Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #14
WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS:
“THE FOLLOWING”
Jabba the Hutt has placed a bounty on Boba Fett’s head! Valance and Dengar have formed a shaky alliance in order to find Fett first.
Valance is desperate to save his old friend Han Solo, and Dengar has an agenda of his own.
Dengar’s contact revealed that Han is in the hands of a resurgent Crimson Dawn! At the fortress of the Mourner’s Wail, T’onga and her wife, Losha, found the syndicate decimated and under assault by Crimson Dawn warriors.
Or Nar Shaddaa, a terrifying assassin wounded Valance and killed the hunter’s only lead to finding Crimson Dawn and Han Solo….
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artist: Paolo Villanelli
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Arif Prianto
Cover artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Marte Gracia
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: July 7, 2021
Pages: 24
UPC: 759606096022
We’re back on Nar Shaddaa as we dive headfirst into issue 14 of Bounty Hunters as Valance and Dengar hide in the shadows from Deathstick, hoping to find safe haven to get Valance patched up and continue with their hunt for Boba Fett and Han Solo, and it’s their palpable unease at knowing Deathstick is out there tracking them down that fuels the tension that motors this issue along. Clearly, while new to us as many new additions like Deathstick and Deva Lompop are, the characters of the story are well aware of their prowess and skills and here, the incapacitated Valance wisely chooses caution, trusting Dengar to take him to a mechanic who can patch him up. That character is Mama Stammoch, an old associate of Dengars from his Corellian swoop racing days who quickly reminds him that he owes her heavily for old gambling debts, but instructs her mechanics to use their skills to fix Valance nevertheless.
Here we swing away from the War of the Bounty Hunters storyline and back to the regular programming of Bounty Hunters and head further into Hutt Space as T’onga and Losha continue their battle against Crimson Dawn warriors, one that they ultimately win despite Khamdek being hit. T’onga finally has the chance to reveal to Khamdek that his son died at the hands of Nakano Lash after attempting to kill his Unbroken Clan lover and mother of his unborn baby Cadeliah, a child who could unite the clans, something the resurgent Crimson Dawn would now fight hard to stop.
Meanwhile back on Nar Shaddaa Dengar contacts Bib Fortuna, and while duplicity is naturally expected from the bandaged Corellian, we learn that Jabba is holding someone precious to him, a blue-skinned Aruzan woman called Manaroo that we first met way back in 1996 in Tales of the Bounty Hunters. Her fate is in the hands of Fortuna, and a hungry rancor, and Dengar knows he needs to bring Fett in to clear his debts. We learn from Mama Stammoch that while Valance is fine mechanically, his human heart is under huge pressure, meaning he doesn’t have much time, and she goes on to explain the history of Crimson Dawn before Deathstick blows through the doors and a firefight ensues as Valance and Dengar steal a swoop to escape, but not before realising the swoop has yet to be repaired and they bail before they crash into a wall, evading Deathsticks droid trackers. Despite this, we wrap up the issue with the pair in Deathsticks sights, calling back to Qi’ra who wants them alive, for now.
After a slight wobble in the previous issue, this is right back in it’s usual high-octane track as we learn more about the history of Crimson Dawn in a splash page hugely reminiscent of the classic Marvel run and get nearer to a resolution for Cadeliah. The team of Valance and Dengar is interesting, the added wrinkle of Manaroo layering in an extra element to consider, and as always the artwork is top-notch, kinetic, colourful and attractive to read. Great fun as usual.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #15 (Wobh) @ ForbiddenPlanet.com
