Published: June 28, 2023
Rated: T
Writer: Alicia Wong
Artist: Minkyu Jung
Colourist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Junggeun Yoon
The synopsis;
LUKE SKYWALKER! A LOST JEDI TEMPLE!
AND A GRAVE MISCALCULATION!
• APHRA has convinced LUKE that she can help him find long-lost secrets of THE JEDI!
• But she has other plans for him that include…
• …DARTH VADER!!!
The review;
That ending! We can talk about it now, right? Two Jedi from the prequel era and still alive during the reign of the Empire and are going to be able to speak to Luke and help him train as a Jedi and it’s Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti! And breathe! Last issue was incredible. Alyssa Wong brought Luke and Aphra together for an adventure, taking the series back to basics of archeology. What has resulted is a lot of questions about the Jedi, with an ending that – well- can it be believed?! I don’t know and in fact I don’t care because this is a journey that I’m happy to be on and I trust that Wong is going to guide us through – what looks like – an incredible story. Where it will lead, I have no idea, but with trusted Minkyu Jung by their side, I’m sure this next part is going to be a thrill ride!
Well let’s get the obvious part out of the way: the Jedi aren’t real. I think like Luke, we’re all a little disappointed. Yet, on the other hand I also think that if they had been alive, it would have raised far too many questions, things wouldn’t line up and – in all honesty- Luke’s struggle wouldn’t have been so great. They need to be dead in order for Luke to shine. Wong uses them here so they can show us flashbacks of what was happening at the Sason temple. The story opens with one of these and I have a slight thrill seeing Aayla teaching some of the padawans. It’s just day to day activity, normality for the Jedi. That is until Shaak Ti comes along about a bell containing… something. Of course, this is Alyssa Wong, she’s going to tease us. But it’s more than that!
From the very issue of Doctor Aphra, Wong went straight back to basics with the character; Indiana Jones meets Star Wars. That was what it was always meant to be. Along the way, Aphra gets caught up in other events which lead away from this foundation, but this is Aphra at its core. To have mystery, the teasing, the wanting to know more is as much a part of Aphra as it is for the Indiana Jones series. Not only that, but what Wong has always done extremely well is the atmosphere. There is a tone that goes from mystery, to creepy, to flat out horror throughout this comic. Things that aren’t easily explained. You can look at the format of an Indy film and it follows the same set-up. With Aphra it works perfectly.
The atmosphere only works if the artwork is on point, and with Jung it obviously is. The movement of happy, flashback movements, to getting lost in a maze of corridors to that last panel, it is all done with finesse and carries the reader perfectly through it all. The renditions of Aayla and Shaak are by far my favourite, as well as Artoo. The detail that Jung adds to these characters is outstanding, really capturing the characters.
Luke is very interesting in this issue. Wong really gets over to the reader that sense of isolation that Luke feels that the glimmer of hope that he’s not alone suddenly burning out pulls at the heartstrings. Although there is Yoda, Luke wants someone more normal, who isn’t his teacher and less connected and in tune. You feel that pain inside of him. Luke, like a lot of us, lets this frustration and tension out by taking it out on Aphra. this really through me! Calling Aphra out on her humour, to read the room is exactly what Luke would have done. His confidence throughout this period has grown and grown and I love that he is one of the few people who can talk to Aphra head on. Yet the mention of Sana, all I shall say is Aphra’s thoughts echoed my own! It is not like Luke to go that far and Wong hints there might be far more going on than we, or the characters, realise.
Aphra is full of humour and again, it’s one of those things that is getting back to what Doctor Aphra is all about. The humour for the last arc had to come from anyone other than Aphra as she was dealing with The Spark. Here, now, she is back to her old tricks, saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and making the reader love her just that bit more. It’s great to see it returning after such a break, even if Luke does tell her off. And Sana? Well, if you’ve kept up with that series, you will know all is not well there and the future of Aphra and her (which is fine because Aphra should be with Tolvan – Miss Wong: T-O-L-V-A-N!) is going to be shaky ground. At this point, Aphra doesn’t know and it’s a waiting game to see when she does find out, will it be too late? Aphra replies in kind to Luke, giving him some home truths too. For all the mystery surrounding this temple, what I enjoyed most was this aftermath of everything. A lot has happened to Aphra and Luke. These are two people who are trying to process and deal with the last few weeks in their life. Wong is taking the time for both to reflect and move on. Yes, they are going to bicker, take stabs at one another (hopefully not literally) but they are both dealing with events in their own way, trying to heal. This is the side that we don’t usually see of Aphra and the side of Luke that doesn’t have the time to deal with it as he’s always trying to help someone or gain some knowledge. It shows that even a developing Jedi and an ice hearted lady still have to deal with the repercussions of what has happened. Wong captures it beautifully for both of them.
I’m really enjoying this story arc. Luke, Jedi, mystery, emotions, Aphra… this issue has everything you could possibly need to make an incredible story. This is what fans always wanted from Doctor Aphra, it has all the key ingredients from Indiana Jones with a clever Star Wars twist that Wong executes wonderfully. There are a lot of questions still to ask but now is the time the action is going to ramp up, the pacing of the story increasing, and I for one cannot wait to get some of those answers!
Availability;
Doctor Aphra (2020) is an ongoing series published by Marvel Comics. This issue retails at $3.99 and is available via the Marvel App, ComiXology and all good comic book stores.
