Published: March 20, 2024
Rating: T
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artists: Luke Ross
Colours: Nolan Woodard
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover: Leinel Francis Yu & Nolan Woodard
The synopsis;
JANGO FETT EMBARKS ON A BRAND-NEW MISSION!
• AS SEEN IN STAR WARS: REVELATIONS! ETHAN SACKS (STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTERS) & LUKE ROSS (STAR WARS: WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS, STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS) team up to continue the legacy of one of the greatest bounty hunters: JANGO FETT!
• A bounty to find! A mystery to solve! A treaty at risk!
• All this with AURRA SING in the mix!!!
The review;
To start us off, there are six covers for the first issue. Direct cover artist for the series is Francis Leinel Yu, accompanied by Nolan Woodard. They bring us a fantastic action picture of Jango Fett with guns drawn and jetpack propelling him upwards. David Marquez and Jay David Ramos highlight Aurra Sing with a fantastic illustration of her for their cover. Derrick Chew’s cover has 2 versions, one with the usual trade lettering and the other, a virgin variant. Oh wow, this is an amazing cover, featuring Jango, but with so much detail and atmosphere. Then we have the Women’s History Month celebration variant cover by Aka depicting Rose Tico. The colours and highlights used are exceptional for this. Last, but not least, we have a movie variant using what seems to be a press shot of Jango Fett on a starfield background.
2024 sees the 25th anniversary of Episode I: The Phantom Menace being released in cinemas, but it is a character from Episode II: Attack of the Clones who is front and centre for Ethan Sacks latest foray into the underworld of the bounty hunters. Teamed up with Sacks to provide the artwork is Luke Ross. Ross has collaborated with Nolan Woodard in many Star Wars adventures in recent years, and their partnership continues for this series. It should be a match made in heaven. So, let’s take a look at what the team have in store for Fett Senior.
An Aqualish doorman is at the entrance to s secret gambling den on the planet of Oosalon. An unseen patron is asked for the password, but the doorman is taken down. Jango Fett enters calling out the name of his bounty, Fissark Tozan. Tozan isn’t going quietly and his henchman open fire on Fett. Fett dispatches his attackers and catches Tozan and uses his jet pack to escape with his bounty. On his way through the roof light, he drops a thermal detonator on the gambling table below and the den becomes a ball of flame.
A civic ceremony is underway at the Regional Republic Headquarters on Jaloria. The Chancellor Valorum has sent the jewel sculpture, The Hope of Glee Anselm back to support the treaty between the Anselmi and Nautolans. It is evident there are still hard feelings between the two factions, but a voice from the back of the hall announces other intentions. It is a heist to steal the jewel sculpture. The thieves escape with the sculpture and the media take to the holonet to proclaim the failures of Valorum’s administration.
Jango is on Halmad handing over Tozan to Y3-99 to collect his bounty. He is offered another job, but Y3-99 may have offered it to many others too.
The Two Blasters Bar on Daiyu is full of bounty hunters and their tracking fobs readying themselves for the hunt. One group are particularly raucous, taunting and knocking the drink out of the hand of a lone patron as they leave. He follows them outside and they decide to attack him. One by one, he takes the group down, while announcing his name, Vigor Struk.
Judicial Huijari is on Megalox Penitentiary in the Expansion Region to take Aurra Sing into his custody. Her sentence is to be commuted if helps track down a certain bounty hunter and Sing’s response is cold… “Who do you want me to kill?”
Business complete on Halmud, Y3-99 escorts Jango back to his ship. To find the thieves from the heist attempting to break in and steal it. Jango makes quick work of the first three would be thieves, but the fourth hides behind some crates. Jango throws a reflective disk on to the side of his ship and pings a shot off it, hitting the thief in the face. Y3-99 has been caught in the crossfire and is a smouldering mess on the landing pad. He turns toward his ship, enters up the ramp and takes off.
My first thought after reading issue one is – wow, just wow! This is as good an opening gambit as I have seen from a Star Wars comic series. On point for the lead character, sublime artwork, sets the scene perfectly and keeps us guessing as the issue wraps up. But then I have a major complaint! I need to know; why is this series only going to be 4 issues in total?
Sacks has proven his ability already in the underworld of the Star Wars bounty hunters and this issue reinforces that. His knowledge of characters is vast and the new players he is bringing in have an immediate impact on the storyline but hold a mystery around them.
There are two really cool tie-ins too. The planet Daiyu debuted in the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV series and appears as setting for the Two Blasters Bar. A nice touch, but also a great expansion on the underworld denizens who frequent the planet. Then there are the mirrors for deflecting shots to hit hidden targets. We have seen these used by Crosshair in The Bad Batch and it is great to see these get another outing with a synonymous bounty hunter.
Bringing in Aurra Sing is a great idea. Fleeting moments of screen time and name drops in the movies, she played a big part in Boba’s development during Rebels. This makes sense to bring her in now to have an involvement with Jango.
The artwork by Luke Ross and Nolan Woodard is some of the best I have seen. Their partnership is one I always enjoy immensely. Sacks had been very lucky to be partnered with Paolo Villanelli for the most part for Bounty Hunters but has been blessed with being teamed up with Ross this time out. Some of the illustrations are so realistic and accurate, it is scary at times. Ross uses full page and two-page spreads throughout this issue and that really does bring the story together well. The fight sequence with Vigor Struk is fantastic. It flows beautifully and portrays the action and violence with a pure starkness. I can’t wait to see more of this new character, he seems so intriguing.
In short, this is as near to a perfect start to a new series as anyone could wish for. Tip of the hat to the whole team and I am desperately awaiting issue 2 landing in a few weeks’ time.
Availability;
Star Wars: Jango Fett is a 4-part mini-series published by Marvel Comics. This issue retails at $4.99 and is available from ComiXology and all good comic book stores.
