Canon Comic Review: War of the Bounty Hunters #1

– Spoiler Review –

After a month’s long “Prelude,” the first issue of the War of the Bounty Hunters miniseries had a lot to prove, as the overall crossover’s daunting 34-issue total so far hadn’t had a great enough spark, but I had faith in miniseries writer and crossover architect Charles Soule…and holy Mother of Moons did he deliver with a fun, sprawling issue that ends on a big, game-changing surprise.

Whether you’re here simply to read about the big surprise reveal (which I will be discussing in the spoiler section below!), been following along already, or just jumping into the crossover now, I’ll do a quick rundown of this mega-event: War of the Bounty Hunters crossover started in May with War of the Bounty Hunters – Alpha #1, where we see the inciting incident, frozen Han Solo stolen from Boba Fett, and then the rest of May’s issues moved the players into place for the story. The crossover will last through October, though the entire endeavor was made modular in design, so you can read this 5-issue miniseries and likely enjoy the overall story, but reading all the tie-in issues from the on-goings and the 4 one-shots will enhance the experience and add context. We have a monthly recap, the Hunters’ Guide, which sums up each month’s events, which found missing May’s issues won’t set you back if you start here, so it’s a handy reference as the story grows larger!

War of the Bounty Hunters #1 picks up with Boba Fett at a bar on Nar Shadda,* having lost Han Solo from unknown assailants, when his respite and planning is shattered by a surprise attack from a local patron. He’s not too worried about it until he shows up at the Slave 1 and runs into bounty hunting pair, Zuckuss and 4-LOM. They get the drop on him, and though he tries to have a dialogue, they reveal they boarded his ship so he makes them pay for the disrespect, making very short work of them both. Before he kicks Zuckuss off a ledge, the fortune teller reveals a sea of red is in Boba’s future, which I can only assume is the Tatooine desert he’s stuck on for years until The Mandalorian, while Boba decides to gather information from 4-LOM’s head, finding out about the bounty Jabba the Hutt put on him for losing Solo; he later throws the droid’s head into the sands of Tatooine. How Zuckuss and 4-LOM come back after this major defeat to star in an upcoming one-shot issue in August is beyond me, but I’m excited to see the results. Otherwise, I’m not surprised Boba Fett didn’t have much of a problem with these two, but so far he hasn’t had much trouble at all, so I hope we see him have a harder time going forward throughout the crossover, though with the last page reveal, I have a good feeling getting Solo back won’t be as easy as Boba assumes.

At Jabba’s Palace, his majordomo Bib Fortuna greets Boba, who reveals the crime lord actually isn’t at the Palace for once, a rarity in canon so far, and is instead heading to a party of sorts. Turns out the criminal organization who stole the Solo popsicle from him have video evidence of their capture, hence an angry Jabba putting a bounty on Boba, and the slug is off to claim his prized possession from the current owner. In transit to this party in the Outer Rim on Jekara, Jabba meets with the Grant Hutt Council to discuss the organization now in possession of Solo. This was a really neat scene, as we rarely see the ruling Hutts, let alone them interacting, and anything that expands details on their motivations and plans is a pleasant surprise, while I hope we have it happen more often throughout this event (and maybe even going forward after this is all done). Luke Ross has been an excellent artist these last few years on Star Wars projects, like the villain issues of Age of the Republic, and he shines here again, though I was a little disappointed in the depictions of the various Hutts, as they all basically have more exaggerated faces than the last, unlike how The Clone Wars presented several of the members of the council with unique styles and looks, including hats and glasses. Regardless, the Hutts debate the legitimacy of the organization, as it’s been dormant for several years, but Jabba’s conviction is enough for the rest of the group to go along with his desire to see what the organization has to offer. Hutts live a very long time, so they play the long game always, but even Jabba’s slightly concerned about who’s running things now, as he knew the previous leader and whomever took over has to be formidable.

I’ve been trying my best to not spoil the reveal before the spoiler section below, hence why I’ve been coy about mentioning the organization in question or getting into too much detail. It’s also something I appreciated about Soule’s writing and pacing of the issue, as he avoids giving much detail either, but a few name drops and conversational hints actually allow readers to make the guess about the mysterious hooded figure we meet in the opening of the issue who stole the Solo popsicle. Once I had it figured it out, I had to see it to believe it and was eager to get to the final page. The moment didn’t disappoint in the slightest, as I felt like my heart stopped for a second, still so shocked and delighted despite making the connection earlier, and it instantly washed away some of my trepidations for the crossover as whole. What could possibly merit a total 34 issues crossover? Surely there was something bigger at play then Boba Fett struggling to get back Han Solo? The more I’ve read of Soule’s work, be it his original novels like Anyone or The Oracle Year, Star Wars comics like Lando and Poe Dameron, to the grand opening novel of The High Republic, Light of the Jedi, the more I’ve learned to trust him and this definitely proved it’s the smart play again.

I don’t want to bury the important talk about the art for the issue behind the spoiler discussion, so it’s time to talk about Luke Ross’ work, alongside colorist Neeraj Menon and letterer Travis Lanham! As I mentioned earlier, I’ve grown quite fond of Ross’ work over the years and this continues his excellent streak, especially with the dynamic aspect to many panels, be it Fett’s position as he’s thrown from the explosive trap set up the rival hunters or him jet-packing away as his father’s ship scatters them with some powerful blasts, it gave the action a frantic, kinetic feel fitting of its quick, violent bursts. I also really enjoyed how Ross uses hand gestures for Fett a lot, as well as helmet tilts, to accentuate Soule’s script for the prime hunter, giving the slightly humorous, nonchalant vibes of the character more panache. Lastly, really liked the design of the new ship, the Vermillion. However, as much as I’ve never had a problem with Neeraj Menon‘s colors through Darth Vader (Vol. 3), but they seemed far too bright this issue, almost pink-hued the entire way through, feeling far too distracting and odd compared to events throughout; however, the colors did fit a little better in the sections set within organizations’ headquarters. As for Travis Lanham’s lettering, he takes a chunkier, weightier approach to his SFX that adds some heft to the action and really highlights when he chooses to use them, while having them be less clean on the edges than most SW comic letterers helps it stand out more and fits the underworld tone more than the colors do. He also has great bubble placements, even when things get packed with some exposition thanks to the Hutts, while he allows the art sell the final reveal more than the script.

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO,

IT’S TIME FOR THE BIG SPOILER TALK.

SO CLICK BELOW TO REVEAL

WHO STAYED IN IT AS LONG AS THEY COULD…AND THEN SOME!

Show Spoilers

Here are a few other things:

• *The bar Boba’s in is a popular one on Nar Shaddaa. Luke Skywalker got into a fight there and even Maul visited it once upon a time, while the Zabrak bartenders throughout each appearance show it’s a family run business, as the father dealt with Maul and his son dealt with Luke and Boba.
• There’s a funny though telling The High Republic reference in the issue, as the Hutt Marlo, who is a thousand years old, awakes from his slumber to chime in only to mention that era’s Republic Chancellor Lina Soh! For a quick second, I thought maybe this had been the surprise at the end of the issue, but there were too many other hints pointing to the true reveal, though it was still neat to see her name here. The Hutts are only just getting involved in the era’s larger events, and fellow luminous author Cavan Scott teased we’re “pre-title sequence,” so I’m interested to see Marlo make a case for dealing with Soh, in a positive way, back then.
• Don’t forget, June is the debut of the Pride Month variant covers! I’ve included the Doctor Aphra starring cover above, art by Babs Tarr, and I’m happy to save I got a copy at my LCS today!
• I just realized I’ll be on my honeymoon during the final week of October, which means I won’t have a review of the final issue of the crossover until, at the very least, the week after. Just as a heads up, dear readers!

War of the Bounty Hunters #1 bringing back a familiar face kickstarts the crossover in a big, thrilling way, though the events beyond that still added up to a packed, fun, and interesting issue full of potential for where this mega-crossover event can go. Welcome to the Hunt, readers, hope you enjoy the ride alongside us over these next few months!

+ No one’s ever really gone…

+ …and all the potential and new story possibilities it opens up

+ Fun, fast-paced issue

+ Hutt intrigue

+ Overall, art was fitting and dynamic…

– …but colors a little too distracting at times

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.

WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS CROSSOVER

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