Canon Comic Review: Doctor Aphra Annual #2

– Spoiler Review –

Tightly plotted, with fun twist and turns, and some memorable new characters, Doctor Aphra Annual #2 is an excellent standalone issue and one of the best Annuals to date, hands down. Make sure to get out and read this one, now!

Doctor Aphra Annual #2 Full Cover — Wijngaard Cover

Doctor Aphra has recruited the married couple of Winloss and Nokk, a male human and female Trandoshan respectively, to hunt down a monster on her behalf for a mysterious employer, but as the plot unfolds, it’s revealed to be far more complicated than that, with an ending that begs the reader to immediately reread the issue to see and spot all the hints about the surprise along the way. Not only is Doctor Aphra Annual issue #2 a blast to read for the twisty, fun plot, Winloss and Nokk are hilarious, bizarre, and wonderful new characters which also make reading (and rereading) the issue really enjoyable.

Seriously, Winloss and Nokk are some of the more intriguing and fun new characters introduced not only in Doctor Aphra, but in most of the comics to date. Nokk is a non-lethal Trandoshan, which seems to go against her species’ brand, but her backstory reveals a very good reason for it. Her honor stems from the incident in her past and this very same honor is important to Aphra’s needs when subduing the monster within the lair she sends Nokk and Winloss into. I really liked the idea of bucking stereotypes of species and introducing a not-so-bloodthirsty Trandoshan, as it’s refreshing to have some variety within every species because humans can’t be the only ones who are both good and bad guys (or in Aphra’s case, “it’s complicated”). Her rapport with her husband, and how she refers to humans, brings plenty of laughs, while her skills as a monster hunter, despite her self-imposed handicap within the industry, are irrefutable after she manages to subdue the Shadowfang Beast, a bioconstruct from the Hundred Years’ Darkness. Winloss, a middle-aged human who wears a spider-rig of metallic arms, is the more mushy of the two, he is the fleshy mammal in the marriage after all, and his insistence Nokk never says he’s right, even though he frequently is, also provides even more laughs. Despite their differences, not only in species but in the approach to their work and their marriage, Winloss and Nokk and are a happy, stable couple, believe it or not, and it’s such a nice change-up in the way relationships and couples, if there ever are any, are represented in Star Wars. In fact, they’re one of the few couples I really want to see succeed and I was pretty happy Aphra’s antics weren’t enough to drive a wedge between these two enduring, lovable, mismatched misfits. UPDATE 9/7: Holy Mother of Moons! Writer Simon Spurrier took to Twitter to announce we’ll see Winloss and Nokk again! No details on when or where of course, but considering how much fun these two were, it’ll be blast regardless!

Aphra is in contact with Winloss and Nokk throughout their journey through the ancient, underground tomb (reminiscent of something out of Indiana Jones or Uncharted, with hints of the one on Malachor, as seen in Star Wars Rebels), but her story about hiring them on behalf of her employer begins showing holes as previous monster hunters show up with holes of their own from failed attempts to bring down the same beast. From her extreme lack of cares about Nokk’s backstory, no matter how much Winloss talks it up/is excited to share about his wife, to her supposed lack of sharing vital information due to not wanting to demoralize the two, Aphra is in true form in Annual #2. Her skills at manipulation and deceit, while not the best thing to be excited about in a character but that’s the charm of Aphra, coupled with her quick wit, get highlighted here more so than I’ve felt they have in her series’ main story as of late, though she’s never short on morally ambiguous, self-serving decisions. There’s a sense of urgency to her guidance of Winloss and Nokk, while her treasure-trove of info regarding the temple and its secrets raises more and more questions the deeper and longer the two intrepid monster hunters go. The reveal at the end, with her having been trapped inside the monster the whole time due to her earlier attempts at stealing the temple’s precious gem, was both hilarious and surprising, and it reframed the entire issue up until that point, asking for an immediate reread to find the hints about her plight hiding in plain sight all along. But Nokk and Winloss get the last laugh, as early banter that seemed like throwaway lines pays off big time, capping off one excellent moment after another at the end.

Doctor Aphra Annual #2 Ashley Witter Variant Cover — Witter Variant Cover

Much like the beginning of her series, and some of her adventures while employed with Vader, Doctor Aphra Annual #2 takes out Force-related shenanigans, complicated relationships, and avoiding certain death from all sorts of grievous parties, putting the archaeology back into rogue archaeologist. I love her series so far, and consider it Marvel’s best at the moment, but it’s nice to go back to simpler tales of previous misadventures and I hope the series can return to that for a bit because Annual #2 proves there’s a lot of exciting, intriguing stories left to be told in the dark corners of the galaxy, Vader be damned, with Aphra’s archaeological mishaps. Either way, both the main series and this issue are written by Simon Spurrier for the moment and he’s more than proven his worth taking over the mantle from Kieron Gillen, with this Annual feeling like the perfect example of how he can tell fun, unique stories with all sorts of characters while still retaining all the things that make Aphra fans like myself love the character in the first place. As important as the twisty, tight script by Spurrier is to Annual #2’s rousing success, Caspar Wijngaard’s art is what brings it all home. Hovering somewhere between the exaggerated art of Kev Walker and cartoonish look of Emilio Laiso’s, and the darker look of Marc Deering, and Java Tartaglia’s colors and the bright colors of Rachelle Rosenberg, I’d say Wijngaard hit the absolute sweet spot, making him my favorite artist to work on Aphra yet. For starters, what makes Nokk and Winloss just as appealing as their banter is their character designs, from how Wijngaard makes Nokk look both loving but a dangerous lizard predator from one panel to the next, while his take on Aphra is light and cheery, with an excellent grin the whole time after she’s freed. Beyond the characters, the temple and it’s ancient technology coupled with Indiana Jones/Uncharted like old-style traps, is a beauty to behold, and a character unto itself, while the bioconstruct monster is a creepy, intriguing beast, with it’s strange shield effect (and death emoji) and numerous fangs. The temple feels old, but fresh, undisturbed, yet frequently visited, a depth which really brings the setting to life.

Lettering was provided by Joe Caramagna, with Tom Groneman as Assistant Editor, plus Heather Antos (!) as Editor.

Here are a few other things:

The King Prana mentioned by Winloss and Nokk is the same one Han Solo and Chewbacca were selling the rathtars to in The Force Awakens! Nice little connection there.
It might be a bit lengthy, but the latest Kanjikast over at Tosche Station is all about Aphra…and worth every minute. Give it a listen when you get a chance!
So far, it seems only Doctor Aphra got swallowed by some creature and escaped its stomach, jetpack-ing to safety, and not some “badass” Boba Fett. I don’t know if shade was intentionally thrown here or not, but love it regardless.
Check out this interview with Dan Wallace, author of the upcoming Smuggler’s Guide (October 30), which is basically a in-universe smuggler journal which will feature Doctor Aphra! (You can see one of her scribbles in the last image in the interview)
Just like the first Annual, I loved both covers for this one. Wijngaard does the original cover, while Ashley Witter, who has been providing excellent, gorgeous covers since issue #14, provides the variant one. (And I managed to grab my LCS final Witter variant alongside the original cover!)
I really enjoyed the first Annual, and while it was due to the story tying into main events by giving us Black Krrsantan’s backstory, I’ll easily pick Annual #2 as the better of the two…though they are both excellent overall.

A twisty, turvy plot from Simon Spurrier, plus two memorable and lovable new characters in Nokk and Winloss, and excellent art from Caspar Wijngaard, makes for hilarious, enjoyable, and instant must reread Doctor Aphra Annual #2.

+ Nokk and Winloss
+ Twisty, tight plot
+ Begs for a reread at the end
+ Aphra at her finest (per usual)
+ Wijngaard’s art is absolutely superb (please return, soon!)

Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.

Doctor Aphra
Annual: #1
Aphra (#1-6) | And the Enormous Profit (#9-13) | Remastered (#14-19) / Arc Review | The Catastrophe Con (#20-25)

Canon Comic Review: Doctor Aphra Annual #2

+ Nokk and Winloss

+ Twisty, tight plot

+ Begs for a reread at the end

+ Aphra at her finest (per usual)

+ Wijngaard’s art is absolutely superb (please return, soon!)

Check out the rest of our Canon Comic Reviews here!

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