In its nearly quarter-century as the home of “Star Wars,” Dark Horse often gave fans what they clamored for (see “Boba Fett” or “Darth Maul” or the Royal Guard-centered “Crimson Empire”). In other cases, the company showed remarkable audacity. I doubt many people were demanding “Jabba the Hutt” comics. But fairly early in Dark Horse’s tenure we got four “Jabba” one-shots (1995’s “The Gaar Suppoon Hit,” “The Hunger of Princess Nampi” and “The Dynasty Trap,” and 1996’s “Betrayal”) plus 1998’s “The Jabba Tape” (originally printed in “Star Wars Galaxy Magazine” No. 13 and “Star Wars Galaxy Collector” Nos. 1-3).
Demonstrating the positive side of being an obsessive “Star Wars” completist, “Jabba the Hutt” is one of those titles I didn’t know I wanted until I started reading it. Jim Woodring, the writer of the four one-shots, gets the tone right, even though it’s a tone unique to this main character. “Jabba” has a touch of kid-oriented titles like “Droids,” but it’s by no means aimed at youngsters. In the “Dynasty Trap,” Jabba ejects his enemies into space, watches them explode and says “Ha! I love to watch ’em pop!” But this isn’t visceral horror in the sense of Joe Schreiber’s or Barbara Hambly’s prose contributions or movie monsters like the rancor or one-armed wampa.
“Jabba the Hutt” is the lighter side of dark comedy. These stories made me laugh regularly, as did the art by Art Wetherell (pencils), Monty Sheldon (inks) and Pamela Rambo (colors). I find it hilarious that Jabba is blatantly slobbering on every panel. Weirdly, a reader mostly roots for Jabba even though Woodring is not trying to show a softer side of the crime boss like “The Han Solo Trilogy” and “The Clone Wars” kind of did. (In “The Dynasty Trap,” Jabba tells Cabrool Nuum that he does not have kids. Obviously, Woodring didn’t know George Lucas would later invent Rotta. Here’s my retcon that’s perfectly in-character: Jabba lied to Cabrool.)
In these comics, Jabba is consistently in his “Return of the Jedi” mode as an awful being. Perhaps Bib Fortuna, who schemes against his boss in “Betrayal,” sums the Hutt up best:
“Every moment I spend in his company is an eternity of loathing. The overpowering stench that pours from his open mouth, the sight of his thick, greasy, pustule-covered flesh, his unspeakable acts of depravity – he is the most revolting monster in the galaxy!”
It’s just that his rival crime lords are worse beings. For example, the lipstick-wearing giant slug Princess Nampi eats her rivals (actually, Jabba does that too at one point).
Although these are technically four one-shot issues, they flow chronologically as a series set somewhere between “The Clone Wars” and “Return of the Jedi” as Jabba makes a rare departure from Tatooine to outsmart other crime lords and steal their wealth and black-market business influence. Explosions factor into “The Gaar Suppoon Hit” and “Princess Nampi,” which explains Jabba’s affinity for Boushh and the thermal detonator. In “The Dynasty Trap,” the most gleefully insane entry of the series, Jabba crushes his enemies into a pulp with his bulk. “Betrayal” is a nice character piece for Bib Fortuna. Due to various twists, he remains at Jabba’s side for now, but the story is a nice lead-in to “Tales from Jabba’s Palace,” where we learn of the majordomo’s next ill-fated power grab.
“The Jabba Tape” is from the “Shadows of the Empire” team of John Wagner (writer) and Kilian Plunkett (pencils), and it follows the two Tatooine-based swoop thugs from that series, Spiker and Big Gizz, as they race Jabba’s nephew Gorga to a treasure ship, Spirit of Jabba, hidden in the mountains of Tatooine. It has a similar tone to Woodring’s comics, but it’s not as sharp, and let’s face it: Spiker, Gizz and Gorga are no match for the big guy. Still, Jabba is still Jabba even from beyond the grave, as his treasure ship is booby trapped. If one imagines the ship’s treasure to be what Jabba compiled in Woodring’s entries, it makes for a suitable final chapter to a five-issue saga.
One more Jabba-centric comic of note is “This Crumb for Hire,” a 10-pager that was published in “A Decade of Dark Horse” Issue 2 of 4 in 1996. Writer Ryder Windham does a nice impression of the dark comedic beats of the “Jabba the Hutt” comics and the art by Allen Nunis calls to mind Al Williamson’s work on the newspaper strips. (Nunis did some covers and additional panels for “Classic Star Wars,” and also penciled “X-Wing Rogue Squadron: The Rebel Opposition”).
Windham has all the characters in fine form: Sardonic Han, bumbling minions, amused Jabba, and of course the annoying court jester Salacious B. Crumb – whom Jabba finds endlessly entertaining. “Call this a job offer,” Jabba tells Crumb, even though the Kowakian monkey-lizard mucked up his scheme and landed in Jabba’s gruel. “Make me laugh every day, or you’ll leave the living.”
“This Crumb for Hire” can be found cheaply in its original form, or collected in 2013’s “Wild Space Volume 2,” which also includes the “Jabba” comics and “The Jabba Tape.”