Canon Comic Review: Doctor Aphra #40 (Vol. 2)

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

– Spoiler Review –

After nearly four years and 40 issues, plus lots of laughter, tears, and joyous chaos along the way, Doctor Aphra‘s (Vol. 2) finale has arrived. We’ve been here before, but not at this caliber and strength of character building, so the tears come swift and often in one of the best finales for Star Wars comics in general, let alone for the character. I’m going to do my best not to cry again too much typing out this review, but hey, if I do, you won’t have to see it. Let’s begin!

Doctor Aphra #40 (Vol. 2) opens with panels revealing Aphra’s survival of last issue’s crescendo of a finale, her Holdo Maneuvering the Tagge Fleet’s Acquisitor into a nearby planet. There’s no lettering in these panels, so they are completely silent, if you will, but they are so loud I can hear them, the heart wrenching conversation from last issue with Sana as she makes it seems like she’s dead is basically shouting from beyond the panels despite the lack of lettering. After we get to see the events from Aphra’s point-of-view, she crashes on the nearby planet and the narration begins, employed in such a way it takes us back to the first series’ issue #40, and even the audiobook, where it seems like we’re hearing a message Aphra’s left for Sana Starros to explain her actions as she once again makes off into the galaxy on her own. While she seems wistful about the choice she’s made, she’s finally getting away from everyone with the most plausible cover story for her death yet, free as she’s always wanted, all while she’s coming to understand how she made Sana feel over the years so concerned about herself instead of others. As Chelli excitedly explores a nearby ancient Jedi site, she comes across an extreme rarity: a physical book with paper pages. She’s so pleased with her discovery, drooling about the possibilities for credits upon credits to do what she wants and be free, she doesn’t realize until too late that turning to Sana, to explain how monumental this score could be, turns up nothing but old dust and empty Jedi ruins behind her. It’s in this moment the narration turns, the reality of what we’ve been hearing not something she’s recorded and left for Sana to hear, but her reaching out to her ex because, as she hates to admit it, she’s changed. Alyssa Wong has taken Chelli Lona Aphra too far for her to ride off into the stars like she did at the end of the last series, content to explore the galaxy as she sees fit, all alone, and Aphra is PISSED about it, disappointed and loathe to acquiesce to the truth: living day by day, not caring about the future or who is with her, is no longer enough and she wants to share the joys of the galaxy (really, the fruits of her plunders) with the people she loves and cares about most. The series opened with Aphra and a crew pulling a job on Hoth, later recruiting more people for an even bigger score, but it was just who was useful, who she could manipulate the easiest, who owed her, or who she owed. Later, when she was back in control of her body after the whole Spark Eternal saga, it’s a shocking moment for her to see a group of people come together over a shared feeling for her, regardless of how she’s treated them, and she lashes out much like she does here as the revelations she wants to care for and share her life with other people comes to a head. Working with Luke Skywalker, only because she captured him since she still couldn’t believe anyone would care to be around her due to her previous interactions with them, she found people will put things aside to help her if she asks (not just if other people ask on her behalf), so it clears the way for her to open up to Sana in the hopes she’ll join her to rescue Magna Tolvan from the growing Scourge of the droids/cyborgs. The way they work together, the way Sana’s there to hold Aphra’s hand and tell her she’s doing great because, as Sana admitted some time ago, she loves Aphra, is enough of a push to make the typically care-free rogue archaeologist care. Well, she’s cared, she just struggles to admit it, to accept opening up has its dangers but it’s what she wants, it’s what will make her happy and feel fulfilled again, especially as she’s faced death and wrangled her way out of it time and time again, many times even in this series alone.

While she’s coming to this conclusion as she explores the ancient Jedi ruins, we see the ending to the Scourge, aka the Dark Droids crossover, which finally frees Magna Tolvan from the entity’s grasps, Sana there to care for her and fill her in on what happened. Together, the two women agree, in the most loving way possible, Aphra’s a Corellian roach, impossible to kill and always able to cheat death, and Magna sends Sana out with hope and a simple mission: bring their girl home; That’s a line which still hits hard on the emotional scale! So as Aphra’s shouting at Sana for “making” her care over the comms, Sana’s approaching in the Ark Angel, culminating in Aphra telling her without telling her she loves her by saying she hates Sana instead; move over, “I love you,” “I know”! Chelli tackles the other woman with a kiss, yet she’s still struggling with the reality of the situation and starts yelling at her again, but Sana can read her like a book, the two kissing once more!! It didn’t take long for the series to make this relationship between Sana and Aphra its central tenant alongside forcing the character to grow and change, if just a little. Reaching this point, and especially what comes next, feels absolutely earned on so many different levels, emotionally and character-wise, as it feels like the natural culmination of the series, not forced or too easy, but hard won and well-deserved. We all thought Sana was going to be the tough nut to crack, but she always genuinely cared and Aphra, even back in the audiobook with their initial breakup in university, was the one struggling with caring about anyone back, having been accustomed to caring only for herself at a young age because of how her mom tried to protect her and her dad barely noticed her since he was too busy finding elaborate ways to make the galaxy a better place for her. I love the way Alyssa Wong made this a story and growth you’d only need to read this series to enjoy, but fit it all in with what’s come before to the point, as much as I hate to acknowledge this thought, if there were no promise of more Doctor Aphra stories, I would’ve been able to make peace with this being the last. It would still take a few years to fully accept it, maybe rationally and not yet emotionally, but yes, had this been the final bow for the character somehow, this ending would’ve been the one I didn’t know I was dreaming of for her.

Over the hump of accepting she wants to be with Sana, to care and share her life with her, Chelli’s already hatching her next plan and it involves…Magna!?! Aphra’s always been an opportunist and she wants to continue to be one, especially with the galaxy in shambles as the two big sides duke it out, and everyone’s recovering from Crimson Dawn/the Scourge’s efforts to shake up the galactic makeup, but she wants to do it with Magna and Sana alongside her. Magna and Sana developed their own relationship together, all off-panel yet never shied away from when Aphra asks about it directly, and while I’d have wished to see more of it, maybe those wishes will come true… In issue #31, Aphra starts down a better path between herself and Magna and Sana goes her own way after Aphra can’t commit to either of them, but back at the place Sana left Aphra that issue, the three women sit together now as Aphra reveals her invitation to both of them for a life of crime with her. While it might seem like her idea, and the other two are more than okay letting her think it was, they’ve been waiting for her to join them, bringing us Star Wars’ first polycule!! We’ve long played the game of Aphra having to choose Sana or Magna, and I’ve certainly had fun picking sides or figuring out who I’d like to see her with more over the years, but as Alyssa Wong has done time and time again, she opens up the possibilities with bringing in more meaningful representation to the table. A polycule is, “…a connected network of people and relationships, all of whom are in some way involved emotionally, sexually, or romantically with at least one other person within the polycule,” and this is something which just fits Magna, Sana, and Aphra as they are now. Aphra’s cared for both so much, she’s able to have both at her side, at whatever level of connection they’d prefer, while she understands the other two will have their own parameters, but in the end what matters is they can all be together…and have a ton of fucking fun!! The issue picks up sometime after, Just Lucky and Ariole at Di’Reni’s bar and welcoming back Sana, Magna, and Aphra, only for them all to get into a firefight with a group of beings the three managed to piss off together. It’s a fun ending, Aphra surrounded by people she cares for and who care for her, getting into the trouble she loves, and it’s the reason why, if there wasn’t the promise and hint at what comes next, I’d have somehow, eventually, been okay with this being her last story, as mine and other fans’ imaginations would have plenty to run wild with for the crazy adventures these three women would kick up. I definitely had happy tears seeing them come together like this, and even more so when I flipped to the final page and saw exactly what I hoped for…

Thankfully…Doctor Aphra will return, per the issue’s final page!! That’s right, there’s an explicit promise we’ll get more Aphra adventures one way or another, and it’s a balm on the wound of seeing this run by Alyssa Wong come to an end. Could they return and helm what’s next? We can sure as hell hope beyond the known galaxy that’s the case!! But what could be next, beyond Aphra, Sana, and Magna stirring up shit across the galaxy? There’s a combo platter of hints between an appearance in the issue’s last few pages and in “Tall Tales,” Wong’s short story comic in Revelations (2023) #1: Raslin Grace. A bounty hunter, Grace has a fanciful way of retelling their exploits, as we saw in “Tall Tales,” which ends with them looking rather menacingly at a hologram of Aphra, their next hunt. In issue #40, we meet a new Imperial, Melichor Votto, who, for reasons yet to be revealed, hires Raslin to hunt down Aphra (so this seems to take place BEFORE the events of “Tall Tales”), so you know we’re going to see Raslin’s hunt for Aphra and why Melichor wants Aphra dead at some point, some way, in the future. When? How? Who? All good questions but only the “when” is one we maybe got a hint about recently, when a listing for a comic called “Aphra Bounty Hunter” was found online for a May 2024 release, and while Lucasfilm Publishing Creative Director Michael Siglain confirmed they would’ve revealed such a series if it existed, his wording about the listing being a misprint certainly leaves the door open to it having the wrong name but it actually being what’s coming next. Considering we’ll get the May 2024 solicitations later in the month of February, we’ll find out much sooner than later if there was any merit to the find, with an official reveal likely coming before the solicits. Regardless of how, when, and who…there’s more Aphra and I’ll take that for now!

Going back to the polycule ending for Aphra, Sana, and Magna, no series has pushed queer representation as far as Wong’s run on Aphra has, and for queer fans and allies, it’s a big loss to see something so full of the varieties of life come to a close. Even as a cishet male, it’s so enriching to have something so heavily stacked with queer content by a queer creator, as it expands my understanding of my only place on the scale and relationship with the levels of privilege I’ve had in my life and how much harder queer people have had it through anything and everything in theirs, and shows all readers how to be more empathetic across the board. I love Aphra’s disregard of all the mystical aspects of the galaxy we love because she’s just trying to live in it, and have become enamored with her disaster lesbian tendencies, bringing tons of humor and heart into my life and the Saga itself, but her and her tales, and all the characters Alyssa’s introduced along the way, be it Kho Phon Farrus, Just Lucky, to Lapin Tagge, have resonated with so many people on so many different levels. This series as a whole has had some of the most engaging storylines thanks to its wide cast and their many personal motivations, earning the title of my favorite comic of all time, especially in Star Wars, so to have such a memorable run filled to the brim with meaningful representation shows the importance of more queer and marginalized creatives in all mediums and stories, as it allows more and more people to see themselves in the media and stories they love (and can help with diversity in the characters as well). Whatever comes next, we can only hope it manages to be as inclusive as Alyssa has made it (and if they come back for more Aphra, than one can only imagine how much further they could take it), as their run has been nominated by the GLAAD Awards three times now, while the first was nominated twice and won once, so hopefully the streak would continue. With that all in mind, after we talk about the fantastic art for the finale, I’m sharing all the outpouring of love by the fans as the finale released on January 31 (many who I’ve come to follow for their fun opinions and amazing fan art), as well as some thoughts from other creatives, and of course Alyssa themselves!

There have been several artists throughout the series’ run, but colorist Rachelle Rosenberg and letterer Joe Caramagna have been our constants, while artist Minkyu Jung has been the leader for the majority of it, so their shorthand together is what really helped make every bit of Alyssa Wong’s script hit so emotionally hard, sad and happy-wise, throughout. From the moment Aphra lands on Rocedila, the art tells us everything we need to know about how Aphra really feels, despite her words at the time about her freedom and everything decaying and being excited to take what she can while she’s here, as most of the panels following Aphra on her journey through the ancient ruins feature her as a small, lonely speck amongst the history of the place. In juxtaposition, we see Magna and Sana close-up often, near and together, to highlight how they aren’t alone and have one another, but out on Rocedila, Aphra’s more alone than she’s ever been. It leads to some really gorgeous panels, in particular the one of Aphra under the light breaking in through the ceiling, the Jedi symbol mural mostly bright from it, while the enormity of the space leads to awe, but as much awe as I had of the team’s work on the panel, it made me feel how alone Aphra was in the moment, and I didn’t know how much longer she, or myself, could handle seeing it. The next few panels really got me, as we see her looking up at the mural on the wall, broken pieces of it long forgotten on the ground around her, which she picks up and examines, leaving it behind and, still from a pulled out perspective, begins ascending the steps. Rosenberg takes us away from the majestic lighting with every successive panel on the page, with the sunlight often not on Aphra or the pieces she’s regarding, but elsewhere, to showcase how big the space is compared to Aphra, and as she leaves the piece of the mural behind, the darkness only grows as she walks up the stairs, while Caramagna’s narration box hangs behind her, as if her line about Sana’s thoughts on archaeology being something where you chase ghosts is chasing Aphra, the ghost of her thoughts chasing her up the stairs, away from where she really wants to be. The next page has Aphra working her way up the stairs, the lighting even dimmer still, our perspective pulled back, at a distance to show how alone she is, while those panels are intercut with ones of Magna laying in Sana’s lap, Rosenberg shining brighter, more happy colors, Jung pulling us in close to their interactions, Caramagna hogging the panels with their dialogue boxes since we’re so close to them, while in Aphra’s the narration boxes are often far and away, building into the pulled back perspective. On the page as she regards the book, growing more and more excited about the find, what it could mean, we are treated to more close-ups of Aphra than we’ve had since the opening montage, but two panels line the left side of the scene which pull back and display the truth of her situation, how alone she still is in this scene despite her excited reactions. The page ends with her looking back, all happy and thrilled, to tell Sana about the discovery and then the next page we go back to the wider perspective, the lack of dialogue bubbles and the darker colors behind her holding the book being used to finally let her in on the secret she’s been trying to avoid: she’s all alone and she doesn’t want to be. Case in the point, the next panel is a close-up of Aphra, one of the first really since she’s entered the abandoned Jedi site which also features narration bubbles not floating away from her, but locked in close with her, as if she can’t escape the truth now that she’s seen it, that she’s thinking it, the sadness of being alone such a hard change from her thrilled expression only a few panels before. Jung and team have been my favorite for Aphra in general for quite some time now, and this sequence alone, playing with perspective, coloring, and the placement of dialogue in the way they do, marks them as the all-time greats. The final two pages are such a fun display of the shorthand Aphra, Magna, Sana, Lucky, Ariole, and Di’Reni have come to inhabit, as they are so causal about fighting back against someone they’ve pissed off, it only takes a tap on the counter for the guns to be out and them all grabbing them, flinging into action seconds later. The final page was a joyous one to see, Aphra thrilled, Magna looking happy, Sana pleased, Lucky even smiling, Ariole showing off his might, and Di’Reni behind the bar, enjoying the chaos

Aphra and her comics are the reason the Manor’s hitting 10 years of service later this year, as her antics have been the biggest reason for my renewed and continued passion for the universe, with The High Republic almost tying but definitely in second place. This series certainly meant a lot to me then, such impressive and unforgettable quality issue after issue, but it’s reached so many for hundreds of other reasons. So now, here are tons of reactions from fans, Alyssa themselves, and even other creatives on the series ending:

Here’s a few other things:

  • Do you think Aphra and crew sold the old Jedi book or gave it to Luke? Regardless, any bets if it’s one of the books he had on his shelf in The Last Jedi?
  • I’m glad we got to see Domina and Lapin reunited and I love the Tagges are still out there, somewhere and somehow…

Doctor Aphra #40 (Vol. 2) left me in tears but they were happy ones in the end, as it was such a beautifully fitting, enjoyable culmination of everything the series set out to do from the beginning and made it a worthy way to close out this part of the rogue archaeologist, and now team’s, story. Thank you, from the bottom my heart, and know even all these words in this review don’t feel enough, Alyssa Wong, as well as all the art teams who have been on the series, for giving us such a wonderful journey from beginning to end.

+ Emotionally filled, fitting finale

+ Playing with perspective, lighting, and placements by Jung, Rosenberg, and Caramagna

+ Polycule ending for the win!

+ Even though my heart aches to see it end, the promise of more is a balm

Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, 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 — Starweird: #32 | #33 | #34 — Dark Droids: #35 | #36 | #37 | #38 | #39

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