Doctor Aphra (2020-) #1: Fortune and Fate, Part I: The Rings of Vaale, by Alyssa Wong

Doctor Aphra (2020-) #1: Fortune and Fate, Part I: The Rings of Vaale, written by Alyssa Wong, illustrated by Marika Cresta and Rachelle Rosenberg

     This was a great beginning to what promises to be a wonderful new adventure in the life of Doctor Aphra!! All the new characters were well identified and laid out which is going to make for an enjoyably straight forward read. I already feel like I can identify each character and understand a bit of each of their personalities--which is evident in that I can look at the cover to the left and I know exactly who is who. Such a relief! This is in contrast to the "Bounty Hunters" series where, unfortunately, a bit of confusion reigns. So I'm over the moon pleased with how this issue intro'd our new crew and I cannot wait to see how Aphra and her team deal with the horrors that it looks like will face them in the next issue as they begin their hunt for the Rings of Vaale.
     Before getting into this issue proper, I'd like to give a little more info on this very special artifact that is the crux of the story - The Rings of Vaale: "a pair of mythological artifacts made by an ancient order of guardians," they grant the wearer eternal life and boundless fortune, it is said they can be found in a haunted city of living stone on Dianth in the Malitoris System. In regards to the supposed horrendous curse that blankets Dianth because of the rings' presence, Aphra makes a truly insightful statement, "Superstition is one of the first security systems ever invented." In other words, she has some pretty deep-seated doubts about the realities of said curse...guess we'll see soon if she's right.
     We're past The Empire Strikes Back now and Imperial snowtroopers have been on Hoth, for weeks it seems, searching for any remaining signs of Rebels. Captain Ivies is leading the search. Aphra swoops in to commandeer any contraband she can make use of on the black market and is accompanied by Black Krrsantan (my favorite Wookiee mercenary), Tubleek Ruz (a Kubaz), and Just Lucky (a human male who tried to kill Aphra on Qlint)--see them pictured below:

In the process of disrupting the Empire's search, she acquires a very rare fork-nosed ice worm fossil (see below) which fetches a high price at the Shadow University.

     Then we are introduced to Detta Yao (a human female, fourth year grad student in archaeology) who dreams of writing her thesis on the Rings of Vaale. She outlines a proposition to Aphra on how this could be the payout they've all been waiting for. And mentions that Doctor Eustacia Okka should join their crew as well for her expertise on the Rings. I'm not sure of her species (see below), but she is gorgeous!! And if I'm reading into things correctly, it appears that she may in fact be an ex of Aphra's...we know that spells trouble. Eustacia's droid is TA-418 (also see below). Aphra's crew find Eustacia in the Outer Rim at the Ruins of Kolkur.

     The big bad in at least this arc is Ronen Tagge, a member of the wealthy Imperial Tagge family. He maintains a whole hoard of thugs whose only function in life is to carry out his bidding, a bidding that many times is highly unsavory. His mission at the moment is to track down the Rings of Vaale. Two of his thugs know Aphra from a previous job on Felucia--Kiehart and Venters--no surprise she has ties to some less than respectable people. Auntie Domina apparently spoils Ronen rotten. And he has no qualms about killing anybody who gets in his way. See his penthouse suite on Canto Bight!! below:

      Despite being a set up issue for the arc and series to come, this issue did a fantastic job of fleshing out all the new characters while still focusing on Aphra and her internal dialogue over her deeds of late. We know where she is at headspace-wise and we know that she's apologetic but realizes she must still get on with her life. She's excited for the possibilities of this new adventure and seems happy with her new crew including the newest recruits of Detta and Eustacia. I LOVE that Black Krrsantan is still an old standby for her and the introduction of Just Lucky is intriguing, especially since he tried to kill her once...but then again, who hasn't tried to kill Aphra at some point in their lives?? The new droid, TA-418, appears to be nearly the same make as BD-1 from the "Jedi: Fallen Order" video game which is cool! And lastly, Ronen Tagge is a sickeningly horrific human being. It'll be interesting to see how Aphra compares to him in all her dastardly deeds to come. Of course, I don't think she has an ounce of malice in her, she's just highly self-preservationist, while Ronen seems to be dripping with malice. This is going to be a fascinating ride and I am so here for it!