Comic Review // Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters

There is something genuinely fun and almost magical about finding a comic in the library. I can't quite work out whether it's the excitement of discovering something completely new to me, or the fact that you can sometimes tell which books have been well-loved just by looking at them.

Either way, when I spotted this Star Wars collection sitting there, I couldn't exactly leave it behind, could I? So, into the reading pile it went.

And then I discovered I'd made a classic rookie mistake…I'd picked up a story from halfway through the bloody series. Oh well. Let's get into it!

The Details

Title: Star Wars (2020) #3 – War of the Bounty Hunters
Author: Charles Soule
Illustrator: Ramon Rosanas
Colourist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Format: Paperback
Pages: 168
Collecting: Star Wars (2020) #12–18

The Blurb

The hunt for Han!

Chewbacca has heard from an old friend with intelligence on the location of notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett, who is in possession of the carbon-frozen body of Han Solo.

Along with Luke Skywalker, the loyal Wookiee sets off in search of his lost friend, travelling to Nar Shadaa — better known as the Smuggler's Moon!

But while this is happening, R2-D2 has a crucial message for Luke. A message that could affect the fate of the entire Jedi Order.

The Star Wars saga continues to surprise!

Review

As seems to be the case with me these days, I did a little research after I'd started reading. Yep. This collection is actually the third volume of the 2020 Star Wars series and collects issues 12–18. Classic Peps move. So I was jumping into the middle of the story with absolutely no idea what had happened beforehand.

Normally, that would probably be a bit of a problem. Surprisingly, though, It really wasn't. I could still follow what was happening and, more importantly, I found myself getting invested in the characters.

Two Stories?

The book almost feels like it has two different threads running through it. One focuses heavily on the bounty hunters and the hunt for Han, while the other shifts more towards Luke and his development. Whether that's actually how the story is structured or simply how it felt to me as I was reading, it worked. The bounty hunter side gives us that classic Star Wars criminal-underworld feel, while Luke's story gives the collection a much more personal and character-driven element, and honestly, the character stuff is where I think this book really shines.

Luke Skywalker

I really enjoyed the way Luke is handled here. We get to see him training and becoming stronger, but we're also reminded that he is not perfect. He makes mistakes. He gets things wrong. He struggles and I really liked that. Too often, particularly with legendary characters, it can be tempting to show them as almost impossibly competent. Luke is a hero, but he's still learning what the hell he's doing. We also get to see him dealing with the aftermath of his encounter with Vader. Not just physically, but mentally as well. That trauma actually feels like it has consequences. Luke isn't simply walking around the galaxy after discovering that Darth Vader is his father and shrugging it off before getting back to Jedi business. He's struggling with it, and that makes him feel much more like a real character rather than simply the heroic farm boy we first met in A New Hope.

Leia and Lando

Then we have Leia and Lando, and this is a really fun pairing. When we first see them together, there is still a massive amount of distrust between them. Which, let's be honest, isn't exactly surprising considering their history. But as the story progresses, that relationship starts to change. Trust slowly develops. Then respect, and eventually, dare I say it…something resembling friendship?

I really liked watching that happen. It's not some massive dramatic transformation either. It develops naturally as they are forced to work together. At the same time, Leia is dealing with the loss of Han, and that part of the story hit harder than I expected. We get to see her trying to function as a leader while carrying this enormous personal loss. She's expected to keep everyone moving forward, inspire people and continue the fight, while privately dealing with the fact that Han has been taken from her and that gave the character a little more emotional weight for me.

A Little Bit of Future History

There is also another little aspect of the story that I really enjoyed. Without getting into spoiler territory, we get to see the parents of a future hero and experience them meeting for the first time. I always enjoy this sort of thing. There's something fun about watching a piece of Star Wars history unfold when you already know where some of these characters are eventually going to end up. It gives those seemingly small moments a little extra weight.

The Artwork

The artwork throughout the collection is really enjoyable. Ramon Rosanas does a great job capturing the Star Wars universe, from the familiar heroes to the bounty hunters and the grimier corners of the galaxy. There's a good mixture of action and character-focused moments, which works particularly well with the story. It never felt like the artwork was simply there to move the plot from one scene to another, and enjoyed it visually every step.

Final Thoughts

Considering I picked this up halfway through the bloody series, I was expecting to struggle. Instead, I really enjoyed it.

Yes, there were obviously references and ongoing threads that I was missing because I hadn't read the earlier collections. But the story was strong enough that I could still follow along and, more importantly, care about what was happening. The character development was probably my favourite part. Luke's struggles, Leia dealing with Han's loss, and the developing relationship between Leia and Lando all gave the story considerably more depth than I was expecting.

And then you've got the bounty hunters, Boba Fett, Han Solo and all the other familiar Star Wars goodness layered over the top. All around, a bloody great read, and perhaps the biggest compliment I can give it is this: I've now found myself looking for the other volumes in the series.

Considering I only picked this one up because it happened to be sitting in my local library, that's a pretty successful bit of accidental reading. Sometimes being a rookie pays off.