Star Wars: War Of The Bounty Hunters #2 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS No. 2, September 2021

Proudly proclaimed by “Marvel Worldwide” as “the biggest comic event" of George Lucas' universe, Charles Soule’s storyline for Issue Two of “Star Wars: War Of The Bounty Hunters” surely must have initially excited its 82,460 strong audience considering it featured a no-holds barred brawl between Boba Fett and his arch-rival Bossk. Indeed, the pair’s battle upon “the remote, frozen world of Jekara” is arguably this twenty-page periodical’s greatest highlight – at least until the Dark Lord of the Sith suddenly makes a surprise entrance at the end of Crimson Dawn’s auction for Han Solo’s carbonite-entombed body.

Unhappily though, the sixteen-panel skirmish is also the only action to be seen as this comic predominantly focuses upon the chit-chat, banter and verbal demands of “the galaxy’s most powerful factions”, including representatives from the Empire and the entire Hutt Council. Admittedly, some of this political intrigue and public posturing is reasonably entertaining, especially when an arrogant Administrator Sly Moore’s much-lauded ability to manipulate the minds of others fails quite miserably when used against the likes of Jabba. But it does require the reader to wade through a seemingly endless series of (light) conversational pieces.

Furthermore, the talking simply doesn’t stop, even after the Milwaukee-born writer introduces Doctor Aphra, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian to his slow-paced proceedings. Considering the sheer enmity between the Rebels and Fett, many a bibliophile was probably expecting all hell to suddenly be let loose at Lady Qi'ra’s auction. However, all that happens is for the entire cast of characters to forget their own personal squabbles with one another so as to stand in awe at Darth Vader’s unanticipated arrival; “Well, well, well. Let’s see where this goes.”

Possibly just as unenthusiastic about this book’s script as some bookworms might have been, Luke Ross’ layouts disappointingly blow a little hot and cold. The artist does a first-rate job pencilling this mini-series’ notorious bounty hunter and Han Solo’s former lover. Yet sadly, the same cannot be said for many of the sale’s extra-terrestrial bidders, who appear much more roughly drawn. In fact, it’s almost as if the Brazilian illustrator didn’t want to waste too much time sketching the tale’s lesser figures, and subsequently focused all his efforts on the bigger named personalities.

The regular cover art for "STAR WARS: WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS" #2 by Steve McNiven & Frank D'Armata

Star Wars: War Of The Bounty Hunters Alpha #1 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS ALPHA No. 1, July 2021

Announced in February 2021 by “Marvel Worldwide” as “the Star Wars comic event you’ve been waiting for”, this canon crossover miniseries’ prelude arguably asks quite a bit from its readers within the space of its opening few panels. For whilst Charles Soule’s script for “Precious Cargo” undeniably depicts Boba Fett demonstrating just how bad ass a bounty hunter he can be whilst battling inside the deadly Garkata Fighting Arena, some fans of George Lucas’ “galaxy far, far away” might find the Kamino-born clone somewhat unrecognisable from that depicted on the silver screen in Irvin Kershner's "The Empire Strikes Back".

To begin with, “one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy during the reign of Emperor Palpatine” is apparently penniless to the point where he can’t even pay a doctor to repair Han Solo’s fast-failing carbonite block on the smuggler’s moon of Nar Shaddaa. This total lack of funds makes little sense considering just how successful Jango’s son has supposedly become, especially when he is strongly-favoured “by the fearsome crime lord Jabba The Hutt", and seems to have been penned simply to manufacture a reason as to why he’d leave his valuable prize behind in some disreputable backwater to be stolen.

In addition, the cold-hearted killer debatably doesn’t live up to his fearsome reputation either, despite apparently shrugging off being speared straight through the chest with an arachnid’s sharp-tipped limb during his final contest. The ill-fated Doc Ragon certainly isn’t the least bit intimidated by Fett, and even chides the bounty hunter for being historically disreputable. Whilst this book somewhat bizarrely ends with a still broke Boba impotently skulking away without any of his considerable winnings in the arena simply because he’s confronted by Kanji and a couple of the local hoodlum’s gun-toting gangsters; “You owe us for the money we lost on Wyrmen Lictor. Had a lot bet on her to win. You can earn all that back for us in one fight… Unless you’d rather just walk away.”

Easily this twenty-page periodical’s greatest asset is therefore the superb artwork of Steve McNiven, which does a truly fantastic job depicting all the dark griminess of the galaxy’s nefarious underworld, and its multitude of extra-terrestrial inhabitants. The Canadian illustrator’s ability to capture every minute detail of the central protagonist’s Mandalorian armour is excellent, as is his ability to sketch the bloody path the mercenary cuts so as to efficiently achieve his “title shot” against the tournament’s multi-limbed reigning champion.

Written by: Charles Soule, Illustrated by: Steve McNiven, and Color Art by: Laura Martin

Star Wars: War Of The Bounty Hunters #1 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS No. 1, August 2021

Those fans blissfully unaware that Issue One of "Star Wars: War Of The Bounty Hunters" was actually preceded by “a canon one-shot”, were probably quite a bit perturbed by his comic’s succinctly short opening crawl detailing that Boba Fett had somehow lost the carbonite-contained body of Han Solo following the events seen in Irvin Kershner's 1980 science fiction film "The Empire Strikes Back". Sure, the sudden loss of the male mercenary’s "greatest prize of all” certainly promises to have the mini-series depict a lot of exhilarating gun-play and violence in “a galaxy far, far away.” But it also begs the question as to just why Jabba’s most favoured enforcer would even dare risk the Hutt’s infamous wrath by not flying straight back from Cloud City to the gangster’s palace on Tatooine..?

Fortunately, such ignorance doesn’t impact too much upon Charles Soule’s narrative for “Most Wanted”, courtesy of the Milwaukee-born writer quickly gathering up any unconvinced readers with his penmanship’s pulse-pounding pace. Indeed, just as soon as a positively peeved Fett arrives at Nar Shaddaa and begins offloading his problems to the corpulent bar-tender, Jango’s son is shown blasting away both inexperienced hot-heads and Gand findsmen within the space of just a few panels; “Thought you could predict the future, Zuckuss. Should’ve seen that coming.”

These intense fire-fights simply don’t stop either, at least until the thirty-page periodical’s concluding revelation as to just who was personally behind the Corellian smuggler’s theft, due to the American author continuing to portray Boba at his most murderously impatient - even when confronted with the combined forces of Bib Fortuna and a plethora of the majordomo’s most deadly assassins. These enthralling skirmishes genuinely help the book’s plot bound along at a corking rate, and also quickly establish the formidable reputation that the Mandalorian clone has throughout the universe as a stone cold killer who only those as “tough as hell, or too stupid to know” better would rip off.

Helping such scintillating storytelling is Luke Ross, whose proficient ability to illustrate this title’s central character in his prime makes every picture involving the bounty hunter well worth an additional look or two. The Brazilian artist also does a particularly fine job of pencilling the overly-confident Zuckuss and his constant companion, 4-LOM, and as a result it’s arguably something of a shame that the skilled insectoid tracker doesn’t last longer against the devastating firepower of Slave 1’s ion cannons.

The regular cover art for "STAR WARS: WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS" #1 by Steve McNiven & Frank D'Armata