Review: Doctor Aphra Vol. 2- Doctor Aphra and the Enormous Profit

December 31, 2018January 8, 2019 ComicBookWire

Quick Summary

Pros: The opening chapter is well done and answers plenty of questions. The main storyline is filled with tension and action that leads to a fun adventure. The collection changes the status quo in a way that generates more interest for the series. Most of the book has artwork that looks good and matches the tone of the story.

Cons: The opening chapter has some lackluster artwork.

Overall: This is a very entertaining adventure that showcases everything great about Doctor Aphra. The first half of the main storyline sees a wonderful build up of tension while the second half sees this tension released in some well-written action and excitement. Meanwhile, secondary characters are utilized to their full potential in some rather creative ways. All of this makes for a fun and entertaining read all around. This is a great book all on its own that will be a real treat to any fan of Doctor Aphra.

Story

While Doctor Aphra has always been a unique and entertaining addition to the Star Wars universe, in this volume, it truly feels as if she has come into her own as a protagonist. Doctor Aphra Vol. 2: Doctor Aphra and the Enormous Profit, by Kieron Gillen, is a wonderful and exciting collection. It puts Doctor Aphra in the perfect position to show off her ability to navigate tense and dangerous situations. This leads to an exciting volume that entertains all the way through. It also shakes things up in her life and rejuvenates interest in this series as a whole. This is a highpoint for the series thus far and a highpoint for Doctor Aphra in general.

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Doctor Aphra and the Enormous Profit starts out with a single chapter that relates the history and motivations of Black Krrsantan. This chapter is violent and exciting, as it has Black Krrsantan fighting his way out of a number of situations. However, it is also immediately relevant to the current story, as it answers questions regarding Krrsantan’s past and present.

From here, the collection shifts to the main event and focuses on Aphra’s attempt to sell the Jedi crystal she picked up back in Vol. 1 (Review). The main draw in this portion of the book is tension. Aphra has gathered a litany of thugs and villains within a rather confined space. This space is then loaded with robotic turrets and centered around a malevolent consciousness with the ability to control robots. Every action and dealing here is tense and has the potential to create a dangerous situation for all parties involved.

Eventually, all hell breaks loose and this powered keg goes off in a magnificent fashion. Triple-Zero exploits a wonderfully written loophole in his system and turns on Aphra. Not only does everything go wrong but Triple-Zero also contacts Vader and adds a Sith Lord and a host of Stormtroopers into the mix. The fallout here is incredibly fun to see play out and contains a number of great scenes, including Vader facing off against the reanimated soul of an ancient Jedi and Aphra’s murder robots commanding her to set them free. It is fun and entertaining action centered around some overall solid storytelling.

Doctor Aphra and the Enormous Profit also ends in a way that shakes up the series and prepares it for the next major story arc. By the end of this book, Aphra no longer has a valuable Jedi crystal, her relationship with Black Krrsantan is at an end, and both of her murder droids have abandoned her. Thus far, these were central features for her character, around whom multiple story elements were based. It will be interesting to see how this change in the status quo will affect her going forward and how it will change up the series in general.

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Art

The artwork in Doctor Aphra and the Enormous Profit starts out with a somewhat lackluster Annual chapter. In many places, this Annual, featuring art by Marc Laming with Will Sliney, looks alright and does a good job in depicting the characters. However, randomly, there are points where the level of detail dramatically drops and causes characters and backgrounds to look much worse. This is particularly noticeable in Black Krrsantan, the chapter’s central character. Random drops like these are frequent enough to affect the consistency of the work and significantly take away from the visual appeal.

Luckily, the visual quality improves throughout the rest of the collection. Kev Walker’s pencils and Marc Deering’s inks present a book that is equal parts fun and terrifying. When the book needs to be fun, like when Aphra is entertaining other characters or making jokes to herself, lighthearted expressions match this mood. Meanwhile, when more intimidating visuals are required, the art can make even unassuming characters look simply sinister. Plus, diverse alien lifeforms and diverse costume changes ensure that the visuals are creative and charming. Overall, the art in this portion of the book is a major success.