Welcome to the first-ever Star Wars digest from the new Voice Office! In this, we will be covering some of the new canon material that Marvel, Lucasfilms and Disney all have to offer. However, be warned! There will be spoilers throughout each digest, so I do not recommend reading further unless you don’t mind catching those. I have done my best to add warnings wherever the plot synopses are, so bear those areas  in mind!

Ah, Poe Dameron. Hotshot starship pilot and well-known affiliate of the Resistance, it should come as no surprise that Marvel released an ongoing series about his adventures.

Although the series started off rather lackluster without much for story development, Poe Dameron #7 kicked the series back off on a new story arc, being the first part of multi-part arc “The Gathering Storm.” Bringing in a new artist for this one, Angel Unzueta, this comic stood out to me as one of the most well-illustrated ones to come from the new Star Wars comics by Marvel.

Holding little connection to issues 1-6, the new arc seems to divide focus between multiple interesting characters. In the seventh issue, that character is Suralinda Javos, a journalist who can be recognized as an entirely new and never-before-seen species referred to as a “Squamatan.” Able to spit a corrosive venom and almost extinct, this new species is unlike anything else that we have seen, and seems to be much more developed in this issue alone than most of those seen on screen.

All in all, I found this to be one of the best comics from Marvel’s Star Wars universe and a great direction for the series to take. Although the rest of the series before it was enjoyable, the feeling of danger or intrigue were little to none. As “The Force Awakens” has proven, Poe Dameron is no lout when it comes to taking the helm of a starfighter, so seeing the difficulties he has on the ground (more or less) was great to see.

Plot Spoilers Inbound!

So, what is  the correlation between Suralinda Javos and Poe Dameron? As the second-page foreword indicates, Poe Dameron is in search of informants, and his old contact sent him a message about insight into the First Order’s activities. As soon as Poe Dameron tugs on that thread and arrives on Pheryon, a world strikingly similar to Kiast, the First Order begins to take notice of his presence. Despite all the dangers, it is unclear what Suralinda’s motives are throughout, claiming that she has information the First Order wants. Assuming that exposing the secrets to the public will eliminate the target on her head, she aims to turn that information over to the Resistance.

During an interrogation, it is revealed that she does not in fact have information about the First Order, instead luring Poe Dameron to her with the intention of learning about the Resistance for her journalistic pursuits to save a failing career. Working out in her favour, she is brought to the same base that we see in The Force Awakens and collects the exact location of its whereabouts. However, after having experienced the First Order’s ruthlessness firsthand, she instead lends herself to Leia’s Resistance.

Those who have read through the now-ended Darth Vader series of comics with no doubt recognize the title of this comic series. Dr. Aphra, along with her two homicidal droids, stars in this series taking place after her involvement in the final Darth Vader issue. Gaining her own series by popular demand, the comic starts off on a tone reminiscent of another popular franchise, Indiana Jones. Heading back to her former occupation as an archaeologist, the series starts off right in the middle of her latest expedition, not unlike the franchise that might have been the inspiration for her character.

Surprisingly, the first issue can almost be regarded as two in one book. Immediately after the reader is informed that the story will continue in the next issue, there is another comic’s worth of pages showcasing Aphra’s backstory. Unlike mini-stories seen at the end of some other Marvel Star Wars issues, this one follows the same character and uses the same artist and writer. It is also noticeably longer than other mini-issues found at the backs of other comic books.

Dr. Aphra is quite possibly my favourite character in the new canon. Introducing all manner of new gadgets whenever she appears and possessing two of the galaxy’s most murderous droids, it comes with no surprise why  she should get her own fan-requested comic series. The writing and illustration quality are on-par with the Darth Vader line of comics, but with a clearer focus on Aphra, 0-0-0 and BT-1 than their earlier roles allowed. Although we have been given a glance at Aphra’s backstory, it is unknown as to whether or not 0-0-0 or BT-1’s past will be further elaborated on in a similar mini-issue (perhaps focusing on the destruction of the Tarkin Initiative base that BT-1 was known for.)

Plot Spoilers Inbound!

As a young and bright student of the University of Bar’leth, the flashback half-issue shows that Aphra was a doctoral candidate and promising student. Despite her constant success, it is revealed that the new sava of the the University of Bar’leth is seeking to undermine her attempts to receive her doctorate and the two have been struggling against one another for success.

Invited to see the sava’s topic of interest, we are introduced to a new non-sentient species called Abersyn Symbiotes, a particularly dangerous creature that is deemed illegal within the Galactic Empire. Responsible  for the fall of several historical empires, the creature feeds on the brain stems of sentient species and is now ordered to be concentrated as soon as one is discovered. Possessing  several of these, the sava believes that he is doing groundbreaking research while also seeing Aphra’s archaeological interests as being disgraceful and unworthy for a doctorate.

As readers of the Darth Vader series will know, Aphra is adept in all manner of technologies and stages her own “discovery” using the stolen Symbiotes, placing them in an underground shed on the planet she was investigating. This is revealed as the reason behind having her doctorate invalidated when she goes to sell the relic found at the beginning of the comic.

That’s it for this issue of the Star Wars Digest! I will look at branching off into reviews for different series, books, or Rebels episodes next time around. Let me know what you think, and whether or not future reviews could persuade you to read the featured comic series or books that come out. For those who would like to read reviews that they would like to feature, please contact me and I’ll see if I can include your reviews in a future issue!