Bad decisions come back to haunt Aphra.
Creative Staff:
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Kev Walker, Marc Deering
Colors: Antonio Fabela
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
VADER IS BACK.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
While I’ve had troubles with some of the aspects of how the Aphra book has been going, this most recent arc has clicked better than the rest and felt more like the Aphra from the previous Vader series. Kieron Gillen knows the character and is expanding on her well but the stories she’s involved with have not been compelling and it’s felt just a touch drawn out. That said, it’s had its fun and the whole thing has been a delight just to see what she gets into and the way that Walker and Deering bring it to life. Like the rest of this arc, it’s well laid out and there are some great expressions to be had and some great key scenes as well, including those last couple of pages that does deliver on the Vader material.
Things have gone wrong with this auction to be sure but it was her older decisions with the droids that has now caused the biggest problem since they’ve called in their real master in Vader.That has her panicking in a big way for obvious reasons, especially as the Imperials clear the place floor by floor and largely just kill everyone. The time spent between her and the droids is great because they do, in their way, respect her because she did treat them right. She simply protected herself with the control programs and they can acknowledge that it was a smart thing to do. But it was the larger treatment that gives her the reprieve, for now, instead of them killing her outright. Of course, it’s not a goodbye as she’d hoped for since Triple-Zero simply says “until we meet again” and that means it’s likely going to be a chaotic mess.
Aphra’s escape from that isn’t into safety since she still has to get out of there before Vader catches her and that means navigating the dangerous groups that are out there. What helps is that she’s got Krrnsantan on her side but only because she’s making a deal with him. The tenuous relationships she has are pretty engaging to watch since they’re all made – on all sides – out of self interest, so seeing her work that to both their favor is a lot of fun. But that moment of having a conscience, the potential to do something good, is so much fun to watch as a wave of conflict through her that it’s just delightful. While there is definitely gain for her in it, there’s also a lot of good and she’s going to have to figure out how to use that to regain her reputation. That it throws her into the heart of a fight between Vader and Rur? Well, that’s where I won’t mind seeing her step to the side for a bit.
In Summary:
Doctor Aphra does some fun things here as it keeps the arc going as a whole but whittling away at the supporting cast. Which is fine because all those that were introduced in this specific arc were fun but largely one-dimensional. The dealings with her “crew” is what matters and each of those dynamics plays well and true. But it also potentially sets her to be on her own for a bit which will definitely be different from how it’s been for her for some time and could be a welcome turn. I won’t be surprised if circumstances puts them all back together and working alongside each other out of self interest again sooner rather than later, but I’m hoping for a bit of time with Aphra doing Aphra things and showing us more of this galaxy far, far, away.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: September 13th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
