It’s time to make some money!
Creative Staff:
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Kev Walker, Marc Deering
Colors: Antonio Fabela
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
Aphra’s back with a brand-new plan that’s guaranteed to pay! There’s just one teensy problem…It involves surrounding herself by some of the galaxy’s biggest baddies. And they don’t like Aphra’s tricks!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Screaming Citadel storyline completed elsewhere recently and that was a story that left me feeling a little bit uncertain about things. I love what Gillen did with Aphra through the previous Vader series and the use of her in the other books worked well previously. This series has felt like she hasn’t had a chance to really define herself as she was up against her father with some ancient shenanigans underway before shifting to a crossover arc, bringing her back into the orbit of the main cast quicker than she should have been. So, while this issue does set another reconnect up at the end of it I do like that most of it is focused on Aphra herself and some of the creative elements of her lifestyle.
Aphra’s acquisition of the Immortal Rur was a big get early on but having the Queen unlock it definitely puts her in a much better position. And since it’s not something that she has much actual use for, which still feels a bit odd, she’s intent on making a whole lot of coin off of Rur. That has her coming up with quite the creative cage in which to put Rur so she can essentially auction him off to some of the wealthiest of the underworld types. The book sets us up for this very well at the Sorca Retreat some weeks after the previous arc where she’s all dolled up and even Krrnstantan gets to look pretty great as they entertain folks before the big sell. And it is quite the sell, a dangerous one to be sure, with Rur being as old as he is, knowing all that he knows that may have been lost in the generations since, and the allure of him being a Jedi since that’s a specialized knowledge that certain collectors are into. We’ve seen that in the main comic series early on as well, which is a nice callback to that.
Aphra’s big sell is fun to watch, though I kept getting distracted by her Motoko looking design here, as was seeing and getting into the various underworld types and their interactions and distaste for each other – and Aphra in some cases. Rur is certainly a draw and the whole event leaves you wondering when the other shoe will drop. That it comes in the form of my favorite murder droids? Oh, that was just wonderfully delightful. Kev Walker brings this scene to life beautifully as Aphra’s frustration in dealing with them reveals her endgame to them and that sets them on a path to ensure their own goals and survival aren’t screwed with. When dealing with droids, especially creative ones like this, a loophole is a dangerously easy thing that they will exploit and Triple-Zero in particular feels like one that really needs to be managed well. Suffice to say, the reconnect to the past has me excited for what’s in store.
In Summary:
Doctor Aphra feels like it’s finally on a good path here as the focus is on Aphra herself and the other core characters. The fun of the deal she’s trying to put together brings in a lot of interesting unsavory types to engage with and that helps to give us a look at more of the underworld that she dabbles in. The dynamic with Rur is still a fine line to walk and Gillen largely handles it well, even if I want to slap Rur around a bit, and Walker and Deering put together a fun looking book with a lot of aliens with some great designs and sense of weight and presence about them. My delight with Triple-Zero and Beetee has me really looking forward to what twists and turns lay ahead, however, because a swing back to a dangerous side of Aphra’s life should be a heck of a lot of fun.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 12th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
