Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha #1 Review
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Steve McNiven, Laura Martin
Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel
In the dramatic opening to Marvel's new epic four-way Star Wars crossover event, Boba Fett continues his job to take Han Solo's carbonite-frozen body to the palace of Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. When something goes wrong with Han's stasis, Boba is forced to make some extra stops and fight his way through other criminals in order to guarantee the safe delivery of his cargo.
I was very skeptical when this big crossover was announced, partially because a four-way crossover in addition to an event miniseries and a number of one shots sounded like it would have a precarious time balancing a satisfying story but also partially because I wasn't immediately sold on the premise. Though there is precedent for it in previous Star Wars stories, it seemed unnecessary to stretch Boba just traveling from one planet to another into a massive event story, not to mention the awkwardness of integating characters like Vader who have few personal stakes in this event. That said, some of the solicits and story ideas have seemed pretty promising and I have liked most of Soule's previous stories quite a bit, so I made an effort to go into this event with an open mind.
I'm still undecided on my opinion of the overall crossover after this issue. It's too early to tell what interesting places this story may or may not go this early, especially since we already knew most of what happened in this story just based on the premise of the event. As for the issue itself, it's mostly middle of the road for me. There are definitely some fun and memorable moments. I really liked the locations the issue visited, and the Besalisk criminal was a fun character. I never enjoy when Star Wars writers just use Boba as a vessel for mindless action and there was some of that in this issue, but it also gave him a few moments of decent characterization that I enjoyed. I hope the rest of the story displays more of his personality and doesn't keep him one-dimensional like some other comics have.
The artwork is another plus for the issue. It has a grit to it that suits the tone and the characters but also manages to convery some genuine Star Was feeling and levity at times. I think it was a good idea to give Boba a new paint job for the issue, though I thought all-black was a little over the top. I think I would have enjoyed it more if they'd gone with a varied original color scheme.
Overall, it wasn't a bad way to start the crossover. I still had my criticisms of this issue and I'm still wary about how the rest of the event might go but it has earned my attention. I think there's the potential for some really good stories to come out of this and I hope those are fully explored. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing where the next part of this story goes.
Artist: Steve McNiven, Laura Martin
Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel
In the dramatic opening to Marvel's new epic four-way Star Wars crossover event, Boba Fett continues his job to take Han Solo's carbonite-frozen body to the palace of Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. When something goes wrong with Han's stasis, Boba is forced to make some extra stops and fight his way through other criminals in order to guarantee the safe delivery of his cargo.
I was very skeptical when this big crossover was announced, partially because a four-way crossover in addition to an event miniseries and a number of one shots sounded like it would have a precarious time balancing a satisfying story but also partially because I wasn't immediately sold on the premise. Though there is precedent for it in previous Star Wars stories, it seemed unnecessary to stretch Boba just traveling from one planet to another into a massive event story, not to mention the awkwardness of integating characters like Vader who have few personal stakes in this event. That said, some of the solicits and story ideas have seemed pretty promising and I have liked most of Soule's previous stories quite a bit, so I made an effort to go into this event with an open mind.
I'm still undecided on my opinion of the overall crossover after this issue. It's too early to tell what interesting places this story may or may not go this early, especially since we already knew most of what happened in this story just based on the premise of the event. As for the issue itself, it's mostly middle of the road for me. There are definitely some fun and memorable moments. I really liked the locations the issue visited, and the Besalisk criminal was a fun character. I never enjoy when Star Wars writers just use Boba as a vessel for mindless action and there was some of that in this issue, but it also gave him a few moments of decent characterization that I enjoyed. I hope the rest of the story displays more of his personality and doesn't keep him one-dimensional like some other comics have.
The artwork is another plus for the issue. It has a grit to it that suits the tone and the characters but also manages to convery some genuine Star Was feeling and levity at times. I think it was a good idea to give Boba a new paint job for the issue, though I thought all-black was a little over the top. I think I would have enjoyed it more if they'd gone with a varied original color scheme.
Overall, it wasn't a bad way to start the crossover. I still had my criticisms of this issue and I'm still wary about how the rest of the event might go but it has earned my attention. I think there's the potential for some really good stories to come out of this and I hope those are fully explored. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing where the next part of this story goes.
A Look Inside
