The hunt for the Carbonite frozen Han Solo is on, and Boba Fett will stop at nothing to retrieve his prize. It’s action, adventure and a whole lot of hunting in Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 written by Charles Soule, with art by Luke Ross, colors by Neeraj Menon and letters by VC’s Travis Lanham
There’s been a question Star Wars fans have asked since The Empire Strikes Back. It’s one that caused debates, and even outright fights. It’s one that has divided households. Some would say that it’s the most important question in Star Wars canon.
Is Boba Fett actually cool?
Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 seems to exist only to answer that question… at least until the final page.
The set-up is simple. A mysterious group has stolen Han Solo from one of Fett’s contacts, a doctor checking out the carbonite-entombed smuggler to ensure he was still alive. Fett is determined to get him back, no matter what. However, he also has to overcome a bounty placed on his own head, as punishment for his failure to deliver Solo…
I’ll be honest- despite enjoying this era of Star Wars comics so far, I’m pretty far behind. I’ve read most of Soule’s Star Wars, most of Pak’s Darth Vader, but none of Doctor Aphra and Bounty Hunters. So I went into this story more or less blind.
Despite that, Soule gives enough of a recap that any fan not reading prior to this can pick this miniseries up and be satisfied. The story itself is a lot of fun, and smartly is centered entirely on Fett, setting up other stories to be told with the other characters. Meanwhile Ross and Menon handle the art like old pros. Ross’s line work embraces the Star Wars universe, but doesn’t lean too far into photorealism, allowing the film character to blend together with the characters created just for this story. His action is solid too, and Menon’s colors make Nar Shadda and Tatooine come to life.
But as for the central question? This story absolutely makes a case that Fett is a force to be reckoned with. I mean, we already saw that quite a bit in season 2 of The Mandalorian, but that was a Fett out of practice and five years out of shape. This is Fett in his prime and he was incredible. This was a man on a mission, and it was more than just his fighting skills that we saw (though poor Zuckuss did see that side of him). This was a slicer, a detective, and an intimidator.
In other words, this is the Boba Fett that we’ve always been told is cool. And here’s the proof.
If this title keeps up the quality of this opening issue, I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Bare minimum though, this is the redemption of Boba Fett. And that’s exactly what he needs right now.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
