Written by Ethan Sacks
Illustrated by Paolo Villanelli
Published by Marvel Comics
Bounty Hunters opens with a flashback scene looking in on Valance and Han Solo’s time together in the Imperial Navy.
They’re entrenched in a dog fight where Valance saves Han Solo from being blown out of the sky.
However, when it’s time for Han to return the favor, not only is he nowhere to be found, but he abandons Valance in the wreckage of his TIE Fighter.
The story shifts to the boring present where Valance tries to make his way through the galaxy with a high bounty on his head.
The only thing of note that occurs is Valance’s encounter with a young Tasu Leech, who appeared in The Force Awakens.
Even this diehard fan needed to think for a moment before remembering his arrival in the film as the leader of Kanjiklub. Leech’s appearance is announced grandly and it was a nice deep cut.
However, I wonder if other readers will remember Leech enough to care?
Valance repays a favor by helping the Rebellion and in the midst of it all he yells in frustration “After this we’re even Solo,” which is weird.
Han didn’t give him the mission and the opening flashback sequence questions why he would even help Han. Speaking of the flashback, that was ten times more interesting than anything occurring in the present.
I didn’t want to leave those series of events, only to be whisked away to another series of events where it couldn’t end soon enough.
Ethan Sacks hasn’t done a good enough job establishing Valance as an intriguing lead protagonist. The character is best served as a big part of a story but not it’s main focus. If it wasn’t for the flashback sequence I would have thrown in the towel on this series.
While short, it shows the type of engaging story Sacks and Villanelli can produce with the right material.
Despite a promising start, seeing Valance navigate through the criminal underworld in a galaxy far, far away is an underwhelming affair.
Rating: C
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