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‘Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #9’ (review)

Written by Ethan Sacks
Art by Paolo Villanelli
Published by Marvel Comics

 

It’s time to dredge through another installment of Bounty Hunters.

I don’t take pride in saying that.

The series started off with promise but has fallen by the wayside in recent issues due to monotonous stories with a lead protagonist who’s become just as dull.

There are some sprinkles of Star Wars goodness, but not enough of them to augment the book.

Same as the last issue, our story opens with a continuation of a flashback showing Valance’s days as an Imperial pilot.

He’s crashed his TIE Fighter, and Alden Ehrenreich’s Han Solo is his only hope.

Back in the present, Valance is tasked to save a stranded Rebel supply ship from pirates.

The commander reluctantly lets Valance aboard only to suspect he’s one of the pirates and throws him in the brig.

Meanwhile, Dengar is captured by said pirates, and their surly leader, Captain Skragg slaps and threatens to kill him for the added complication. Skragg is unfamiliar with Valance. Out of desperation, Dengar uses that information to his advantage and spins a tale that he’s the only person to ever best the dangerous Valance and can do it again.

Skragg spares Dengar so he can live up to his promise.

I’m sorry, but if Skragg already beat the guy who beat the guy; why would he need Dengar’s help?

Later on, Valance flies an X-Wing for the first time and makes a crack about how it can’t be different from piloting a TIE Fighter. It’s a fun little moment that sort of calls back to Valance’s flashback as a top Imperial cadet.

However, while Valance boasts about his valedictorian status, we never see what makes him top of his class to enhance the X-Wing scene in the present. An onlooker marveling over Valance’s flying does more to convey the skill at play than anything else.

In regards to the artwork, Paolo Villanelli nicely illustrates a half-page three-panel layout of the Rebel Commander committing a treacherous act. I’ll admit, I didn’t see it coming. Villanelli’s character work and body language subtly conveys fear, relief, and tragedy to sell the moment.

The book concludes with a tease of next month’s showdown between Dengar and Valance.

Sadly, Ethan Sacks did nothing to make anyone care, which is the plight of this series as of late. There’s some good dialog here and a good depiction there, along with a short flashback sequence that is more interesting than the main story.

Ultimately, the sum of its parts is greater than the whole.

Rating: B-

 

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