– Spoiler Review –
Dengar proves he shouldn’t be underestimated and T’onga and crew find themselves looking for help in all the wrong places in a fun Bounty Hunters #23.
Whether it’s his time in Legends, The Clone Wars, or even these comics, I haven’t felt one way or another about Dengar, besides maybe underwhelmed with him so far despite his fun interactions with Valance earlier in this series. After Bounty Hunters #23, I will say writer Ethan Sacks at least helped me find him interesting now, as his assassination attempt of Lord Khamdek, T’onga’s crew’s benefactor and one side of the grandpa puzzle of Cadeliah, was inventive, using both his mouthy nature and the pervasiveness of Crimson Dawn and its agents to his advantage. Before he’s wining and dining to his kill, the issue flashes back to a younger time in Dengar’s life, swoop racing and being dirty about it, as you’d expect, though he’s up against someone who can be just as dirty if he needs to be: Han Solo! Yup, Bounty Hunters #23 makes their swoop rivalry from Legends canon now, as Han causes him to lose. It’s a fun little moment that lets us see a younger Han and Qi’ra together, before their separation led to events we’re dealing with now, but also adds some background to Dengar to help flesh out the character a bit.
In the present, Dengar’s still on Milvayne, looking for an audience with Lord Khamdek of the Mourner’s Wail after he got the group’s attention by killing some of their men. He’s granted a meeting since he doesn’t have any weapons and he finds himself in a swanky, upscale restaurant, making a small but notable comment to a random waiter, and then he’s before Khamdek, figuring he’ll take advantage of his surroundings and get a big meal. Khamdek indulges this only because he feels like he has the upper hand and Dengar knows where his granddaughter is, but it becomes increasingly clear Dengar’s up to no good and not playing fair. Khamdek threatens him and he threatens back, pointing out the poisonous barb he has from an item in the meal he devoured and how the Dawn has informants everywhere…only for the waiter to arrive with a gun and Dengar kills Khamdek! In their conversation, Dengar informs Khamdek of Vukorah’s Unbroken Clan takeover, meaning Cadeliah is only an heir to one syndicate now, but with Khamdek’s death, she’s not a heir to Mourner’s Wail either. Was this Qi’ra’s plan, take over both syndicates? Roll them into one? Does she do this for power, simplification, for their might in the fight against the Sith controlling the Empire… but also because she believes it’ll set Cadeliah free unlike she was after her separation from Han? Like I said in my review of the last issue, I’m looking forward to having this all clarified soon.
But for now, the chaos that unfolds in Dengar’s escape is a lot of fun, as it seems like he’s enjoying the work, getting a little of his mojo back or sorts considering he pulled off a successful mission. This whole issue was a fitting place for a guest artist like Natacha Bustos, Arif Prianto still on colors, to take over. It’s a little more lighthearted fair than the past few issues and Bustos’ more cartoonish style adds enjoyment for readers alongside Dengar’s excitement, be it the confident grin always on Dengar’s face or the chaotic two-page spread of Dengar using the poor Dawn waiter as a shield as he jumps across tables, eventually sliding around and grabbing vintage bottles of booze as he makes his escape. The flashback, and the way Bustos drew the outline of Han before his reveal, while both made it clear who it was from the start, it still landed the reveal when he’s finally drawn into the light. Prianto’s colors give Dengar a vibrant younger look while offering a lighter palette for the fancy diner to really show how upscale it is compared to the usual dives we see in the films/shows. Travis Lanham’s lettering styles closer to Bustos’ work, with bigger, bolder, and more cartoon-like SFX, and he doesn’t skimp during Dengar’s escape, with tons of pew’s and choom’s to sell the chaos Dengar’s trying to get out of.
Elsewhere, T’onga and Losha try to interrogate Vukorah, but she’s been through far worse and ends up interrogating them instead. Unable to crack her and then learning of Khamdek’s death, worried the team might leave now the credits run dry, Losha’s there to help prop her up with some much-needed tough love. I wouldn’t expect them to be a real lovey-dovey type of couple, so this was a fun way to show both a softer side but also not take away from the toughness they exude everywhere else. T’onga decides they’ll just storm the Vermillion, Crimson Dawn’s flagship, to get Cadeliah and she goes to Syphacc, the bounty giver, to find someone to help…and he sets them up with Dengar (on purpose). While they somehow knew almost immediately that Khamdek was killed, the who and how of it didn’t come with the news, so they are unaware Dengar was behind the hit and that he works for Crimson Dawn. Things are only going to go sideways from here and it has me excited for the series’ future!
Bounty Hunters #23 has fun with its characters and the pervasiveness of the Crimson Dawn, leading towards a chaotic series of issues in what is sure to be a big finale to all its current storylines.
+ Dengar’s new groove
+ Promising chaos ahead
+ Guest artist spot on for the issue’s energy
– Still looking for some answers
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.
BOUNTY HUNTERS REVIEWS
War of the Bounty Hunters: #12 | #13 | #14 | #15 | #16 | #17 — Crimson Reign: #18 | #19 | #20 | #21 | #22