Star Wars: Boba Fett — Black, White & Red #1
THE IMPOSSIBLE JOB
The perfect clone of a legendary bounty hunter.
A ruthless hunter with no allegiance to anyone but himself.
Just a simple man making his way through the galaxy….
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Penciller: Chris Allen
Inker: Chris Allen & Craig Yeung
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Colourist: Joe Caramagna
Cover artist: Alex Maleev
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: September 17 2025
If the first issue of Star Wars: Boba Fett — Black, White & Red from writer Benjamin Percy and artists Chris Allen, Craig Yeung and Joe Caramagna teaches us anything, it’s not to underestimate Boba Fett, and as we dive into the opening pages of the latest BWR series (this time delivering a single, full issue story rather than the briefer stories of the Maul and Vader series) there’s little doubt this is Fett in fine form. We kick off on Sterna IV and a very Narkina-like prison as Fett is breaking out a prisoner and dragging him away, a trail of dead bodies and a shocked soon-to-be-former prisoner scurrying behind him. His ingenuity has never been in question (as a fast closing blast door and the midsection of an unfortunate Imperial officer can attest to) but even here, on a station engulfed in swirling storms packed with angry Imperials, it seems he may have exceeded his limits, but no; his rocket pack takes him up and away, prisoner in tow, and next page we’re on Ergeshui as he delivers the prisoner to a gangster called Tusk, and once paid we see the man dropped into water below (think Jabba’s courtroom but with a pool instead of a pit) and pulled beneath the surface to be eaten by a huge, tentacled creature just because Tusk wanted to see him die.
However, luck changes quickly for Fett as he is suddenly surrounded by Stormtroopers who arrest him (presumably on a tip off from Tusk) and we see him in a cell aboard a Cantwell Class cruiser. He’s approached by Captain Coldwell, a harsh Imperial who not only expects his compliance and respect, but when she doesn’t get it smashes his card payment for the Tusk job. To clear his name with the Empire, he is to track down a man called Bantan Jabar, a thief who stole a valuable data drive from the Empire. Find and retrieve him, and his name will be cleared. Shortly thereafter we see Slave 1 roaring through space and to a volcanic system that has claimed the lives of numerous scouts. Clearly, Coldwell doesn’t expect him to survive, but as he arrives in the system his problems intensify as a group of rebel vessels approach and force him to board their Corellian Corvette, and soon he’s facing their leader, a man called Rooker who tells Fett that they’re the kind of rebels who don’t play nice – and they too want the data drive, and if he doesn’t agree then it’s the airlock for him.
Fett isn’t a legend for nothing, and we see him take his Firespray out into the system, looking for Jabar’s secret hiding place. The system is dangerous and toxic, and he finds his hidey hole inside a lava tube, and well aware he’s already likely been spotted identifies the bases weakness; the oxygen tanks and geothermal systems are exposed, and so following the logic that everyone needs air to fight he attacks them, drawing Jabar out in a hail of fire until he downs and captures him. Jabar is a quick thinker, and offers Fett intel on an Imperial prison where rebels are being tortured to their deaths, but it’s a ruse to grab a weapon to attack, and Fett – tired of being told how things are going to go down – breaks his arm and handcuffs him.
Now for the twist; by hologram he contacts Captain Coldwell and the Imperials telling him their delivery is ready, and then Rooker and the rebels, telling him he has half of the data they need. Fett reminds Coldwell that the deal is Jabar for his records being cleared, and reminds Rooker that if he pays in full, he’ll get the entire drive. With meeting co-ordinates given to both sides – and Rooker and Coldwell both deciding to end Fett – Jabar’s ship arrives in the Imperial cruiser, with Fett telling Coldwell to clear his name on the Imperial database, which she does after realising Jabar has a thermal detonator stuffed in his mouth. Once cleared we hear a huge explosion, and see outside as the rebels arrive, the two sides crashing into each other as Fett heads out in the ‘lawless frontier of space‘.
A superb start to the latest Black, White & Red series, this time bringing us tales of the galaxy’s greatest bounty hunter, a character who right now could do with somewhat of a reset and a re-establishment of his bounty hunting mastery and reputation. After The Mandalorian flew in like a magpie and took many of the shiniest elements of what made the classic Fett what he was, The Book of Boba Fett was tasked with picking up what we knew of his post-sarlacc return and creating something unique and new. While all involved worked diligently to make it engaging, in 2025 the legend of Fett isn’t what it used to be. Factor in the modern day cancelation of his starships name, and we’re left with a character older fans still venerate, while more recent fans fail to see what the fuss was all about. Here he’s back at his innovative, hard-hitting self, focused on credits and self-preservation while reminding characters in (and out) of the GFFA why that reputation took him from Kamino to the bridge of the Executor.
Percy does a great job of keeping the word count down (Fett is nothing if not economical when it comes to the things he says) and the art by Allen, Yeung and Caramagna has a distinctly 2000AD tone to it, a very welcome touch given many of the 90’s era Fett adventures came from writers and artists who had shined so bright on the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic! Hugely enjoyable, unapologetically showing Fett at his best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) and now the countdown starts to issue two next month.
