Doctor Aphra (2020) #4 Review
Writer: Alyssa Wong
Artist: Marika Cresta
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel
In this month's issue of the new Doctor Aphra run, Aphra continues her hunt for the Rings of Vaale despite the string of setbacks and betrayals she continues to endure in the catacombs on Dianth.
This issue is mostly just a transition and setup for the finale. It moves all of the story pieces to where they need to be for the big climax without too many other big developments or surprises. While I do think these kinds of issues work better in trades when you don't have to wait for or after it, it serves its purpose here well. The story so far has done a good job building up and developing a relatively large and mostly new cast, I know all of them by now. My fellow writer mentioned in our review for #3 that Lucky was the only member of the team who hadn't gotten much development and had hoped to see something happen with him in the future and it definitely looks like they're setting some things up for him. Tagge is a good antagonist, though I'm also looking forward to seeing Auntie Domina come into play soon.
The use of a High Republic ship in this issue is very interesting. It feels like we've been getting High Republic mentions in almost every other issue of the Marvel Star Wars line lately but this one fits in well enough since they already established the relics to be from that era a while ago. It does make me curious if the ship design was made for the project and we'll see it pop up more later, because we know the writers worked together to flesh out designs unique to that era.
The art style for the series continues to be really strong. It suits the tone pretty well and I was never taken out of the story by a weird face or awkward trace. All of the characters being visually distinct and memorable helps in becoming more familiar with them as they're developed.
Back when the last run on the series was starting to wrap up, I wondered if another new run from scratch was the best choice going forward, but now I'm pretty confident that it was. The writing for this run is stronger than ever and I think the character is more than capable of supporting many more stories for years to come.
Artist: Marika Cresta
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel
In this month's issue of the new Doctor Aphra run, Aphra continues her hunt for the Rings of Vaale despite the string of setbacks and betrayals she continues to endure in the catacombs on Dianth.
This issue is mostly just a transition and setup for the finale. It moves all of the story pieces to where they need to be for the big climax without too many other big developments or surprises. While I do think these kinds of issues work better in trades when you don't have to wait for or after it, it serves its purpose here well. The story so far has done a good job building up and developing a relatively large and mostly new cast, I know all of them by now. My fellow writer mentioned in our review for #3 that Lucky was the only member of the team who hadn't gotten much development and had hoped to see something happen with him in the future and it definitely looks like they're setting some things up for him. Tagge is a good antagonist, though I'm also looking forward to seeing Auntie Domina come into play soon.
The use of a High Republic ship in this issue is very interesting. It feels like we've been getting High Republic mentions in almost every other issue of the Marvel Star Wars line lately but this one fits in well enough since they already established the relics to be from that era a while ago. It does make me curious if the ship design was made for the project and we'll see it pop up more later, because we know the writers worked together to flesh out designs unique to that era.
The art style for the series continues to be really strong. It suits the tone pretty well and I was never taken out of the story by a weird face or awkward trace. All of the characters being visually distinct and memorable helps in becoming more familiar with them as they're developed.
Back when the last run on the series was starting to wrap up, I wondered if another new run from scratch was the best choice going forward, but now I'm pretty confident that it was. The writing for this run is stronger than ever and I think the character is more than capable of supporting many more stories for years to come.
A Look Inside
