It’s been two months since we checked in on the misadventures of rogue archaeologist Dr. Chelli Lona Aphra in A Galaxy Far Far Away, which makes today’s release of Marvel Comics’ Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #7 a welcome return.
This issue represents part 2 of the current “The Engine Job” arc, entitled “The Offer,” and in it Aphra pays a visit to Corellia (home planet of Han Solo, among other notable Star Wars characters), where her ex-girlfriend Sana Starros has holed up in her smuggler’s den. Sana finds Chelli squatting in her “crash pad” and is initially hesitant to accept her request to be accompanied into the lair of the worm-like crime boss Lady Proxima, first seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
On behalf of aristocrat Domina Tagge, Aphra is hunting for a piece of experimental Nihil hyperdrive technology called a Path engine– see the recently released Star Wars: The High Republic novels for more information– and believes it to have passed through Corellia under Proxima’s watchful eye. In exchange for some fake jewelry, the Grindalid lets slip a connection to a smuggler named Remy and a cross-over of sorts to the Star Wars: Bounty Hunters comic book with an appearance by the character name General Vukorah of the Unbroken Clan. Aphra and Starros put the information to good use in an explosive conflict with Vukorah, absconding with Remy’s datapad and another lead that will hopefully pay off in the next issue– again unfortunately not due for another two months. (Is this title going semi-monthly? I sure hope not.)
We also spend some time with the treacherous assassin Just Lucky, who turned against Aphra during their previous adventure together. We get to know him and his broker Pak a little bit better and discover their mutual interdependence on a mysterious creature called Wen Delphis, who is evidently the leader of an underworld outfit known as the Sixth Kin. It’s nice to see writer Alyssa Wong fleshing out her supporting cast– Just Lucky could have easily been a one-dimensional throwaway character but I appreciate the opportunity to explore his background and connections to the galaxy’s scum and villainy a little better. And artist Minkyu Jung (along with inker Victor Olazaba and colorist Rachelle Rosenberg) is doing a fine job of conveying the seedier locations on Corellia and Cantonica as depicted here. Considering the consistent ongoing quality of this book, I would love to see Doctor Aphra hitting comic shops on a regular basis once a month, and I hope these regrettable gaps in publishing don’t become a pattern.
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #7 is available now wherever comic books are sold.