Last year, I used our inaugural Summer Comics Binge to try out comics from a property I love – – Doctor Who – – to see if I can translate my love of the TV show towards its comics in a thoughtful logical way. It worked out so well that I decided to try it out again with another of my beloved fandoms, Star Wars. (If you’re looking for a Doctor Who summer fix, come back early next month for my Summer TV Binge project.) And inspired by how well done the debut of the new “Doctor Aphra” ongoing series was, I figured it was high time to step back and dive into the adventures of this morally questionable space archaeologist from the beginning.
Today, we start with the first half (issues #1 – 3) of the first trade volume of the series, the “Aphra” arc.
Doctor Aphra Vol. 1Written by Kieron Gillen
Illustrated by Kev Walker and Salvador Larocca
Colored by Antonio Fabela and Edgar Delgado
Lettered by VC’s Joe CaramangaCollects Doctor Aphra #1-6.
Following her time in the clutches of Darth Vader, Doctor Aphra has barely escaped with her life. If the Dark Lord of the Sith ever learns of her survival, he’ll hunt her to the ends of the galaxy. But for now, it’s time for a return to what she does best. With droids Triple-Zero and BeeTee-One in tow, she’s off in search of rare artifacts from the galactic center to the Outer Rim — and everywhere in between. Aphra’s got debts to pay, after all. Just as long as she can stay one step ahead of the Empire, some bounty hunters…and just about everyone else in the galaxy!
Academics, if you thought tenure and promotion at your university was a process designed to break your soul . . . Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra has a galaxy or two on the Outer Rim to sell you. Because it’s not easy for a gal to get her artifacts when you’re under the thumb of Imperial forces, and your father.
So starts the adventures of Star Wars‘s own Indiana Jones. Not sure yet if she hates snakes, but she will do whatever is necessary to stay one step ahead of the Empire and all her own debts. The only person she can’t seem to stay one step ahead of is her own father, Korin Aphra, who revokes her degree credentials after discovering she lied about one her finds. Dad isn’t just around to dole out punishment, though — he needs a partner to help with his life’s quest to find a fringe Jedi order called the Ordu Aspectu and their shrine, hoping it can lead to a spiritual re-awakening. While daughter is not sure both of the validity of her father’s claims and her desire to work with her estranged parent, she agrees to come on board. While they find the Great Temple on Yavin 4 (the headquarters of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and the home of the archives of the Ordu Aspectu) they have to contend with not just Imperial forces, but their own family conflicts.
So, this is basically Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in space. Got it. Even Korin has a little bit of that Sean Connery look, sans beard and glasses. (I won’t lie: by the time I reached issue #3, Korin had just a bit of a Scottish brogue in my head.)
It’s certainly not a full on homage since Aphra isn’t having to rescue her father from Imperial forces (yet). But the high adventure and tension of a child longing for a parent’s love when that parent loves material pursuits more are themes that transfer well from 1938 to the worlds of the Outer Rim.
I do love the relationship between Aphra and her father. He respects her as an adult and an academic equal, but does remind her now and then that she’s still his little girl in different ways. Some are cute (his pet name for her, Boop) others are those trappings that parents can’t seem to let go of when their children become adults (honest conversations about life’s mistakes). He also has a sense of admiration of how his daughter stands up to him, pride in that he raised her to embrace the courage of her convictions, even if doesn’t agree with them. If dad sticks around, even in a limited capacity throughout this series, I certainly won’t mind.
Continued belowBut Korin isn’t the star of this story, it’s Chelli Aphra. And right from the get-go you know what you need to know about her character. She’s slick and crafty, skilled in thinking and deciding in the moment. She recognizes that her ethics are wrong, but knows that cutting corners in those ethics is the way to survival in this world order. She knows how to charm without relying on femininity. Perhaps most of all, she’s not afraid to speak truth without sugarcoating. In all this, she reminds me very much of Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Whittaker turned to this series to find that inspiration.
There’s a good balance between action and character moments. Our very first look at Aphra is thanks to a chase for the prize that leads her back home, and there’s no shortage of high stakes tension (even though you know logically it has to end victorious for her). From there, the majority of the second and third issues do the work to set up the relationships and targets for the father-daughter adventure without pushing off all those lightsaber battles we know and love to the side. It’s all paced very well, with flashback and crisp, to-the-point dialogue. Whereas getting to know Aphra was of the “show don’t tell” variety, building up the family tree falls more into the “tell don’t show” vehicle of storytelling, which can flounder if there’s too much dialogue. Gillen wisely finds that right balance between sharing information and keeping things moving.
Art had a bit of a slow start in the first issue, thanks to a fairly muted color palette. It does get the point across that Aphra’s world is a gritty, dirty one. So while it may not be pretty to look at, it does its part in setting up this world and its tone. The second and third issues more than make up for their predecessor with Technicolor action: pulsing reds of a Jedi-Imperial showdown, lush forestral greens on Yavin-4, the glow of sunlight in the chamber. In particular, I love the start of the journey to Yavin-4 in issue 2. Kev Walker makes the planets in the background appear three dimensional with smooth, subtle shading. It’s as close to a 3D comic as you can expect to get.
Besides the muted art of issue #1 that looks out of place compared to later issues, there are some other stumbles. Aphra’s companions Black Krrsantan the Wookie bounty hunter and droids BT-1 and Triple-Zero look and sound just a little too familiar to some other well-known Star Wars characters. It’s a missed opportunity to develop them past C3P0 2.0 and Chewbacca 2.0. There’s more unique characterization in the look of a nameless Imperial officer who reminded me more of Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada than in three supporting players who seem to be set up to play very integral roles to this story. Hopefully this will change with future issues.
The epilogue story at the end of issue #1, which explains how Aphra received her doctorate, is a fun interlude, but too short, glossing over the lessons of hard work and determination to reach your goals. It seeds fun potential for a look back at the university days (and would be a great spin-off series in and of itself), and maybe just didn’t fit in with the main story arc. The use of a different artist and colorist here (Salvador Larocca and Edgar Delgado, respectively) who play up smoother, softer lines and brighter colors emphasize just what a sore thumb this sequence would have been had it been placed in the main book. Certainly not a waste of your time to read, but don’t look to it for any keys to the feature presentation.
With rumors of a Doctor Aphra TV series in development for Disney+ (and Agents of SHIELD‘s Chloe Bennet rumored to be attached to the title role) there’s no better time to get to know this space archaeologist. And so far, I’m liking what I see.
Next week, we’ll be tackling the back half of this story in issues #4 – 6. If you want to read along with me this summer, you can pick up the single issues or trades of “Star Wars: Doctor Aphra” at your local comic shop (be sure to social distance, wash your hands, and wear a mask), or digitally via Comixology or Marvel Unlimited. As of this writing, all but the last two issues of the series (#39 and #40) are available on Marvel Unlimited, and issues #1-25, and #28 (along with volumes 1 – 4) are available via Comixology Unlimited.
