Doctor Aphra #11 Review

by Krownest on July 05, 2021

Author: Alyssa Wong
Penciler: Minkyu Jung
Inker: Victor Olazaba
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Publisher: Marvel Entertainment

(Sidenote: My apologies for the very late review, was very busy with work IRL!) WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS CONTINUES! And not only that, but Durge is back! The last issue of Doctor Aphra ended somewhat abruptly for the end of an arc, despite being a good issue, but this issue made me realize why: it wasn't the end of an arc. Yeah, technically this issue is labeled as being part of a new story arc to tie into War of the Bounty Hunters, but in reality it's really just the conclusion of the last arc. There's barely a mention of the wider War of the Bounty Hunters going on until the very end, and it's primarily just an Aphra story. And I love that!

Because of how last issue ended, this issue feels like a bit of a one-shot almost; it's one complete story in and of itself, with Aphra and Sana going on a mission, completing it, and being given the next one. It's nice to get that kind of story here, rather than seeing a mission drag out for too long or feel cut off by the crossover. Aphra and Sana are sent to find one of Domina Tagge's family members, and along the way they encounter fan-favorite bounty hunter DURGE!. I have to clarify here, I've always been a huge Durge fan. I grew up watching the Clone Wars microseries over and over, and he was always my favorite, so I've been eagerly awaiting his canon debut for years.

And how is Durge? Well, he's.. good!..? To be honest, he's not in the issue that much, there's no real introduction for him and no real conclusions either, he's just kinda there, but I actually like that. It assumes that we already know who he is, which is pretty accurate for most people. He's written accurately to how he sounds in the old Republic comics, and he has a good amount of badass scenes. It's not just a Durge story though, it's an Aphra story, and she and Sana get some good stuff too; there's a really funny panel where Aphra blushes at Domina (she does have a thing for authority, after all) and Sana is annoyed by it. 

I won't spoilt too much of the story becaue it's a pretty solid story, but it does finally start leading into War of the Bounty Hunters at the very end, as expected. There is something in this issue I've seen people complain about, and it's that Durge seemingly exists the story very abruptly. I don't think that's really a fair complaint, since it's pretty obvious he'll be back eventually (he even jokes about that in the issue), but I get it. Other than that the issue is extremely solid, the art is amazing as usual (this art team is quickly becoming one of my favorite art teams on Aphra, second maybe to the team with Emilio Laiso in the first run.. and even then Rosenberg was on that art team too!) Bring on the War of the Bounty Hunters!

Our Score:

7/10

A Look Inside