Canon Comic Review: War of the Bounty Hunters – Boushh #1

– Spoiler Review –

Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) writer Alyssa Wong brings to life War of the Bounty Hunter‘s next one-shot, Boushh #1, where they deftly handle an expansion on the hunter and his compatriots while offering Tagge family intrigue that factors into their Aphra run and the larger crossover, while the art team of David Baldeón, Israel Silva, and Ariana Maher impresses to make this my favorite one-shot yet!

War of the Bounty Hunters – Boushh #1 is the latest one-shot that expands on the crossover and some of the bounty hunters not featured in the main content, though this one focuses on an unlikely pair of characters and their family dynamics: Boushh and his fellow banished Ubese (who as Manor writer Chris pointed out, are kind of like the Power Rangers with their color schema) and Domina Tagge and her fellow ruthless Tagge relations. That we get such a full picture of each, so much so that it alters our feelings on both characters, is an impressive feat by Alyssa Wong, as finding a way to fully represent both takes on family dynamics in a galaxy far, far away in one single issue shows a strength of purpose, message, and writing abilities, with the wonderful art team making the characters and themes even more potent. What I enjoyed most about diving into the exiles and the Tagges was how they functioned as examples for the differences in found families and those you’re born with, something at the core of Saga time and time again. More often than not, it seems like the family characters are born into in Star Wars are often the least helpful or provide far to much trauma/drama, just look at Luke and Leia and who their father is, while the families forged by friendships and battles against a great evil are the most supportive and connecting, be it Rey, Finn, and Poe or Luke, Leia, and Han, and it often feels the same way in real life. I have a big family, which grew over a decade ago with step-siblings after my father remarried after a divorce, and while we are bound to one another and will always gather and celebrate, my found family is where I find the most support and often go to first, as it consists of friends I’ve known since kindergarten and of course I recently added to my found family with my best friend/wife, so I’ve always found the Saga’s reliance on found family dynamics to be one I identify the most with. The exiled Ubese are a prime example of the found family dynamic and in a way are a microcosm inside these two examples, as they were rejected by a strict society aka the family they were born into but have now found each other outside their ancestral home, forming a more open, accepting, and forgiving bond and family. As for the Tagges, they only associate with one another because they are family, and more importantly because said family holds so much power and they all crave it, which replaces a more open, accepting, or forgiving dynamic, were they are ruthless to one another and would eagerly break off and exile any other member if it meant their own advancement. Domina Tagge is a curious case in the middle of it all, managing the squabbling and keeping them in line from acting on their worst impulses, while it seems she often carries a disregard for her relation to these people and would rather focus on what they can do to help her. By the end, the way Boushh and Domina find common ground, makes one wonder if Domina is also looking for a similar offer but the inverse, to be pulled away from her family instead of being brought back to it.

Boushh and his fellow exiles, after a successful job for the Black Sun, have a moment to catch their breath and talk to one another about their lives since they were exiled from their planet, a stark contrast to the later scene of the Tagges all together at a table. It’s only a little over two pages worth of context, but Wong loads the dialogue with insightful and enduring moments that it’s easy to connect and understand these hunters, even without ever seeing their faces despite their helmets being off, as it’s their dialogue that makes them unique, not their looks, which the opposite is true of the Tagges. Alyssa Wong delivered a wonderful little thread about each of the exiles, Boushh, Brene, Ilini, Hareck, and Tans, on Twitter that dives into their character traits and confirms at least two are non-binary (and Domina’s assistant Lapin gives us THREE non-binary characters in one issue!), though how much they care for this group and built up their backstory is even apparent in the issue alone if you haven’t seen the thread, thanks to the dialogue connecting them so quickly. It really adds a bit of tragedy to Leia taking Boushh’s armor, because after facing off with Domina Tagge after taking a job by Crimson Dawn to eliminate the family, Domina decides not to kill the group because it’s not good business sense, as she gets the true culprit behind the Ubese Exiles’ attack and finds out who they used to hire the bounty hunters, offering them in exchange a chance to go home to their extremely isolationist world; will Boushh still get to go without his armor? Will his fellow exiles find him? Is there’s a reason he’s alone at that point, because they all go back and he stays behind in the rest of the galaxy? Considering the strict society the Ubese come from, I’ll be curious to learn at some point if their return will help change their homeworld, though considering how harsh they were to them, I’m a little surprised they still want to go back. Either way, never did I imagine I’d be so invested or care so much about what happens next to Boushh and his fellow exiles, but after this issue I’m eager for more and hope the little note on the final page, that this story will continue in Doctor Aphra, also includes more of the Ubese exiles.

Teasing the entire Tagge family back in the first arc of her Aphra run, Wong’s finally able to introduce us to them as Domina calls together a meeting, though not for the purpose they all imagine. As I said earlier, their meeting is truly a stark contrast to the Ubese sitting around a table, from both the art and dialogue perspective, as each Tagge immediately begins harping on the other and their failures, unlike the exiles supporting one another, while what makes the Tagges stand out are their character designs and clothes, whereas we don’t even need to see the exiles’ faces to get a better understanding of them. While it was cool to have the Tagges fully introduced, I loved the focus on Domina since Wong hasn’t been able to get to it yet in the Aphra series. It’s apparent in her brief scenes how much of a danger she is to Cheli Aphra and Sana Starros, be it some early dialogue exposing her cut-throat business sense or her usage of the ray shield to choke out Aphra/Sana, but here we see how much of a danger she can be to everyone, with more exploration of her ruthless decision making, level-headed approach to running the corp, and wicked skills in combat as she brandishes a prototype plasma blade. That she’s willing to suss out a potential traitor in the family but putting them all at risk by gathering them together, especially when she’s dead sure it’s not a few members, and that she later kills the family member for their betrayal, only proves how business orientated she is, to a fault, as she’s lost all emotional connection and only sees them as a means to an end. As a big Aphra fan, it only makes me more worried for Chelli, because if this is how Domina treats family at the slightest hint of betrayal, I can only imagine what she’ll try to do to Aphra considering there’s no family connection whatsoever! But Domina business focused mindset isn’t all bad, as she’s not without some heart, especially those who aren’t her family, as the deal offering the Ubese a potential way home for only a small nugget of info, even after they shot up her ship and attack her and her family, is actually fairly altruistic. Once again though, I just don’t expect that for Aphra, while I hope we get to see Domina wield the plasma blade again soon, because damn was that impressive and striking to see, especially when she does it in her signature gold, flowing dress. She is all work and no play and it’s amazing to see.

Another new one-shot another new artist pair for Star Wars, as David Baldeón provides the pencils/inks and Israel Silva is on colors, with SW comics vet Ariana Maher *for lettering. As I keep talking about, what the art accentuated this issue really were highlights of Baldeón , Silva, and Maher’s work, like the contrast to the Ubese family and the Tagge family: in the small table scene between the Ubese, slight differences to their outfit beyond colors helps us keep track of who is who, while the closeness of their gathering and the intimacy they share, often holding hands, adds to how close knit this found family is as we gather from the dialogue, which Maher keeps unobtrusively out of the way; contrast that with the Tagge’s at their table, a giant one where they are spread far out, where they can’t touch one another (besides Ronen’s parents), and what makes them distinct are unique faces or looks to their clothes, as their dialogue could come from any one of them, it often feels like. What I appreciated most was Domina’s imposing stature and looks, as while Marika Cresta, Ray-Anthony Height, and Minkyu Jung have all had their chance to provide their own takes on her look, with the yellow, flowing dress being a constant amongst them all, it’s Baldeón who provides her with a slick new battle outfit but also shows how the elegant dress won’t slow her down when she has to put some fools in their place. It all stems from the way she carries herself, never slouched, always looking relaxed, but strikes like a viper, her movements sudden and fierce, something she’s still able to pull off and use to her advantage in the cool battle outfit. Domina’s plasma blade was also a cool weapon design, as it’s yellow appearance, fitting with her dress, often has the look of Kylo Ren’s unstable blade, denoting it’s prototype status but hinting at its strength if wielded correctly. Silva’s colors make it easy to tell which Ubese is which, while I enjoyed the homey feel of the darker colors in their table scene, whereas the cold, industrial colors for the Tagge meeting helps set the mood; matching the blade to Domina’s outfit also made it feel like it was her weapon and hers to control. Maher’s lettering always impresses, but the SFX for Domina’s blade, the “slash” that looks as unstable as the blade itself, was a real standout and such an excellent design choice to fit its prototype feel, otherwise the blade is often accompanied by SFX similar to her lightsaber ones in The High Republic, which builds into its desire to be a saber for her.

Here are a few other things:

Once again Deva Lompop, who had a memorable introduction in Jabba the Hutt #1, makes her requisite cameo in the one-shot, and I’m growing more and more okay that she has such short appearances now. Justina Ireland did say we’d get to see her soon in The High Republic era, while I’ll be curious to see if she gets a slightly bigger role in the final one-shot next month or it’s just one final cameo.
*We did an excellent interview with Ariana Maher regarding The High Republic comic lettering!

War of the Bounty Hunters – Boushh #1 focuses on two characters who might be looking after their families, but the differences in the way they go about it provides fertile exploration of the Saga’s themes, making for an excellent one-shot issue you don’t want to miss.

+ Juxtaposition of Tagges and Ubese

+ Domina dominance

+ Stellar art accentuates themes

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.

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