REVIEW: ‘Star Wars: Bounty Hunters,’ Issue #2

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters is back with an action-packed second issue. Published by Marvel Comics, written by Ethan Sacks, art by Paolo Villanelli, colors by Arif Prianto, and letters by Travis Lanham, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #2 follows our bounty hunters after they find out that Nakano Lash, their ex-leader who betrayed them by murdering a client, has resurfaced. Valance, Boba Fett, and Bossk are on the trail to find Lash for their own personal reasons. However, after a crime lord put a bounty on Lash’s head, everyone’s got a reason to go after the traitor. Who will get to Lash first?

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #2 is just what I need to get my bounty hunter fix. Besides the bounty hunters, we’ve seen in The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian, there aren’t many bounty hunter stories in canon. So I’m excited that this new series will bring bounty hunters to the forefront and highlight the cutthroat criminal underworld these characters work in. This series delves deep in the seedy world of mobs, syndicates, and cartels vying for control over various intergalactic territories and I couldn’t be more excited.

We get a great cast of characters for this issue and the series as a whole. We’re handed Bossk and Boba Fett, two well-known bounty hunters first seen in The Empire Strikes Back. We also get another bounty hunter that I’m less familiar with, Valence, who acts as the anchor character in the plot. Despite lacking knowledge on him, he’s an interesting character due to the fact that he’s a former stormtrooper and has cybernetic enhancements. But we’ll see if his character goes beyond having just an interesting background story.

We’re also introduced to T’onga, a female bounty hunter to balance out the otherwise male cast. Although she feels like the odd-one-out in this series, having not been part of the original group betrayed by Lash, she’s still a character who has the skill to stand toe-to-toe with the others.

Even though Boba Fett is the best, I’m glad to see them also focus on other characters. However, it seems a bit lopsided. We’re getting plenty of backstory on Valence but not so much the other characters. Sure, Bossk and Boba Fett are more well-known in this series, but it would also be great to get more backstory on T’onga instead of isolating her to just a simplistic revenge motive.

Although we get plenty of well-known characters in this issue, we get plenty of new ones. These novel characters are unique, each one standing out against the next, but still look like they belong in the criminal underworld. This wonderful design doesn’t stop at the characters but extends to the worlds and places we see in the issue. Despite the originality, the designs fit what’s expected of the Star Wars canon and work with the plot.

Villanelli’s art is wonderful and really makes this issue’s plot shine. There is a plethora of action and violence in this issue, quite befitting a series about bounty hunters. Villanelli has a way of making static pictures look kinetic; the fight sequences flow so smoothly from panel to panel. Prianto’s colors jump off the page. The colors have a beautiful way of animating the characters and setting the mood for each panel. The strategic use of highlights and shadows evince the tone of every page. The lettering by Lanham is precise and easy to follow, all the while not cluttering the panels to allow ease of reading. Overall, the creative team did a great job on this issue.

This was a fun issue and I’m excited to read future issues. If you’re into bounty hunters and are rearing for a story with revenge, mystery, and plenty of action, you’ll want to check this one out.

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #2 is available now wherever comic books are sold.