Published: November 3, 2021
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artist: Paolo Villanelli
Colourist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover: Giuseppe Camuncoli & Nolan Woodard
The synopsis;
“LAST STAND”
• Severely wounded, VALANCE must make a desperate escape attempt from an Imperial Star Destroyer.
• Will T’ONGA and her crew reach him in time?
• Plus: A shocking twist that will leave the survivors’ lives forever altered!
The review;
Variant collecting is becoming expensive, very expensive! With so many exciting covers to choose from every week, it seems that comic boxes around the world are just overflowing with stunning cover art. The War of the Bounty Hunters series has produced some beauties, but this week’s choices for Bounty Hunters #17 are must haves.
Camuncoli’s direct and carbonite treatment of Valance taking on his old comrades onboard an ISD is evocative of scenes from the original 1970’s Marvel Comics Star Wars series. Then we have the 21st Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary cover, picturing one of my favourite characters in Grand Admiral Thrawn and a rather menacing looking Grand Inquisitor, is a wonderful cover. Finally, we get Ron Frenz’s Bounty Hunter Handbook variant. The interesting thing about these covers is the text that is on them that is not on any of the solicitation pictures. It explains about the character in depth and when it covers Beilert Valance, it proves to be another sure-fire purchase.
It’s been a while since we had an issue of Bounty Hunters. Things have moved on from where we last saw Valance alongside Boba Fett chasing down Han Solo’s carbonised form in issue 16. Charles Soule and Luke Ross took him on the next stage of the journey during the events of War of the Bounty Hunters #5. Now, I must say that what they did to Valance was not my favourite move. Leaving him as a smouldering pile of mess after being double crossed by Fett did have me worried for his future. So, I was majorly relieved to see Valance a bit more intact than Ross had left him, meaning I can now forgive them for the artistic license they used on this occasion.
As Valance isn’t quite as badly off as I feared, he goes to work on the stormtroopers who surround him. Taking them down one by one, he systematically works his way through the Executor. This is where Villanelli’s artwork is at it’s best. The energy of these action sequences is just sublime. This is all backed up by some mightily impressive colour work Arif Prianto, Jesus Aburtov and Edgar Delgado.
Meanwhile, T’onga is moving her ship, the Edgehawk, closer to the Executor. Bossk had told her that he had encountered Valance on the surface of Jekara, and Zuckuss had since sensed him in orbit around the planet. She’s sure he is onboard and is preparing to mount a rescue mission. Hailing Valance over an old smuggler frequency works and she tells Valance of her plan. But their approach hasn’t gone unnoticed and Tasu Leech’s premature volley of fire that takes out a TIE fighter, puts them in the middle of an unwanted battle.
Qi’ra is celebrating a successful day, but she has one more thing to achieve. Vukorah has been invited to an audience with her, but to be given glimpse of something she wants. Whatever is inside the box put forward by Margot, is enough for the leader of the Unbroken Clan to pledge her allegiance to Crimson Dawn.
Then a chance meeting of Valance with an Imperial Cadet, who thinks he is ready to take him down, reminds Valance of who he used to be. He pleads with the cadet to stand down and walk away, but the situation is being monitored by the commander on the bridge. She orders their location to be sealed and the air locks opened to expose them to space, sacrificing the cadet to get to Valance. Valance activates his magnetic clamps to secure his footing as the cadet is released into the void. The anger and rage in Valance are simply highlighted in his reaction. He too was once the cadet, sacrificed for the Imperial order. Now, he is a changed man.
Making for the exit, Valance needs to get out to the Edgehawk for his chance to escape. Hijacking a Jumptroopers jet pack in the process, he is now hurtling across space to join up with T’onga and her new crew.
The final sequences had me on the edge of my seat. Valance careening across the vacuum of space reaching out to Zuckuss. Then as they grasped hands, Valance is torn backwards toward the Executor, leaving Zuckuss holding only Valance’s arm. I was shattered, I thought that was the end of him. But as I then turned to the final page, it had me wide eyed and open mouthed. Valance is alive, rebuilt and with a major twist, he is now under the command of Darth Vader! I knew Sacks couldn’t bring himself to kill off Valance, well just yet anyway.
As I stated earlier, I wasn’t best impressed with what Soule and Ross had Boba Fett do to Valance, but turning him back over to the Imperials, is a master stroke from Sacks and something I didn’t see coming! In a way I am almost pleased that it has happened. The reason I say this is because he is a character that was so close to redeeming his past actions and now, a cruel twist of fate has left him back at square one. Many characters only ever get redemption through their own demise. Valance is just moments from redeeming himself, but this U-turn in his story will hopefully allow us to see Valance back in the game. Who knows how Vader will use him, could he possibly be turned against those who were helping him redeem himself?
The creation of comics throws together writers and artists, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. A few recent great partnerships spring to mind; Soule and Camuncoli (Darth Vader 2017-18), Scott and Anindito (The High Republic 2021), Sacks and Sliney (Galaxy’s Edge 2019), Bunn and Ross (Darth Maul 2017). But on this occasion, I want to call the collaboration between Sacks and Villanelli as a perfect partnership. This pairing works so well together, they seem to have a sixth sense about what the other is trying to achieve. Having spoken to them both at length earlier this year, I could sense it then from just talking to them.
Paolo Villanelli has given us some absolutely amazing art from issues 1 through to 17, but now we see him take a short sabbatical from the series until he returns for issue 20. Ramon Bachs has a tough act to follow, but he is an amazing talent who already has an excellent pedigree in Star Wars comics of his own. I am excited to see what he has in store for us by bringing his own character to the artwork in Villanelli’s absence.
There is so much depth to the story in this issue. This is one of the best in this series so far. The Bounty Hunters series only skirted the overall storyline of the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover, which is something I have mentioned previously. I feel that it has been a good move, but with Qi’ra’s move to unite the Unbroken Clan with Crimson Dawn opens up huge possibilities for where we go next and without doubt will influence the Crimson Reign series that launches soon.
Going forward, I would love to see the focus to move away from Valance for a short while. That would give us a chance to see T’onga, Losha, Leech, Bossk and Zuckuss become their own team. But I know one thing, Valance will never be far away.
I can’t wait to see what Sacks and Bachs bring us in issue 18!
Availability;
Bounty Hunters #17 was published by Marvel Comics on November 3, 2021. It retails at $3.99 and is available from your local comic book store, via the Marvel Comics App and online retailers.
