Published: August 22, 2018
Rating: Rated T
Writer:SIMON SPURRIER
Penciler: Kev Walker
Cover Artist: Ashley Witter
The Synopsis;
GOOD NEWS: THE IMPERIALS HAVE ABANDONED ACCRESKER JAIL. BAD NEWS: FIRST THEY SHOT IT AT A REBEL PLANET. For unscrupulous inmate DOCTOR APHRA, accompanied by former flame SANA STARROS and current flame INSPECTOR TOLVAN… (NB: Awkward.)… Chances to escape are dwindling fast. Good thing Aphra’s not distracted by an expensive relic, right? Oh, dear.
The Story;
The fourth part of The Catastrophe Con finds us in deep space, with Triple Zero and Beetee having hijacked a ship. On the ship they slice into a communication that is taking place between Posla and Doctor Aphra. Aphra demands that Posla come to pick her up immediately, whereas Posla tells her that he must find Doctor Evazan before he deals with her. With a big grin, Aphra shows Posla that she has Evazan (at knife point). Posla is quick to tell her that he is coming for her. Unbeknownst to either of Aphra or Posla, the two droids make course for Aphra’s location.
Back on Accresker Jail, Lopset quickly changes from his form as Doctor Evazan and returns to normal. The group (Aphra, Lopset, Tolvan and Sana) quickly find that there are numerous escape pods leaving the prison tug cruiser, which has caused it to crash into the prison itself. As they run, they find the rest of the inmates blaming Aphra for their current situation. Running away from this new threat, they find themselves opposed against an inmate who has a rather large blaster. Before he can fire a shot, he is dealt with by the force ghost, who does not seem happy.
The group realise their best hope maybe in the tug cruiser. Using the dropped blaster, they fire a hole into the ship and enter. They quickly find that one of the escape pods has not been ejected, but it is blocked by closed bulkheads. Sana also points out that an escape pod could never escape the jail’s gravity field. Aphra is not deterred and finds a way to manipulate the jail’s tractor envelope, allowing the escape pod to escape and to open the bulkheads. While this is happening, we see Tolvan sending a secure message to someone…
Once Aphra has manipulated the gravity and altered some of the prison to allow access to the escape pod, the group set off. They soon find that Aphra has moved the Jedi ship into their way, forcing them to confront the Jedi ghost. The ghost inspects them all, looking for a worthy host. It can’t find any and leaves the group. Aphra explains that the spores that have infected the ship have been mutated by a Kyber crystal, causing the ghost. Sana, not fazed by her ghostly encounter, immediately sees through Aphra’s deception and accuses her of purposely moving the Jedi ship in order to obtain the ancient lightsaber held within. Before we leave the prison, we see Posla in his ship, almost at his destination…
On a super star destroyer, we see Darth Vader receiving a message that we saw Tolvan send earlier in the issue. She states that there is a massive threat to the Emperor and therefore the Empire. That threat is Darth Vader. Tolvan then says she expects Vader would like to meet her in person…
The Review;
This series keeps going from strength to strength and this issue does not let this momentum slide. This comic is very busy; an awful lot happens in a very short space of time. A very fine line is drawn in this issue on how much time to give each of the little threads that are running through the plot, and there are a lot. Yet instead of ending up in a tangled mess on the floor, Spurrier is able to weave them in and out of each other to create a clear and interesting story, one that keeps enticing the reader back.
The threats to Aphra are all set up in this issue. There is Triple Zero with Beetee, two of the most important elements of this series that have had a brief hiatus up until now. This is not a bad thing and I do believe the story has benefitted from having them in the background. We also have Posla, who…well let’s be honest, with everything that has already happened and Aphra has just lied again to him, he is going to be furious. And to round it all out, Darth Vader is once again going to be in the picture. To have all these enemies converging on Aphra is exciting to say the least, particularly if they have to battle each other to get to Aphra. There is also the risk of Vader finding out about Aphra being alive (I don’t think this will be the case as it limits the series too much). But it all makes for exciting story telling.
The other aspect we have is the love triangle playing out between Aphra, Sana and Tolvan. I have a soft spot for Tolvan and it was good to see her having a bit more focus in this issue. The realisation on her part that she has been looking at Aphra through rose-tinted lenses is fascinating. It’s making Tolvan really sour towards Aphra and the situation she has put them both in. Yet, the jealousy of Sana is also clear to see. Tolvan is the loose cannon in this series, you never know whether she will be loyal to the Empire or to the woman she loves. After this issue, I still don’t know which way she will turn.
To have these two complex and compelling elements in the same story is incredible and really helps to show just how far Doctor Aphra has come on as a series. Added to this, the humour is exceptional and the Indiana Jones reference was very well written. My only complaint was the force ghost. Rather than be answered, I would have much preferred this to have been left a mystery, but this a very minor complaint on a very solid story. I cannot wait for my next issue of Doctor Aphra to arrive, with writing like this, I can’t see how I wouldn’t enjoy it…
Availability;
Doctor Aphra is an ongoing series available from Marvel. This issue is available via the Marvel App and all good comic book stores. This issue retails at $3.99.
