Many may have gravitated towards Luke Skywalker and his attempt at the Jedi ways. Others, like myself, favored Han Solo during the original trilogy. It could be because my older brother called dibs on being Luke when we played, and I had to be Han. As the stories continued, we got to see there was much more to Han Solo than we first saw. (In other words, I owe my brother some thanks!) Han has his own comic now, and you can bet he's about to get into a bit of trouble.
Marjorie Liu does a phenomenal job setting up the events to get Han and Chewbacca on their own. The comic takes place in the same time period as Star Wars and Darth Vader. Liu comes up with a situation that feels like it could have happened within the time frame between the films. As with any licensed adaptation of characters, the key is channeling their voices. Here, Han simply feels like Han. Reading his dialogue, I could hear Harrison Ford in my mind. His interactions with the other characters are always priceless, but it's a welcomed treat to get to see him in his natural environment rather than with the other Rebels.
The art and color in Star Wars comics is always a huge part of the enjoyment factor. I've sometimes been critical with the visuals not capturing the Star Wars feel in some of the older comics. Mark Brooks' art and Sonia Oback's colors are what you'd want them to be. There's a nice mix of bringing in the vibe and elements from the movies and also making it feel reminiscent to the old Star Wars comics from Marvel.
The pacing is a tad slow at the beginning, but I actually prefer it this way. I'm curious about what Han gets up to when not with Leia or Luke. We could have been thrown into the middle of the action but seeing the story develop is a good thing.
Han Solo #1 will hook you from the beginning. With the vast number of comics available and the cost of maintaining a massive pull list, it can be difficult to commit to a new title. Marvel makes the decision easier by putting together the stellar creative team of Marjorie Liu, Mark Brooks, and Sonia Oback. It would be easy to just slap the Star Wars brand on a comic and have the familiar characters running around doing something. Liu convinces you this is Han. You'll believe this story is really part of the character's history. Liu, Brooks, and Oback do a brilliant job making the story feel modern and nostalgic at the same time with a mix of the vibe from the old and new Star Wars comics. This is the solo comic Han and Star Wars fans deserve.