There’s a lot of twists and turns as we close out the penultimate arc of this series, setting up a finale no one can expect. But is the script here trying too hard to do too much?
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!
Before we get started, a mea culpa, which I only realized when I dug in to issue #34. It wasn’t the Empire that wanted Aphra’s help in checking for Tolvan’s loyalties, it was the Rebel Alliance. They were the ones that kidnapped her and Vuulada, and who want to build their own version of the Death Star to fight the empire. This also does confirm that Magna Tolvan has switched sides from Imperial to Rebel. This brings up two interesting points about this arc (and this series).
First, we see that Doctor Aphra is a woman who doesn’t want sides. The only side she cares about is herself. And in the black-and-white binary world of Star Wars, the idea that someone can not have a clear side is a character aspect worthy of study.
The second is that there are a lot of characters coming in and out of Aphra’s world, and if you’re not a careful reader, you’re going to miss something. It’s been one of the frustrations I have had with this series, this revolving door of supporting players from arc to arc. An example: we haven’t seen Black Krrsantan since the first Annual, and his introduction to us was that he was a traveling companion of Aphra. Where’s he been? (Although the cover of issue #34, with the subtitle “Rage of Krrsantan” does give us a hint that he’s back.) It muddles the casual reader and casual Star Wars fan, the reader using this as their gateway into the world of the comics. This doesn’t excuse careful reading, something that I should have done last week, but it holds back full engagement by readers who aren’t used to such large ensemble stories.
Let’s go back to that idea of not taking sides for a moment, because that aspect of Aphra is all over this arc. As we have seen in other arcs, Aphra picks her loyalties based on what makes sense in the moment, such as working with Triple-Zero in ‘Worst Among Equals’ to ensure her survival. When we last left her and Vuulada, she had declined the Rebel offer of working with them for Death Star 2.0 and headed back to Arbiflux, where she and her mother fled (and where her mother died). It provides a sense of comfort and stability for her, a place to reconnect with her mother’s spirit and seek guidance.
But she doesn’t have that for too long, with the Empire fast approaching. So it’s back to the Rebel Alliance for their help . . . but only on the surface. Behind closed doors, she’s plotting to turn over the Farkiller to the Empire to help save her skin (and the skin of thousands of innocents that would be in the fallout of a Rebel Death Star attack). After all, the person who hired her to steal this weapon – – Pitina Moor, master of propaganda – – set her up on a fake job.
Continued belowHer wave and smile and do what the Empire tells you is a great success, but then twisted at the last minute when Moor reveals she’s working from the inside to bring down Palpatine. And Aphra played right into her plans because predictable people allow the unpredictable to win without showing their hands. Cue the whiplash.
Then cue that whiplash again when Aphra reveals that oh yes, she knew this all along. And played right into Pitina’s hands and head. It’s Sherlock Holmes brilliance, Star Wars style and a reminder that the only person Aphra is loyal to is herself. And no doubt you had problems following along with this serve and volley of wits, and that’s where Vuulada comes in as audience surrogate. It’s certainly a better use of the young child sidekick than as catalyst for creating maternal feelings that aren’t there.
The payoff is brilliant, but it was a bit muddy in execution, seeing as how lost I was after the first two issues. As you can tell, I’ve been splitting up these arcs all summer to ensure we have enough coverage to cover the traditional summer, but this is one of those times where I probably should have read all five issues in one sitting, to fully comprehend this story.
Oh, as for Krrsantan? He’s back, but just dropped in as one of the bounty hunters that found her on Arbiflux, back to quiet (well, in the sense of plot contributions) sidekick. Another example of the revolving door in this series that brings in characters, leads us to believe they will be of importance, but then puts them off, perhaps unsure of what to do with them. I hope future issues and volumes do well to streamline the cast.
One of the things you no doubt notice when you look at the solicit above (which is from the trade collection) is the large number of artists (penciliers and inkers) across these five issues. A list like that leads to concern of inconsistency in artwork styles, but everyone works together well to keep the look of Aphra and company the same from issue to issue. With one exception, these are all artists who worked in the Marvel Star Wars universe before (and not just on this book), so you know they know their stuff.
The aspect of the art that I love the most in this half is the flatter, block style. There’s less overuse of shading for texture and dimension, but just enough to make a three dimensional world render well in two dimensions. The only time it really doesn’t work well is in close ups of faces, with a bit of inconsistency in Aphra’s facial features (and a bit on Magna Tolvan as well) from issue to issue. It’s not as egregious as with the first annual where she became a supermodel, but enough that your eye and your brain notice. And perhaps that even ends up as distraction from the twists and turns of this script. All underlines the importance of script and art working together, knowing when one needs to push forward and the other needs to pull away.
But what I love most about this kind of art? The way it embodies large-scale detail in the smallest of panels.
These aren’t big scenes. But with less emphasis on providing excess dimension through shading, you have room to imbibe crowd scenes – – a wedding, a Stormtrooper attack – – with personality for every background and supporting player. Other treatments of these would focus on simpler shapes to create the background and devote the detail to the focal point of the image. Here, your eye wants you to take in the entire image, even though in the first one there is a focal point (the bride and groom). The whole image is key to understanding this part of the story, and the artwork reflects that beautifully.
And of course (because you know I love my color), a flatter style allows for even more colors to come through. Muted earth tones and pale monochromes of blue have a richer look to them without excess shading in the way.
There are only four issues left of this volume. Assuming the standard page count of 23, that’s 92 pages to close up this story. And with the introduction of Lord Vader again in the finale, where this goes is anyone’s guess.
Continued belowNext week we have our third and final Annual before we launch into the final arc of the series.
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.
