"Doctor Aphra #11: War of the Bounty Hunters: The Wreckage" by Alyssa Wong

"Doctor Aphra #11: War of the Bounty Hunters: The Wreckage" written by Alyssa Wong, illustrated by Minkyu Jung, Victor Olazaba, and Rachelle Rosenberg

So far, the connection between this comic and the rest of the "War of the Bounty Hunters" series has been tenuous at best. But this issue made a clear connection to the overall story with both pairs of main characters now heading off to the Crimson Dawn party showcasing Han Solo. But before that, craziness ensues as is always the case and we get the reveal of Durge. I am not familiar with this character outside of this canon version, but I'm liking how he's so intense it's almost comical. And strangely enough, he's not after Han, he's after the same person Aphra and Sana are after--Domina Tagge's cousin, Ebann Drake. Why was such a large and in charge, armored up bounty hunter sent after someone who looks so harmless?? With the emphasis on Durge being hard to kill, I'm hoping we get answers to this in the future!

We start off getting a glimpse into Ebann Drake's life (see below) as he parties it up on a luxury ship called the Opal Empress located near Kaderin in the Outer Rim. Aphra and Sana have been tasked with locating this errant cousin and bringing him back to Lady Domina. But when Aphra and Sana arrive on the Opal Empress, everyone is dead... And all evidence points to the culprit being a beastie (...or multiple beasties) instead of a clash of sentients. Dun dun dun!

As I already mentioned, Durge makes his first appearance in canon when he shows up on the Opal Empress as well. Aphra and Sana have just learned about the Crimson Dawn party when Durge blasts his way onto the scene. The three work together against the parasites swarming the ship (see below) only for Aphra to pull a dirty on Durge...but is this his end?? If so, I'm flummoxed by his introduction at all. I'm thinking he has to come back somehow to make bringing back a Legends character with such fanfare worth it.

There's a second storyline with Just Lucky and Ariole Yu headed to the Crimson Dawn party so they can assassinate an old friend of theirs named Crae (see below with Lucky and Ariole as kids) by order of their boss Wen Delphis. The whole situation seems incredibly sad from all sides and I wonder if Just Lucky will be able to follow through with the mission...

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Trivia:

-Just Lucky and Ariole Yu's ship is called the Fleeting.

-The beasties rampant in the Opal Empress are cymotes, a parasite that lays eggs inside the mouths of hosts and the hatched babies eat their way out. Yikes!

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This was a strange side shoot of an issue, which makes it seem more like a set-up story than anything...so I guess we'll see what this issue was preparing the way for as "War of the Bounty Hunters" continues!