Kessel Run ( comic ) Kessel Run is a comic that first appeared in " Star Wars Tales 16 " and was collected in " Star Wars Tales Volume 4 " . Plot summary . Squishmael , a Sloogarian who tells stories in exchange for drinks , reminisces about the night Han Solo won the " Millennium Falcon " from Lando Calrissian . Han feels like he has reached " The Big - Time " but Lando says he needs to build up reputation if he wants to become a great smuggler as it takes more " than a fast ship to be a first class smuggler " . Lando then continues to suggest the Kessel Run as a way to bolster his reputation and Han admits ( to some laughter ) that he does not know what it is . Lando and his friends reveal that Kessel is not a system , but rather a bird and to complete the Kessel Run Han must catch enough of these Kessel to fill a cargo hold and then deliver them . The question is , how far will he have to go ? Will he make it in " fifteenth parsecs . . . or thirty ? " Since the record is about 13 , Han agrees and takes off in the direction of the system . He is contacted by a mysterious source offering to help him with his mission as the stranger has associates that currently have Kessel to get rid of . Han agrees to pay for the information and spots a small sum of 1000 credits for the location of the first planet . He agrees as a test to make sure everything seems " on the up and up . " When he arrives at the first planet he finds the contact waiting with the container of Kessel Birds ready to go . Han was then talked out of another 3000 credits to take the first shipment under the promise that they were worth no " less than 12000 . " Naturally he pays and gets on his way . After another payment for the second location and again an increasing payment for the birds he totals up 17000 credits spent and comes to the final destination at 11 . 8 parsecs . He goes to the bartender to search for the buyer he is supposed to find to discover that the bartender is he person he was sent to find . Han is at first relieved and boldly states " Well , Dahk , break open the history books . You ' re looking at the man who just made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs ! " Dahk announces this to the bar and everyone bursts into laughter as apparently Han has just become " another Kessel Runner " meaning that this group regularly swindles people out of their money . Han and Chewie make a swift exit upon realizing that they actually just picked up a worthless bird and paid heavily for nothing but a few laughs . Meanwhile on the other side of the galaxy Lando and his team divide up the money and share a good laugh over the events of the day . Lando does feel bad about taking so much money from his friend but Squishmael justifies it because Han was supposedly cheating during the game that he won the Milleneum Falcon . Squishmael then tries to carry on his story telling asking the reader if he wishes to hear a tale of how he and Darth Vader were busting up some Tauntaun on Hoth . This last bit lets the reader know that it was probably just all a bit of made up sport from a story teller trying to sneak his way into a few drinks . Canonicity . For this story to fit into continuity , it needs to occur before Han Solo has heard of the Kessel Run , and after he has won the " Millennium Falcon " from Lando Calrissian . Solo first ran the Kessel Run in 5 BBY , according to " The Hutt Gambit " , yet did not win the ship from Calrissian until 2 BBY . Consequently , this story appears unable to fit into canon .