– Spoiler Review –
2023’s first issue of Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2), #28, is an excellent show of what makes this series so great, as the war for the Tagge corporation explodes across its panels in a thrilling, exciting, and surprise-filled way.
Last issue saw Sana Starros, Magna Tolvan, Detta Yao, Eustacia Okka, and Korin Aphra saved by Just Lucky and Ariole…but falling into debt to Ronen Tagge since they took the group to him to heal. After initially turning down Ronen’s plan to take the Spark Eternal for himself, Sana changes face when he reveals he’s aligned with Crimson Dawn, who is helping him take Domina down and give him the Tagge Corporation. When Sana told him not only would she work with him, but they needed to kill Domina, it was a surprise to readers and her group alike, though I understood where she was coming from…but I questioned if her shrewdness was showing in the decision to go after Domina or in whatever actual plan she had up her sleeves. We don’t get a chance to explore it much further initially, as while there’s a brief calm before the storm aboard Ariole’s ship between Sana, Magna, Detta, Lucky, and Ariole (Eustacia and Korin being held hostage), they enter Tagge space and find themselves in the middle of a warzone! Ariole gets to show off some sick piloting moves and gets them to Domina’s flagship, the Acquisitor, where the team has to fight their way through Dawn and Tagge aligned combatants alike, figuring Domina must be heading to the bridge to regain control.
They certainly aren’t wrong, as Domina’s making her way there at the same time they are. And while she’s not alone, she doesn’t seem to need the help, almost. Boushh and his team of Ubese exiles arrive on the Acquisitor as well, bringing their trademarked humor and heart with them, working as backup for Domina in her quest to regain control of the situation and her ship. Boushh and team were delightfully expanded on in writer Alyssa Wong’s heartwarming and excellent War of the Bounty Hunters – Boushh #1, where we learned a lot more about their personalities, why they do what they do, and how they come into Domina’s employ (after trying to kill her). While most of these things are conveyed in the issue, there’s only so much space so there are a few good scenes and some great jokes with the Ubese (my favorite being the remarks about Domina as she whips some ass) so I implore you, if you’ve loved what Alyssa has done here, you’ll not be disappointed by checking out the one-shot. Also in the one-shot is the reveal of Domina’s protoblade, though she uses an upgraded version here as her melee weapon of choice, one she wields with a maniacal yet poetic skillfulness, like a ballet for death, as drawn by the talented team of Minkyu Jung, colors by Rachelle Rosenberg, and letters by Joe Caramagna. The Ubese are even concerned about her deadly skill, leading to the aforementioned line I loved, and the gleeful way Domina cuts her way to the bridge is both disconcerting for readers but also kind of attractive. At the same time Domina arrives, so too do Sana and team, conveyed in a fun split panel that sees both groups making their way there, leading to an all-out brawl in the bridge.
Domina and Sana start going at it, the corporate mogul more than a match for resourceful Sana, while the two backup groups get involved, but before either side can draw first blood, Ronen Tagge arrives and the fighting ends. And here’s where things get complicated, in a way only Alyssa Wong can write, which is to say it’s a total blast! When Domina and Sana see one another, Domina expects her report but Sana only has the offering of Ronen trying to kill her, which Domina says isn’t enough for her to work with, a curious choice of wording that both doesn’t invite investigation, especially alongside Jung’s unhinged look across Domina’s face, but it also sounds like it could be leading to something else. Remember how I said I was curious what Sana’s real game was here? Could she really think Qi’ra is that powerful she’d turn her back on Domina and join with Ronen? Once takes the stage, he uses his usual big mouth to explain his schemes and his intentions, flanked by Dawn guards and Domina’s secretary Lapin, and once he’s done, instead of feeling defeated or joining him, Sana instead asks Domina if now this a good enough report for her. Domina supposes it is…and that’s when Lapin injects Ronen with a paralytic! While we knew they were a cousin, it’s the first time they’re outright named an actual Tagge, Domina revealing to the paralyzed Ronen she pays handsomely for loyalty like Lapin’s, right before she kills Ronen for good! And this is why you do not count Domina out in any situation, as she’s beyond resourceful and so ruthless the Sith might have to learn something from her. I loved the way Wong wrote this encounter, hiding the truth in plain sight, as it meant not only was there a beautiful and frightening display of power unfolding before our eyes, but a deeper game was taking place beneath the surface. With Ronen out of the picture and the Dawn-led insurgency over, Sana bargains with Domina to erase all their debts, free Ronen’s prisoners, and get a new Volt Cobra, all of which she agrees to, much to Lucky’s surprise, but she reveals she has a much larger fleet and people away from the Dawn’s reach so this battle was only a drop in the bucket for her. As I said, don’t ever count out Domina to have the upper hand, somehow someway.
With Lucky and his brother Pak’s debts erased, I’ll be curious to see what they do next, including what it can mean for Ariole and Lucky…could they find a way to start over, do something else with their lives, now the Ronen-sized elephant isn’t in the room? Regardless, beyond Magna’s disbelief over Sana’s duplicity, the team is quick to reunite on Ariole’s ship and get back to the business of trying to help save Aphra from the Spark, flying to Kho Phon Farrus to demand answers for their betrayal, though instead they have good news and bad news. Good news, they want to help again, having left to see if the Fermata Cage and Qi’ra’s work could help with the Spark and Aphra’s situation, bad news is they have to catch up to Qi’ra and the Spark because the work she’s done and is already doing could kill them all! It seems Qi’ra’s bid to defeat the Sith with the Fermata Cage might not be all it’s cracked up to be. The issue ends with the Spark, currently in possession of Aphra’s body and not the other way around like we left them last issue, grinning like the Cheshire cat as she meets Qi’ra in a remote location, alongside the Fermata Cage, which is no longer with Kho. As for the remote location, as we first had teased by a variant cover for Hidden Empire #5 and now confirmed here: it’s the Amaxine Station! The station was created by deadly warriors centuries ago but abandoned once the Drengir infested it, a group of meat-hungry sentient plants, though the Sith locked them away there…until the Jedi accidentally undid the work and unleashed the blight on the galaxy, as seen in The High Republic – Into the Dark, while later we saw Ben Solo visit Snoke there after leaving Luke’s temple behind for good. It’s neat to see it in use again, as it’s an interesting looking location with quite the sense of history!
There’s a beauty to Domina’s domination on the battlefield with the protoblade in the way Jung draws her, sweeping swipes, the way she sort of glides around the room, dress flowing around her like some anime character, a cold, yet steely look on her face, though the unhinged and ruthlessness appear as well, as occasionally the face we see on her reminds me of how Jung’s been drawing the demented looking Spark as it possesses Aphra. Rosenberg’s colors, Domina’s gold dress and the protoblade’s matching color show how much of an extension the blade is for her, adding to Jung’s work and the proficiency we see in her swings and movements, while Caramagna’s lettering adds to the ferocity of her violence, be it the deranged looking SFX accompanying her first swipe or krackling sound he applies as she holds it up to her face, ready to pounce on Sana. And before all the violence, the first time we see her, she’s tending to her garden, dead attackers on the ground next to her, which should’ve been our first big hint how unconcerned she is about everything going down, as she has everything under control; She’s the dom and we’re all just living in her world, as both only Wong and Jung plus team can provide. The scale and scope of the battle over the Tagge corporation has some great panels: the chaos of the space battle thanks to all the ships and explosions Jung’s draws and Caramagna gives big SFX for; Ariole’s impressive flying highlighted by the aggressive lines cutting through panels from inside the cockpit and Rosenberg’s explosion-like colored background, as if they are inches away from the death and destruction of the battle around them; to the Ubese surrounded both sides fighting one another and fighting them, a chaotic opening scene cut wonderfully by Wong’s Wookiee-centric humor (which I chuckled at and my wife gave a thumbs down to when I told her the joke). Also, I really just liked the split page of the two groups cutting their way to the bridge, followed on the next page of the conveniently designed entrance to the bridge so they were still on two sides (of the same coin, given they were working together?!), where the next few panels jumped back and forth between Domina and Sana; it’s just clever design and well drawn and completed by the team.
Here are a few other things:
- Alyssa Wong, Minkyu Jung, Natacha Bustos, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Joe Caramagna’s work with the Doctor Aphra series has been honored with a nomination for Outstanding Comic by the 35th GLAAD Awards! The Aphra series has been nominated before, and won, so hopefully Wong’s time can bring home the latest gold, otherwise it’s just awesome it was nominated again.
- Don’t forget, February 1 brings the start of Sana Starros’ own miniseries!! While I’m still not sure when it’ll take place in regards to this series, it matters little considering it just means more Sana, from Justina Ireland, so we are sure to be in for a treat. Check back to the Manor for our review and make sure to check it out!
- Speaking of February, Black History Month will be celebrated on special variant covers next month, of which Doctor Aphra #29 (Vol. 2)’s cover will feature, you guessed it, Sana Starros!! And then for Women’s History Month in March, Domina graces the variant cover, though as of this writing it hasn’t been revealed.
- The Aphra series might’ve outdone itself this issue, with 14 instances of queer representation, even if it’s some small cameos!
- Always a good time to feature Lev’s work again, a portrait of Kho Phon Farrus, especially since they returned.
- While the Doctor Aphra mini-bust went on sale down to $50 and promptly sold out, her latest Black Series figure is still up for pre-order, but having done so I just got the notification it’s being shipped out right now, so get your orders in now and you might not have to wait long!
- Elsewhere in toys, Triple Zero is part of the Jumbo figure line now! He wishes he was that big to cause maximum chaos and torture.
Doctor Aphra #28 (Vol. 2) is everything that’s special about this series, showing the power of the supporting cast Alyssa Wong and team have brought to life, as the conclusion to Ronen Tagge’s return to cause chaos makes for a thrilling issue full of fun surprises and ballets of death.
+ Sana’s ultimate plans
+ Domina dominating…calm down 😉
+ All the questions on what the team will do next, free of debts, after saving Aphra
+ Domina’s ballet of death and the scale and scope of the fight for Tagge Corp wonderfully displayed by the art team
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.
DOCTOR APHRA (Vol. 2) REVIEWS:
Fortune and Fate: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 / Arc Review — The Engine Job: #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 — War of the Bounty Hunters: #11 | #12 | #13 | #14 | #15 — Crimson Reign: #16 | #17 | #18 | #19 | #20 | #21 —The Spark Eternal: #22 | #23 | #24 | #25 — Ascendant: #26 | #27