life Day orb to Ja’randa, packed with happy Wookiees celebrating and hugging, has a wonderfully warm glow from Atiyeh, providing a feeling of comfort, like cuddling up with a blanket (aka Wookiee in this case) and falling asleep in its embrace. I also really liked the blue glow from the orbs, especially in the final few pages as Rey gives Viiv the doll, Yarua’s hologram adding to the peaceful, happy feel of the night. As for Smith & Betancourt’s lettering, the design of the unrolling scroll for the narration, with its old-timey look like something out of the 1700’s, was a nice touch, really adding to the vibes Deibert was going for. Their word bubbles for the Wookiees is also great, the almost hand drawn nature of them making them feel guttural, while they made it hard to deny why Rey would be holding her hands over her ears when they all start shouting after Ja’randa first attacks.
Here are a few other things:
- It’s a minor thing but…how did Rey know Viiv’s name if they hadn’t met yet? Was it because the narration said her name, so Rey knew it due to the playful nature of these types of stories, as if she could almost see/hear the narration herself? Doesn’t break the story for her to know Viiv’s name, just took me off guard when it happened.
- The last issue of Hyperspace Stories came out in November and delays are to blame for this issue to finally hit March. That means most of the upcoming issues have been pushed back too, so at the moment, and hopefully these stick, but issue #5 is scheduled for April 5 at the moment, issue #6 April 19, issue #7 May 3, and issue #8 May 17.
- And I’m looking forward to these issues since they all flip the current script and focus instead on villain characters, which will be a welcomed change of pace.
Hyperspace Stories #4 puts Rey and Chewie at its center, with a whimsical bent to boot, for a fitting final hero focused issue.
+ Gets to the center of Rey
+ Life Day holiday fun overall
– Felt like the storytelling conceit took from character interactions a little
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this comic from the publisher at no charge in order to provide an early review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.