Star Wars: Jabba the Hutt - The Jabba Tape

Star Wars: Jabba the Hutt - The Jabba Tape is a one-shot set after Return of the Jedi.  Big Gizz and Spiker, two of Jabba's swoop bike gang meet at the Citadel of B'omarr where Spiker is being healed by the monks.  Big Gizz was also injured and had a skull plate put into his head which occassionally picks up random communication signals.  Gizz and Spiker leave on swoop bikes and decide to take a ship Jabba the Hutt has hidden in a cave nearby, now that Jabba is dead.  Meanwhile, at Jabba's Palace, Jabba's will is being read and Jabba leaves his nephew Gorga a toy bank embarrassing him in front of the Hutt clan.  Ding, Gorga's major domo, tells his boss that Jabba has several priceless artifacts that are unaccounted for.  Ding explains that Jabba has been paying a watchman named Onoh at a location called Glass Mountain which is a barren rock out in the middle of nowhere.  Gorga and Ding think the artifacts might be there and send henchmen to investigate.

At the location, the henchmen torture Onoh who tells them how to open a secret cave.  In the cave is a ship called the Spirit of Jabba.  Gizz and Spiker arrive and dispatch Gorga's goons and take the ship with Onoh onboard.  As the ship lifts off, Gizz picks up a communication from a henchman that was not killed relaying the recent events to Gorga.  In space above Tatooine, Gizz and Spiker plot to use the ship to pirate other vessels on the trade routes.  Before they can begin, an image of Jabba appears on the screen.  The image is an interactive security tape and since no operating code was entered, the program takes over the ship and begins withdrawing oxygen from the command deck.  As the oxygen is running out, Gizz picks up a transmission from one of Gorga's escort freighters, the Nemphas.  Gizz is unable to communicate back however, and the Nemphas opens fire on the Spirit of Jabba damaging the ship's weapon systems.  Gizz is frustrated with the ship and Onoh reveals he knows the operating code.  He enters the code, disabling the security program, but not before the Nemphas disables all the weapons on the Spirit of Jabba.  Gizz uses the ships comlink to negotiate with the Nemphas which orders Gizz to pilot the Spirit back to Tatooine under escort.

As the Spirit of Jabba nears Mos Eisley, Gizz picks up communications between the Nemphas and Gorga that discloses plans to kill Gizz and Spiker when they land the ship.  Gizz decides to outrun the Nemphas, but first they need to shed weight on the ship.  Spiker goes down to the cargo hold and begins dumping items, including the artifacts that Gorga is seeking.  The cargo is dumped on Gorga's entourage below and as the Spirit of Jabba begins to accelerate away from Mos Eisley, the Nemphas opens fire critically damaging the Spirit.  Gorga orders the Nemphas to stop pursuit and the story ends with Gizz, Spiker, and Onoh walking away from the crashed Spirit of Jabba, their plans of being pirates destroyed.

The cover, illustrated by Kilian Plunkett, is a montage with Big Gizz, Spiker, and Onoh surrounded by Jabba, Gorga holding the bank, and Ding.  Also shown are the Spirit of Jabba and the Nempas.  Plunkett also provides the interior artwork.  His style is loose and busy but detailed and cartoonish, kind of like a cross between Sergio Aragones and Keith Giffen.

Star Wars: Jabba the Hutt - The Jabba Tape a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (December 1998)

Big Gizz and Spiker were introduced in the Shadows of the Empire comic.