Doctor Aphra and Santa Staros continue the hunt for the experimental hyperdrive in Doctor Aphra #8 written by Alyssa Wong with art by Minkyu Jung, inks by Victor Olazaba, colors by Rachelle Rosenberg and letters by Joe Caramagna.
Before I even get into the fun ride that is issue 8, I need to talk about this cover. Joshua “Sway” Swaby is KILLING IT with Aphra’s facial expression here, and I literally can’t look at it without cracking up. It’s the perfect face to flee an explosion with.
We’re into part three of “The Engine Job” arc, and with the title of “Old Wounds” combined with a mission with her ex, it’s clear that Aphra is in for a rough one. We open on Dol’har Hyde, a planet on the Outer Rim. It’s a really cool setting: a planet where huge trees have engulfed a huge armada of old ships, resulting in a fun treehouse-meets-junkyard vibe. The art here is great, and I really like the way Jung, Olazaba and Rosenberg show the mix of organic and engineered material.
Aphra and Sana are trying to track down the hyperdrive, and the rumors they’ve followed have led them to a bar inside one of the spaceships here. Of course, it’s not that simple—the person who found the drive claimed it came from a stranded Nihil ship, and it doesn’t look like the tree it’s stuck in makes it any easier to access. The two of them have to rappel into a massive tree trunk to access the ship, and we get some great banter that emphasizes that in addition to being badasses, they’re both huge nerds. I love the detail that space archaeology school includes a class on rock climbing. They explore the Nihil ship, remarking on how overgrown it is from the planet’s trees. It looks like going to be hard to get anything useful from this, which doesn’t improve the mood.
The tension between Sana and Aphra is obvious. Sana, in a true but brutal comment, tells Aphra that “not everyone sees people as disposable or easy to throw away”. She’s ostensibly talking about Aphra’s treatment of Magna Tolvan (Aphra’s on-and-off Imperial-turned-Rebel ex), but it’s easy to view this as Sana’s own issues with Aphra coming out. Aphra’s a character who cares about herself the most. A lot of the time, she has to be— in this line of work, she’s often fighting for her life, and betrayal is common. Aphra clearly does care about some people, but what she wants always comes first.
She may be a terrible girlfriend, but she’s excellent at tech. Aphra manages to get the ship to work, and reveal its hyperdrive. Something is wrong though— and the two of them work out exactly what it is quickly. Either the hyperdrive being fought over is a fake, or it’s only partially complete—but no matter which, it will be explosive.
But of course, they’re interrupted by General Vukorah also looking for the drive, who’s tracked them to this planet. Aphra grabs the info she can from the ship, but Vukorah and her ships have them surrounded. They’re stuck. Aphra’s rappelling equipment is broken, she doesn’t have a grappling hook, and Sana’s injured. The two of them need to rely on each other to escape, but that’s a big ask.
The coloring here is really gorgeous. the explosions juxtaposed against the tree really look great. It’s a very good look for Sana and Aphra’s last moments, as they plummet to their deaths amidst the explosions. After all, as Vukorah says, there’s no way they survived that!
Meanwhile, over on Canto Bight, Just Lucky is doing some work of his own. He may have been pressured into working with the Sixth Kinto to help with his brother’s gambling debts, but he’s seeming having a good time and singing as he works. It’s an assassination job against one of the casino owners, and let’s be real: knowing what we know about this planet, I can’t feel bad that one of the oligarchs is getting their just deserts. Job completed, Lucky discovers that he’s been summoned to a meeting with one of the Sixth Kin’s higher ups— something I’m sure could only be a good thing, right?
Overall, a fun issue! A lot of pieces have been set up here that will pay off soon, including the fact that the hyperdrive that multiple criminal organizations are seeking isn’t what it seems. I’m excited to see where this takes us, and how Lucky’s story will tie back into Aphra’s.
Liz Large is a copywriter with a lot of opinions on mutants.
