– Spoiler Review –
Chelli Aphra in a room full of people who want to kill her? It’s exactly the type of place she can do her best work and sounds like a recipe for fun us readers, which is exactly what we get in Doctor Aphra #12 (Vol. 2)!
It’s hard not to hear dialogue from Sana and Aphra in the voices of Nicole Lewis and Emily Woo Zeller, as they brought them to vibrant life in the audiobook, but Doctor Aphra #12 had a few zingers were all I could hear were their voices. It all stems from the chemistry the two actresses had (despite not recording the lines together due to COVID) and how well writer Alyssa Wong encapsulates their relationship, their ups and downs, in her scripts. Aphra’s choice with spacing Durge, betraying his trust, has irked Sana something fierce, as the more relaxed interactions from the end of last arc and the beginning of the previous issue are gone, replaced with Sana’s trademarked frown and snark. When Aphra responds to Sana’s question about how many people in the room want to kill her, gleefully saying all of them, Sana comments on how Aphra missed her calling as a podracer, having no sense of self-preservation; she’s keeping Aphra at arm’s length again, using snide remarks to keep a gap between them. Aphra’s none the wiser, too caught up in the glitz, glamor, potential marks, and her mission from Tagge to notice what’s bugging Sana, whose impatience bubbles to the surface after Aphra makes her first attempt at stealing data crystals from a Black Sun mark. Though Sana might be mad, she still cares about the woman to some degree, hand on her blaster the moment a (not so) mysterious hooded stranger grabs a hold of Aphra. Though the situation is defused quickly, Sana’s actions betray her cold exterior, so there’s still hope Aphra hasn’t completely sabotaged any of their progress.
As this is another issue of the Doctor Aphra series, there’s humor abound, but I particularly enjoyed a few moments. As Aphra tells Sana to calm down and relax, they’ll make their move when the time is right to get the necklace of data crystals from Xet, a Falleen woman from Black Sun, flipping to the next page shows Aphra shouting in surprise after the stranger grabs her, acting the exact opposite of what she told Sana. And when the stranger tells them he requests a diversion, she’s diverted herself when Qi’ra takes the auction stage. She’s always been easily distracted or surprised, but Wong takes and runs with it here, providing some funny moments that the art team really helps deliver, from letterer Clayton Cowles’ shout to artist Minkyu Jung’s work giving Aphra a look of surprise and wonderment at Qi’ra’s entrance.
While the auction begins this issue, it’s not the focus, so much of the betting happens off-screen and detached with what’s going on with Aphra, Sana, and Lucky and Ariole, also Crimson Dawn’s flagship on their mission to take down their ex-mentor, Crae who looked like a cross between Kallus and Zeb from Star Wars Rebels, or was that just me?!). When we meet him here, he’s chatting with Xet, though the boys think they escape his notice prowling around the party, only to confront him behind the stage and he already knows they’re behind him. It seems Crae knows a lot about Dawn’s ship, so the idea he turned traitor to the Sixth Kin doesn’t seem too far-fetched, though since neither Lucky or Ariole want to listen to him when he says he’d like to talk, we don’t find out what his reasons are just yet. Lucky’s reaction to seeing him again, after all these years, and commenting on how Crae’s older, whereas Ariole barely notices or cares, shows once again Lucky’s been far too focused on his own life and problems, not prepared for how much things have changed outside of his scope of vision. The battle between the three is quick and tough, but is left on a cliffhanger, with the appearance of Darth Vader in the main hall after the bidding successful completes, promising chaos and confusion in the next issue…which might be exactly what they need to get the upper hand on Crae.
When the stranger signals for a distraction, Aphra’s attention is arrested (again!) by the appearance of the Sith Lord. Her reaction is immediate, severe, and ends up causing herself more harm than good, and while the visceral nature of it surprised me, there is precedence in this series. Back in issue #6, when Aphra and Domina Tagge have their confrontation and Domina encases her in a ray-shield bubble without air, as Aphra chokes she has flashbacks to her brush with death after being jettisoned out the airlock by Vader way back when in Darth Vader #25 (Vol. 1). They would see each other several more times, from Aphra avoiding his detection the last time she was at a fancy party with tons of criminals to her coming back under his employ once the Imperial propaganda machine makes her anonymity disappear, and while she’s certainly scared when dealing with him, she seemingly overcomes it after besting him in the caves of Tython at the end of the previous series. It because of that final confrontation I was a little surprised by the severity of her reaction here, but it’s clear from the audiobook the airlock is her worst nightmare the experience is terrifying despite her knowing she’ll likely live, but we all have things we’re afraid of and I don’t blame Aphra in the slightest for never quite forgetting how quickly or dispassionately Vader could kill her. I really love what the art team of Minkyu Jung, Rachelle Rosenberg (colorist), and Clayton Cowles does for these next few pages and panels, as it takes the horrors Aphra’s feeling and allows the reader to feel it too. Aphra’s past overtakes her present, her looking back at Vader here recalling her looking back him as he stuffs her in the airlock, then she turns red and everything turns red. And it’s not just any red or the stark, bright red of the current Darth Vader series employs, but it’s a sickly one, dark and off-putting in its tone, and it’s even more apparent only Aphra’s feeling it since Sana retains her normal color and look during these panels. Aphra’s sweating, clutching at her throat, gasping for breath, the creepy red coloring and the black, scraggly lined outer edges making everything feel urgent and strange, and as the feelings overwhelm her, she drops the communicator Boba the stranger handed her, causing a loud clank during the silence Vader commands at his entrance, causing him to look directly at her and notice her!!! Considering Vader’s current mission is to kill Luke Skywalker, as we see in his series, and the potential chaos about to erupt at the auction, I don’t think he’ll be in hot pursuit of her during this event, but that she’s back on his radar could be troubling for her future. One thing is certain, we don’t know what comes next for the comics after this crossover, but we know the time until Return of the Jedi is getting nearer by the issue, so hopefully she can avoid him until then. And then I hope Anakin Skywalker visits her as a Force Ghost to scare her/maybe apologize. This is all assuming she continues to live, and we can only pray alongside the mynocks to the great Sy-O she does.
Releasing the same day as this issue is War of the Bounty Hunters #2, continuing Boba Fett’s share of this crossover’s tale, and I’d highly suggest reading it after reading Aphra (which is something I saw people warning the day before release, but it’s also from the creator’s mouth). It’s really fun to see how closely tied and intricately woven this crossover is thanks to overlapping issues like this, as Aphra #12 only shows specific pieces that WotBH #2 fills in or expands. At one point in Aphra #12, Qi’ra comments on how she can see Sly Moore’s hand, the Emperor’s administrator factoring heavily into current events of the Vader series, but once you read WotBH #2 you understand why she keeps waving her hand: she’s actually Force-sensitive and trying to use a mind-trick! There’s also dialogue for Sana and Chelli you get extra reading the miniseries over this issue, though it’s mainly the same and far less when reading it over Aphra. If you want more context on the larger auction, then read the miniseries, otherwise if you’re okay with sticking with the Aphra series, you still get the gist of what’s going on and continue the series’ own great story and characters. When Chelli recognizes the hooded stranger’s voice as one of the clones from old holos she’s watched, it gives Aphra readers a chance to figure out who’s under the hood despite it never being revealed here, while WotBH #2 confirms the obvious. While they’ve spoken before, as seen in the audiobook, he was helmeted and it was over a comm, so without his helmet on here it’s no surprise she could make the connection he’s a clone, and I’ll be curious if she can connect the dots to Boba or if seeing Vader is enough for her to forget it. Either way, love the connectivity between the series and the rewarding nature of seeing other aspects if one chooses to check out both.
Beyond those excellent final panels and pages of Aphra’s breakdown over seeing Vader again, a small highlight I loved from the art team was Aphra’s slight of hand with Xet, the classic spilling on the mark and leaning into them to procure the item desired, a little panel highlighting her sleight of hand, and then her sheepish, blush when the woman turns her wrath was a cute way to show she’s never not interested in the women around her, no matter the situation; also, the necklace in question was pretty intricate and full of small details that brought it to life. Cowles really brought some electric SFX to the scuffle Ariole, Lucky, and Crae get into, which was dynamic and exciting to see play out. Crae’s calm, confidence when facing his two young protégés sets the stage for his considerable abilities, making it seem very possible an older man of size could take out two youngin’s.
Here are a few other things:
- 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! Check out June’s Hunters’ Guide to get all caught up now!
- Despite the Gentle Giant mini-bust finally selling out, there’s other Aphra merchandise out there, like this stellar shirt from the team at Tatooine Times Outpost. Here’s mine!
Doctor Aphra #12 (Vol. 2) ends in a harrowing way for Aphra, but the issue provides a blast of a time to get there, while moving Lucky and Ariole’s situation into an intriguing showdown.
+ Art team brings Aphra’s breakdown to vivid life
+ Back and forth of Aphra and Sana/humor abound
+ Connectivity
– 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
July: Bounty Hunters #14 | War of the Bounty Hunters #2
June: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 | Bounty Hunters #13 | Star Wars #14 | Darth Vader #13 | Doctor Aphra #11 / Hunters’ Guide for June
May: Alpha #1 | Star Wars #13 | Bounty Hunters #12 | Darth Vader #12 | Doctor Aphra #10 / Hunters’ Guide for May
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