Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #1

Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #1

Marvel Comics 2021

Written by Charles Soule

Illustrated by Luke Ross

Coloured by Neeraj Menon

Lettered by VC’s Travis Lanham

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.

I love this for a myriad of reasons but what Charles is doing by creating that time between Boba Fett capturing Han Solo and delivering him to Jabba the Hut is one of my favourite stories set in the Star Wars universe and it’s barely begun. The reputation of Boba Fett is notorious throughout the known Galaxy so it’s a big deal that someone stole something from him, much less a bounty such Solo. This inherently generates its own kind of intrigue and electricity in the excitement factors. I mean we all know, even the most casual of fans, his reputation and he’s such a huge figure in popular culture that the anticipation of what’s to come is superb.

The way that this is being told is utterly brilliant to see. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development is phenomenal thanks to how we see the dialogue, character interaction and how they act and react to the situations and circumstances that they encounter. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story and the twists & turns along the way is spectacularly well rendered.

I am enjoying how we see this being structured and how the layers within emerge, grow and strengthen. It is the little things like seeing that stray kill that showcases so much about Fett. The layers also do wonders in bringing in the other characters for this adventure as well is a great thing to see. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as seeing it move the story forward is achieved magnificently.

I am in love with the interiors here. The linework is exquisitely rendered and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this level and quality of detail work is utterly astounding. The creativity and imagination that is on display is mindbogglingly well rendered and these various species we see throughout, some familiar and some not really bring the diversity in the galaxy to life beautifully. How we see backgrounds throughout makes me such a happy camper and how thy work within the composition of the panels to bring us the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is magnificently rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work leaves me absolutely gobsmacked. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work demonstrates a master colourists eye. I am really impressed with the colour work and how it brings the linework to life with such subtle beauty.

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The story itself is insanely well written with some stellar characterisation and absolutely brilliant interiors make this the event of the year. What I really like about this is that you don’t have to be a die-hard fan of the franchise to enjoy this. It is new reader friendly and for the casual fan, like myself, it is one hell of a great story that can be enjoyed just for what it is. Meaning you don’t have to read every single book in the crossover to enjoy what’s happening and that I appreciate more than anything else.