Bounty Hunters (2020) #32
“THE LOST FINDSMEN”
T’onga’s team of bounty hunters has successfully saved Valance from the clutches of Darth Vader—but at great cost. After Valance discovered he had lost the woman he once loved, he was shot in the face and knocked off a cliff by his current lover.
The dangers, however, are just beginning for the crew. The ”Edgehawk” is being pursued by a new Imperial threat: the elite Inferno Squad! Iden Versio and her squad will stop at nothing to wipe Valance’s memories after the cyborg observed top-secret plans for a new Death Star!
Unbeknownst to all of them, a Force wave has been released by the destruction of the Fermata Cage and is spreading across the galaxy. A wave that may have deadly ramifications for one bounty hunter….
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artist: Alessandro Miracolo
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Arif Prianto
Cover artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: March 8, 2023
We open the 32nd issue of one of Star Wars most consistently entertaining and engrossing reads on Gand, in the past as a younger, breather-less Zuckuss sits gazing at the horizon as his mother urges him to believe in himself and take the next step towards becomning a findsman as we skip to the present in the deep Outer Rim and the Edgehawk, coming under heavy fire from an Imperial vessel carrying Inferno Squadron. Their hyperspace engines disabled, Zuckuss estimates they have mere moments left when Inferno Squad comm them, reminding them they want Valance in order to purge classified information – his knowledge of the second Death Star – from his mind. Instead, the Edgehawk roars into the Lost Souls Asteroid Field, with Zuckuss confident he can use his findsman skills to navigate. Just as they’re about to enter, the shockwave from the destruction of the Fermata Cage hits, knocking Zuckuss into unconsciousness….
….and back to the past as he is told of the task he must complete to pass the Great Rite, finding a rare T’Karra flower in the nesting grounds is a creature called a Charon. Zuckuss is weak compared to many of the others, but when his batch brother Garkung finds the flower and is killed by the Charon, we switch back to the present as Zuckuss remains out of it while Valance flies the ship as 4-LOM and T’Onga try to revive him, his mind now disassociated with his dying body. Back to the past as young Zuckuss grabs the flower as the enormous Charon leaps down and roars, running for his life into the trees and vines as he is clipped by the Charon while in the present 4-LOM continues to try contacting him as his past self tricks the Charon into following him and falls off a vast cliff.
He returns to his people, only to find another gand grabbed the flower and returned it, despite Zuckuss defeating the Charon, and determines to make his own way as in the now he wakes and takes control of the Edgehawk, steering them out of the asteroid field as they head to a nearby smugglers port and we end the issue with Inferno Squad ready and waiting for their arrival.
Another deeply satisfying issue as we learn, after so many years, more about the early history of Zuckuss and why he is such a singular character. Right now, Ethan Sacks can’t seem to put a foot wrong with this title, the characters engaging and interesting, the relationships consistent and entertaining (Valance and Bossk bickering is a real treat with genuine Stallone/Schwarzenegger energy) and married to the kinetic artwork of guest artist Alessandro Miracolo (very much in keeping with our regular artist Paolo Villanelli) this really is top tier Star Wars storytelling.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Sacks, Ethan (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 22 Pages - 04/12/2023 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)
