Aphra’s past, from her childhood to her most recent, starts to catch up with her in the penultimate arc of the first volume of the series.
Cover by Ashley WitterWritten by Si Spurrier
Illustrated by Cris Bolson, Andrea Broccardo, Wilton Santos and Caspar Wijngaard
Inked by Marc Deering, Scott Hanna, Don Ho, and Walden Wong
Colored by Chris O’Halloran and Stephanie Paitreau
Lettered by VC’s Joe CaramangaCollects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #32-36.
The galaxy’s shadiest archaeologist is back doing what she does best! After a year of close shaves, Doctor Chelli Aphra is taking it easy and lying low. Probably herding banthas or something. She’s smart like that, right? No, not really. She’s back to busting into alien temples to steal horrifying weapons for huge profit. She just can’t stop herself. But plenty of other people could. Powerful factions are watching closely — all calculating whether Aphra is more useful alive…or dead. And now, the incorrigible and sticky-fingered Aphra finds herself at the mercy of the Rebel High Command. But things are about to get even stickier! The one thing every galactic treasure hunter knows for sure: exes never mark the spot! Plus: A trip down memory lane! Bounty hunters — lots of bounty hunters! And an old enemy awaits!
Note: I have no idea why I called this arc last week in my preview ‘Unspeakable Rebel Superwagon.’ The actual name is ‘Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon.’ Though a rebel superwagon would be pretty cool…
Well, there’s some good news, even if it was expected. Aphra is alive, surviving the Rebel attack at the end of ‘Worst Among Equals.’ Of course, she’s still on the run, bopping from planet to planet to stay one step ahead of the usual suspects (and then some) who want her dead. This time, she has young Vuulada in tow, teaching her the ways of the less than ethical archaeologist life. The target this time? Another Jedi weapon, the Farkiller, which of course the Imperials want.
And who’s leading those Imperials? Magna Tolvan. Who is also very much not dead, and very much not happy with Aphra for manipulating her memory to believe Aphra was the one that was dead. Not the happy reunion Aphra – – or we the readers – – expected. And if that wasn’t awkward enough, the Farkiller has the figurative fingerprints of Aphra’s father all over it. His singular obsession with Jedi research (which we also see more in flashbacks throughout these two issues) comes back to traumatize Aphra again.
Try as you might, sometimes you just cannot run away from your past.
The script here kicks off with the trope of turning the adult with unresolved parent issues into surrogate parent, but it doesn’t dwell on that too long. The trope proves for effective setup of more exploration of Aphra’s childhood. Realizing her husband was lacking in parenting skills when he ignored a simple injury on his daughter’s hand, Lona Aphra packed up Chelli and left the family, taking refuge on Arbiflux in the Outer Outer Rim. Before Lona Aphra’s death at the hands of rebels, she does impart quite a bit of knowledge on her daughter, some of which should sound familiar to readers at this point, if you’ve been keeping up with the story.
While Aphra with Vuulada would be an interesting dynamic (we’ve seen the surrogate parent idea work beautifully in The Mandalorian, after all), I do hope Spurrier avoids taking this idea to the typical conclusion (child softens adult and makes them a better, more compassionate person), even in the final issues of this series. There’s been such clever, multifaceted storytelling that retains all of what makes Star Wars so great while trying new things, falling back on the tired trope of cute kid sidekick to change the heart and mind of main character would be several steps back. It’s a great lens for understanding why Aphra is the way she is, and that’s where it should stay. Aphra is a great many things, mom she is not.
But she still has love for one person: Magna Tolvan. For when presented with the option to work for the Empire to sniff out just how loyal Tolvan is, she is reminded of one of her mother’s most vital lessons. And that drives her final answer to the Empire.
Continued below
I imagine you’re all sick of me talking about color in every single one of these recaps. But is there is one thing that is consistent from arc to arc is the fun every colorist has with the palette. They keep things vibrant and house style of Star Wars, deep in reds, blues, greens, and the occasional purple. But there are moments where color gets creative or sets a mood, and there’s two in particular in these issues.
The first is when Star Wars goes cyberpunk in the opening moments of issue #32. Rachelle Rosenberg had a lot of fun dipping into neon and iridescent tones in the previous arc, and Chris O’Halloran and Stephanie Paitreau extend that idea further in the opening sequence of the first issue and at Unox (where Aphra and Tolvan have their unexpected reunion). It’s a fun new look for Star Wars and could bring in new readers.
The second is one you see above, in the panels with Aphra and her mother. Sepia is the tone of nostalgia, which makes it a right choice for these flashback moments with mother and daughter. But sepia sometimes comes across as very flat and monochromatic – – if you’ve ever looked at older photos (even into the 1970s) you know what I mean.
While a few of these moments do lean towards that typical sepia presentation (like you see above), there are others that are a warmer version of sepia, with depth and gradient of shade.
It adds a warmth to these memories Aphra recalls. These were tough times for her no doubt: exiled on a planet away from her father and others she loves, the planet that becomes her mother’s grave. But there were still happy times that Aphra remembers fondly, and that comes across in this presentation.
If there is one thing these two issues teach us, is how past drives the present. All this series, Aphra tries to break free of her past under Vader, but ends up being told over and over that there’s no hope for her to ever change. Her decision not to turn on Magna shows that there’s a heart underneath that wants to overcome the trauma of an absent father. Like the song from Wicked goes: because she knew you, Magna, Aphra has been changed for good.
I’m a librarian who loves when she can poke fun at her profession, so this moment in the very first page of issue #32 had me chuckle. I’ll have to ask my librarian friends and colleagues (and my better half, who is a public librarian) if they’ve ever received a bribe.
Next week we finish up ‘Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon’ with issues #34-36
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 even better, order your comics online for curbside pickup or delivery!), or digitally via Comixology Unlimited or Marvel Unlimited. As of this writing, all 40 issues of the series are available on Marvel Unlimited, and issues #1-25, and #28 (along with volumes 1 – 4) are available via Comixology Unlimited.
