– Spoiler Review –
Things get weird…Starweird that is in Doctor Aphra #34 (Vol. 2), as Luke Skywalker and Chelli Aphra unleash an ancient evil and, in a hilarious script and trippy art, must find a way to stop it from killing them and breaking free to wreak havoc on the galaxy!
Doctor Aphra #34 (Vol. 2) is a madcap issue popping with energy and humor as Luke and Chelli rush from the imposing and frightening figure of the Starweird, and throughout it all writer Alyssa Wong finds a real groove here between the two, as they come to rely on and work together to overcome the creature’s unending pursuit. Their back and forth has been delightful across the last two issues and they harmonize like the Bell in this one, Aphra actually complimenting Luke a few times and Luke being honest with how he’d actually have helped her if she just asked, even despite their history, while much of the issue’s laughs come from their interactions, be it Luke saving her from hurting herself due to tech-related distractions or their back-and-forth over keeping each other’s weapons if they die on one another. Having them overcome this together and Luke get the final one-up on her, which she can’t begrudgingly be mad over, was a great way to have the two grow a little on their own. For Luke, it’s both being willing to help anyone, no matter how they’ve treated him in the past as it means he’s being even more Jedi-like and putting his feelings aside (useful for his encounter with Vader aboard the Death Star II), but also him picking up some sly skills from Aphra’s somewhat nefarious ways. As for Chelli Aphra, she pushes herself to fight past her darker memories, like a quick flash of using her electro-tattoos brings back a momentary freak-out about the Spark Eternal, so not letting them control her anymore gains her a bit of confidence back in her own skills and sauvy-ness that maybe will help her not worry about needing Luke for protection from a Sith Lord. Sana asked Aphra to figure herself out before she’d ever consider being with the rogue archaeologist again, so her conquering some demons and finding the strength inside herself and her skills, is a solid first step. Also, her working together with Luke despite how things started, trusting in him to pull his own weight while she does her own thing to help them, is also a great initial point on her being a better person in any type of connection, romantic or otherwise.
Unleashing the Starweird is the unintended consequence of Aphra’s desire to help Luke Skywalker be strong enough to save her from Darth Vader himself, if the Sith Lord ever comes calling again after their recent brief encounter (as seen in the Darth Vader (Vol. 3) series), and this ancient evil looks to be even more trouble than her feared ex-boss. I love the way their battle with the Starweird plays out, from the aforementioned the way Luke has to pull her literally back from the ledge as she tries to figure out the tech they pulled from Kythoo’s Bell to how they use the reflective hallway against it, while the Starweird keeps coming like a classic horror movie monster, no matter what they throw at it or limbs they chop off. At the end of last issue, I totally thought the encounter would be scarier, and while it was still unnerving with stuff like the creature’s many ear-splitting shouts letterer Joe Caramagna tried to make our ears bleed over, as well as its ghastly visage, but the script steered toward humor and I’m glad for it. Aphra and Luke seemed like little kids in the hall of mirrors, mocking it when it fell for their trick, while their jokes about keeping each others’ weapons felt like something out of a thriller, not a horror-flick, plus Aphra igniting Luke’s saber thanks to her electro-tattoos to fend it off was a cathartic moment where the tables felt like they had turned (and if you guessed this was one of Alyssa Wong’s favorite panels to write so far, you would’ve been right!). Having her swinging his blade, confident in herself and standing up for someone else, while also saving her own skin, was a much more fitting way to end this adventure than go full horror. Next issue might dive closer to such vibes however, as the Dark Droids crossover takes over Star Wars comics starting in August and it’s supposed to be all horror, so we’ll see how Wong balances their own story and being involved with the larger one, though their track record so far has been one of the best yet with all the previous crossovers.
As much humor as there was, with Minkyu Jung on art, Rachelle Rosenberg on colors, and Joe Caramagna lettering, the Starweird’s imposing, almost horror movie monster like vibe still had quite the impact in the issue. Jung’s work with the Starweird is so impressive, it left me with nightmares (I wish I was kidding), as the wavy, flowing, windy appearance of its modest cloth coverings and long hair almost felt like it was moving and rippling across the page despite being in a comic panel, giving it a shiver-inducing feel as it continues to dog them as they attempt to escape and stop it for good. Also the way it often just appears in a panel, hanging in the air, body in an unnatural position, debris from the Bell swirling around it like it was its own gravitational pull (which it does!), was just creepy. I was also impressed with how the team brough emotions to the creature’s skull head: a higher intensity goldish/yellow from Rosenberg with its eye pits as it gets angry; a lower intensity color as it stares at its now stubby arm, skeletal mouth agape in surprise and maybe even pain; while Caramagna’s alien, shaky word bubbles and the lettering which breaks out of them, while, as I mentioned earlier, his SFX for its ear-rattling screeches explode across panels and are overwhelming, forcing you to read them and hear a sound you know would hurt your ears if you heard it in real life. Aphra’s momentary spasm of pain over memories of the spark was a neat way to show how deep the wound goes, as it brought back Rosenberg’s sharp red hue, then there’s the effect Caramagna brought to the word bubble, a scratchy echo of it nestled behind the main one like some type of glitch, followed up by her teeth clenched in pain. The following panel she’s recovering a bit, yet still fighting back, eyes closed as if she’s still dealing with the lingering memories, but the following panel Aphra’s determination lights up her face, while her electro-tattoos glow blue now; it’s a great sequence that shows her getting over the past and trying to push forward. Aphra igniting Luke’s blade was such a cool panel, as it’s still framed where the Starweird is a large and seemingly impossible obstacle, but the blade in her hands seems to even the score, taking her smaller figure and reaching up, up to its level, much like how the moment feels as she takes control and starts swinging it around, holding it back from Luke and herself.
Here are a few other things:
- I’ve attached it above, but the vintage cover for this issue is quite damn neat! I found the final copy of it at my local shop…thank goodness for half days! Speaking of cool covers…
- It’s absolutely wild, but next issue is Aphra’s Legacy 75, meaning between the first series and this one, she’s had a total of 75 freaking issues!! For a comic-born character first introduced way back in 2015, this is an impressive feat someone only like Aphra could pull off. To celebrate the momentous moment, original artist for the character Salvador Larocca returns and has made an extremely cool special cover, which riffs off the very first ever Marvel Star Wars comic cover from 1977! You know I’m going to be hunting this one down at my local comic shops, while I’ll for sure have it posted in next issue’s review.
- Krrsantan sdcc figure! Aphra’s had many foes and friends, many of them both at the same time, and that includes the imposing Krrsantan! With his jump to live-action in The Book of Boba Fett, there’s been some figures made for him, but the most impressive one yet is a SDCC exclusive, with tons of accessories. Don’t expect it to be exclusive forever, as I’m sure it’ll show on Hasbro Pulse or something sometime after the convention!
- Turns out, despite the Starweird now more of a gravitational anomaly than Force-using creature, its fan made stats for RPGs still work out!
- Lev on Star Wars Twitter has put out some really great Aphra series related artwork, including some cool keychain looks, and now they have a look at Sana, Magna, and Aphra ones, as well as Kho Phon Farrus and Detta Yao in the quoted tweeted I linked to! Aren’t they so damn cool looking?!
- I hope one day we’ll get to see the struggle Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura went through to capture the Starweird in the first place, as we see them approaching it in space before we cut away to the present and never return.
Doctor Aphra #34 (Vol. 2) finds Aphra and Luke working together to take down an ancient evil, both learning something about themselves and one another along the way.
+ Aphra growing a little
+ Luke and Aphra’s teamwork leading to tons of laughs
+ Art team making Starweird weird and spooky and showing the character’s journeys
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: #1-5 — The Engine Job: #6-10 — War of the Bounty Hunters: #11-15 — Crimson Reign: #16-21 —The Spark Eternal: #22 | #23 | #24 | #25 — Ascendant: #26 | #27 | #28 | #29 | #30 | #31 — #32 | #33