Comic Review: Doctor Aphra (2020) #38

Dark Droids is nearing the end. By Christmas, all will be over. I can’t say I’m looking forward to it, the crossover event has been one of the best (if not the best) crossover event we have seen in Star Wars. I don’t want it to end! Yet there is another reason I don’t want it to end – I think we’re going to lose a few people on the way. This seems most prevalent in Doctor Aphra, you can feel writer Alyssa Wong setting things up to make us deeply worried about the fate of some of these much-loved characters. Tolvan, one of my favourite characters in the entire galaxy, has come back to Aphra and… well… she seems a very likely suspect to be cast aside. Although it is terrifying to think some of these characters may go, it’s also exciting to have such a threat in a galaxy that genuinely makes readers worry. Wong, is as ever, joined by Minkyu Jung, who has shown in this event just how incredibly talented he is and raised the bar on his work even higher! So, for this penultimate issue of Aphra with Dark Droids, let’s see what chaos will ensue.

Sana finally returns after her hiatus in her own series. This is a very different Sana to the one that we are used to seeing. She no on her is beholden to Aphra and her confidence is fantastic to see. You can see her character growth from going it alone. Obviously, as the reader, we know that Sana has someone else, she has moved on from her love for Aphra. Aphra of course, still doesn’t know what she wants, and it will forever be her stumbling block. To see these two have it out, for Sana to finally have her say is fantastic. It really shows that although this is a crossover event, there are still key elements of Doctor Aphra been played out, droids or no. The thing to make Sana pause is the mention of Tolvan. It has always been a very intricate and interesting love triangle between the three characters, parts of it that we’ve only been made aware of in the last few issues. But Sana wouldn’t leave Tolvan in trouble. I like that Wong has this as the reason, rather than Aphra been able to use her charm. It’s almost like Wong is telling the reader that after so so long, that time is gone, Sana has moved on and the dynamics are changing.

If you are reading the issues in order, you will know from Charles Soule’s Dark Droids #4 release this week that Tolvan is on Epikonia. Wong can push the story further forwards and we get to see the experiments that are happening to the inhabitants. Wong gives us this horror style story that Jung brings beautifully (is that the right word for the sheer brutality!?) to life. It’s the horror on the faces of the people who are been experimented on that Jung gets so right, and it’s such a contrast to the calm simmering that happens between the characters at the start of the issue. It’s wonderful to watch the change in the artwork as the issue progresses.

Wong is letting us see that the Scourge is developing and adding onto Dark Droids #4. Here, the Scourge is questioning itself again, is it enough? There is always a shadow of doubt with how far it has come. If you read my review of the latest Dark Droids issue, Soule compares it to the Emperor and I like that this comparison continues in Doctor Aphra. It makes the series feel so cohesive, more so than other crossover events. Equally, you have Aphra been the character to figure out all the nuisances of the Scourge. Having been connected to The Spark Eternal, it should be her that figures it out, who understands the mind of the Scourge. Wong that shows us how the Scourge can track everyone, that you can’t just sneak up on them… well most of the time. The Scourge realises that organic are very unpredictable and you can hear the sense of envy that they are able to surprise it every so often. No wonder it wants to make the transition to meat.

The one thing that shines brighter than anything else is the pace in this issue. This is the penultimate issue of the Dark Droids event, and I thought saving Tolvan (ok- hoping more like) was going to be the main thrust for the remainder of the story. Yet this issue is all about keeping things fast. Wong is setting things up ready for the finale but doesn’t once take their foot off the accelerator. Getting Tolvan back, batting against the Scourge, finding out what the Scourge is doing, none of it is stretched out, it’s all dealt with fairly quickly and really adds to the enjoyment of the issue.

Of course, why has Wong done that? To make readers think the story is going one way when it’s going to go another. Because while we’re all worrying about Tolvan, another beloved character is under threat. One with so much potential, one who has really come into her own, one who we want to see more of… and how I can hear Wong laugh a maniacal laugh! The last statement on the last page is timed perfectly by Wong and Jung making us fear for a very different character. Where will this end? How will it be resolved in one issue? Darn it Wong! We must wait!

Dark Droids has really pushed Alyssa Wong to new levels of writing. The toying with their readers, the misdirection, the pacing, you can tell Wong has really enjoyed working their way through this storyline. Where it will head no one can predict, and surely that is the sign of great writing. With Doctor Aphra in particular, I’m very interested to see how it ends, but more than that I’m very intrigued to see what comes after. Wong is telling a great story within a story, but there are going to be a lot of pieces to pick up, which is even better. This may have been the event to bring a lot of new readers, but what comes after is what’s going to keep those readers continuing with the series.