– Spoiler Review –
War of the Bounty Hunters #2 pushes the crossover into the big auction for the frozen Han Solo, with Boba Fett closing in on his stolen prize, only for things to get even more complicated.
The secret’s out: Qi’ra is back and the head of Crimson Dawn…and she’s one who had the carbonite Han Solo stolen from Boba Fett! She made a brief appearance in last week’s Bounty Hunters #14 and has some of her panels in War of the Bounty Hunters #2 repeated in Doctor Aphra #12 (more on their connectivity in a moment), so it looks like the gloves are off and there will be more of her as the crossover continues, which will be greatly appreciated since we’re still no closer to understanding her motivations. I’d hazard a guess she’s even hiding them from the rest of her Crimson Dawn, as her response to Margo about her happiness comes with an evasive answer about loving parties, as she was always one to play things close to the chest. In the opening issue of this miniseries, during the last page reveal of her return, she says Han will have the chance to save her now, but outwardly here as she introduces his frozen form, their ain’t a single hint of nostalgia, love, or care for the man, telling the potential winner of the auction all the ways they can bring pain to Han once he’s theirs. We know from Most Wanted and Solo she’s always a few steps ahead, putting on faces as she needs them, so it’s not surprising to see her employ those skills now, gleefully keeping her true goals curtained behind her winning smile over the bids growing larger and larger as factions vie for dominance and the chance to show off their wealth and power. The only time we really see her face falter is the end, as Darth Vader makes his unexpected entrance, but even then she looks ready to roll with whatever chaos his presence might bring. I’m eager to learn more about what Qi’ra’s been up to all these years and why she’s here now, using Han in such a way, what’s doing this all for, because her brief moments here only add to the mystery of those potential answers.
Boba Fett written by Charles Soule brings the Boba content I like, as he delights with his faintly goofy swagger, though his cold, killer demeanor always lurks underneath. As Jabba the Hutt makes his first big bid, Boba’s comment on how it was more than the Hutt would’ve paid him or his reaction to Bossk capturing him, briefly, in the trip wire were funny, less serious and humanizing moments for the bounty hunter and I hope Soule can keep those up alongside digging into Qi’ra. Fett’s still a cold killer, even after his exile on Tatooine later, but his actions with Bossk take it even further, tying Bossk to a rock, after blowing off his legs, and leave him out in the cold of Jekara. By taking the time to address their past together, where Bossk helped a young Boba Fett during the Clone Wars, it makes his actions here feel split between cruel and thoughtful, as ignoring their past is clearly his intention by strapping up the broken Bossk, but leaving him to be an example for others who would try to collect on Jabba’s bounty offers a glimpse at a heart hiding down underneath the armor, very deep, as not killing Bossk is a mercy. It’s not the only side of Boba War of the Bounty Hunters #2 displays, his ingenuity and ability for subtlety appear too, as he disguises himself to enter the party and recruits Dr. Chelli Aphra for a distraction so he can take back the frozen Han-sicle. More facets of Boba help make him an interesting character too.
Before he gets his chance to fly into action and take back the Han-sicle, Boba runs into Leia, Lando, and Chewie, who we last saw crash-landing on Jekara to sneak into the auction and we will likely how they got in during the Star Wars #15 issue later this month, and Darth Vader makes his usual dramatic entrance. Will he form alliances with the Rebels to get what’s his? Will he help Jabba and his forces fight back Vader from the Hutt’s 1 million credit big for Han? I can’t wait for next month to find out!
The opening of the issue deals with some of the players arranged for the auction, using their dialogue to tell us a little about them and Crimson Dawn, or at least what they know of Crimson Dawn or feel about their resurgence. I particularly enjoyed the little in-fighting between Jabba and Bokku, who readers of the Vader series know sort of works with (for?) the Sith Lord now after a failed attempt at killing him. He sees the invite to the auction and being amongst so many other syndicates considered less powerful than the might of the Hutt Council as an insult and wants to leave, but Jabba as the Council’s leader overrides him. Then they launch into a bidding war for the Han-sicle, with Jabba coming out on top with the 1 million credits offer, but maybe forcing his rival to pay so much is just part of Bokku’s plan. We also get a quick hit on how Sly Moore, an Administrator for the Emperor, justifies being at the auction, though we’ll get more of her motivations in the upcoming Darth Vader #14 issue next week. By reading the tie-ins, we get a little more about some of the factions at the auction, as it would be impossible to expect much more from an already packed miniseries like WotBH.
Releasing the same day as this issue is Doctor Aphra #12 (Vol. 2), showing the auction through Aphra’s eyes, and I’d highly suggest reading WotBH #2 after reading Aphra’s latest, but if you haven’t it won’t be a big deal (hey, even crossover creator Soule said that’s the preferred order). With the two issues overlapping, their connectivity serves to highlight how tightly written and collaborated this crossover is, and I hope to see more of this going forward. WotBH #2 focuses more on the auction than Aphra #12 does, highlighting the players and their bids, whereas the other issue has the numbers growing steadily larger in the background, so there’s more dialogue in this miniseries from characters with Qi’ra, reacting to the bids, and the Hutts and why Jabba bids as much as he does. When Boba interacts with Chelli Aphra and Sana, some of that series’ humor is retained, be it the word-for-word dialogue from Chelli figuring out the man under the hood is a clone like those from the Clone Wars or her comment to Sana about staying calm and then she’s shouts in surprise when Boba grabs her. It also offers a few extra lines of dialogue, one of them from Sana that echoes something I’ve been thinking since this whole thing was announced: no one better Han about all this, especially the 1 million bid by Jabba, because it’ll go to his head. I loved the connectivity and I hope to see more of it going forward.
The miniseries’ art team remains Luke Ross (art), Neeraj Menon (colors), and Travis Lanham on lettering, bring some fun, dynamic action between Bossk and Boba and some great little subtle work with Qi’ra’s facial expressions. In fact, Ross did a good job with Qi’ra last issue, but here he has more opportunities to showcase his work, a near replica of Emilia Clarke without the tracing, with subtleties matching the actress’ portrayal, while her outfit is a pure delight, similar to her white and red look in the latter half of the film (think Kessel) but more show-woman-esque, with a cape Lando would be supremely jealous of. He also handles other recognizable characters well, from Aphra and Sana, capturing Chelli’s wide-eyed excitement at the events around her and Sana’s permanent scowl, to Lando, Leia, and Chewie even, as Chewie’s facial expression of surprise and overall Wookiee-ness look better than most representations of him we get; only Sly Moore gets the short end of the stick, looking a little masculine/larger than usual. I did also appreciate the variety he brings to the Hutts after making them look too mushy/similar last issue, with unique designs and more depth to their gelatinous selves that would make Diego Luna want to touch them. Menon’s colors unfortunately remain distracting, giving some panels a translucent look with how light and faded the colors, as if most of the guests at the auction are ghosts, and I don’t know if that’s due to how Ross pencils/inks or what, as Menon’s colors are more defined and solid in his work for the Vader (Vol. 3) series. I liked his work on panels like Leia/Lando/Chewie’s reveal, with the slit of light throwing some brighter colors on their thankfully darker, more defined coloring. And whereas I feel like Lanham is a bit more reserved on the Bounty Hunters series, he goes big for the Bossk/Boba battle with his SFX, with my favorite the “shk” with Boba’s rocket blasting past Bossk, while he keeps some of the dialogue heavy sections easy to read and keeps the pacing light.
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!
- Next week brings the first of the one-shot issues featuring the appearance of a new character who’s lived a long time, enough to be from The High Republic era: Deva Lompop. Check out the preview for the issue and be as amazed as I am about Lompop after reading it!
War of the Bounty Hunters #2 didn’t have a shocking or buzz-worthy moment like the opening issue, but I never expected this to be a monthly series of surprises, as this one sets the stage for the mayhem to come at the auction of the era.
+ Qi’ra’s many faces
+ Depth to Boba
+ Mayhem to come
– Colors still too translucent
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 | Doctor Aphra #12
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