Rogue archaeologist Doctor Aphra jumps to lightspeed and accelerates into the next chapter of her life! The not-so-good Doc is being blackmailed by evil droid mastermind Triple-Zero to run missions for his underground crime syndicate – but that doesn’t mean she can’t cause trouble and have fun along the way! Her latest assignment? Infiltrating a secret Rebellion training center run by General Hera Syndulla. Aphra is used to being in way over her head, but this time she’s not alone! Who else is caught up in her latest misadventure? Let’s hope they’re friendly – otherwise Aphra may have finally bitten off more than she can chew! Hunted by both Hera of the Rebellion and Tolvan of the Empire, Aphra’s got a lot on her mind – but she’s always got a few tricks up her electro-sleeve! Collecting STAR WARS: DOCTOR APHRA #14-19.
Writers: Kieron Gillen and Si Spurrier
Artist: Emilio Laiso
Colour Artist: Rachelle Rosenburg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Art: Ashley Witter
Editors: Jordan D. White and Mark Paniccia
Assistant Editors: Heather Antos and Emily Newcomen
Release Date: July 11th 2018
Review:
The last we saw Doctor Chelli Aphra she was sipping victory in the form of an expensive cocktail whilst lazing on a beach, all seemed well. Is this too good to be true?
Yes. A lot has changed and she has found herself working under a new evil overlord (a really bad habit she’s got herself into), her former sidekick, the droid mastermind that is Triple-Zero. He’s asked her to do the seemingly impossible and infiltrate a rebel base in order to find his earliest memories, he simply cannot remember his first kill.
Now, this may sound all a bit morbid, however, this trade paperback is anything but. The good thing about Doctor Aphra is that it’s fun to be evil and this carries on with new writer Si Spurrier in thrilling fashion. Aphra isn’t alone and has a whole assortment of characters to help her in her heist (who are hilariously and beautiful presented in one hell of a double page splash), from a headless man and their deeply ethical murderous partner to a six armed assassin. Only the Doctor Aphra comic could get away with this…
Why? Well it’s never really taken itself seriously and yet some of the best stories and art are found here and…most importantly it’s the most progressive in regards to inclusivity and diversity. I don’t want to go in to too much detail due to spoilers but Aphra becomes weak at the knees with a character we met in her debut volume. This love story, (not that Aphra would ever use that word) is what pins this volume together. The classic “will they? won’t they?” is written to aplomb and in true comic fashion is very much left with an open ending.
The art is consistently good, with vibrant colours, hilarious facial expressions, emotive droids and none of the obvious stencilling we see in the main Star Wars comic. I never once felt removed from the story because of it, it flowed from panel to panel and there are some simply stunning double pages or single page works of art. All of this is glued together by some astonishing lettering; Joe Caramagna is at the top of his game across the whole volume and adds humour, emotion and volume with his skill.
You may gather that I thoroughly enjoyed this volume, and you’d be correct. Is it silly? Yes. Does it make a massive impact to the wider Star Wars story? No. Does that matter? Not a jot. Star Wars is meant to be a lot of fun, it can be very silly and Doctor Aphra has all of these factors at the perfect dosage. More please!