Written by Alyssa Wong
Art by Ray-Anthony Height
Published by Marvel Comics
PRELUDE TO WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS: “THE INVITATION”
This is my first introduction to Doctor Aphra. Well, beyond the Hasbro action figure, which I own in two sizes.
I had heard so much about her and wondered what all the fuss was about, and now I know.
She’s awesome!
Though, I must admit that I’m sure I’m giving Doctor Aphra a wide berth because her character and storyline are new to the Star Wars universe. I have no preconceived notions about her.
Because she’s a well written character, I got a sense of her right away and found her to be charming.
Being a wholly original character, I was definitely not as judgmental about story overall, like I have been with previous issues of this series. Turns out, I didn’t need to judgmental at all. The story was simple, well told and works well in terms of both comic book storytelling style and Star Wars.
The story involves a hostage crisis with ties into technology introduced in Star Wars: The High Republic series. Doctor Aphra must use her charm to complete a mission while accidently becoming a hero along the way. Saving lives.
The villain is straight forward, but no-nonsense thankfully. She felt like a believable threat.
Aphra isn’t working alone either and every moment between her and her associate Sana Starros is used efficiently and effectively to develop both characters. There’s a lot going on here and I loved every interaction.
Surprisingly, even with a B story that evidently is going to lead Doctor Aphra and Sana to get involved with the search for Carbonite frozen Han Solo, Han Solo himself, Boba Fett nor any direct reference to that overall pending story arc, War of the Bounty Hunters, is even mentioned.
Although I appreciate the approach, that’s my only criticism of this issue. Otherwise, the only reason why I would think that Doctor Aphra is about to learn of the missing Carbonite block of Han Solo is because I know going in that this is a prelude to that storyline.
However, remember, the moral of the story here is:
Doctor Aphra is awesome. I get it now.
