Published: June 2, 2021
Rating: Rated T
Writer: Charles Soule
Penciler: Luke Ross
Colourist: Neeraj Menon
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover Artist: Steve McNiven & Frank D’Armata
The synopsis;
AT WAR FOR THE GREATEST PRIZE OF ALL: HAN SOLO!
THE HUNT BEGINS!
• Nobody. Steals. From BOBA FETT! The notorious bounty hunter will not stop until he gets what’s rightfully his. For the thief, no corner of the galaxy is safe. Good thing for them that the REBEL ALLIANCE, THE EMPIRE and every bounty hunter in the galaxy is standing in Boba’s way.
• With a last-page reveal that will blow this Death Star–sized story wide open, Issue #1 is just the beginning. The biggest crossover in STAR WARS history will continue raging through the pages of the WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS event miniseries and tie-in to STAR WARS, DOCTOR APHRA, DARTH VADER and BOUNTY HUNTERS through October.
• Only one hunter will be left standing, and the STAR WARS galaxy will never be the same!
The review;
The prelude is over, and we are now into the main story arc of War of the Bounty Hunters, or should that be now known as War of the Exclusive Variants? There is another deluge of amazing Boba Fett images from some of the best comic book artists around. My standout is the cover from Paolo Villanellli. It has a 70’s TV show introduction vibe as if featuring the stars of the upcoming show. I’m sure there will be plenty more where these came from for issue 2 and beyond.
Okay, so where do we begin? The scene is set, all 4 main Star Wars titles from Marvel Comics are now perfectly aligned and the War is about to start for real. So, who will be its first casualty?
Shadows of the Empire has always been close to my heart ever since it was released in 1996. This told the tale of Fett delivering Solo to Jabba, the Empires trysts with the criminal underworld of the galaxy and Luke’s quest to further his Jedi abilities. And that is pretty much where we are at now. It was never an easy path for Fett when Steve Perry, John Wagner and LucasArts joined forces to tell the tale. But the bounty hunter escapades in this retelling of the same period makes that part of Shadows more like a playground spat.
My prediction of who stole Solo was wrong, but I wouldn’t have put that type of twist beyond Soule. He is known for his amazing execution of twists in everything I have ever read that he has produced. And he does deliver such a twist within the pages of this issue. We get teased early on about the involvement of Crimson Dawn in the abduction of Solo, but we are left waiting until the very last page before we get that confirmation that I am sure we all sort of guessed. But, as you turn each page you sit there saying “No, he can’t be going there, can he?”
Fett is not usually portrayed as being a compassionate or a man affected by the events of what happens to him. Soule gives Fett a vulnerability where he winds up in a cantina to almost regroup and possibly drown his sorrows before making his next move in his pursuit to recapture Solo. It also comes as a surprise to find that Fett is now the quarry of the Guild Members and the gloves are off. He makes easy work of his would-be attackers in the cantina but is soon caught up by his old adversaries; 4-ELLOEM and Zuckuss.
Outflanked and strangely outgunned, Fett seemingly surrenders to the pair as they have upper hand. Amongst Fett’s personal arsenal within his armour, he has a few gadgets and being able to control Slave I’s gun turrets he uses them to regain control of the situation. And Zuckuss seems to be the first to fall, literally! His precarious handhold on the damaged landing platform is broken by the boot of Fett and he is left to freefall to his fate. 4-LOM is also in a bad state and as the McNiven cover art shows the severed head of the bounty hunter in Fett’s hands. Fett uses the head to retrieve information on his bounty while 4-LOM still tries to coerce him into letting him help Fett.
The next setting is Tatooine and Jabba’s palace. Jabba in convoy with other Hutt leaders to meet with Crimson Dawn and do a deal for Solo, but his major-domo Bib Fortuna is there to greet him. The stand off that ensues reveals some familiar faces in the crowd. Fett is able to persuade Fortuna to let him see the offer sent to the Hutt’s by Crimson Dawn and Fett now has a new target of his own… Q’ira!
There are parallels with Shadows of the Empire throughout, but the story is fresh and exciting. Soule has done an amazing job with all his Star Wars work to date, and this is proving to be of the usual high standard we have come to expect. The thought and planning that must have gone into this whole project must have been mammoth! Like with the team who have brought us The High Republic, it shows that collaborative creative working with intricate planning can pay dividends in the story that is produced.
It’s great to have Luke Ross back creating new Star Wars comics. Ross has been still producing awesome work on other franchises, so he’s been busy while he was away. I fell for his style of art back the adaptation of the Timothy Zahn novel, Thrawn, and his art in issue 1 doesn’t disappoint. Combined with the colours of Neeraj Menon, you are treated to page after page of stunning artwork.
I do have to mention one thing. It is brilliant to see that the events of The High Republic are slowly making an impression on this era of stories. Whether that be in passing mentions or the technology used, I feel this is going to be very important going forward in what we read in the future.
It’s difficult to comprehend that we are already one month on from the first instalment of this crossover. Then when you see the updated timeline at the back of the issue, you realise how much further we must go. The only question I have now is “How many more surprises, twists and turns are we going to get?”
Below is a gallery of all the known exclusive cover variants at the time of posting this, but no doubt there will be one or two that have escaped our gaze.
Availability;
War of the Bounty Hunters#1 is the first issue of a 5 part mini-series available from Marvel Comics. This issue is available via the Marvel App and all good comic bookstores and retails at $4.99.
