War of the Bounty Hunters Part 1

In the past several years Marvel Star Wars comics have had some good crossover events. 

"Target Vader" set up a confrontation between the Dark Lord of Sith and the crew of the 

Millennium Falcon after the destruction of the first Death Star.

"The Screaming Citadel" found Luke Skywalker and Doctor Aphra trapped on a planet of vicious vampires.

But "War of the Bounty Hunters" is the most ambitious Star Wars crossover event so far. The series will span over 30 issues and bring together four of the ongoing Star Wars comics including Charles Soule's "Star Wars", Ethan Sacks' "Bounty Hunters", Greg Pak's "Darth Vader", and Alyssa Wong's "Doctor Aphra".

Loyal Star Wars comic readers will not be disappointed that Marvel is releasing five issues of this series every month this Summer authored some of the biggest names in the Star Wars expanded universe. I'll be back every month with updates.

Issue #1 - War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha 1 - “Precious Cargo”

The premise of the massive Marvel crossover event “War of the Bounty Hunters” is fairly simple. Boba Fett is on his way to deliver Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt… but the delivery is not as direct as he would like.

In this first issue, the Carbon Freezing process has started to glitch. Carbonite was not designed for organics after all. Fett attempts to have this situation fixed, but he cannot afford it. In order to pay for the fix, Boba enlists in the Garkata Fighting Arena, but incognito. Boba paints his armor black and uses the name “Jango”.

Writer Charles Soule is spot on as usual in making Star Wars comics essential reads. Illustrator Steve McNiven uses a style reminiscent of wood cuts which is gorgeous and fits perfectly with the western theme of bounty hunters.

Issue #2 - Star Wars 13 - “The Hunt for Han Solo”

Luke, Chewbacca, C-3PO & R2-D2 are on a mission to track down Boba Fett, which leads them to Nar Shaddaa and one of Chewbacca’s old contacts (the Wookiee Sagwa from the film “Solo”). When they are ambushed by a criminal organization Luke draws his newly acquired Yellow Lightsaber. After their escape they learn that Han may no longer be in the possession of Boba Fett.

Issue #3 - Bounty Hunters 12 - “Target Solo”

The relationship between Han Solo and Valance the Hunter goes back to the comic series “Han Solo: Imperial Cadet” first published in 2018. Solo, as an Imperial Cadet, saved the life of Valance during the battle on Qhulosk.Now, like every other bounty hunter in the Galaxy, Valance is after Solo.

This issue, by Ethan Sacks, features Valance the Hunter teamed up with Dengar and being pursued by Zuckuss and 4-LOM. And with everyone after Solo, the stage is being set for a massive showdown.

This issue, by Ethan Sacks, features Valance the Hunter teamed up with Dengar and being pursued by Zuckuss and 4-LOM. And with everyone after Solo, the stage is being set for a massive showdown.

Issue #4 - Darth Vader 12 - “Into the Trap”

Greg Pak has been writing an amazing Darth Vader series for the past two years and now he asks the question: “Why is Darth Vader after Han Solo?”. Afterall, Vader has to fit into this comic crossover somehow. After failing to win Luke over on Bespin, Vader may actually now be trying to get to Luke another way, through Luke’s friends. And where Vader may not have the underworld contacts to actually hunt down Solo on his own, Bokku the Hutt may have those contacts.

Issue #5 - Doctor Aphra 10 - “The Invitation”

Doctor Aphra & Sana Starros are not quite on a collision course with the other comics just yet, but the final panel of this comic brings hope that they will cross paths with at least one bounty hunter very soon… and that bounty hunter is Durge.

Durge is an odd Star Wars character who was first created for the “vintage” Clone Wars cartoon series. His species is called a Gen’Dai and they are the T-1000’s of the Star Wars universe. They can mold themselves into any shape and are seemingly impossible to kill. Durge was a pretty big Star Wars villian between 2003 - 2005, but he quickly fell out of favor for various reasons. His role in the final episodes of the vintage Clone Wars series was replaced by General Grievous and his potential role in the 2008 Clone Wars series was replaced by a new bounty hunter named Cad Bane.

Therefore it is a bit of a treat to have Durge back after a 15-year absence from the Star Wars universe- and pitting him against Aphra is nearly a perfect way to bring him back.