Published: March 17, 2021
Rating: Rated T
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Penciler: Paolo Villanelli
Colourist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Mattia de Iulis
The synopsis;
THE “TERMINUS GAUNTLET” CONCLUDES!
• VALANCE finds himself alone and outgunned against the dreaded NEW OHNAKA PIRATE GANG!
• The lives of the crew of a REBEL transport hang in the balance as he battles against grave odds.
• And what secret is DENGAR carrying that will upend Valance’s life?
The review;
Everyone knows that I am absolutely loving this series. The art, the story, the pace… it has everything. But, that list is missing one very important item and that is the covers. Lee Bermejo brought us the first batch of direct covers and then Paolo Villanelli has had the honour of all the reprints. Since issue 9, Mattia de Iulis has been in charge and his cover for this issue is quite simply… stunning! The detail if Dengar and Valance is amazing, but the image of Captain Skragg is just, well… perfection. Tied with the Rebel forces flying into battle against The Ohnaka Gang’s fleet of flying saucers, this is one of the best covers of all the recent Star Wars releases from Marvel.
The Empire Strikes Back anniversary series of covers is now nearing its end. We have reached number 31 of 36 which shows Luke careening backwards through the window during his duel with Vader on Bespin. No doubt we are in for an iconic “I am your father!” cover soon.
A common theme throughout this series has been the flashbacks for Valance and we start in the midst of Valance’s memories after he is rescued by Han Solo and a ban of cadets in his time at the Imperial Fleet Academy. Suffering his first major injuries of his life, he is seen to have lost a leg and eye on Qhulosk. But, he is about to lose even more, his status as a pilot. His rank will not allow him the cybernetic limb replacement and it feels like he is being punished by demotion to the Infantry. The Imperial Officer who deals this blow to him is reminiscent of Valin Hess who confronts Mayfeld and Din Djarin in season 2 of The Mandalorian. This leads to a visit from Solo that prompts a speech from Valance, that falls on deaf ears as Solo has already left the room.
When we last saw Valance in issue 9 he was scaling the outside of the Rebel ship ready to force his way onboard through an airlock. I was slightly disappointed that he wasn’t carrying a cannon from an X-Wing as his weapon, now that would have been something to behold! Valance is a proverbial Swiss Army knife of tools and weapons. From a flap in his coveralls he pulls an electrical interface from his bicep and opens the airlock and makes quick work of the surprised member of the Ohnaka Gang on the other side.
T’onga and Losha have now been reunited and T’onga on Ruusan. T’onga is recovering well from her injuries sustained at the hands of Boba Fett and what comes next for her, she can’t take on by herself. Her connection with Nakano Lash was deep and she needs to go after her killers. But they won’t be alone, they will be accompanied by their very own Nexu. I would love to know more about the backstory of T’onga and Losha and understand what they have gone through together to bring them to this point. I hope we may get a flashback or two in the future like we get for Valance.
Double cross and triple cross seems to be the code that everyone goes by, not just the bounty hunters. Commander Purpura has betrayed the Rebellion to make some money from the Ohnaka Gang by selling the Rebel encryption codes. But, he doesn’t realise the strength of his crew and they won’t go quietly. Private Sproull escapes her binders and assists Valance taking down the Ohnaka Gang one by one.
But, unwittingly working interference for them is Dengar. Captured for a gambling infraction at the Sabacc table with Skragg and brokering a deal with his old friend from his youth on Correllia. Purpura is that friend and his help will pay off that debt. But then Valance has enters the fray and things go awry. Dengar uses the confusion to try and turn the tables and escape himself. This leads him into the hands of his auld enemy Valance and he winds up swapping one captor for his next. On the back burner we also have 4-LOM and Zuckuss who have now resumed their hunt for Valance ready to muddy the waters soon.
Ethan Sacks is excelling himself with this story. As I alluded to at the start, the series has been cohesive from the first moment and the marriage of the story with the art and colours of Villanelli and Prianto blows me away every time I pick up each copy. I know this will be the core creative team for a while yet and I really hope that the editorial team at Marvel keep them working together on this series like they did with Charles Soule and Giuseppe Camuncoli for the Darth Vader series in 2017.
You can also see the other storylines from Darth Vader, Doctor Aphra and Star Wars starting to converge with Bounty Hunters. As we all know now, this is officially going to happen. There have been small hints in the timeline for a few months now and I am really looking forward to where it is going to take us.
But, from a Bounty Hunters perspective, we now have Valance with Dengar in his custody and 4–LOM and Zuckuss on their tail, we also have the cover for issue 11 featuring Bossk. This story is really whipping up the excitement for the collision course that will well and truly start the War of the Bounty Hunters.
Availability;
Bounty Hunters is an ongoing series available from Marvel Comics. This issue is available via the Marvel App and all good comic bookstores and retails at $3.99.
