Evazan plays with his new toys.
Creative Staff:
Story: Simon Spurrier
Art: Emilio Lasio
Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
DOCTOR APHRA — WORST AMONG EQUALS! On the run from the law in an alien city, DOCTOR APHRA can’t stray more than a few paces from her companion without both of them blowing up. Time to cooperate, right? Except, unfortunately, her companion is Triple-Zero, a sadistic murderdroid who’s more interested in her death than playing nice. A brand-new misadventure for the galaxy’s foremost amoral archaeologist starts here!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Doctor Aphra felt like it wrapped things up really well in the previous issue, albeit in a downbeat way, that could have made for an interesting series finale that left things open. Simon Spurrier has more in mind, however, and has this new arc up and running that puts Aphra and Triple-Zero together in a bad cop/bad cop pairing. The downbeat feeling is still here and that’s an interesting angle to work with when it comes to Aphra but it also looks great with Emilion Laiso handline the art duties with some great designs for both her and Triple-Zero. And Rachelle Rosenberg returns to handle the color work which has some really great vibrancy and layers right from the first page and runs the whole book with it.
Evazan and his partner here are now engaged in the kind of sadistic fun that they definitely enjoy. The idea of putting the bombs into both Aphra and Triple-Zero with proximity factoring into it is definitely amusing but I just love the way that Evazan and Baba hang out watching all of this, though Baba says little and it feels like he’s just waiting for an arm and is little more than a plaything for Evazan that has been broken. They both get a good view of the game that’s been put in motion since they also routed the visuals through Triple-Zero’s eyes so they can really enjoy it. And, of course, hear what’s going on while also throwing a little dialogue their way at key times as well. All in all it’s a familiar setup but there are a lot of neat little aspects to it that works well.
With our primary pair, however, they’ve escaped and are now on Milvayne, which is a setup in itself really, as it’s the most law-abiding planet out there. Like, critically so. Nearly everything these two do ends up getting the police to chase after that which makes them even bigger fugitives that are stuck together – which isn’t easy since Triple-Zero often goes his own way in general. The intention of getting the bombs removed is straightforward and Spurrier puts them through some fun trust issues and a kind of wacky doctor that can help but definitely has his own eccentricities. For me, I just enjoyed watching Aphra doing her best to keep Triple-Zero not only close but law-abiding when his default mode is to just steal and kill as necessary for his own goals. That just makes everything worse but it’s how he roles. And rightly so considering how badly Aphra screwed him over now that Beetee is busted.
In Summary:
While the basics of how this arc would go were pretty visible in the previous issue I’ll admit I’m curious as to what twists and turns will come with this. Spurrier has taken some odd turns since taking over the series and it’s kept it off balance and uncertain in some entertaining ways with an unpredictability. This issue is mostly straightforward, though it leans into the way Milvayne works a bit heavily in a way that doesn’t quite work for me. I really liked what seemed like moments of humanity for Triple-Zero and the panic that Aphra works through in trying to stay alive by staying close to her torturer that she previously tormented. I’m definitely curious to see what’s next in this arc and if we can get Aphra to a new place where there’s some positivity.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 24th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
