Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #2 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTERS No. 2, May 2020

Whilst Senior Editor Mark Paniccia may well have argued that this title’s first story-arc focused upon “the cutthroat criminal world” of just two favourites from Irvin Kershner’s 1980 epic space opera film “The Empire Strikes Back”, namely Boba Fett and Bossk, the script to Issue Two of “Star Wars: Bounty Hunters” debatably tells a somewhat different tale with most of the comic’s pulse-pounding action predominantly focusing upon Beilert Valance’s exploits rather than the cloned Mandolorian or male Trandoshan. In fact, with the exception of Cradossk’s son sneakily tracking his prey to the Graveyard Planet of Galmerah, and Slave-1’s owner being shown in a holographic flashback, much of this twenty-page periodical actually concerns itself with just how the facially disfigured cyborg first came to meet his disgraced mentor Nakano Lash.

Fortunately however, such a difference in perspective as to just who the book’s narrative is about doesn’t impact upon the quality of Ethan Sacks’ penmanship, as the writer does a tremendous job of depicting a disgruntled young Valance seemingly yearning for death and picking a fight with a stormtrooper patrol in Phelar Port on Eriadu to ensure it happens; “Attacking Imperial personnel is a capital offence!” The ex-miner’s subsequent rescue by Lash makes it abundantly clear just why Beilert would initially follow the female bounty hunter with such loyally, and additionally explains his determination to find her following Nakano's supposed betrayal of him during their mission together on Corellia.

Equally as enthralling is Sacks’ portrayal of T’onga desperately attempting to infiltrate the Fortress of the Mourner’s Wail so as to prevail upon the girl’s distraught father to sanction her mission of revenge against the Nautolan who killed her brother, T’ongor. Extremely well-paced by artist Paolo Villanelli, and filled full of some incredibly ferocious close combat action sequences, this ultimately doomed attempt to stealthily circumnavigate through the numerous maze-like corridors of the heavily guarded fortification is probably this book’s greatest highlight. Indeed, the Italian artist does such a good job of pencilling the sublime quickness of the one-time farmer on the Moon of Logal Ri, that her eventual capture by Lord Khamdek “deep in Hutt Space” comes as something of a disappointing shock.

Writer: Ethan Sacks, Artist: Paolo Villanelli, and Colorist: Arif Prianto