War of the Bounty Hunters #2 Review
Author: Charles Soule
Artist: Luke Ross
Colorist: Neeraj Menon
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Entertainment
WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS CONTINUES! Last issue ended with the jaw-dropping reveal that Qi'ra, one of the protagonists of Solo: A Star Wars Story and former girlfriend of Han Solo, is back. This issue... actually doesn't pick up where that one left off, because WOTBH is actually a crossover between this mini-series and the four ongoing series, Star Wars, Bounty Hunters, Doctor Aphra, and Darth Vader. We've gotten small hints at where the story is going, so this issue is picking up from those hints.
For those who didn't read all those issues, there are many pieces in play here. Aphra and Sana have been sent to the ball on Jekara by Domina Tagge, Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca are here to get Han back, Vader and his minions Ochi and Bokku want Han for themselves, and Sly Moore has her own as-of-yet-unknown agenda. Valance and Dengar are also involved, but the Bounty Hunters series hasn't quite caught up with Jekara yet. This issue has all that connectivity on full display, with Bokku, Sly Moore, Aphra, Sana, and more all present.
But of course, this is Boba Fett's story, and Soule didn't forget that. In this issue, we see the events of the ball play out, with Boba infiltrating it in a disguise to find Han and finding help in none other than Aphra and Sana! This is where I realized just how planned out this crossover really was. It's not just that all the series take place during the same event and show different perspectives of it, they actually intertwine in a truly impressive way. Because in Doctor Aphra #12, we see this same meeting from Aphra and Sana's perspective, with the same dialogue and everything. It's really cool.
Moving forward, we reach the meat of the issue, or rather, the cliffhanger. Because this issue is in fact really short, and not much happens; it's clear that the tie-ins are going to be doing more of the heavy lifting as far as telling the story than it seemed. But as Boba navigates the ball and runs into our other heroes, the ball is suddenly cut short by the arrival of none other than... Darth Vader! This honestly isn't as cool as a reveal as it's made out to be, considering we know his series is part of the crossover, but it still works very well considering Boba's recent encounter with Vader.
The next issue promises to pit Boba against Vader, an immoveable object versus an unstoppable force that both want Han Solo for themselves, but before there we're gonna be learning about what Vader's up to in his series, and what Luke, Leia, and Lando are up to in theirs. Their next issues will probably show their perspective of this event similar to how Aphra #12 did. I've seen some people annoyed by the fact that this mini-series isn't showing the full story, but I honestly prefer it this way, it makes the concept of a crossover feel more warranted. Besides that, there's not much to say about this issue. The art by Luke Ross is stellar as usual, though I kinda wish they'd gone with the same colorist he worked with on Allegiance and Darth Maul. Soule's writing continues to be stellar, though Qi'ra is still a bit of a blank slate. It's a good issue, but I feel hesitant in passing judgment on it until we see the rest of the series.
Artist: Luke Ross
Colorist: Neeraj Menon
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Entertainment
WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS CONTINUES! Last issue ended with the jaw-dropping reveal that Qi'ra, one of the protagonists of Solo: A Star Wars Story and former girlfriend of Han Solo, is back. This issue... actually doesn't pick up where that one left off, because WOTBH is actually a crossover between this mini-series and the four ongoing series, Star Wars, Bounty Hunters, Doctor Aphra, and Darth Vader. We've gotten small hints at where the story is going, so this issue is picking up from those hints.
For those who didn't read all those issues, there are many pieces in play here. Aphra and Sana have been sent to the ball on Jekara by Domina Tagge, Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca are here to get Han back, Vader and his minions Ochi and Bokku want Han for themselves, and Sly Moore has her own as-of-yet-unknown agenda. Valance and Dengar are also involved, but the Bounty Hunters series hasn't quite caught up with Jekara yet. This issue has all that connectivity on full display, with Bokku, Sly Moore, Aphra, Sana, and more all present.
But of course, this is Boba Fett's story, and Soule didn't forget that. In this issue, we see the events of the ball play out, with Boba infiltrating it in a disguise to find Han and finding help in none other than Aphra and Sana! This is where I realized just how planned out this crossover really was. It's not just that all the series take place during the same event and show different perspectives of it, they actually intertwine in a truly impressive way. Because in Doctor Aphra #12, we see this same meeting from Aphra and Sana's perspective, with the same dialogue and everything. It's really cool.
Moving forward, we reach the meat of the issue, or rather, the cliffhanger. Because this issue is in fact really short, and not much happens; it's clear that the tie-ins are going to be doing more of the heavy lifting as far as telling the story than it seemed. But as Boba navigates the ball and runs into our other heroes, the ball is suddenly cut short by the arrival of none other than... Darth Vader! This honestly isn't as cool as a reveal as it's made out to be, considering we know his series is part of the crossover, but it still works very well considering Boba's recent encounter with Vader.
The next issue promises to pit Boba against Vader, an immoveable object versus an unstoppable force that both want Han Solo for themselves, but before there we're gonna be learning about what Vader's up to in his series, and what Luke, Leia, and Lando are up to in theirs. Their next issues will probably show their perspective of this event similar to how Aphra #12 did. I've seen some people annoyed by the fact that this mini-series isn't showing the full story, but I honestly prefer it this way, it makes the concept of a crossover feel more warranted. Besides that, there's not much to say about this issue. The art by Luke Ross is stellar as usual, though I kinda wish they'd gone with the same colorist he worked with on Allegiance and Darth Maul. Soule's writing continues to be stellar, though Qi'ra is still a bit of a blank slate. It's a good issue, but I feel hesitant in passing judgment on it until we see the rest of the series.
A Look Inside
