Doctor Chelli Aphra returns in Star Wars: Doctor Aphra – Chaos Agent #1, written by Cherish Chen with art by Gabriel Guzman and colors by Mike Atiyeh. Yep, she’s in trouble again!
For those unfamiliar with Doctor Aphra, she’s one of the best new characters added to the Star Wars mythos since Disney’s acquisition of the franchise. Much like an interstellar Indiana Jones, she’s an archaeologist (a Doctor of Archaeology actually) who has devoted her life to finding ancient artifacts and relics. Unlike Indy though, she sells what she finds to the highest bidder. Because why put an antique in a dusty old museum on a backwater world when you can load up your account with Galactic Credits instead?
Chaos Agent kicks off with Doctor Aphra being sentenced in court with so many charges that it takes half a page for the judge to list them all. Some of the charges seem hyperbolic. Disturbing the peace? C’mon, where in the Star Wars galaxy is there actually a place with enough peace to disturb? Even Dagobah had Yoda milling about cackling and causing mischief.
Past Doctor Aphra books were set during the Original Trilogy. This new series (as well as the new main Star Wars series) is set after Return of the Jedi, when the Empire has been nearly totally defeated and the New Republic is trying to bring order to the post-war chaos. The new Star Wars series goes deeper into the workings of this time period, both the political maneuvering behind the scenes and the New Republic’s struggle to quell the remnants of the Empire, but we get to see a bit of the New Republic in action here too. Though the New Republic soldiers are far more understanding and fair than Imperial troops, they’re not immune to having a few jerks in their ranks too, and Doctor Aphra runs into a couple of them throughout this issue.
This book never forgets what makes Doctor Aphra great. She’s devilish, fearless and always thinks three steps ahead. All these facets of her are on grand display here.
Marvel
Star Wars is all about exotic locations, and we get to see several different worlds this issue. There’s a great action set piece on one of the worlds (which looks vaguely like Coruscant) as Aphra and her colleague get into a Mad Max-style speeder chase with New Republic Security.
Luke Skywalker shows up about halfway through the issue (this isn’t a spoiler – he’s on the cover). I’ve always enjoyed these Luke/Doctor Aphra team-ups because they’re opposites in every way. Doctor Aphra constantly referring to Jedi Master Luke as “Farm Boy” never gets old. The duo have a fun good cop/bad cop vibe as they travel to Daiyu City (a city that makes the worst corners of Tatooine look squeaky clean by comparison) in search of an artifact that’s rumored to give Force powers to non-Force users who possess it, leading to some startling discoveries.
This series is in great hands with writer Cherish Chen. She has a firm handle on what makes Doctor Aphra tick, keeping her morally gray and edgy while injecting lots of humor and action into the book.
Gabriel Guzman’s art reminds me of Howard Chaykin’s work on the original series way back in the ’70s and ’80s – it has that same classic look and feel.
I look forward to Doctor Aphra’s new adventures. If you’re even remotely a Star Wars fan, pick this book up!
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