Caspar Wijngaard

Doctor Aphra: A Rogue’s End

*spoilers for issues 37-39, which is all I made it through*

UGH! After a disappointing sixth volume I really hoped Spurrier would bring it all together in the final volume. NOPE.

Usually I will try to power through a disappointing book, especially one that’s been a favorite series of the year. But unfortunately, literally everything about this book is disappointing, and I would rather not come out of this disliking Doctor Aphra.

The volume picks up at the last book’s cliffhanger, with Aphra back in Vader’s service. Now, the Empire is trying to find the Rebels’ new hideout (if you’ve seen Empire, you know where this is going), and their pattern of hiding out in old Jedi temples makes archaeologists a perfect match to help hunt them down. It makes sense, but Aphra did better when her stories didn’t overlap with canon at all.

The book feels aimless even as characters from past books make appearances in an attempt to appear full-circle. Aphra makes decisions that make no sense, even for her heartless self (like leaving Valuuda alone on an abandoned planet), and conversations with her dad are too eager and feel hollow. Aphra and Tolvan’s scene together was a joke.

And the art is just atrocious. Far too cartoony for a Star Wars book, and there’s barely any nuance to facial expressions. Panels that require some drama and punch – like Vader choking Aphra’s father, Tovan blasting Aphra – all fall flat.

Spurrier really struggled with Aphra, and it’s disappointing that this final chapter really didn’t communicate a strong sense of Aphra’s character or deliver a satisfying story. I’m glad this rogue’s story has come to an end – bring on Alyssa Wong.

Doctor Aphra: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon

by writer Simon Spurrier; artists Wilton Santos, Andrea Broccardo, Caspar Wijngaard, Chris Bolson;
inkers Marc Deering, Don Ho, Walden Wong, Scott Hanna; colorists Chris O’Halloran & Stéphanie Paitreu; letterer Joe Caramagna
collects Doctor Aphra #32-36
volume reviews one | two | three | four | five | six | seven [complete]

Yikes! After a very solid fifth volume, Doctor Aphra’s next arc loses its way. It’s a good thing I’m invested enough in the character to keep going – this kind of mess early on would have lost me as a reader.

Spurrier simply tries to do too much here – among them, revealing Aphra’s childhood, a Rebel plot to assassinate the Emperor, an unexpected reunion with Tolvan, and the Imperial Minister of Propaganda returns (along with a certain favorite Wookie). Instead of a focused narrative, grounded by sharp banter and emotional growth between Aphra and Triple Zero like last time, this arc was scattered and unfocused – and it didn’t help that the art teams changed multiple times within and between issues, with varying levels of quality. Some pages were really quite awful.

In previous volumes, Spurrier has done a fine job pushing Aphra into a corner – usually double crossing left and right – allowing for a lot of growth while the stakes shift and she has to accept the consequences. But the unnecessary amount of exposition and convoluted storyline didn’t allow any emotional beats to land. (Who enjoys exposition of double crosses? No one?) Tolvan and Aphra’s relationship is still unearned, and even cringy, as a certain famous ESB quote undercuts the whole thing. The stakes disappear as soon as we know a plot is already doomed to fail – assassinating the Emperor, in this case – a fault of many other SW titles and a first for Aphra.

So what could have saved the book is more growth in Aphra, which has been successful in each volume (even if it’s a turn away from redemption), but there’s a disappointing lack of growth or insight here. Even the final reveal, an easy one to have some emotional resonance or at least serve to deepen Aphra’s relationship with her “tiny ward” Vulaada, fell flat.

I’m looking forward to reading the finale of this series…or I’m more excited to start Alyssa Wong’s new run. Could go either way.

Doctor Aphra: Worst Among Equals

This might be my favorite volume of Doctor Aphra yet. The last arc was Spurrier’s first solo as Aphra writer, and it was a clunker that tried a bit too hard. But everything’s been ironed out in this volume, with Spurrier and his great art team focusing on the best aspects of Doctor Aphra and, in my opinion, Star Wars – a fun planet romp with great characters and monsters.

The book opens with the annual, as our titular archaeologist employs monster hunters and odd-orable married couple Winloss and Nokk. Even though it was disappointing to see so little of Aphra in her annual, Winloss and Nokk are fantastic characters who belong perfectly in this corner of Star Wars (and if it were up to me, every DND campaign) and it was a delight to see them later in the main arc. Wijngaard’s art was also impressive.

“Odd couples” is certainly the theme of this volume, as Aphra and Triple Zero are stuck together thanks to two implanted bombs that won’t let them get several meters away from each other. (Off-world is our third odd couple, Dr Evezan and Ponda, the Mos Eisley duo from Episode IV and the reason behind Trip and Aphra’s implanted bombs. They had minimal investment and didn’t add much, which is fine.) Aphra and Trip’s banter was sorely missed in the last volume, and it’s in spades here – especially Trip’s hilarious yet disturbing delight in torture – as the two hit their lowest point (metaphorically and figuratively) and fight to survive.

The classic “enemies forced to work together” trope still bears meaningful and believable payoff by the end, not an easy task for volume five, or for morally ambiguous characters. I’m continuously impressed by Spurrier’s ability to gradually introduce hints and glimmers of redemption and self awareness from Aphra (and even Trip), without being unearned or too saccharine. Aphra’s selfishness and self-sabotage make her a compelling and deeply flawed character, and she is gently nudged towards growth while staying believable as a character. And as in previous volumes, her queerness is part of Aphra’s identity, but not window dressing or decoration – her regret and love for Tolvan is an important but minor part of the story.

Spurrier and the art team also take us on a fun planet romp with great world-building, fun monsters, and solid secondary characters, including the return of an undead force-infused warrior maniac. This is campy and lighthearted Star Wars at its best, and Laiso and Rosenberg continue their impressive character design while also elevating Spurrier’s humorous one liners. The sketchy, black and white flashback panels are gorgeous, and I’ve never seen a droid as creepy as Triple Zero. Andrea Broccardo assists with pencils on 31, and unfortunately it was a dip in quality, which was tough for the final issue.

The ending felt a little predictable, and the televised aspect was trite at times, but that could have been the product of reading as a trade rather than individual issues. This is probably one of the best volume fives in any series, and I’m excited for the next chapter.