Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #14 (July 7): Sacks is building to something big here, though we don't yet have enough puzzle pieces to guess at the larger picture.
Dengar brings Valance to Mama Stammoch, his former boss when he was a swoop racer. She agrees to fix Valance so that Dengar can get the bounty and pay back his debts. Dengar calls Bib Fortuna asking for proof that his Manaroo is still alive, but Bib Fortuna refuses to give it to him. Stammoch tells Dengar that she fixed Valance's core processor but warns him that Valance's human heart is under such strain from his cybernetic parts that he might not live much longer.
Dengar tells Stammoch about the bounty, and she recounts some gang history. She tells him that Crimson Dawn was part of the Shadow Collective that united the underworld during the Clone Wars, getting even the Black Sun, the Mandalorian Death Watch, and the Pykes to work together. With the siege of Mandalore and the rise of the Empire, the Collective collapsed. Crimson Dawn eventually re-emerged with the same cold-blooded mentality as before. She tells Dengar that rumor had it that they never really disbanded after Dryden Vos died; they just went underground waiting for a big score.
When Valance shows Stammoch an image of Deathstick (the assassin who attacked him last issue), she panics, telling him that he's killed them all. When Dengar accuses her of overreacting, Deathstick attacks. Dengar grabs a car, and he and Valance escape with Deathstick in pursuit. The car's stabilizers eventually quit, however. Valance manages to save himself and Dengar, who's overwhelmed that Valance helped him. Before Dengar can explain his motives, Valance tells him that they can talk later but need to flee Deathstick now. Deathstick watches as they flee and reports to Qi'ra that she's disappointed that Qi'ra won't let her kill them. Qi'ra promises that she'll get her chance, so it's clear that she's having Deathstick herd them somewhere for some reason.
Meanwhile (man, a lot happened in this issue), the Unbroken Clan takes out everyone but Khamdek and T'onga, who calls Losha and the Nexu to save them. T'onga tells Khamdek about Cadeliah. Khamdek is devastated when he learns that his son tried to kill his lover and asks T'onga to bring Cadeliah to him. He warns T'onga to keep her existence a secret, because Crimson Dawn would never let anyone bring the Mourner's Wail and the Unbroken Clan under one rule.
Again, a lot happens here, but the only thing that seems clear is that none of it is good for Valance.
Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #2 (July 14): Once gain, Boba Fett's humor is the best part of this issue, like when he dryly quips, "More than he was going to pay me," when Jabba the Hutt bids 250,000 credits for Han Solo's body. That smarts.
This event's June issues all lead to the Scoundrels' Ball that Qi'ra hosts here. Most of the established syndicate heads - such as Lord Gyuti of the Black Sun and Bokka the Hutt -- are annoyed that they were led to believe that they alone received the invitation. Meanwhile, several of the less powerful syndicates see their chance to make their mark. After beating aside Bossk's attempt to capture him, Boba Fett sneaks into the Vermillion by impersonating one of the prospective buyers. (In so doing, he notably removes his armor and hides under the buyer's robes.)
At the ball, he identifies Aphra, who herself "recognizes" his voice as a clone soldier's (heh). He tells her to create a distraction or else he'll make everyone else at the ball aware that she's there. Their conversation is interrupted when Qi'ra starts the bidding, which becomes a bidding war between Bokku and Jabba. (I don't think Bokku is long for this world.). Jabba wins, and Boba Fett (re-armored) is ready to make his move when two things happen: he runs into Chewie, Lando, and Leia, and Darth Vader appears and announces that Solo belongs to him. Boba Fett's response? "We'll see."
All in all, it's a solid issue, though I was disappointed that Niven didn't return on the art tasks, as Ross' work, although fine, isn't on Niven's level. Unlike most events, this main series really moves along the overall event's plot, though I think that a lot of the fun is going to happen in the tie-in series as all Hell breaks loose.
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #12 (July 14): Most of this issue repeats the Aphra-focused scenes from "Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters" #2. In fact, the only development related to the main event is that we learn that Aphra purposefully spilled a drink on Xet of the Black Sun to swipe her data-crystal necklace, leading to the scene in "Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters" #2 where she was washing out her dress in the bathroom. The rest of the issue focuses on Just Lucky and Ariole Yu trying to take out Crae. I still have no idea who these characters are or what they have to do with Aphra, so I can't say I particularly care. If you're only read this issue because of its connection to "War of the Bounty Hunters," I can confirm that it's perfectly skippable.
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