Two-Month-Old and One-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf January 12 and February 2 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Undiscovered Country #18 (January 12):  Holy fucking shit.  I have so many thoughts about this issue that I don't know where to start.

[Deep breath.]

OK, I'll start with the end of the Possibility chapter.  Drumkit leads the team from the scene of battle as the team's doppelgängers (that Ace created last issue) fight Possibility's denizens.  Ace gives Drumkit the song that it wants from him (a lullaby that his mother used to sing him), and Drumkit lets them go.  Valentina calls her superheroic doppelgänger for help, and Captain Valentine takes the team and the Anything Engine to the Yearning.  Of course, it turns out Uncle Sam is one of the Crossroad Devil's minions and makes it clear that the team either helps the Devil or dies.  Chang notes that, in diplomacy, when you can't strengthen your position you remove the other side's leverage, so he destroys the Anything Engine.

At this point, I really had no idea where we were going.  A disheartened Devil leaves, his minions retreat, and the team is left alone on the boat.  The best part of this development is that everyone acknowledges that it was ridiculous to assume that they could create a masterpiece in the first place.  (Ace admits that he was just going to rip off "Hamilton.")  It's rare to see a comic acknowledge that a premise was flawed from the start without drifting into pet peeve #3 territory.  Here, the flaw was the plan, not the excuse.  Ace also acknowledges to Valentina that he was distracted while trying to write his masterpiece and kisses her.  Seconds later, the ocean opens and they fall into another interstitial place.

Before we worry that Snyder and Soule got sappy and love was the key, a new Uncle Sam explains that Aurora intentionally had no control over Possibility, since art needs freedom.  But, Aurora and he acknowledged that it all got too wild in there, so they rescued the team without the key.  (Or, Ace and Valentina's kiss was an American masterpiece, and, for some reason, Aurora is too afraid to admit that.)  At this point, I was worried that we were going to continue along our previous path, moving to another zone, la la la.  Instead, shit gets real.

A newly costumed Destiny Man arrives and murders Uncle Sam.  He explains that he saved the team from Aurora, and, given what they learned in Possibility about Aurora's machinations, it's hard to dismiss that possibility immediately.  But, Charlotte is emphatic in reminding everyone that Destiny Man is a monster, and he acknowledges as much, saying that destiny changes a man.  He then removes his helmet to reveal a handsome young man on one side of his face and a monster on the other one.  Charlotte and Daniel (who gets hotter and hotter the fuller his beard gets) are shocked to see that he looks like their father, and he reveals that he is their younger brother, Alexander Graves.  Dun-dun-DUN!

Alex makes it pretty clear that he's nuts ("And when two people love each other very much...") and claims that America is his birthright, that he was literally bred to rule it.  He's been trying to work with Aurora, but he's done with that now.  Before he can continue, a tornado arrives ("Just like 'The Wizard of Oz,'" Alex quips), and the party is split:  Charlotte and Valentina find themselves in History; Ace, Chang, and Janet are in Hegemony; and Alex and Daniel seem set for some quality bro time in an unrevealed place.

Honestly, this issue really helps to move us to where I hoped we were going.  We've spent too much time just traipsing through zones.  Splitting the party and introducing a new Graves sibling aren't just wise plot moves:  they're also symbolic of American storytelling tropes, from Dungeons & Dragons ("Don't split the party!") to Star Wars.  It also speeds up the series' timeframe, as we seem to be approaching some sort of denouement.  Snyder and Soule are getting us there organically, as it feels like the team's arrival has set off a series of events that Aurora increasingly can't control.  We still don't know whether she was the one who arranged for the team to come to America, but, if she did, she might be regretting that decision about now.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #20 (January 12):  The plot involving the Mourner's Wail and the Unbroken Clan is getting almost ridiculously complicated.  In fact, it's getting hard to believe that T'onga is going through all this effort for no personal gain, as far as I can tell.  Unbeknownst to her, her job is even more difficult now that Vukorah has killed Cadeliah's grandfather and taken over the Unbroken Clan, aligning it fully with Crimson Dawn.  Vukorah's bodyguards inform her that the only people left in the Unbroken Clan's fortress as people loyal to her, so I'm not sure that Cadeliah is going to be able to just waltz into the place and unify the syndicates in the way that T'onga hopes.  All that said, the best part of this series is Bossk and Tasu Leech's interactions, particularly as Tasu's brutality shocks even Bossk.  ("You're starting to worry me, kid.")  I'd be fine if we ditched Losha, T'onga, and Zuckuss and focused on these two nutjobs for a while.  Speaking of Zuckuss, I'm relieved that he finally rescued 4-LOM.  Sure, he has to cut off 4-LOM's head to do so, and I'm not really sure how he reprogrammed 4-LOM not to kill him simply by doing so.  But, details, details.  4-LOM's response is great:  "May I assume from my condition that we did not collect on the Boba Fett bounty?"  It's nice that not every love story in Star Wars ends badly.

Star Wars:  Crimson Reign #2 (February 2):  Soule reveals Deathstick and Ochi's targets in this issue, and they're doozies.  Deathstick arranges for the Empire to storm the Rebel bas where Cadeliah is hiding and kidnaps her in the ensuing chaos.  Meanwhile, Ochi uses poison to take out all of Palapatine's Imperial Guard soldiers all at the same time.  I'll be honest that I've lost track of how and when everyone learned about Cadeliah's existence.  I think that Vukorah initially learned of Cadeliah because Nakano Lash tried to negotiate her surrender, but I can't remember if Lash informed her that Cadeliah was the Mourner's Wail and Unbroken Clan heir.  Also, assuming that Vukorah knew, I assume that Vukorah is the one who told Qi'ra.  Given all the crosses and double-crosses, I need some sort of chart at this point.  At any rate, I actually think Qi'ra's strike against the Emperor is the most interesting development, since I'm betting it's also what precipitates her fall.

Also Read:  Star Wars #20 (January 12); Dungeons & Dragons:  Mindbreaker #4 (January 19); Newburn #3 (February 2)

Three-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf December 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 (2021) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #18 (December 1):  This issue is interesting for how it change the status quos of both Valance and T'onga, but the execution isn't all that elegant.

Sacks confirms that Vader has fully upgraded Valance, including replacing his failing heart, which stopped beating on the operating table.  In exchange, he wants Valance to lead the "Dark Squadron" and eliminate Crimson Dawn's spies within the Imperial Navy.  When Valance balks, Vader reveals his upper hand:  Valance's new cerebral processor allowed the Empire to download all his memories, and Vader threatens to eliminate the Rebel base where Yura and Cadeliah reside if Valance doesn't comply.  But, Vader twists the knife even further.  (Of course he does.)  The issue begins with a flashback to street-rat Valance encountering his hero, Captain Tarl Sokoli - the Spine Dragon of Anaxes - who liberated Valance's home, Chorin City, from the pirates who ran it.  Valance's first target for Vader?  Captain Sokoli, alleged Crimson Dawn spy.

Meanwhile, T'onga and her crew blow off some steam taking out criminals trying to shake down the owner of the cantina where they're drinking.  T'onga isn't just upset over Valance's apparent death:  she also believes that Cadeliah's location died with him.  During the fight, Zuckuss stops T'onga from killing one of the criminals on Losha's behalf, reminding T'onga that Losha needs to build her own standing within the crew.  T'onga is devastated when Losha reveals that she loves the bounty hunter's life and doesn't want to return to their farm.

As I said, I like where the plot winds up going, but the process getting there is rough.  The art is choppy at best, an upsetting setback after the improved art that we've been seeing on this title.  Moreover, Sacks has Lieutenant Haydenn, Darth Vader's adjutant, deliver a long recitation of Valance's past that isn't just boring:  it does the opposite of what she intends.  Whereas she keeps stressing Valance's childhood dreams of becoming an Imperial hero like Sokoli, she spends most of the time (by necessity) reminding Valance how the Empire repeatedly fucked him.  When Valance points out that fact, she can only meekly offer that at least the med droids saved his life - if not his humanity - the second time that he almost died in the Empire's service.  I assume that Sacks included this trip down bad-memory lane for new readers picking up this title after "Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters."  But, it's weird that he did so in a way that actually undermined the plot.  He only manages to get Valance to agree to Vader's "offer" after Vader threatens Yura.

Despite all that, I'm still interested to see how Valance handles this assignment.  If you're reading "Star Wars:  Darth Vader," you know that Ochi himself is a Crimson Dawn spy.  I wonder how long it'll take for Valance to get into cahoots with Ochi.  I'll be honest that I'm not too interested in T'onga and her crew, but I'm content to see where Sacks goes with them.   

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #18 (December 1):  This issue makes very little sense.  It's chaos, in art and script.  I mean, I get the plot:  Ochi hires a group of assassins to take out a Crimson Dawn-sponsored religious figure on Vincorba.  When they're successful, Vader conscripts them into service.  On Calior, the "chief regional auditor" throws in his lot with Crimson Dawn to squeeze more profits from the local populace, and three vigilantes whose families Crimson Dawn killed prepare to sacrifice themselves to stop him.  (For reasons that aren't clear to me, the auditor's Crimson Dawn bodyguards are accompanied by Stormtroopers?  Maybe they don't know Crimson Dawn is the enemy?  As far as I can tell, Pak never explains that part.)  But, Vader arrives, and they happily throw in their lot with him.  Weirdly, the issue ends with Sabé, now working for Crimson Dawn, discovering the midwifery droid on Polis Massa that Vader found in issue #5.  I'm making the issue appear a lot more sensical than it felt reading it.

Star Wars:  Crimson Reign #1 (December 8):  This series is obviously a coda to "Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters," but Soule does a solid job of establishing it as its own story.  He does so by immediately revealing Qi'ra's ultimate goal:  the elimination of the Sith.

The issue begins with Qi'ra addressing her troops:  the Knights of Ren, Chanath Cha and the Orphans, and Deathstick and Ochi of Bestoon (the assassins).  She explains that they're all some of the few sentient beings in the galaxy aware of the Sith's existence.  She laments that the galaxy should be arranged as a mountain range, with many entities exerting control, but it's instead arranged as a pyramid, with Darth Sidious monopolizing control.  She wants to end that.  With the knowledge that she gained working at Darth Maul's side when he ran Crimson Dawn, she has a plan.

Qi'ra's agents kick off the plan by spreading rumors among the criminal syndicates that the Empire is looking to replace the Hutts as its exclusive concessionaire given the Hutt Council's attack on the Empire.  (I still don't understand why Bokku the Hutt agreed to commit suicide essentially on Crimson Dawn's behalf, but it explains why Qi'ra had him launch the attack in the first place.)  Qi'ra then dispatches the Orphans to take out various syndicate operations without a trace, launching a Syndicate War:  since none of the syndicates could identify who attacked its operation, they each attacked all the other syndicates.  Palpatine is displeased with the war, sending for Vader, as Qi'ra obviously hoped.

Meanwhile, Qi'ra dispatches Deathstick and Ochi to take out high-value targets and the Knights of Ren to steal an artifact from Fortress Vader.  She also has her Archivist researching the Jedi Order as allies or bait.  But, the Archivist, who serves as our narrator, informs us that this story is a tragedy, and it seems pretty clear that Qi'ra will pay a price for her plan.  But, she also seems the only person capable of making this play, a play that I've often wondered why other people didn't make.  As such, even if we know the ending, I'm intrigued to see how close Qi'ra comes to taking out the Sith.

Star Wars #19 (December 8):  As someone who just recently finished battling his way through "Star Wars Jedi:  Lost Order," I gasped when Luke arrived on Ilum.  Synergy!

In "Star Wars Jedi:  Lost Order," you play a Padawan who survived Order 66.  After he's forced to reveal himself to the Empire to save a friend, a fallen Jedi finds and recruits him into her quest to find a holocron listing the names of the galaxy's Force-sensitive children before the Empire does.  Given the game takes places 14 BBY, I've been hoping to get a sense, from a novel or a comic-book series, of how complete the Empire's control over Jedi sites is by the time of the original trilogy era.  I'm thrilled that we're finally going to get that story.  I'm also thrilled that it's Soule telling it.

After his encounter with Vader during "Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters," Luke decides that he's got to leave the Resistance to complete his training, since he's going to have to face Vader at some point.  He begins with a list of Jedi sites that Artoo found in an Imperial archive.  He begins his search at Ilum, and we learn that the Empire has complete control over the planet.  (In "Star Wars Jedi:  Lost Order," it had just started taking over Ilum.)  Luke continues his journey, eventually arriving at the River Moon of Al'doleem, the first place that he finds where Star Destroyers aren't completely surrounding it.

After failing to use the Jedi Mind Trick on two Stormtroopers, Luke wanders Am'balaar City.  He encounters a mechanic who recognizes his lightsaber, and we learn that the man is Colli, who we first met in "Darth Vader" #4 as a child.  At the time, he was helping his parents fix Kirak Infil'a's ship, which, after Vader killed Kirak, his parents used to save him and his sister.  Given that debt, Colli leads Luke to the Mount Pasvaal monastery, explaining that the Imps have been looting it for decades.  Luke contemplates entering the monastery lightsaber a-blazin' to prove how powerful he is but, like a Jedi, instead summons his focus and successfully uses the Jedi Mind Trick to have two Stormtroopers bring the site's most valuable artifact:  a holocron with a Yoda training recording.

In other words, I'm tickled pink with where we're going here.  We haven't touched on Luke's need to augment his training for a while, and I'm glad that we've returned to it.

Newburn #2 (December 15):  With this issue, a few themes begin to emerge.  First, it's obvious that Newburn has a lot of people waiting for him to fall.  Emily herself admits that part of her attraction to the job is to see how the movie ends; as one of the interviewees at the start of the issue says, it's definitely going to end.  Second, it's equally obvious that a lot of the people waiting for Newburn to fall are jealous of both his access and his smarts.  The Tribune editor's anger is so disproportionate to the offense - as if journalists don't routinely use mob contacts - that it's clear that he's really just annoyed that Newburn - at least for now - has a better deal than him.  Finally, although Newburn may eventually get the wrong end of his deal, Emily's interviewees make it clear that, like his previous partner(s), she'll likely get there first.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #19 (December 22):  I'm generally not a fan of the flashback sequences that happen with such frequency in this series.  However, Pak uses them to great effect here.  Vader is committed to ridding the galaxy of Crimson Dawn because it undermines order.  Pak uses the flashback sequences to remind us of the moments in the prequel trilogy where Anakin came to the idea of imposing order, particularly after he failed to prevent his mother's death.

The interesting part about this issue is that Vader feels more reckless.  He's treating the assassins and Revengers working for him as expendable.  Vader usually does that, but he usually doesn't abandon his agents to their fates before they're no longer useful.  Here, he treats them like chum, which makes it feel like he's taking this mission too personally.  (He appears to kill, on a whim, the other two assassins besides Deathstick and Ochi who are working for him.)  

My only real complain about this issue is that it ends with Vader accessing Crimson Dawn's database from the base that he and his team assaults, conveniently giving him a list of all Crimson Dawn's agents within the Empire.  I doubt Qi'ra would make that mistake, to be honest.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #19 (December 29):  Valance succeeds in killing his former hero, now-Admiral Sokoli, in this issue.  

Lest we get too upset, Sacks shows us a moment when a grown Valance and Han Solo run into Sokoli as he's getting ready to teach a class at the Academy.  Sokoli treats Valance with disdain:  he doesn't remember liberating Chorin City and apologizes for leading Valance astray (given his obvious disappointment in the Empire) particularly since Valance's injuries make it clear that he's never going to fly again.  

In the present, Valance uses his Tie Defender to crash into Sokoli's ship.  He explains his story to Sokoli, who dismisses him as "one of those young converts from some backward planet [he] saved."  Before Sokoli can kill him, Valance kills Sokoli.  Sachs twists the knife when he shows us a flashback to a thrilled Valance meeting Sokoli on Chorin.  In the epilogue, we learn that Vader didn't really believe Sokoli was a Crimson Dawn mole:  he was disappointed with Sokoli complaining about the Empire, and he thought that killing him was a good test for Valance.  He now considers Valance ready, which can't be good for Valance.  

Meanwhile, T'onga and her crew decide to go after 4-LOM so that he can track Cadeliah's locations through Valance's previous communications.  I'm sure that'll go well, too.

Also Read:  Dungeons & Dragons:  Mindbreaker #3 (December 15)

Four-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf November 10 and 24 (2021) Everything-Else Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Undiscovered Country #17 (November 10):  The thing about the Crossroad Devil's pitch -- that Ace use the Anything Engine to repopulate Possibility before using it to solve the world's problems -- is that it rings more plausible than Dr. Jain's pitch. 

Jain claimed that Prosperity's unique characteristics -- its dedication to technological innovation -- would eventually solve the world's problems despite the fact that she hadn't managed to do so yet.  The Devil offers the same deal, but it makes sense that he hasn't been able to save the world:  he needs humans to use the Anything Engine.  Moreover, saving the world's problems isn't actually his goal.  He's fine if the team winds up doing it, but it's incidental to the outcome that he wants, unlike Dr. Jain.  It's the first time where I thought that maybe the team should stay here, even though a deal with the Devil is inherently fraught.

It's that catch that ultimately makes Ace, Charlotte, Daniel, and Valentina turn against the offer, with Ace using the Anything Engine to replicate him and his friends to take on the Devil and his army.  But, it's a rushed denouement.  Charlotte and Daniel's opposition happens abruptly as just a few panels earlier they were considering the Devil's offer.  I would've like the team deliberate a little more, since, as it stands, it felt like they made this decision because the plot demanded it.

Star Wars:  Life Day #1 (November 24):  This issue makes not a lick of sense.  In each of the four stories (including the framing one), I have no idea what happened to get us to the denouement.  Given the art is also pretty lackluster, I'd recommend giving this issue a hard pass, even if it does feature Chewie and Han Solo.

Also Read:  Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton #5 (October 13) and #6 (November 10), Dungeons & Dragons:  Mindbreaker #1 (October 20) and #2 (November 24); Newburn #1 (November 3); Where's the Furthest Place from Here #1 (November 10)

Four-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf November 3 (2021) "War of the Bounty Hunters" Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars #18 (November 3):  From start to finish, this issue is amazing.  Soule takes Leia - and us - on an emotional journey from the depths of despair to the heights of hope.  His vehicle for this journey is Qi'ra, as complicated of a character as we see in comics.  It's a fitting end to an outstanding event. 

Soule makes it clear from the start that Leia and company don't just think that Han Solo is lost to them:  they think that he's dead.  It isn't an unreasonable assumption, given that they saw his carbonite-encased body fall from the Executor toward Jekara's surface.  But, it significantly ups the emotional ante of the issue's first few pages, as Leia - a paragon of inspiration - confesses to Chewie that she might just think that hope is for suckers.  She tells him something that we've previously heard her confess in different ways to other people, that she's been on auto-pilot ever since they lost Han.  She admits to Chewie that she found hope again when she touched Han on board the Exectuor, but it's clear that losing him again has broken her.  It's heavy stuff.  

It isn't made easier when Qi'ra contacts the team and reveals that she had the Falcon's hyperdrive disabled while it was on board the Vermillion.  At her request, she boards the Falcon.  We're then treated to one of the tenser conversations that I've ever read in comics after she asks to talk with Leia "just us girls."  Qi'ra starts their "chat" by offering Leia a drink from a bottle that she brought on board with her; in one of the issue's best scenes, Leia takes the blaster that that she has pointed at Qi'ra and destroys the bottle.  

Qi'ra swears that she meant to help Han, which Leia has trouble believing given that Qi'ra was, you know, auctioning him to the highest bidder.  Qi'ra informs Leia that she was the one to arrange for Holdo to get word of Han's location.  She then confirms that her fight with Vader on board the Vermillion as well as Bokku the Hutt's attack on the Executor were stalling tactics meant to give Leia time to save Han.  (It's a nice way of shifting the blame on Leia for failing to do so.)  Leia points out the obvious, that Qi'ra could've just given her Han.  But, Qi'ra notes that she wouldn't have gotten anything from that.  She contrasts the fact that she (Qi'ra) manipulates people to get what she wants as opposed to Leia, who inspires people.  Qi'ra observes that Leia's an Alderaanian princess and she's a Corellian scumrat; she wonders if they were just born to these destinies.  Qi'ra tells Leia that she knows that Han is better with Leia; his path would've been darker with Qi'ra.  

Qi'ra then recounts a story of Han intervening in a fight on Corellia when they were younger, saving a smaller boy from a beating that he (Han) took instead.  Later that night, Qi'ra asks Han why he helped the boy.  Han acknowledges that no one on Corellia does anything for someone else unless it helps them to do so and muses that it's the same way "at the top of the fanciest tower on the fanciest planet in the galaxy."  But, for a few minutes, for the boy he saved, it wasn't that way; the boy could believe that life could be different.  Beyond the wonderful sentiment - one totally fitting the brave Han that we all see beyond his gruff exterior - it's one of the prettiest panels I've ever seen:  young Han and Qi'ra contemplating the stars from some industrial roof.  Han tells her, "You gotta start somewhere."

Surprisingly, this story doesn't particularly move Leia:  she knows that Han is a good man, even if he hides it.  As she's ready to bring Qi'ra before an Alliance tribunal, Qi'ra drops the boom and tells Leia that Han is alive and Jabba the Hutt has him.  As excited as Leia is - and Chewie, who overheard the conversation - she and Qi'ra agree that he's probably safest with Jabba as the Alliance needs Leia more right now.  It isn't just a good point.  It's on that hadn't really dawned on me and perfectly explains why Leia and company didn't immediately run to rescue him.

Leia lets Qi'ra leave because, as she (Qi'ra) notes, Crimson Dawn doesn't really have any love for the Empire, and she can help the Alliance where it suits her.  As she departs, Leia asks Qi'ra if any word of her story about Han was true, to which Qi'ra responds, after a beat, "Be seeing you, Leia."  It's one of the greatest last panels I've read, so full of portent for the future and questions about the past all at once.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #17 (November 3):  This issue is also amazing, and I find myself still thrilled that Marvel is putting their best talents on the Star Wars series.  In a way, it's the inverse of "Star Wars" #18.  That issue started in despair and ended in hope; this one goes in the opposite direction.

We begin where we last left Valance, his heart failing after Boba Fett shot him to take Han for himself.  Valance has to take on the Stormtrooper platoon sent to the detention center given, as one of the Stormtroopers notes, the high number of trespassers it registered.  But, unbeknownst to Valance, T'onga has pledged to save him after Bossk revealed that he had been on Jekara and Zuckuss subsequently senses him in orbit.  T'onga flies her ship close enough to the Executor to broadcast on an old frequency that they had used, telling Valance to hightail it to the hanger.

On Jekara, Qi'ra makes an offer to Vukorah, opening a box that contains an item that appears to resolve the fact that she isn't of the right bloodline to take over the Unbroken Clan.  

Back in space, Valance encounters a scared cadet who confesses that he doesn't know what he's supposed to do after his commander died.  In one of this issue's many zags, Valance seems ready to take the cadet with him when one of the Imperial lieutenants orders a midshipman to vac the compartment despite the cadet's presence.  Valance tries to save the kid, but he flies into space, confirming what Valance had told him, that the Empire doesn't care about any of them.  Before Valance destroys the camera that brought them to the bridge's attention, the midshipman identifies him and tells the lieutenant that the file is classified above his rank, prompting the lieutenant to advise Vader of it.

Valance discovers the cargo bay is too crowded with Jumptroopers for T'onga to land, so he swipes one of the Jumptrooper's backpacks and flies towards her.  Hilariously, Valance is a little nervous when it's Zuckuss who heads to the top of the ship to secure him, but T'onga reassures him when she tells Valance that she's paying him.  Zuckuss grabs Valance, but, in another zag, Valance is suddenly pulled to the Executor.  Losha tells T'onga they have to leave him before the Tie Fighters destroy them.  To my horror, we discover that Vader is the one who pulled back Valance.  Valance awakens looking like his old self with Vader standing over him, telling him that he fixed him because he serves him now.

First, I want to complement Villanelli here.  As I've noted before, Valance is a hard character to get right, as he either appears too monstrous or too human.  Villanelli gets the mix exactly right throughout the issue, which is why it's all the more stunning when we seem a handsome Valance fully restored at the issue's end.  Second, this development - particularly after what happened with the cadet- is probably the worst possible outcome for Valance.  He isn't just impressed into Imperial service again, but he's impressed into Vader's service.  After all, as Doctor Aphra can attest, Vader doesn't just let people who work for him go.  It's just such an awful ending for Valance, who at various times in this series has come so close to finding a family or a friend only to have it taken brutally from him.

Five-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf October 13 and 27 (2021) "War of the Bounty Hunters" Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters #5 (October 13):  I've enjoyed this event, even in its slower moments, and Marvel made the right move keeping it to five issues and not the seemingly requisite six issues.  Soule wraps up all loose ends nicely as virtually every character is organically placed in new status quos.

The Executor dispatches Tie Fighters to take on the Hutt Council's ships as they drag General Romodi's shuttle to them.  Leia and Luke flail as they try to address their own difficult situations:  Leia explains that their engines still don't work (despite the events of "Star Wars" #17), and Luke is still trying to shake Vader's pursuit.  Matters go from bad to worse when, as Leia feared, Romodi's shuttle is pulled beyond Lobot's broadcast range and its pilots are able to restart the shuttle's engines.  (Soule doesn't show how the pilots manage to shake off the maghooks that Hondo and his cronies are using to pull the shuttle to them, but I'll let it go.)  The shuttle returns to the Executor, and all seems lost.

But, two events occur that legitimately surprised me.  First, Boba Fett hails the Executor.  Since the database shows him working for Vader and since Vader has told Admiral Piett that he shouldn't disturb him, Piett allows Boba Fett to board.  Meanwhile, Leia and company are shocked when someone from the Executor contacts them and provides them access to the ship.  The contact explains that she's working on Qi'ra's behalf, and Lando has to explain - awkwardly - to Leia that Han and Qi'ra have a...past.  As both groups board the Executor and head for Han, Qi'ra contacts Bokku the Hutt and tells him to press the attack against the Executor, despite how outgunned the Hutt ships are against a Super Star Destroyer.

Using his knowledge of Imperial ships' layouts, Valance leads Boba Fett to the detention level.  A security droid attempts to stop them, and Valance saves Boba Fett only for Boba Fett to take out Valance as he promised that he would.  Boba Fett being Boba Fett, his sense of honor leads him to tell Valance that he can find Han at Jabba's Palace on Tatooine.  Meanwhile, Admiral Piett contacts the Emperor about the Hutt's attack (since Vader is unavailable to provide guidance), and the Emperor orders Vader to see to the affront personally.  

Chewie, Lando, and Leia find Han's body, but Boba Fett arrives before they can free him.  When a Hutt missile blows open the Executor's hull, Han's body falls form the ship.  A devastated Leia watches in despair as Lando tries to convince her to return to the Falcon before they're caught, and Boba Fett activates his jetpack and goes after Han, grabbing him as he plunges into a lake on Jekara.  The action ends with Vader arriving on the Hutt Council's flagship and killing them.

Later, Qi'ra reviews the new status quos of several characters for her assembled followers (including Ren of the Knights of Ren).  For me, the most notable developments are the possibility that Valance could go work for Crimson Dawn (which I think would actually be a good move for him) and that Jabba (as he later notes to Boba Fett) is now the Hutt Clan's undisputed leader.  The latter development brings us to the epilogue:  Boba Fett delivers on his bounty, bringing Han to Jabba.  They have a hilariously direct yet still veiled conversation.  Jabba tells Boba Fett that the bounty that he put on him wasn't personal and invites him to continue working for him.  Jabba correctly surmises that the entire ordeal was part of an elaborate Crimson Dawn plot, and he'd like Boba Fett's help in addressing them.

All in all, it's really one of the most solid events that I've read in years, definitely a sign of the seriousness with which Disney approaches all Star Wars endeavors.  We've got five tie-in issues left, and I have two questions that I'd like to see them answer.  First, we never get a sense of why Bokku was so committed to Crimson Dawn.  Both he and the Imperial officer who helped Leia and company board the Executor spoke about Crimson Dawn in almost religious terms, which makes sense in Bokku's case given that he had to know that he signed his death warrant in attacking the Executor.  Second and relatedly, Qi'ra has Bokku launch said attack to keep the Imps distracted so that Leia and company could free Han.  She tells her followers that her ultimate goal had been to reunite Han with his friends, a goal that I have doubts existed when she originally planned to auction off his body to the highest bidder.  Even if she was telling the truth and the full scope of her plan isn't evident to me, I'm still not sure how reuniting Han with his friends would advance Crimson Dawn's cause.  Wouldn't it have been better to make nice with Jabba?  I guess we'll see.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #17 (October 27):  As I hoped, this issues addresses a number of loose ends from "War of the Bounty Hunters" and sets the stage for where this series - and Vader - is going next.

First, Vader guesses that the Emperor had him dispatch the Hutt Council personally as a way to save Luke.  These Star Wars series are at their best when the stories that they go beyond what we saw in the movies but do so in a way that fit within the movies' narrative.  We know from the movies that the Emperor foresaw Skywalker taking his place; the idea that Luke's ascendancy would threaten Vader is something that I didn't put together from the movie but totally makes sense with their context.

Second, Bokku summarizes Crimson Dawn's mission:  "In a galaxy of Emperors and wizards, there's no way for lowly souls like us to win the game.  Unless we stand together."  Truth.  Like the "Sex and the City" episode where Carrie dates a bartender and New York's exclusive restaurant scene opens before her, Crimson Dawn uniting the people behind the scenes not only makes sense but does truly represent a threat to the powerful.  We're talking about the people who keep the machines of power running; if they successfully unite, the powerful don't win.  I'm still not sure why Bokku was willing to sacrifice his life for the cause, as he seems pretty sanguine about his impending death here.  Maybe like "War Games," he realized to play is to lose.

Along those lines, the revelation that Ochi is working for Crimson Dawn isn't surprising.  In fact, the only surprising part is that Vader continues to trust him.  As we saw with Doctor Aphra, Vader is willing to take on an outside underling while they serve his purposes.  It makes me wonder, though, why Vader isn't cultivating any young protégés within the Empire, as we saw Tarkin do with Commander Zahra in "Star Wars."  At least they have a reason not to want to betray him.

Also Read:  Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra #15 (October 13); Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters - IG-88 #1 (October 27)

Six-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf September 1 and 29 (2021) Everything-Else Top Shelf Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Undiscovered Country #15 (September 1):  Snyder and Soule deliver a fairly straight-forward issue here as the team encounters exactly the sort of legends that you'd expect them to find in Loreville:  Davey Crockett, John Henry, Annie Oakley, George Washington, etc.  

After a skirmish with the team, Oakley and her crew bring them to Washington who informs them that the "war" destroyed almost all the inspiration that Possibility possessed.  As such, he isn't sure if Ace will be able to create his masterpiece.  Washington explains that Prosperity's human founders created the biosynthetic legends whom the team has encountered throughout the Zone because they needed inspiration (given that the outside world was shut to them).  One of these legends was the Crossroads Devil - the mythical figure in many tales who offers what your heart desires...for a cost.  The Devil convinced Loreville's residents to kill all the humans (i.e., the aforementioned "war") except for the ones needed to maintain the Anything Engines.  Washington and others resisted, and the humans eventually unleashed a flood, destroying the Devil and the Engines.  

Washington explains that many legends still kill humans in the hope that the Devil lives, explaining why the gangsters and mermaids attacked them in issue #13.  Moreover, some legends are simply insane, as Valentina learned when she encountered Captain Flag and his crew last issue.  Brer Rabbit informs the team that one Anything Machine allegedly exists on the Mix, and the team decides to head there.  Later that night, Washington expresses hope to Annie that the team can succeed.  He then descends in an elevator to meet the Devil, who's pleased when Washington informs him that the team bought the story.

Snyder and Soule continue to recover their footing with this arc, which makes sense given its focus on storytelling.  One challenge at this point is that it's starting to feel formulaic:  the team arrives at a new zone, figures out the puzzle, and moves to the next zone.  Snyder and Soule are surely aware of that, so I wonder what they going to do to shake up the formula when we presumably move to the next zone.

Die #20 (September 29):  At the end, I have no idea how I feel about this issue or this series.  

Gillen takes the easy way out here when he reveals that Die isn't planning on taking over Earth so much as living off the Earthlings playing RPGs.  In addition to this last-minute shift in the series' purported stakes, Gillen doesn't ever fully explain Die's nature.  For example, it still isn't clear how Die became sentient.  Although it exposits the steps that set up its existence - Reisswitz for the mechanics, the Brontës for the means, Tolkein for the material, and Sol for the construction - Gillen never really explains how the god at the end of time made it all work.

As such, the story simply ends.  Since Sol's death means only five of them can return home, Chuck dies so Sol can live.  The team then answers Die's question about its purpose and leaves.  We learn that Mistress Woe lied and Matt's dad is still alive, that Sol's wife gave birth to a child, that Chuck kills himself again so Case can feed on him and survive (though I don't understand how because I'm pretty sure Case isn't Fallen) and that Case, Chuck, and Molly seem now to work for Die, that Izzy seems likely to write down their experiences, that Sol's mom gets to have her son back.

I'm not how this series would've ended without Covid-19.  I wonder if Gillen will address that at some point.  But, Covid-19 saves this series a bit for me, because its moral - whatever it originally was supposed to be - is that we need to find a way to live in a changed world.  Even Ash and company's attempt to change an RPG world failed; in the end, they just have to live with the world as it is.

As should be clear from my last few reviews, I feel disappointed in this series.  For me, Gillen got lost in the swirl of ideas, which impacted his ability to tell a coherent story.  I have the vague sense Gillen meant to go somewhere else with the story but wound up so off track he couldn't get there.  I understand that.  I can imagine Covid-19 exacerbated the sense that he couldn't accurately convey the reality that he wanted.  I feel like this ending presents that honestly, making me more comfortable with the long detours and dropped threads.  I think that it's probably the sort of series that benefits from a re-read once you know where it's going and maybe I'll re-read it someday.  For now, I'll just agree that we have to live with the world as presented.  It wasn't the ending I wanted, but that axiom covers why I just have to accept that.

Undiscovered Country #16 (September 29):  We get another straight-forward issue here as the team enters the Mix and activates the Anything Engine.  The Devil plans on making the team an offer they can't refuse, in which they'd stay in Prosperity and continues creating, though I'm guessing that the team isn't going to win in that bargain.  The most interesting part of the issue is the flashback in which we learn that items from America - such as gigantic mutated creatures floating in the Gulf of Mexico or a 300-year-old 2019 U.S. quarter surfacing in Bangkok - appeared on the outside, guiding Ace in his research (and setting up his conflict with the Lafayette Group, which wanted to promote the idea of a stable America inside the walls).  I'm not sure why it's important, but it seems significant.

Also Read:  Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton #4 (September 8)

Six-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf September 22 and 29 (2021) "War of the Bounty Hunters" Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #16 (September 22):  I wasn't going to recap this issue, since it mostly rehashes what we've seen in other issues of this event.  But, man, the end really kicks it up a notch.  

After Valance abandoned Dengar in "Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters" #4, Deathstick saves him.  It turns out Qi'ra had her spare him and Valance in issue #14 because she knew that they had Cadeliah's location.  Dengar gives Deathstick the Rebel base's coordinates, which he downloaded after Valance sent Kondra a transmission.  In said message, Valance tells Kondra that he was pretty sure that he wasn't going to make it through the fight with Crimson Dawn alive and asked him to take care of Cadeliah and Yura.  This development sets up an eventual fight over Cadeliah between Deathstick and T'onga and her crew.  Meanwhile, Boba Fett and Valance continue to chase after Han Solo.  

In other words, this series is really meeting its title's mission as it isn't just Valance's show.  That said, I'm pretty broken over the end of Dengar and Valance's partnership.  As Boba Fett correctly told Valance, sure, Dengar planned on betraying him, too.  But, it still feels like two guys who could maybe use a little companionship and trust lost the chance for that here, in a pretty lonely galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars #17 (September 29):  This issue is all about Lando as he risks his life to fix the Falcon.  Reflecting on how he failed the Falcon like he's failed other people, Lando asks her to avoid firing her reactor burn long enough for him to fix her diagnostic circuits (which are, unfortunately, in the same place).  (Boba Fett's seismic charge from "Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters" #4 knocked it loose.)  When she does, Lando rises a changed man, realizing that it's time for him to start taking care of the people (and ships) who care about him.  Later, as Chewie uses the revived diagnostic system to fix the Falcon, Leia tells Lando that she appreciates the sacrifice that he was willing to make and makes another pitch for him to join the Rebellion.  This time, it doesn't fall on deaf ears.

Six-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf September 8 and 15 (2021) "War of the Bounty Hunters" Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunter #4 (September 8):  After what seemed like an eternity we're finally leaving the Vermillion.

This issue picks up the thread from "Star War" #16 as Luke realizes that he isn't ready yet to face Vader.  Leia panics and prepares to go on a suicide mission to stop Vader from cutting Han in half.  (Chewie, obviously, is all aboard her crazy train.)  Thankfully, Lando gets them to pause long enough for Luke to explain that he was obviously not planning on abandoning Han:  he just needs to convince Vader to chase him.  With that we - let me say it again - finally are leaving the Vermillion.

As the Bucketheads take Han's body with them to Vader's ship, Bokku the Hutt is outraged that Jabba the Hutt is just letting the Empire take his prize.  Jabba explains that the Hutt's long-term relationship with the Empire is more important and blows off Bokku's attempt to convince him otherwise.  An outraged Bokku convinces Kani the Hutt and Meeka the Hutt to stand with him in taking the fight to the Empire, convincing them that the Council's reputation is at risk.

Boba Fett is ready to try to swipe Han's body from the Imps as they load him onto General Romodi's shuttle when Dengar and Valance try to grab Boba Fett to claim the bounty that Jabba has put on him.  Dengar is no match for Boba Fett, who manages to set him adrift on an ice flow with a well placed missile.  Valance is undeterred, explaining to Boba Fett that he doesn't care about Dengar, only Han.  Boba Fett laughs as he points out Romodi's shuttle departing for Vader's ship. 

Leia and company are in hot pursuit of Romodi's shuttle as Boba Fett and Valance are in a Mexican standoff.   Soule really writes Boba Fett beautifully here as he calmly and logically convinces Valance to join forces with him since working together is their only hope of one of them claiming Han's body.  (Boba Fett notes that it'll be a free-for-all once they get his body, but they'll worry about that later.)  Valance hates the idea of working with Boba Fett after what he did to Nakano Lash but agrees.

On the Vermillion, Qi'ra explains to Margo and Trinia that everything is going more or less according to plan (although admitting that Vader's appearance surprised her) and announces the beginning's end as she contemplates a Holocron.  In space, Lobot uses his Imperial implants to cut the power to Romodi's shuttle, though the team's victory is short-lived as Boba Fett uses a low-intensity seismic charge to disable the Falcon's power.  Hilariously, Boba Fett actually expresses an emotion - frustration - when he thinks that he and Valance have a shot just as Bokku appears with the Hutt fleet.

As should be clear, I'm thrilled - thrilled - that we're finally moving to this event's next stage and once again excited to see where we go next.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #16 (September 15):  Pak occasionally gets a little King-esque in his terse issues full of vague Force visions, and this issue goes a little farther on that spectrum than I prefer.  Vader engages Luke on the astral plane (if you will), and Luke realizes that his supposition that Vader wasn't trying to kill him - but get Luke to join him - might not be correct.  Vader does a signification amount of damage to Luke's X-Wing, and Luke is forced to crash land on a planet.  Unexpectedly, the Droid Crush - who Administrator Moore sent after Vader - saves Luke, since Moore figures that an enemy who my enemy fears is a friend.  That said, even Bokku's arrival with the Hutt fleet isn't enough to take Vader off Luke's trail once he's in the air again.

Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters - Boushh #1 (September 15):  I didn't really anticipate finding myself so invested in Boushh and his crew, but Wong really pulls you into their story.  The Ubese are apparently reverse Mandalorians - they wear their helmets because Ubese society exiled them and erased their names for crimes that they committed.  Wong hints that Boushh and his team were justified in committing the crimes that they did, though it doesn't help matters given the fact that they're exiled from their tightly knit society.  The story itself relates only tangentially to the main event:  Crimson Dawn hires Boushh and his crew to take out the Tagge executive board.  Not surprisingly, Domina defeats them soundly and offers to reintegrate them into Ubese society if they give her information about who hired them.  As such, it's another story about how the galaxy's players learned about Crimson Dawn's reemergence, though it's confusing to read one such story now given that we read all the other similar stories months ago.  You should really come for Boushh and his crew, particularly if you read "Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra," where their story will apparently continue.

Also Read:  Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra #14 (September 8)

Seven-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf August 25 (2021) Everything-Else Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Die #19 (August 25):  I hate to say it, but I feel like this series is collapsing under the weight of its own pretensions as we near the end.

The plot itself advances in a fairly straight-forward (heh) away.  The über-Ash demands that the party take her with them when they return to the "real world."  In the sort of roundabout discussion that, as a gay man, I recognize when it comes to telling people who you are, Ash explains that he (the Ash of the "real world") doesn't believe that he's transgender.  But, he confesses that playing a woman in Die has helped him acknowledge that sometimes he feels like he's someone else in his body.  Sol says that he sensed that Ash wasn't quite himself and created the game for him to explore those feelings.  Izzy introduces Ash to the idea of genderfluidity, something that she learned from her students.  Chuck accuses Ash of indecisiveness, and Ash acknowledges that indecisiveness isn't a bad thing, since sometimes decisive people just make bad decisions quickly.  But, Ash isn't willing to bring über-Ash's blood-thirstiness back to the "real world" with her.  She fights über-Ash, and she winds up going over the ledge with her like Gollum, saving the world.

In addition to Ash, the other characters all have moments where they have to lean into their awkwardness, darkness, or failure to save the team.  Angela uses the last of her Fair gold to summon Case so that he can find their way home.  Chuck tricks Angela into (temporarily) killing Molly so that Angela can use the Fair gold that comes with Molly's death to upgrade Case.  Matt fails in his attempt to destroy über-Ash.  Izzy accepts the gods' silence in exchange for the Mourner healing Matt.   Of course, Matt's power isn't as a fighter but as a listener, and he picks up his sword's hint - despite its attempts to demoralize him - that Ash survived her fall.  After fishing out Ash, the team makes its way through the dungeon with Case, where they discover the remains of H.G. Wells' and the Fair's attempts to destroy the Gamemaster.  But, as we all know, it's the team that has to take on his question as he appears at the end:  "What am I for?"

For how accurately and sensitively Gillen handles all these issues, neither Ash's epiphany in this issue nor Sol's recovery in last issue felt remotely organic.  Although Gillen did a good job tying Sol and Ash's explorations to events - Sol discovering the coffin, Ash encountering˙über-Ash - it was a chore to get through the mountains of dialogue-heavy exposition.  For example, Ash and Izzy's discussion here feels rushed, with Izzy confession about how a group of male gamers broke her teenage heart when they changed their mind and decided that she couldn't play somehow opening the door to Ash's discussion about his genderfluidity.  In the end, it started to feel like you were reading someone reading aloud a pamphlet that you'd find in a guidance counselor's office.  (I'm thinking about the amazing pamphlets in Emma's office in "Glee:"  "Divorce:  Why Your Parents Stopped Loving You!"  "Wow!  There's a Hair Down There!")

Moreover, although I was able to follow the plot, the issue's wordiness meant that we had to leap over some connections.  For example, we glide over how Ash is able to disconnect über-Ash's bloodthirstiness, winning merely the genderfluidity that he desires.  Although Gillen might fill in more details next issue, we also don't exactly know what Wells was trying to accomplish in taking on the Gamemaster.  He was presumably trying to stop the worlds from merging, but we don't know what he planned to do after that.  In other words, it feels like we have a lot of loose ends going into the final issue, and I'm concerned that Gillen isn't going to address them all satisfactorily.  I hope that I'm wrong.

Seven-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf August 25 (2021) "War of the Bounty Hunters" Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #15 (August 25):  At Vader's behest, Ochi discovers that Bokku the Hutt is working with Crimson Dawn against Jabba the Hutt.  It's a significant revelation, though it isn't clear why yet.  Notably, Ochi refuses Crimson Dawn's offer to betray Vader and join them, though I'm not sure that he makes the right call in picking Vader.  We'll see.

Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra #13 (August 25):  This issue follows the same path as "Star Wars:  Darth Vader" #15.  Aphra and Sana discover that the Black Sun agent on whom Aphra spilled her cocktail to swipe her data necklace is a Crimson Dawn spy.  Moreover, although I really haven't understood why Wong is spending so much time on the Lucky/Yu story, they discover that their mentor Gallin has abandoned the Sixth Kin to join Crimson Dawn.  Putting all these revelations together, it's clear that Crimson Dawn has been moving its pieces into place for quite some time.  Also, this issue is a pet peeve #1 example, as Aphra and Sana are barely in a panel with Vader let along fight him.

Seven-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf August 4 and 18 (2021) "War of the Bounty Hunters" Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters - 4-LOM and Zuckuss #1 (August 4):  Did I cry for a homicidal bounty hunter mourning the lost of his only (robot) friend?  Yes, yes, I did.  In truth, this issue isn't particularly well written, and its plot is pretty ridiculous if you think about it too much.  Its advancement relies on a number of tired tropes, from flashback exposition to mistaken identity, and Older probably could've achieved the same result with a fresher approach.  But, Older excels when showing how lonely bounty hunting is as a profession, particularly when Zuckuss feels the sting of 4-LOM's loss as he observes two other bounty hunters' partnership.  Poor Zuckuss.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #15 (August 4):  This issue picks up right where the above issue ended.  T'onga recruits a Zuckuss still wallowing in pity to help her find Boba Fett.  She also enlists a not-unhandsome arena fighter named Tasu Leech.  Some Wookieepedia-ing reveals that he's the crime boss after Chewie and Han Solo in "Star Wars:  The Force Awakens."

Whereas T'onga's efforts to find Boba Fett are going fairly well, Valance has to endure a two-day commuter-shuttle trip from Nar Shaddaa to Canto Bight so he and Dengar can get back Dengar's ship.  Dengar continues to overestimate his persuasion skills, and Valance once again has to save their lives.  This time, he convinces the Sixth Kin gangster holding Dengar's ship (due to Dengar's debt to him, obviously) to let them use said ship to go after Crimson Dawn.  Valance senses via his heart-rate monitor the gangster fears the syndicate so the offer works.

Of course, Deathstick almost kills them again, and Sacks leaves open the question whether Dengar makes a deal with Deathstick after she throws Valance off the rooftop where they're fighting.  (Earlier in the issue, Valance had pledged to help Dengar free Manaroo.)  It's pretty clear that Deathstick lets Dengar swipe the invitation off her so that he and Valance attend the auction, though I'm still not sure why Qi'ra wants them there in the first place.  We'll see.

Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters #3 (August 18):  This issue is interesting in that it wraps up pretty much all loose ends, leaving you to wonder where we're going next.

Vader announces simply that he's taking Han, despite Jabba the Hutt and Qi'ra each trying to convince him otherwise.  Jabba points out the fact that he paid a million credits for Han, an argument that Vader dismisses by reminding him that he could lose his most-favored status among underworld cartels at Vader's will.  Qi'ra is more bold, attacking Vader using teräs käsi blades.  Vader is impressed with her skill in using a largely forgotten technique and asks her several times who taught her, since he recognizes her training's lineage.  (If he does, wouldn't he know who taught her?)  Looking at Wookieepedia, I'm assuming Darth Maul taught her, since he previously ran Crimson Dawn, though Qi'ra doesn't confirm that here.  

But, Vader is Vader, and he successfully defeats Qi'ra.  When he senses Luke entering Jekara's airspace, Vader informs Luke that he'll cut Han in half if Luke doesn't immediately come to him.  Again, Vader is not fucking around here.

Aside from Qi'ra's fight with Vader, this issue's most interesting development is Boba Fett refusing to fight Leia and company.  Leia initially sends Chewie after him, and he repels Chewie by setting him on fire.  But, Boba Fett refuses to engage the gang further, telling Lando and Leia that he has enough enemies.  He also stress that his honor requires him to complete this bounty, rebuffing Lando's offer of paying him what Jabba was going to pay him.  Lest you think that Boba Fett went soft, though, he earlier taunted Chewie by telling him that his armor's braids come from Wookiees whom he previously defeated, like maybe his aunt or uncle.

Other than Vader confronting Luke in the next issue, as I said, I'm not really sure where we go from here.  Qi'ra's adjutant, Margo, helps her flee the scene after Vader defeats her, and they discuss what they have to do next.  I don't know what they have to do next, so I'm interested to see what they mean.

Star Wars #16 (August 18):  This issue is mostly filler, with Soule giving us an awkwardly monologuing Luke reflecting on his history with Vader.  It isn't until the end of the issue, when Luke suddenly leaves Jekara and tells Leia that he isn't ready to fight Vader yet that something happens to advance the overall event's plot.  The art is equally disappointing as Rosanas' pencils look rushed, as if he got the assignments just a few days before the art was due.

Eight-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf July 14 and 21 (2021) Everything-Else Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Die #18 (July 14):  Gillen is losing me quickly here, as we sink farther and farther into "pseudery" (to use his word).

I'm not necessarily opposed to the meta narrative becoming the core story, as it has over these last few issues.  After all, it's pretty much the series' entire schtick.  But, Gillen's implementation of this approach has left me unsure of what the story's stakes actually are at this point.  After all, Gillen keeps telling us that the team's doomed.  If we have no hope, why bother reading?

As they descend, the gang is surprised by how quiet the dungeon is.  Gillen uses Ash to tell us that he's lifting directly from "The Return of the King," when the Fellowship arrives in Mordor and finds it empty.  ("Just some friend walking in the dark...")  At one point, Gillen appears to foreshadow a future event when Ash comments that she "didn't understand what it meant" when Matt looks at Molly after Angela finds a piece of Fair gold.  But, I'm not sure what (or, again, if) he's foreshadowing.  

The team enters a room that Sol doesn't remember, leading him to believe that they've arrived at the farthest point that he previously reached.  They notice a sneaker print in some dust and some destroyed barricades.  They then discover something that they all recognize:  "A tomb.  A book.  A well."  I had to Google that part to discover that it's the Chamber of Mazarbul from "Fellowship of the Rings."  Although he initially doesn't remember it, Sol realizes that the book is his journal.  Dun-dun-DUN.

As Sol reads the journal, we learn that the Grandmaster killed Sol when he pulled him from the circle.  Since dead people can't vote, Sol can't go home.  After killing Sol, the Grandmaster informs him that he's now the first of the Fallen and, until the next time he died, he has only a little of his "old power."  Sol flees, but he's shunned in places like Angria and the Dreaming Lands, where he previously had friends.  In his travels, he learns the heart of Die granting wishes, so he travels there, pursued by "them."  Sol is the one who constructs the barricades, and "they" eventually overtake him.  [It took me a while to understand this part, and I'm still not really sure if I'm supposed to recognize something about "them" (i.e., the monsters) given that we never really see them.]

At this point, Sol remembers everything.  The Grandmaster awakens Sol in the tomb after he died (again) and removes his helmet to reveal his "head" is a glowing die.  In fact, he is "Die," what Sol constructed.  

This next part is when Gillen loses me, though I accept that he could have something up his sleeve.  The Grandmaster asks Sol what he wants to do next (after having lost the game by dying), and Sol answers that he wants his friends to know that they left him.  The Grandmaster informs him that he'll now have the Grandmaster's focus and power to  lay the road to merge the two worlds to bring about his wish.  Sol calls bullshit, since the Grandmaster can't just give him that power without a cost.  We don't learn here what that cost is here.  

What bothers me about this development is that we still don't know how  Sol created Die.  Or, put another way, we don't know how exactly Sol creating a RPG brought Die into existence.  A previous issue said that "Die" was an ancient god sitting at the end of reality.  Are we talking about some atemporal demons who seized upon Sol's game as a device to break down the boundaries between the two words?  Or is Die itself the god?  Either way, why did the demons and/or god seize on Sol's RPG?  What made it special?  At some point, Gillen really needs to explain how we got to this point.

Finishing his jounral, Sol laments to the team that he "killed" all those people in laying the road, though I'm not sure which people he means.  Ash is right when she thinks about how Sol got trapped in a hell that turned all his best instincts against himself.  She admits that she paused when it was her turn all those years ago to say, "The game is over."  Sol doesn't know how to feel about that revelation.  Chuck suggests what I'm thinking:  that Sol kill Ash so that he can go home.  Sol is torn.  As he says, he's a 40-something corpse with no eyes or skills; he isn't wrong that he doesn't have the best future ahead of him back home. 

Izzy asks Ash why she paused, and Gillen declines to give us the answer.  Izzy recalls when Ash paused in Angria when they discussed leaving, and Ash admits that they need to gag her again because she doesn't know what she'd do to stop them from leaving this time.  Suddenly, they hear a noise, and Sol tells the team to run so that they can get past "her" before she closes the "way," despite having just told Matt that he didn't know the way.  They run and encounter a Phoenix-like Ash blocking said way.

Again, I'm at a loss here.  I know from "Young Avengers" that Gillen is entirely capable of mesmerizing me with these last two issues now that we've fully fleshed out the stakes.  But, I worry that we could descend even further into the sort of navel-gazing reflection on RPGs' nature that's dominated the last few issues at the story's expense.  I hope not, but I have my doubts.

Undiscovered Country #14 (July 21):  If this exchange doesn't whet your appetite for what exactly happened to Alaska, I don't know what will:

Ace:  "You think...something ate Valentina?"

Sam:  "Don't be dumb.  This ain't Alaska."

In the meantime, we have the story at hand.  This exchange happens when the team realizes that Valentina is gone.  Sam expresses concern; he explains to the team that all the humans in Possibility left, leaving behind only their creations who'll be hungry for an audience.  It explains the "noirs" from last issue and what we see here as Captain Flag and his team fight with each other over which one of them gets to "rescue" Valentina.  Sam explains that the pair who set up Possibility created "anything engines" under the sea, allowing them to provide anything the "makers" needed.  Before Sam can answer Ace's question about where everyone went, Buzz arrives at the ship and gives them Valentina's location.  Sam explains that she's in the Universes, the island where comic-book characters live. 

On the Universes, Valentina is hiding in a room when she realizes that Captain Flag and his companions are machines stuck on a loop.  Since they need to save her (since she's a victim), she's pretty sure that they're going to kill her inadvertently.  She realizes that she could be something else and uses Buzz's holographic abilities to become Captain Valentine, the superhero she created when she was younger.  When the robots break into the room, she tells them that she's a super-villain with mind-control powers and orders them to kill each other.  Thrilled to have a new story, they do.  Well played, Valentina. 

Later, on the ship, Valentina tells Ace her story and asks his plans.  He's decided that the quintessential American story is the rags-to-riches one, so he decides that they're heading to Loreville.

All in all, it's a pretty straight-forward issue for this title.  My only real question is that we see, in one of the flashbacks, Valentina's mother chastising her for reading comics because she needs help at the bakery she owns.  This woman is very, very different from the one that we've previously seen as Valentina's mother, so I wonder where Snyder and Soule are going with her character.  Vamos a ver.

Also Read:  Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton #2 (July 14)

Eight-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf July 21 and 28 (2021) "War of the Bounty Hunters" Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #14 (July 21):  Unlike "Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra" #12, this tie-in issue really does what it's supposed to do, digging into the background of events that we're seeing in the main title.

The issue begins with Pak detailing Administrator Moore's activities after the Emperor demotes her to Sub-Administrator due to her failure to kill Vader.  Moore is humiliated with her assignment pre-screening the Emperor's decisions, though, through this role, she learns about Crimson Dawn's auction of Han Solo and, more importantly, Han's connection to Luke Skywalker.  Later, she reviews Vader's armor specifications (and mind-wipes the Grand Vizier when he stumbles upon her doing so) and passes this information via surrogates to IG-88.

As we saw last issue, Moore then assembles her council of traitors.  However, they're all outraged when they discover their fellows there, as she let each one think that s/he was meeting with Moore alone.  Their anger at her risking their lives is justified when Vader appears.  They initially flee though rally to Moore's side when she disables Vader's armor just like IG-88 did.  Vader recovers quickly, though, and Ochi chastises Moore for thinking that Vader wouldn't have fixed that vulnerability after IG-88 exploited it.  Moore saves her bacon by offering to attend the auction in Vader's place, explaining why she appears as the Empire's agent in "Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters" #2.  As she explains, she's more than happy to facilitate a meeting between Skywalker and Vader, since Luke is the only threat to Vader.

Of course, Vader has another card up his sleeve.  Ochi reveals that Bokku the Hutt bid against Moore for Han because Vader wanted to humiliate both of them, Moore in the Emperor's eyes and Bokku in Jabba's.  With Vader's arrival, Ochi sums up the dynamic nicely:  Moore was right when she told her council of traitors that they could defeat Vader if they united against him; Vader is just obviously never going to let that happen.

Again, this issue explains two of the more curious twists in "Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters #2:"  Moore bidding for Han on the Emperor's behalf and Bokku acting against Jabba.  I have a feeling neither of them are long for this world.

Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters - Jabba the Hutt #1 (July 21):  This issue is excellent.  I consider it a must-read.

First, I have to complement the art.  Other than the most recent "Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters" issue, I've been generally happy with Star Wars series' art.  That said, Robertson and Delgado handling the present day and Pizzari and Marchisio handling the flashback sequences are excellent pairings.  Any Star Wars series would be lucky to have them, even if I liked Roberston and Delgado the best.  

In terms of the story, Deva Lompop is an excellent character.  The crosses and double-crosses that she, Boba Fett, and Jabba all engineer here is exactly what I thought I'd see in "Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters."  Although I'm happy with that title, I'd love to see Justina Ireland get her hands on it after this issue.  She doesn't just nail the sort of plot developments that we see here, but Deva's banter with Boba Fett is a joy to read.  Like "Star Wars:  Darth Vader" #14, Ireland also answers an important question here, showing us that Deva betrays Jabba on her hunt for Boba Fett by giving Crimson Dawn Han's location first.

All in all, anyone reading "War of the Bounty Hunters" should definitely pick up this issue.

Star Wars #15 (July 28):  This issue isn't really part of the "Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters" event.  Instead, it focuses on Starlight Squadron's successful attempt to rescue what's left of the Eleventh Division.  As they approach where they think the Eleventh Division may be, L'ulo notes the Rebellion's fighter's disillusionment, observing that the Empire feels two wins from wiping out the Rebellion and that the Rebellion could really use a win.  Although exploding a dormant volcano under an Imperial Star Destroyer conveniently parked over said volcano is pretty absurd, it does give the Rebellion said win:  not only do they reconnect with the Eleventh Division, but it turns out Mon Mothma is with them.

Eight-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf July 7 and 14 (2021) "War of the Bounty Hunters" Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

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.