Bounty Hunters #18 - Comic Review

While trying to save the carbonite frozen body of Han Solo during the War of the Bounty Hunters, the bounty hunter Valance ended up going down with the Imperial ship, or so everyone thinks. Unbeknownst to the rest of the galaxy, the Sith Lord Darth Vader not only saved Valance, but also fully repaired and upgraded his cyborg body. Unfortunately for Valance, though, these upgrades have come at a cost. He not only is more robotic than ever before, losing most of what made him still human, but he’s also being forced by the Dark Lord into weeding out the Crimson Dawn moles within the Empire. Will Valance accept this mission or will he stand up against the tyranny and lose everything he holds dear to him? And what of the other bounty hunters out there, what is their plan now that they all believe Valance is dead and can no longer help them with their own tasks?

Writer Ethan Sacks is back in full force with Bounty Hunters #18 bringing in multiple plot twists and character explorations throughout this issue. We get to see Valance as a kid and some of the events that drove him to fall in with the Empire in the first place. It’s a lot of fun getting to see more of the history surrounding this still relatively new character to the Star Wars universe. We also get to see how the bounty hunter life is affecting the duo of T’onga and Losha. This issue is a great one that not only does well with pushing the narrative forward with the characters here, but also with the overall galaxy in a post Crimson Dawn resurgence world.

The artistic team for Bounty Hunters #18 is made up of artist Ramon Bachs, colorist Bryan Valenza, and letterer VC’s Travis Lanham. The Bounty Hunters series has always prided itself on fantastic artwork and this issue is no exception. Valenza’s colors are the standout of this issue, fully realizing different locations and characters that litter the realm of the underworld. Bachs’ art is also fantastic at giving us these locations and characters, but the art really shines with the fantastic fight sequences and expressions that litter the pages. And the issue wouldn’t be complete without Lanham’s great lettering throughout the issue.

The main cover art of Bounty Hunters #18 comes from artists Giuseppe Camuncoli and Nolan Woodard. Here we see the dark and dirty crew that T’onga and Losha have put together including themselves as well as bounty hunters Bossk, Zuckuss, and Tasu Leech! Daniel Acuña’s variant cover is an even darker piece that depicts battle-ready versions of Darth Vader and Valance aboard an Imperial vessel and is really quite a stunning work of art. And of course, we also have the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary cover from the always wonderful team of Chris Sprouse, Karl Story, and Neeraj Menon, this time featuring art of characters from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story such as Jyn Erso and Saw Guerrera as well as the Stormtroopers upon the beaches of Scarif as well as a Star Destroyer hovering above Jedha City.

Bounty Hunters #18 brings the focus back on Valance and his surrounding characters while still exploring the aftermath of the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event. It’s a fantastic and fun issue that really sets the tone and ideas for the new storyline of this series. So, fire up the engines of your swoop bike and speed on down to your local comic shop to pick up a copy today!