– Spoiler Review –
Doctor Aphra #9 (Vol. 2) finds all parties interested in the potential Nihil path engine about to be on sale intersecting, leaving us with a big cliffhanger before the series dives into the upcoming War of the Bounty Hunters’ crossover. Plus, it features what is at least a Star Wars comics first: two LGBTQ+ (ex) couples!
Let’s start with the big first for Star Wars comics: not just one, but two LGBTQ+ couples in a single issue. Yes, technically Aphra & Sana and Lucky & Ariole are both a pair of exes, but the point still stands, this hasn’t happened before, at least in the comics and maybe any other Star Wars story as far as I can recall. Ever since the announcement of the new canon, the list of characters who identify amongst LGBTQ+ has grown, with the slowly reforming Wookieepedia (which is why I am even linking to them again) focusing on a wonderful project now, WookieediaProject: Pride, trying to improve their articles regarding LGBTQ+ characters (adding an LGBTQ+ identifier even!), the wind has seem to shift in the right direction for inclusion in the Saga, though the lack of on-screen representation is the most glaring and stupefying aspect of the growing inclusion. Regardless, in all the time since 2014, there hasn’t been a story with this many characters considered LGBTQ+ together, in main, important, speaking roles before and it’s an exciting milestone that highlights one simple aspect of inclusion: it’s just this easy. Alyssa Wong, like many writers now before her, shows how simple it is to add inclusion to a story, as it doesn’t change a single thing about the overall story for them to be LGBTQ+, while exes forced to work together again is a story as old as time, and that easily means any and all types of couples can fit in such a story. From having the first visual depiction of an LGBTQ+ kiss in Star Wars, before even The Rise of Skywalker’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kiss, to building and expanding inclusion in new and exciting ways, it’s awesome to see the amazing, hilarious, and disaster of a character Aphra be at the forefront of it.
At the end of last issue, Aphra and Sana aka Saphra were under fire from Vukorah of the Unbroken Clan, last seen plummeting to their death inside the giant tree that devoured Nihil spaceships hundreds of years ago. Of course they were going to make it out, but it’s more of how the two treat each other in the situation that is far more interesting. Saphra have largely made nice over their volatile past, though Sana has repeatedly said she wants to keep the doctor at arm’s length since her return a few issues back. Aphra, normally concerned about her own safety and life, notices Sana’s wound despite hanging for their lives and immediately takes to caring for it once they are back on solid-ish ground. There’s an exchange I really love here, as Sana says Aphra’s cute when she’s pretending to care and Aphra’s whip-smart response is a sarcastic bomb: “Yep, that’s my specialty. Sweet lies.” If it’s not obvious from knowing Aphra very well, that she’s often sarcastic and definitely cares about Sana still, the art from Minkyu Jung (Penciler), Victor Olazaba (Inker), Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist), and Joe Caramagna (letterer) seals the deal on the line delivery of Wong’s words. Sana still doesn’t believe Aphra cares about more than herself now and I’m waiting and eager to see if she’ll ever notice the change…or if Aphra will unfortunately confirm Sana’s suspicions (only likely to happen if it’s what it takes to save her).
Regardless, the two trudge onto the planet Midarr to check out Beol De’Rruyet’s supposed Nihil path engine, which they basically confirmed was fake last issue when they actually examined a real Nihil spaceship’s innards. How do they sneak inside this heavily guarded building, site of a potential new era of hyperspace travel for whoever can steal it first? The front door, of course… by knocking out and taking the uniforms of two interns! I love that even in the Galaxy Far, Far Away, interns are still largely ignored and forgotten, as it’s even apparent from the art Aphra’s new uniform does not fit in the slightest, and it caused me to laugh several times throughout. With their intern gear, Saphra are able to check out Beol’s ship and based off her inspection of the real deal, Aphra’s fairly certain his hyperspace engine is a fraud; rummaging around his office further confirms it but present a new problem: the moment it’s turned on, it’ll cause a cataclysmic explosion! Also in his files, Aphra uncovers a Clandestine Network, basically a GFFA version of the black market, where Beol must’ve heard about the item, as the large, expansive collection on display includes High Republic era trinkets. For Aphra, she sees an unending payday, but Sana wants nothing to do with it, though neither have the discussion as Beol finds them. Regardless of what comes next, and throughout the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover* which will take over this and every other Marvel series from May through October, this clandestine network is a smorgasbord of content for Wong to plumb for upcoming arcs and story content, if she wants, and I’d be interested to see what ancient relics and goodies Chelli might find herself in pursuit of going forward.
Beol doesn’t have a chance to confront them for long, though Aphra’s “we’re Imperials” shtick seems to work for a bit, as Vukorah blasts her way onto the scene, doing her damn ruthless bit and doing it well, promising to off one person every 5 minutes until she gets the ship and its engine. No one but Aphra, Sana, and Beol are aware the whole thing will blow if they finish putting together the engine, though Chelli’s the only one who can do anything about it, so it might just be up to to save the day…only to have to face the wrath of Vukorah once she does so! Having not read the Bounty Hunters series for a while, Vukorah was one of my favorite aspects to it, especially with how straightforward and ruthless she can be, so it’s been a blast to have her in Aphra for the time-being.
As I mentioned earlier, we learn Ariole and Lucky (after heavy hints last issue) were a couple back in the day, twice before even, but they are at odds once again. They both owe a debt to Wen Delphis, leader of the Sixth Kin, and it’s during a shakedown mission at a local bar, with lots of humor, we get the revelations about their relationship as Lucky chats with an old friend and Ariole is stuck fighting for the money. Right when the two think they have their man on the run, it turns out this simple shakedown mission might be far bigger than the two of them can handle…and it might be exactly what Wen Delphis wanted to happen. The more time we spend with Lucky’s part of the story, the more invested I’m getting, and I’m curious if it’ll be resolved before this series heads into War of the Bounty Hunters and/or their part builds up to it as well. I imagine the Sixth Kin might get mixed up with the search for Han Solo’s frozen body, and Lucky might be going against Aphra in the future because of it.
There’s a brief but illuminating scene with Domina Tagge, as we get a little bit of family history and why having the engine would be so important to her and her family. Domina is the one responsible for sensing how to shift their business with the rise of the Empire, and with the Empire reaching out to say they’ll drop her contracts if De’Rruyet’s engine works, the entire future of her own little empire and family is in jeopardy without it. I wonder how understanding she’ll be to Aphra’s realization the whole thing is a farce and she can’t have it, though maybe if Beol is off the board after whatever happens next issue, she could be favorable to Aphra otherwise she’ll have another powerful being chasing her across the galaxy.
As I mentioned earlier, from the littlest looks on Aphra’s face to sharpen the dialog or the baggy outfit on Aphra through her scenes in the intern’s clothes, the art team of Jung, Olazaba, and Rosenberg delivers all sorts of excellent humor and emotional context to the story. With the scene in the bar, with Lucky looking on as Ariole fights through some gangsters, there’s a noticeable look to Lucky, very relaxed, leaning back against the bar, and it’s clear from his disinterested facial expressions he’s not too concerned for his ex, though he’s quick on the draw to save him from being punched in his face. Rosenberg’s colors in the scene, a dark, neon glow of pinkish/purple and light blue add to the texture of the bar itself, bringing out its seedy feeling, and she strikes again a few short panels later, in the dark alleyway where Lucky and Ariole track down their target, only for even more trouble to appear from the shadows, which are deep and dark enough it feels like things are hopeless for the two. As for the lettering from Joe Caramagna, I particularly loved the big. bold, attention-breaking “KAA-BOOOOM” he uses when Vukorah, off-screen, makes her explosion entrance, as it really halted me in my tracks, just like the sound would the characters, while I also enjoyed how he pulled readers along the first two panels of Lucky/Ariole’s first page, as the bubbles sort of lead you around, as if a slow reveal of what’s going on, to land on Jung’s art of Ariole in the middle of the negotiations Lucky and the bartender Di’reni are talking about.
Here are a few other things:
- As I mentioned before, the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover begins next month, with Doctor Aphra issue #10 both ending the current “The Engine Job” arc, but also serving as a “Prelude” issue to the crossover. We have solicits for issues due in May, June, and July, but this mega-crossover will continue to take over all the current series until its grand finale in October. But the ending is just the beginning for something bigger, and I’ll be very curious to see what comes out of the whole endeavor.
- Sana and Aphra will grace two of Marvel’s planned Pride Month variant covers in June!!
- don’t forget, her Gentle Giant bust is still available to pre-order! (And it seems the Triple-Zero bust is still available to preorder too!)
Doctor Aphra #9 (Vol. 2) offers more delightful Aphra and Sana content and leaves us with a ticking time bomb of a cliffhanger for “The Engine Job” arc’s finale!
+ Great new moment for LGBTQ+ representation
+ Seriously, this Saphra content is so good
+ Loving the cliffhanger
+ Art team continues to sharpen the script
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 REVIEWS:
Volume 2: Fortune and Fate – #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 / Arc Review — The Engine Job: #6 | #7 | #8
Doctor Aphra (audiobook)
Volume 1: Full Volume 1 Review