– Spoiler Review –
Doctor Aphra #11 (Vol. 2) brings the series into the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover proper while making it an easy place to hop on, as Aphra and Sana Starros have a run in with a terrifying creature…and it isn’t even Durge I’m talking about!
After the month of “Preludes,” the War of the Bounty Hunters started its epic-sized crossover with a big, unforgettable surprise in the first issue of the eponymous miniseries, and now the rest of June has seen the other on-goings catching up and bringing their cast of characters and plots into the larger story. Writer Alyssa Wong focuses Doctor Aphra issue #11 on set-up for the latest arc and for this series’ role in the crossover, making it an easy place to jump into the series for new readers (like ones who might be trying to enjoy all of the crossover), but its pacing is a little slow with all the exposition. It’s still an entertaining issue, but it feels like an appetizer to the main course, a very tasty, funny, and Durge-filled appetizer at least!
When the cover of this issue first was revealed, I too was ecstatic about Durge returning to canon, the hulking bounty hunter who memorably caused Obi-Wan Kenobi some unrelenting trouble in the 2D Clone Wars micro-series (now available on Disney+ in the US, in case you didn’t grab in on DVD back in the day), but I did my best to keep my expectations in check for how his role would play out in Aphra. He has a short and sweet appearance this issue, but as he (and later Aphra) says and we know from his battle with Obi-Wan, he’s very hard to kill, so don’t think his brief time here is the last we’ll see from him; if Aphra can find a way to survive being blown out an airlock, you know Durge will barely blink an eye about it.
Tasked by Domina Tagge to hunt down one of her cousin who went missing after finding a supposedly grand opportunity, Chelli Aphra and Sana Starros catch up with his last known coordinates, a luxury-liner adrift in space, stumbling into a spooky mystery. Everyone on the ship is dead, including Ebann, the missing cousin, but Aphra swears she hears something in the ducts…unless it’s the hulking, massive, creepy Durge, who fires a friendly warning shot at them to get away from his target, also Ebann. As one would expect for Aphra meeting someone as imposing and threatening as Durge, she doesn’t let any potential fear show, instead turns on the sly-talking and convinces him they should be his next target. Well, it also helps the tiny, nasty looking cymotes emerge from the vents, trying to feast on their latest prey, and suddenly everyone’s friends to survive the hoard. Of course Aphra knows about these deadly little creatures, which are first introduced as caviar and now I doubly never want to eat the delicacy, and she knows the best way to kill them is rapid decompression. Hence Durge blown out an airlock, as Aphra leads them all to one, pulls back Sana, and uses the cymotes fixation on Durge to lead them all out the airlock. It’s a gruesomely funny scene, as they pop in space like fleshy fireworks, which Aphra calls them as such, and the timing of this issue couldn’t have been better in the US, what with the Fourth of July weekend coming up and fireworks usually popping all over the place; once you’ve seen them as bugs colorfully exploding in space though, real fireworks will never top that.
A funny and gross moment for us is a terrible moment for the growing trust and feelings between Sana Starros and Aphra. Sana is not happy after Aphra so cavalierly betrays Durge’s trust, creating another enemy for both of them, and didn’t even try to give her a heads-up or ask if she has a better plan. They made some progress, especially seen in the previous issue where they smiled at one another and my heart skipped a beat seeing them happy together, though as I discussed in my review of “The Engine Job” arc this week, I was curious if Aphra would find a way to sabotage things, purposefully or not. This moment might not seem like much to Aphra, but from the way penciler Minkyu Jung and inker Victor Olazaba draw Sana’s angered face, it’s clear she’s not only seeing the Aphra she believes her ex to be, but also losing faith she’s changed despite the moment they shared last issue. I’m hoping Aphra can find a way to come back from this moment, but if history is anything to go by, it doesn’t look good for my hopes.
Aphra issue #11 also picks up again with Just Lucky and Ariole Yu (we finally have a last name), filling in some blanks teased last issue. When Sixth Kin leader Wen Delphis showed the men the mole she suspected, Lucky seemed to doubt the target but went along with it anyways, and now we learn his woes with their mission: turns out Crae was his and Ariole’s mentor when they were younger. Ariole feels for Lucky’s misgivings, but Lucky leaving him brings back Ariole’s anger and his own focus on the mission. It seems we’ll get to dig into the their broken relationship as well, and the little tidbit about Lucky leaving matches some of my thoughts in my “The Engine Job” review, as I made a comparison between Lucky and Aphra with their relationships, and he’s just like Aphra was when we originally met her, too focused on what’s in front of him he’s missing the larger picture. His ex Ariole will probably help with that.
Either way, Lucky and Ariole already have an invite to Crimson Dawn’s auction of the frozen Han Solo, first seen in War of the Bounty Hunters #1, and Sana and Aphra learn about the auction from the invite plucked from Ebann’s dead body. They check in with Domina with an update on her cousin and the auction, and she sends the two off to collect any information they can on Crimson Dawn and the other syndicates who will be there. As she’s telling Aphra this on the final page, we have panels of some of the other syndicates/factions in attendance: Vukorah, though she’s maskless (maybe we’ll get an update on this tease soon) representing the Unbroken Clan; a Hutt, very likely Jabba; Sly Moore, the administrator trying to save herself and her council from the inevitability of Vader’s blade, seen in Darth Vader #13 (Vol. 3); and a Falleen, likely the Black Sun, as their return to the galaxy’s stage was revealed first in Star Wars #14 (Vol. 2). A party with all these criminals around? Sounds like it’s right in Aphra’s comfort zone, if her telling smile is anything to go by…though the last time she was at a party with tons of syndicates, it didn’t go well for anyone!
The art team of penciler Minkyu Jung, inker Victor Olazaba, colorist Rachelle Rosenberg, and letterer Joe Caramagna return and I’m glad they seem to be sticking around for the time being, especially after all their work this issue. I’d jump into talking about Durge, but really, I want to highlight the bug firework scene again because holy gundarks do they make writer Alyssa Wong’s humorous line for Aphra hit so good in that moment. As Durge floats away in space, he’s joined by tons of little purple specs, with a few erupting up close, tearing open in a visceral, nasty way, the colors of their guts bright but sickly, while the lettering makes it easy to hear the popping noise as these creatures rapidly decompress, with my favorite being the cymote’s screech turned into an SFX ‘POP.’ The next panel, we’re back inside the ship, Aphra and Sana watching the colors explode in the distance as the former says she loves fireworks, and I don’t know truly why I laughed so hard, but I did; maybe it was seeing the grossness up-close and then seeing how kind of pretty it does look so far away. As mentioned above, I really felt Sana’s anger over Aphra jettisoning Durge, but I also adored her grin-like smile in the final panel as Domina asks Aphra to try and enjoy herself at the party, since we all know she’ll find some way to try and make a profit off the gathering; it’s such an Aphra-like look, it’s fantastic. With Durge, the boy is an absolute unit in size, lumbering over Aphra and Sana in memorable fashion, which makes much of his dialogue land on the humorous side as he’s more sassy than one would expect for a towering menace of…worms, or whatever he’s made out of. There are some neat moments with his gun changing shape and some visually vibrant panels of him blasting all the cymotes. Lastly, Aphra’s blush when addressed by Domina…gold by the entire team, especially as fan Jaclyn points out in her hilarious added banner under the panel.
Here are a few other things:
- Don’t forget, the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover lasts through October, and we’ll be covering the whole thing here. Each month we’ll have our Hunters’ Guide, an article that rounds up the month’s issues about the event, detailing what happened and what it might mean for the rest of the event, which is a handy way to keep on top of the large story in case you’re not reading all of the content. The crossover was made modular in design, so you could read just the eponymous miniseries, but reading these tie-in issues expands and adds context to the larger story!
- There has been a wealth of amazing fan art of Aphra since the previous issue, so I’ve complied several of them here: let’s start with Uzuri’s stunning rendition of Aphra, whose portraits continue to amaze and you might know from her Loki or The Bad Batch works too…what I could give for a print of this!!; Dylan Macri celebrates Pride Month in a uniquely Aphra way!; and Megan’s finds a way to show off some Pride goodness too, alongside an all-around fun little portrait.
- Speaking of Pride, the biggest Aphra fan out there (even bigger than me, for sure!), Bria LaVorgna shared an open, honest, and compelling article about what the character means for her own identity, realizations, and holds the saga accountable for its representation of LGBTQ+ characters . Definitely go and give it a read!
- The Pride fun doesn’t stop there, as this issue of Aphra, alongside this week’s The High Republic, concludes Marvel’s Pride Month variants. Aphra issue #11 has Sana Starros on the cover! (as seen above)
- And lastly, despite the Gentle Giant mini-bust (which finally sold out!), there’s other Aphra merchandise out there, like this stellar shirt from the team at Tatooine Times Outpost. I already ordered mine!
Doctor Aphra #11 (Vol. 2) can’t quite escape the set-up feeling, it retains its charm and humor, introducing Durge and sending Aphra to place she always thrives in: a party of criminals!
+ Bug fireworks, huzzah!
+ Aphra and Sana drama/Lucky and Ariole drama
+ Art team putting together another great issue
– Felt like a little too much set-up
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS CROSSOVER
May: Alpha #1 | Star Wars #13 | Bounty Hunters #12 | Darth Vader #12 | Doctor Aphra #10 / Hunters’ Guide for May
June: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 | Bounty Hunters #13 | Star Wars #14 | Darth Vader #13
DOCTOR APHRA REVIEWS:
Volume 2: Fortune and Fate – #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 / Arc Review — The Engine Job: #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10
Doctor Aphra (audiobook)
Volume 1: Full Volume 1 Review