Old alliances shatter and new ones are formed in their wake in Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #16, written by Ethan Sacks, drawn by Paolo Villanelli, colored by Arif Prianto; and lettered by Joe Sabino.
“War of the Bounty Hunters” gets to some good old fashioned betrayin’ in Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #16. New gruesome twosome Dengar and Valance have finally answered the Crimson Dawn’s invite to the planet Jekara. But they aren’t planning on partying. They are planning on icing Boba Fett and rescuing Han Solo. At least, that’s what they THINK each other wants.
At the same time, our favorite bug-man bounty hunter Zuckuss has found a new gang to run with in Tasu Leech, T’onga, and Losha. The latter of which, still obsessed with finding the heir of the Unbroken Clan, which means tracking down Valance to Jekara too, and coming across a very surly Bossk for their efforts.
Dancing entertainingly between the raindrops of “War of the Bounty Hunters,” writer Ethan Sacks continues to give us fun alternate angles on the crossover’s events. Those who have already read WoTBH #4 will know how the handicap match between Valance, Dengar and Boba Fett has played out. But Bounty Hunters #16 gives us a much fuller picture of that encounter, picking up moments before the event’s latest issue and then playing out it’s own action during and after said issue. Across two different sets of characters no less and crackling with more scuzzily fun action staging from the art team.
Again, unfortunately, the T’onga and Losha scenes do drag a bit. I think it’s not really a fault of the characters, more just the distance their plot is from Dengar and Valance (ostensibly our main leads). Plus we still don’t really have much contact with the Unbroken Clan overall, aside from T’onga and Losha, so as a reader I don’t really feel that much spark with it. The presence of Zuckuss and Tasu Leech definitely puts some pep in these sequences, as does the new inclusion of Bossk. Sacks has a firm handle on all of their respective brands of grouchiness and underhandedness. But on the whole I still don’t feel that connected to this section of Bounty Hunters.
Fortunately, Bounty Hunters #16’s main action more than makes up for this. Providing more emotional texture for Dengar and Valance, this new perspective on the events of War of the Bounty Hunters #4 strengthens both the main event AND this side-series! And Sacks doesn’t even have to do that much additional scripting to do so. Just a touch of reminders of Valance’s human connections (which has further ties to the Rebellion) alongside some upending of the cast’s personal alliances and we have a whole new dynamic to work with going forward. Sure, we assumed SOMEONE was going to get betrayed eventually, but Sacks gives us the whole context and reasoning behind it, fleshing out both Valance and Dengar’s characterizations for the better, even kind of retroactively for War of the Bounty Hunters #4 for good measure.
It all just adds to the wonderfully laid out scoundrel based fun this crossover has been. By providing us the full scope of narrative concerning the players involved and tracking other characters from the main series, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #16 continues to be more than just another tie-in. It’s taking its stakes and emotional baggage seriously and in doing so makes this series feel and operate like an essential part of the whole tapestry (Unbroken Clan mop up excluded, obviously). Couple that with more splashy and well-staged artwork from Paolo Villanelli and Arif Prianto and you have another fun walk on Star Wars’ nerf-herdin’ side.
Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
