Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artists: Kev Walker and Salvador Larroca
Colorists: Antonio Fabela and Edgar Delgado
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Spoilers ahead.
Doctor Aphra now has her own solo series with Star Wars: Doctor Aphra. If you’ve been keeping up with the Darth Vader title, this should be on your list to check out. This first issue is a big one. It has the main storyline along with a mini story at the end of the issue. Kieron Gillen is doing well with these new Star Wars titles. He and Larroca recently wrapped up with Darth Vader. Doctor Aphra is an interesting character who as of right now only appears in the comics and a single video game. There’s a lot to learn about her and this solo series is the perfect chance to do so.
Gillen starts off the issue with little dialogue (aside from the crawl page). It allows for some focus on the art by Kev Walker, which pairs well with the story. Aphra is not with her usual crew when the issue starts, but they reunite shortly after. Krrsantan, BT–1 (Beetee), and 0–0–0 (Triple Zero) are present at the ship when she arrives. To no surprise, Aphra is in some debt to Soo-Tath and immediately finds herself in a situation no one wants to be in. From there, her assassin droids act on their own to exact some revenge and we find out that Aphra no longer holds the title of “Doctor.” It’s not the most thrilling of stories, but it’s a good start for a character who doesn’t have much history in the Star Wars world.
The art, while fitting for the story, is also just enjoyable. The fight scene with Krrsantan and Soo-Tath’s furry friend is a nice page to look at, though I think the sound effects could be a tad smaller. Antonio Fabela does a nice job with the coloring, especially with the various types of scenes in this issue. Aphra is outdoors, the droids go to a grimy cantina, and they visit Archaeo-Prime, which is full of much lighter colors. It puts you right in the place and you have no question of where you’re at.
To briefly touch on the mini story, there’s a slightly different team there. Larroca teams up with Gillen again for colors on the story and Edgar Delgado takes the coloring. It’s a nice little story about Aphra’s past and it will be interesting to see if there will be one of these with each issue. It gives good insight into how she thinks and where this rebellious lifestyle of hers originally started.
Verdict: Buy. If you like Darth Vader, you’ll want to check this out. It’s a new character, with not much as far as prior history goes. For Star Wars stories, it doesn’t seem to be often that we get all new characters to dive into. This is well worth the shot, even with the $4.99 price tag.
