REVIEW: Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 Misses Its Target

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 gives readers a glimpse into the seedy underbelly of the Star Wars Universe with mixed results. Since so many of Marvel's Star Wars comics are chained to the episodic films, these books tend to have a weightlessness to them. While the worst of these can come off as a professionally executed fan fiction, the best comics from this new era are able to rise above their confines and churn out compelling character studies, exciting adventures and new heroes and villains we never knew we wanted. However, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 is not one of those books.

Nakano Lash is the most wanted Nautolan in the Galaxy, and the score is very personal. Some time ago, a simple job turned deadly on Corellia, wherein Lash killed what seems to be the Star Wars equivalent of a Mafia's “made man.” Naturally, the criminal underworld does not take kindly to such infractions. Later, a marker on Lash started to make the rounds, and a handful of seasoned bounty hunters, most of whom were in shaky alliance prior to the botched Corellian mission, answer the call.

There’s nothing quite like a good “getting the band back together” story, especially if the band in question is a Mandalorian, a cyborg and an angry lizard man. Using Star Wars iconography to tell what would otherwise feel like a rote crime story isn’t the worst idea. In fact, the simplest motivations often drive the best stories. The only problem is that Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 doesn’t have the unique voice to make this sort of tale truly standout.

Writer Ethan Sacks (Old Man Quill) is working with a great idea, and the broad strokes within the narrative gel together nicely. But the dialogue gets in the way of the comic's art. While Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 is much better than Sacks’ previous contributions to the franchise -- neither Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker nor Galaxy’s Edge hit their marks -- it doesn’t have any breathing room to reach its full potential. And for a story where our protagonists’ decisions are driven by emotional heft instead of financial duty, perhaps things needed a bit more time to develop.

Paolo Villanelli (Star Wars: Lando - Double or Nothing) is merely serviceable. There isn’t enough variance in character expression -- Valance makes the same face in almost every panel -- and a lot of the dynamic action moments feel rushed and sloppy. The iconography from the films does fare better. The ships, weaponry and alien species are all rendered beautifully, with only the stray obfuscation here and there to muddy the page. And of course, Boba Fett looks awesome, but then again, when doesn’t he? The biggest draw to this issue is Lee Bermejo's cover, which is absolutely gorgeous but doesn't really represent the quality inside.

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 is a mixed bag. The concept behind the story is great and could potentially lead to some great plot threads, but whatever optimism it might seed is restricted by all the lackluster details. Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 reaches for greatness, but is too bogged down by bad dialogue and uneven art to feel like anything more than a missed opportunity.

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