Doctor Aphra: An Audiobook Original by Sarah Kuhn

Doctor Aphra: An Audiobook Original written by Sarah Kuhn

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When this project was first announced, I was over the freaking moon! A new story about Aphra?!? And Dooku: Jedi Lost was so incredibly good that I could not wait for another project in the same format. Of course it's difficult to take notes and prepare for these reviews when listening to an hours-long audio-only bit of media as compared to novels and the like where I can highlight and bookmark, so I did have my trepidations. But the idea of a new Aphra story outweighed even that. And then I discovered the audio drama would be retelling stories we already knew...I was bummed for sure. Aphra is such a dynamic and versatile character, why couldn't they create something completely new for her rather than rehashing what already existed? So I was doubly cautious going into this thing...and let me tell you...I was blown away. This audio drama was absolutely fantastic!!! The sound effects were on point, the score was beautiful, and Aphra's secret m.o. for recording her adventures was shocking and welcome. I'll spoil it down below, but here let's just say that those of us craving LGBTQ content in Star Wars get a healthy dose of it in this tale and it is wonderful!

As for the story, this audio drama sheds a different light on the first Vader run including Issues #3-6 the "Vader" arc, Issues #7-12 the "Shadows and Secrets" arc, Issues #13-15 the "Vader Down" arc, Issues #20-25 the "End of Games" arc AND the first Star Wars run including Issues #13-14 the "Vader Down" arc, Issues #16-19 the "Rebel Jail" arc AND the "Vader Down" one-shot. All of these issues told a seamless story that flowed between the different series making for a super dynamic and fun comic read. Getting them all in one place for this audio drama was definitely exciting! As a recap, we have Aphra and Vader's first meeting on Quarantine World III where she's obtaining the 0-0-0 personality matrix, Aphra and Vader's creation of a personal droid army for the Sith Lord, the discovery of "Skywalker" as the boy who shot down the DS-I's last name and the subsequent double-checking with Padme's mortician that she did in fact have a son before dying (Aphra was so impatient that the fact she also had a daughter was completely missed), the battle on Vrogas Vas between a whole Rebel force and just Vader, the rivalry between Vader and Cylo's cyborg warriors, and Aphra being imprisoned by Leia and her ex Sana at Sunspot Prison only to be released to help take the prison back from a crazed-Rebel who had seen Palpatine as a Sith Lord with his own eyes when undercover. Phew! It was A LOT of material!! And really great for remembering what all happened in the early days of the "new" Star Wars canon comics. Plus we get Aphra's commentary throughout, revealing to us what was going on her head through all this craziness, which was such a pleasure.

But the best part wasn't the retelling, it was the stories between, the flashbacks Aphra kept having to her life at University. Here's where the LGBTQ happiness comes in. SPOILERS: The ENTIRE audio drama was Aphra recording her story to pass on to Sana!!! Sana Starros is a smuggler who is first introduced to canon as supposedly being Han's wife. Ha! Turns out she was only his wife for a con the two were pulling back in the day. But when it comes to Aphra and Sana, there's some real history between the two of them and Aphra seemingly can't let her feelings go no matter how hard she tries to deny them. See a panel of the two of them from Issue #19 of the original Star Wars run during the "Rebel Jail" arc below (Sana's on the left and Aphra's on the right). Aphra makes it clear throughout the audio drama that she is recording her tale. She keeps going back and marking various spots for review later when things get too mushy or out of her devil-may-care character. But the listener has NO idea that she's actually recording this for anyone in particular until close to the very end. Up until that point I just figured she was making the recording for posterity and in case she met a doomed end what with working for Vader and all. But, no, it's so much sweeter and more meaningful than that. She's sorry about how she treated Sana when they were together. She wishes things could have been different. She wishes she hadn't lied so much or been so callous. She wishes she could make everything better. We've seen this side of Aphra before when she gets involved with Magna Tolvan once she gets her own comic series. That relationship ended horrifically with Aphra using a Mairan (Bor Gullet from Rogue One is an example of this species) to rewrite Tolvan's memories making her think that Aphra was dead. The panels of Aphra slumped against the wall in utter tears are so reminiscent of the feels we get from this audio drama and Aphra mourning over Sana. She keeps screwing up her relationships but absolutely hates that she does so. She has a huge heart but doesn't know how to turn her feelings into loving actions. She really is a doomed and tragic character. And I love her for it.

So even though this audio drama was at its most basic a retelling of stories we had already read and seen, at its core it was a different story entirely. The voice acting for Aphra, done by Emily Woo Zeller, was so quintessentially Aphra!! Her cavalier attitude, begrudging acceptance of reality, and even the emotional twists were perfectly portrayed. From the very first minute, I was in absolute awe at how well Zeller was able to capture our favorite rogue archaeologist. I still hold out hope for an Aphra TV series, but they are going to have a really hard time finding someone who fits her voice and cadence as perfectly as Zeller. 

In closing, even if you've read the comic issues retold in this audio drama, I highly recommend giving it a listen. The back story itself makes it worth it and the portrayal of Aphra is the icing on the cake!!