The covers: A pair to pick up for this conclusion. The Regular cover is by Tommy Lee Edwards which shows the three bounty hunters slinking their way down the streets of Black Spire Outpost. Kendoh is in the foreground holding her pistol up with both hands. Behind her is Wooro, whose presence is threatening just with him standing there. Behind him is Remex with a pistol up in one hand as his cloak splays to the right. The characters look great and so does the city. This was the cover I picked up. The Variant cover by Luke Ross & Lee Loughridge is a Who’s Who of who’s been in this series. Against the backdrop of a yellow and orange outpost, Han Solo is in the foreground, with Doctor Aphra above and behind him. Behind Solo, to the right, is his co-pilot Chewbacca. The Millennium Falcon is next to the Wookiee flying to the right. Under the Falcon all three of the bounty hunters are walking to the right. Above the Falcon is a bust shot of Greedo, with Dok-Ondar to his back. Above this pair is a smiling Hondo. Very nice. Overall grades: Regular A and Variant B+
The story: This is a solid conclusion to this series from writer Ethan Sacks, though the door is left open for more adventures at this location. The book begins in Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities as the Ithorian, his assassin droid BK-86, Kendoh, Wooro, and Remex are confronted by four stormtroopers who want to know why the bounty hunters are on Baatu. Wooro is electro-shocked to the floor to show they mean business. Their sergeant tells them that the First Order is going to bring order to galaxy and that Kylo Ren is in orbit aboard the Finalizer if they discover anything or anyone interesting. It’s at this point that Dok-Ondar reveals how his tale in the past with Doctor Aphra ended. It’s a very fitting wrap up for the Doctor as she does get herself into the worst possible situations. I love the two characters who arrive at the top of Page 9, with the speaker’s dialogue being absolutely perfect. The next page returns the story to the present and Kendoh demonstrates why she’s the brains of the gang. Page 14 has something cause trouble for the troopers that’s fantastic; this threat was foreshadowed in an earlier issue and can be found within the Disney parks that feature a Galaxy’s Edge section. There’s a really sweet twist from Sacks on 16 that I did not see coming and the dialogue in the third panel on 18 that references it is hilarious. The fate of Kendoh’s gang is excellent. All of these three characters are great and I would love to see them appear in other Star Wars books. And, lo and behold, they’re in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker–Allegiance. Mr. Sacks has created some wonderful characters and ended this series well. Overall grade: A
The art: I also enjoyed Will Sliney’s art on this issue. The stormtroopers look really good. I’ve not seen troopers look this good in regular Star Wars comics for some time, so it’s really great to see them looking so sharp in this issue. The second panel on the opening page not only shows the troopers looking at the antagonists, but the reader gets to clearly see all of their prey. The electricity that shocks Wooro on the second page is very well done. Pages 3 and 4 each have three panels to show how the First Order and the underworld of Baatu function. Though he’s only in one panel, the illustration of Kylo Ren looks so good, I really need to see Sliney doing more of this character, especially combined with how well he’s drawing stormtroopers. The bottom of 3 and all of 4 highlight some major areas of the outpost, which resemble their physical counterparts in the Disney parks. Doctor Aphra looks awesome in action and is just the coolest looking character with that breathing mask on. I love the three tilted panels on 8 that increase the intensity of the actions they contain. Kendoh looks awesome in the final panel on 10: beautiful and deadly. When she goes into action on the next page Sliney’s point of view is really cool, especially with those pair of troopers getting blasted on 11. Diagonal panels return on 12 for some big actions for Wooro, though I do find myself drawn to the first panel on the page that has an older character in a very humorous stance. The release of an item on 14 is great and I did a double take when I saw the damage a trooper took — I haven’t seen this much done to a trooper in a long time! The vertical panel on 15 is excellent; I’m a sucker for crowd shots and Sliney did a great job on this panel. The reveal on 16 is great. The next page has a large panel that features Dok-Ondar and he looks terrific. The last two pages of the book are almost a true double-paged splash and highlight the setting, which is the real star of this series, wonderfully. If Sliney doesn’t get to illustrate more Star Wars books it would be a crime. Overall grade: A
The colors: Dono Sánchez-Almara and Protobunker are the colorists on this conclusion. There’s some solid work done with lighting throughout, starting on the first page for the interior’s of Dok-Ondar’s establishment to the sun that a ship flies into on the final page. The coloring on the troopers is exceptionally well done on every page, with them shiny yet sinister. I like when backgrounds go orange to increase the action. I love the harsh oranges in the fourth panel on 8. The blaster shots that go off in the climax have a cool glow to them. The lighting effect done with Kendoh when she ignites an iconic weapon is also really cool. The coloring in the first panel on 15 is a good way to highlight a character in a crowd. The hologram that appears on 18 has the familiar light blues of the projections from the films. A great job is done throughout this issue. Overall grade: A
The letters: Scene settings, dialogue and editorial notes (the same font), Wooro’s speech, sounds, and droid bleeps are created by VC’s Travis Lanham. I’m not liking the scene settings because they blend in too easily with the artwork due to their colors, and I’m also not a fan of the dialogue, which is composed of thin, frail letters that make every speaker sound weak. Better is Wooro’s gobbledygook, which increases his alien nature. The sounds are killer. They are big and bold, punctuating every action in spectacular fashion. They look great! Overall grade: B-
The final line: A great conclusion that has me wanting more from this location and these characters. The action is good, the story fun, and the characters deserving of more outings. The visuals are also tops, with the stromtroopers especially cool looking. For a book that’s being done as a theme park promotion, this is much better than I thought it would be. Overall grade: A-
To order a digital copy go to https://comicstore.marvel.com/Star-Wars-Galaxys-Edge-2019-5-of-5/digital-comic/52410?r=1
To see the covers visit my Instagram account: patrickhayesscifipulse
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