Doctor Aphra 2016 - 2019; Volume 1

Following into the series after listening to the audio dramatisation of Aphra's original 'adventures' with Vader has been a real treat. Given how perfectly cast Emily Woo Zeller was as Aphra, it is all but impossible not to read the comic with her voice in your head. This is certainly not a bad thing, especially coupled up with the sardonic humour from Triple Zero and BT, it continues to be everything I had hoped for after enjoying the audio story so much.

The opening is a great little set piece, setting us up to think we are watching the infamous Aphra blow everything to pieces, yet again, in her quest for glorious loot and riches, only for that to be quite apparently not the case. In this volume we get to learn a little more about Aphra's father, what drives him and why he left his wife to chase down a myth. While it does turn out to be true, to one extent or another, you do have to wonder if it was really worth the effort he put into chasing ghosts. Of course, if he hadn't, Aphra probably wouldn't have become the jaded rebellious type with an interest in archeology, so I suppose that's a pretty big plus point to his actions as a terrible father, from a readers point of view!

This volume also sets up what is presumably going to end up being the 'big bad' later on in the series, because we all know Aphra is going to mess around with things she probably shouldn't, and it will almost certainly come back to bite her in the ass later on. It's a really interesting look into the history of the Jedi, however, and raises more than a few questions about what they were actually getting up to all those centuries ago, perhaps even before the time of the High Republic when they are already behaving in a way we know as the Jedi code.

I do love that Aphra is still working closely with Black Krrsantan, because a) he is the most metal of all the Wookies, and b) the characterisation of him works really well with Aphra. Since they are both rogue agents, there is a delightful element of wondering at what point either of them will either try and stab the other in the back, or focus on saving their own hides when the situation gets too rough. His appearance in this volume does great justice to the legendary prowess of his species as a fighter, and there are some brutal scenes where he goes from being a distraction to full on guerrilla warfare. It's probably one of my favourite scenes in this whole volume.

Plus, of course, it wouldn't really be right if Triple Zero and BT didn't get a proper mention here too. I was a little worried that the humour wouldn't work quite as well on the written page as it did in audio format, but that worry didn't last for long as they were soon up to their old tricks, and by tricks I of course mean causing as much death and destruction as possible. Their reverse C3PO and R2-D2 role fits in wonderfully to the background, and a few quips really shine through as they comment away on what disastrous plan Aphra is cooking up next in the foreground.

The art style for this series is also really nicely done. It retains the sort of classic 80's star wars feel through the colour pallet choices, while the line work and overall style give it a 'fun' and 'modern' style. It's pretty much what you would expect from a Marvel comic though - high quality design, layout and print from an experienced and clearly talented team of creators. While I'm no expert on lettering, I'd say that Caramanga has done a good job too, as I found it very easy to read the dialogue, and there was no point where it was in doubt who was doing the talking.

All in all, a strong open to the series and I am already diving into volume two, so you can expect to see more on that here soon!