This ties in with the Tales from Jabba's
Palace, taking place before that book. It was fun to read, and to see Jabba get his revenge on various people. This is really
how I would expect him to deal with those who were trying to kill him.
Thus the conclusion that he would have been dead by the time Luke showed
up anyway is false. I've always maintained that he wouldn't have
survived so long otherwise.
The art was good, though not as complex as with other graphic
novels I've read. The goo on Jabba's face, or from the blood from
a squished opponent was drawn in detail, but it wasn't really gross, either.
The first of four stories deals with someone who has promised
Jabba a poisonous scorpion of some sort. The man, unfortunately,
tries to double-cross Jabba, who lets the scorpion out of its cage, so
that it can stab his opponent. Jabba has told the man he has planted
a bomb in the palace, but the man does not believe him. He has hired
the top bomb expert in the galaxy, who was not able to detect it.
It turns out that this bomb-detector was the bomb, because Jabba's opponent
had massacred his planet years ago. The man kills Jabba's opponent,
and Jabba takes over control of his palace.
Jabba then boards his space yacht, and meets up with a Nuffin
ship, which tricks them into boarding it. There a trap has been set
up, and the giant queen, ten times bigger than Jabba, is aboard.
She wants Jabba's wealth, but he refuses. She sends him to a cell,
but after eating Jabba's second in command, she wants to eat Jabba, too.
But Jabba had planted a bomb in his second's head, and after sparring a
bit with the queen, he sets it off, and takes her wealth, also.
Jabba then heads for a former associate's place. But when
he is told to murder a rival of the man's, Jabba refuses, thinking the
man has gone insane. The son agrees, and has Jabba kill his father.
But the son is much to impetuous for Jabba, who refuses to cooperate with
this new tyrant he has put on the throne. Jabba ends up in jail again.
But the daughter convinces Jabba to kill her brother, but sends him to
jail for the crime in an attempt to make herself look like a just ruler.
Jabba then tricks her into coming too close, and eats her. Free at
last, Jabba kills the man he was asked to kill at the beginning, wishing
he had done that earlier, to avoid this mess.
Back home on Tatooine, Jabba's henchmen turn against him.
But all does not go as planned. A visiting smuggler is framed and
imprisoned, but he releases deadly freckers into the palace. Bib
Fortuna, with a blaster meant to incapacitate Jabba, instead ends up protecting
the Hutt, who rewards him for being so loyal.
I guess Return of the Jedi is coming up
soon after this, otherwise Jabba would have to foil many more traps by
Bib Fortuna. These were simple stories, but enough to show how ruthless
Jabba is. I especially liked the part where he throws the Nuffin
guards out the airlock, because he likes to see them pop!
by Warren Dunn, all rights reserved.
