I used to hate Boba Fett. Like, really, really hate him. In my mind he was the poster child of toxic masculinity and the fans who idolized him were the sort that I avoided at all costs (in hindsight, this was more of a me issue, but I digress). It wasn’t until he returned in The Mandalorian and they gave him actual traits besides standing around and looking badass that I realized “oh he’s actually really cool.” But the point of all of this is that I feel like the silent and broody, one-dimensional nature of bounty hunters in Star Wars often comes off as being a macho, male power fantasy. Bounty Hunters actively tried to challenge that.
Bounty Hunters (2020) was an on-going comic written by journalist-turned-comic-author Ethan Sacks, with art primarily by Paolo Villanelli and Davide Tinto, colouring by Arif Prianto, and lettering by Travis Lanham. Its primary focus was on Beilert Valance, the cyborg bounty hunter from the original 1977 Marvel Star Wars run. Besides Valance, the main line-up included original characters T’onga, Losha, Cadeliah, Nakano Lash, Jyala Haydenn, and Vukorah, along with classic Empire Strikes Back bounty hunters like Zuckuss, 4-LOM, Bossk, Dengar, and yes, Boba Fett, amongst others. Sadly, it was announced at New York City Comic Con 2023 that the comic would end with issue 42 after an impressive four year run. Writing this all feels so technical considering my emotional attachment to this book and these characters. The months and days leading up to 42’s release (January 17th, 2024) were filled with dreadful anticipation for my fellow BH readers and I; one part concerned for Valance’s livelihood, one part not wanting to let the series end, and another part wanting to see how it all ends. When January 17th finally came and I had the issue in my hands, it took me a solid two minutes to actually turn the first page and start.
The extended issue was split into two parts; the first being a standard twenty two page story with art by Jethro Morales, the second part being a ten page kind of bookend story that brought back the original artist Paolo Villanelli. This unusual format was requested by author Ethan Sacks himself, hoping to have a few extra pages to wrap up the story with the care it deserved (for more on this, feel free to listen to our conversation with Ethan on Episode 46 of Kessel Run Relay!).
*SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT*
The first part of the issue picks up from #41 and shows the crew teaming up for one last mission on Tatooine to take down Jabba the Hutt’s Megadroid. I was extraordinarily worried about this part. Given Valance’s history with his former Academy classmate, I was almost certain that he was going to try and rescue Han Solo’s carbonite body and die in the process (apparently they can’t just de-canonize Return of the Jedi in the comics no matter how much you want them to, smh). But what we got instead was refreshing and made Han’s rescue in ROTJ even more rewarding. Plus I can add it to my repertoire of “hey did you know in the comics that–” fun facts I bring up whenever I watch the movies with someone new. After we got beyond that carbonite-shaped hurdle, I was much less worried about Valance dying. I am simply traumatized by Ethan Sacks’ many, MANY threats to Valance’s life on Twitter, ok? When Valance comes to after being knocked out by Boba Fett (bastard), he is shirtless in the middle of the Mos Espa Grand Arena (as a little treat for #ValanceNation). Jabba plans to use this fight, and Valance’s inevitable loss, as a way to show off his new weapon to the rival syndicates. However what Jabba doesn’t know is that this was all part of the crew’s plan to take down the droid, with Boba’s help and all. It’s a classic Bounty Hunters action sequence featuring my personal favourite duo, Zuckuss and 4-LOM, being cute with each other, Losha using Valance’s rifle from the original ‘77 Marvel run, and a quick look at what former crewmate Tasu Leech is up to. The droid is destroyed, Valance loses his arm (again), the ROTJ rescue crew are set up for success, and the bounty hunter crew parts ways. Valance smile counter: 1
“VALANCE? HE’S TOO STUBBORN TO KNOW WHEN TO DIE – WHICH IS WHY THE GIANT DROID IS DOOMED.” – TASU LEECH
The second part finds us a week later back on T’onga and Losha’s homestead on Logal Ri. I can’t lie, seeing Paolo Villanelli’s art on the page again caused a couple of tears. Though all of the authors that worked on this series have been amazing, his style is just so integral to these characters and the trials they’ve gone through. Having it come full circle was gratifying. T’onga explains her vision for a bounty hunter cantina on their homestead to Losha, “a refuge for scoundrels like us,” as she says. Her dialogue continues as the panels shift between the absent characters: Dengar and Manaroo, IG-88, Vukorah and her many cats, Tasu Leech, Zuckuss and 4-LOM, Yura and Kondra (in a very surprising twist), and finally Bossk. T’onga reminisces about her time in Nakano Lash’s crew and that fateful Corellia job that kickstarted the entire series. It’s then revealed that Cadeliah, inheritor of the Crimson Dawn fortune, would be helping the two wives build this dream cantina. I’m sure it wasn’t the team’s intention, but the confirmation that Cadeliah took Qi’ra’s inheritance and chose freedom over power, means that Qi’ra’s plan did in fact succeed in the end, if only a part of it. But I won’t talk about Qi’ra too much here because I’ll get carried away, it’s just that tiny detail that made me that much more emotional about the whole thing. This series has always done such a phenomenal job of tying into the other ongoing runs and crossover events, in a way that the other runs don’t always manage to do as gracefully.
The focus shifts from T’onga, Losha, and Cadeliah to the Pelkonen Space Port where we see former Imperial Lieutenant (and girlfriend of Valance) Jyala Haydenn’s past catch up to her. On the verge of capture by the Empire, she is saved by Valance. After Haydenn asks what they’re going to do, the comic ends with Valance holding out his hand to her and saying “I have no idea. But there is a galaxy of possibilities out there. Do you want to figure it out together?” and I couldn’t imagine a more perfect way to end the series. Valance smile counter: 2 (NEW WORLD RECORD)
I would’ve never expected all of the crew would make it out of this series alive. Especially Valance. To see him have a happy ending where he isn’t alone anymore and he seemingly doesn’t hate himself means more to me than I can put into words. And although I am devastated this series has come to a close, I don’t think we could’ve got a more perfect ending. I mentioned it on the podcast, but it feels so rare to get a genuinely good, well-rounded finale. I’m trying to wrack my brain for other examples right now and all I can come up with is Bounty Hunters and Gravity Falls (however bear in mind that I don’t watch much TV so my sample pool isn’t that big). BH 42 managed to finish up the last arc, tie into the greater Star Wars universe, and tie up the overarching journeys each of the characters went through. I am especially astounded by the reveal that Yura, Valance’s former lover, and her husband Kondra, were alive after the Empire’s attacks in Crimson Reign 2. Such a simple detail that could’ve been left out, leaving us to assume their deaths, but their inclusion shows how much thought and care was put into this story. It has been over three weeks since the issue was released and I still can’t stop thinking about Valance’s final lines, and I don’t think I’ll stop for a very long time.
Beyond my love for the characters, Bounty Hunters means even more to me because of the relationships I’ve formed because of it. I started reading the series back in the spring of 2022 because my then-friend Hayden would NOT stop talking about this cyborg looking dude being in love with Han Solo. I binge read the series, started engaging more with #ValanceNation and Ethan Sacks on Twitter (side note: I’m not referring to it as X, Elon can lick my elbow), and the rest is history. I even realized I had a crush on my then-friend, now-girlfriend Hayden while she was wearing her Valance cosplay, so that has to count for something. Every time I start thinking about the friendships I’ve made because of this silly little series, I can’t help but get emotional. Maybe the real Bounty Hunters were the friends we made along the way (joking, but not really). I’ve been lucky enough to pick Ethan Sacks’ brain about Valance and the series on a few different occasions, but every time we talk I can’t help but notice how much he loves these characters, despite how often he threatens their lives/emotional stability. His goal was to show these broken, misunderstood people and prove that they can work through their trauma, they are worthy of love and happiness and forgiveness. Which brings me back to my original point: bounty hunters are made all the better when their motivations, thoughts, and feelings are fleshed out and are permitted to be vulnerable (all while still looking pretty badass). There will never be another Bounty Hunters. But I hope the lessons learned in this series live on elsewhere in canon, the characters are adopted by other authors, and for the love of the Force, Valance returns.
