Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #18
GALAXY’S GREATEST
Valance, after being left for dead by Boba Fett, finds himself reconstructed and in the care of Sith Lord Darth Vader.
Meanwhile, the rest of the bounty hunters mourn the loss of Valance as they believe him to be dead…
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artist: Ramon Bachs
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Bryan Valenza
Cover artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Nolan Woodard
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: December 1, 2021
They say a change is as good as a rest, and while we certainly don’t want Bounty Hunters to be taking a rest any time soon, an issue without the consistently excellent Paolo Villanelli does seem odd. That said, a palate cleanser never hurts and this issues art by Ramon Bachs is just that. Detailed, with scope and depth and wonderfully coloured by Bryan Valenza, this artwork partners with a cracking script and story by Ethan Sacks to make this one of the most enjoyable issues of the series so far (and regular readers of Fantha Tracks will know what high praise that is). Showing us a young Beilert Valance, we’re back on Chorin as a parade is held for the victorious Empire, and with Chorin largely sympathetic to Imperial rule, a young Beilert cannot help but be wowwed by the hero of the day, Captain Tarl Sokoli who speaks with young Valance as he gazes up in wonder, all the hopes and dreams of a warriors life still lying ahead of him.
We switch from Chorin decades ago to the Executor ‘now’ as Valance – rebuilt and repaired by Darth Vader at the end of the War of the Bounty Hunters – rails against the dark lord, only to be shocked to find his failing, human heart has been replaced by a mechanical one and in his anger he launches at Vader only to be sliced in half by hthe sith lords blade as a 2-1B droid is ordered to repair him once again. It’s a scene that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Vader’s Castle issue, and so we switch to Burnin Konn and the Carbon Score Cantina where we find T’onga and Losha bemoaning the ‘death’ of Valance, a man helping keep the heat off young Cadeliah, the last hope for bringing the Broken Clan and Mourning Wail clans together.
They are cooling their heels with Bossk, Zuckuss and other bounty hunters, looking for a way to blow off steam as a cadre of Kerrakk enforcers enter the cantina looking for protection money and offering the perfect opportunity to crack some skulls and blow off that steam. Meanwhile a repaired Valance is once again towered over by Vader who reveals that even the memories of Valance are no longer his own, his life now accessible to his new Imperial programming. Vader knows of Cadeliah and her secret location, and if Valance doesn’t weed out all the moles Qi’ra of Crimson Dawn has seeded within the Empire, they and the Rebel base will be blasted to dust. Not much of a choice, and a classic Vader maneouver that almost always ends in defeat because or in spite of doing as ordered.
As the bar fight continues, Losha joins in the fight, dispatching a Kerrakk enforcer and telling T’onga that the tranquil life that seemed to be her future held little attraction – the life of the bounty hunter was far more alluring. We roll out of the issue with Valance as he meets his new boss, Ochi of Bestoon who caps off this months story by telling Beilert the name of his target; General Tarl Sokoli, the spine dragon of Anaxes and his childhood hero.
Coming out of the War of the Bounty Hunters and all the action and intrigue contained within that sprawling series this could have felt like an anti-climax, but Sacks very smartly left us with that shock ending of Vader looming over Valance, and issue #18 certainly doesn’t disappoint. Superb as usual, and giving us every hope that the title is about to head off into another fascinating direction.
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