
Published: September 24, 2025
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Cherish Chen
Artist: Kieran McKeown
Colours: Michael Atiyeh
Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Ejikure
The synopsis;
THE DOCTOR & THE WOOKIEE!
• After months in the New Republic’s service against her will, DOCTOR APHRA and CHEWBACCA are tasked with providing security for a vital diplomatic mission on a remote desert kingdom!
• But a connection from the past threatens to upend the whole event!
• Who is the mystery saboteur, and will they successfully foil Aphra’s operation?
The review;
It is Aphra but not like we’ve known her. The shackles of the previous stories, the weight that Aphra has had to carry around are gone, leaving the character to really get back to the basics. While we are only four issues in, we have learnt a lot about different cultures and planets, we’ve seen Aphra on a leash that works and most importantly, worked opposite characters that can really show Aphra at her best. Leading this new direction for the anti-hero is Cherish Chen. Her fresh take has really invigorated this fan favourite. There doesn’t feel like there is any direction these stories are really going in and that is why they work so well. There’s not too much of an agenda here, apart from Aphra trying to get thee trust of the New Republic, this is about archaeology. It’s about learning, about seeing and discovering artefacts. It’s what this series is doing so well. With Chen is new artist Kieran McKeown, who has yet to work on a Star Wars project. He is known for his work on Judge Dredd and Aliens, which I rethink would suit this series very well. I can’t wait to see what the pair have in store for us this issue.
Let’s get started straight with the artwork. There is a vibrancy here that looks fantastic and suits the setting of the story on a hit, desert planet. The detail in each panel is amazing, and I found myself been drawn into all the little pieces that made up the artwork. McKeown knows when to really wow, the full page spread when Aphra and Chewie enter the Grand Arch is fantastic. The detail of the setting captures your eye only to find that each advisor has a wealth of detail as well. I am seriously impressed!
Onto the story though and I mentioned in my introduction that Chen has had Aphra work opposite really strong characters. It is always how Aphra has worked best. By herself just doesn’t really work in terms of story. Chen knows this and this week she’s working opposite Chewie. Someone equally strong yet with no language we can understand, creating a different dynamic for Aphra that works very well. Chen uses Chewbacca as the catalyst for the humour, for the fights and just making this issue work as well as it does.
The humour. It is throughout this issue in droves, and it was well timed. The shedding wookiee, the mother joke, the little jab that half the planets in the galaxy are desert. It all works; it all strikes a chord with Star Wars fans. While Chen has interlaced humour into every issue, this is the first time I really feel it hit its stride perfectly. There has been more of it but not too much that the whole thing ends as a joke.
We get to see a wookiee fight with the return of Krrsantan. Well technically two but one gets interrupted. Chen knows we all want to see Chewie take on Krrsantan, so she gives us one battle to make sure we get the fight before having the second fight take place in the background. The visuals from McKeown are really well done here. You can feel every blow the two wookiees inflict on one another, the reactions perfect. You can tell that McKeown had a lot of fun illustrating this part of the story. I like that we see the black-furred Wookiee again, he has always been a part of the Aphra stories and I’m glad he already makes an appearance here. It’s very obvious that while Aphra and Krrsantan know each other, they don’t consider each other friends. Aphra doesn’t have friends, ruining every friendship that she tries to make. I think it’s important to establish that as I’m sure the Wookiee will be back sooner or later.
Chen also makes sure that new readers know that Aphra has a heart by her actions at the end of the issue. Yes, she can be silly, crazy and just downright selfish, but she does care about people even if she finds it difficult to show that side of herself at the best of times. There are all these little nods to who Aphra is, what relationships she has. While I have been reading about Aphra from the very beginning, it’s good to see these qualities being reinforced.
What doesn’t really come across in this review is the story itself: keeping a prince safe during his coronation. That’s because it doesn’t really matter. The story itself is a catalyst, a throwaway for all of the above. What is good about it, is that it shows us again a different culture, snippets of what life is like on another planet. We don’t need to go into intricate detail about it, instead it’s the background to the story, the enjoyment of a new location that can be talked about and expanded if it ever needs to be. But what it isn’t is some planet we have seen before, that needs revisiting again and again. It’s fresh and that make it enjoyable.
I’m really enjoying these comics of Chaos Agent. It’s Aphra at a different pace but I think it is one that this character needs. I like seeing Aphra working alongside characters we know so well, seeing how they react to her attitude and selfishness (most of the time). Chen teases us with what is next, Aphra’s sister Dellen. That is certainly going to take some explaining, I mean, Aphra, with a sister?!
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