Marika Cresta | Reading Art

Doctor Aphra is unquestionably one of the best original characters to come out of Star Wars comics, but her solo series was a roller coaster that barely managed any consistency.

Wong, Cresta and Rosenberg’s debut volume on Doctor Aphra is a perfect jumping-on point for new Aphra fans, and also a return to the best of Aphra as a character, and a distillation of her best stories. Aphra returns to her roots as a double crossing archaeologist – this time, the “Rings of Vaale” which will provide the wearer with infinite power and wealth – with a quirky, equally double crossing crew, and a perfectly creepy abandoned city.

Wong gets Aphra. She gets her quippy one liners, what blocks her from intimacy and honest relationships, and how to authentically integrate her queerness without making it decorative. On that note, while it seems like every other woman is Aphra’s ex, Wong handles their relationship with more tact and nuance than Spurrier or Gillen ever did. The pacing is excellent and Wong also introduces memorable secondary characters, not an easy feat. The villain looks like 90’s regret but a new spin on spoiled rich boy – collecting rare antiques and vaporizing them, so he is the last to hold them.

Marika Cresta and Rachelle Rosenberg’s art fires on all cylinders. The pencils are soft but kinetic, and aren’t too hyper realistic (something I find off putting in Star Wars books). Aphra is drawn beautifully and her chemistry with Okka is believable, and Rosenberg’s colors evoke a classic Star Wars story.

Some folks are complaining that this book “doesn’t tread new ground,” but it’s not supposed to. It’s a volume one – and frankly, it’s the volume one Dr. Aphra deserved – because it shows us exactly who Aphra is. And I’m here for it, as long as we see Triple Zero in the next arc.