Way of the Wookiee ! Way of the Wookiee ! was a story published in 1979 in three parts in Marvel UK ' s " Star Wars Weekly 94 – 96 " , and written by Archie Goodwin . It was reprinted in 1981 in Marvel Illustrated Books ' " Star Wars " . It was named after the first part of the comic , originally published in " Star Wars Weekly 94 " . The other two original parts are " Chewbacca Fights Alone ! " and " Switch ! " . " Way of the Wookiee ! " tells the story of a botched Kessel Run of Han Solo ' s ( which preceded the one that landed him in trouble with Jabba the Hutt ) . Plot summary . Not long before the Battle of Yavin , Han Solo and Chewbacca travel to the planet Formos to pick up a load of Kessel spice from N ' Mrith , a contact of Jabba the Hutt . Before making planetfall , they have a run - in with an Imperial prison ship commanded by Commander Quirt , who suspects them as smugglers . Although Han successfully talks his way out of trouble , Quirt remains suspicious , eager to meet his quota of new prisoners for the Spice Mines of Kessel . Han and Chewie flirt again with arrest when Chewbacca spots a fellow Wookiee named Hronk , a captive of a group of Quirt ' s Stormtroopers , and goes berserk . Han is forced to stun blast his partner , and only another bit of quick thinking saves them from arrest . Chewbacca subsequently explains that his grudge against Hronk stems from an old family feud on their homeworld of Kashyyyk . Han suggests simply allowing the Imperials to take Hronk to the Spice Mines , but Chewbacca is not satisfied . Chewbacca subsequently sneaks aboard the Imperial prison ship to rescue Hronk , inciting a riot among the prisoners . Fleeting back to the " Millennium Falcon " a few steps ahead of Quirt ' s troops , Chewbacca , Hronk , and Han make a hasty getaway with their newly loaded cargo of spice . N ' Mrith betrays Han and Chewbacca by informing Quirt that the " Falcon " is carrying both a cargo of illegal spice and the escaped prisoner . By jettisoning their cargo and disguising Hronk as Chewbacca , they manage to fool Quirt and make their getaway . Quirt announces irritably that he intends to make N ' Mrith replace his missing prisoner , allowing him to still meet his quota . Han and Chewbacca release Hronk — who is decidedly irritable at now being in his enemy ' s debt — in a nearby system . Unfortunately , the partners realize that they will have to inform Jabba that they have lost the spice they were supposed to deliver . Continuity . This story was originally intended to describe the failed Kessel Run that led to Han Solo ' s debt to Jabba the Hutt . A . C . Crispin ' s " Rebel Dawn " , the third book of The Han Solo Trilogy , alludes to the events of this story , but implies that the price on Han ' s head stemmed from a subsequent Kessel Run . " Jabba the Hutt " is spelled " Jabba the Hut " throughout this story , as in all other pre – " " " Star Wars " works . Kashyyyk is misspelled " Kazhyyk . " At different points in this story , Quirt ' s rank is alternatively Commander ( a naval rank ) and Colonel ( an army rank ) . When Han mentions these events in " Rebel Dawn " , he refers to " Colonel Quirt . " The prison ship that Han Solo had a run - in with in the story resembles the " Doomgiver " used by the Imperial Remnant .