I can’t say I was expecting to yelp “Aphra!” while reading this issue and yet I did.

Thankfully, I seem to be getting my wish regarding more Tolvan as she makes Imperial bureaucracy work for her and finds her way into more trouble than she probably wanted. That’s just a side effect of being intrigued by the one and only Chelli Lona Aphra. I could write an entire essay about how Tolvan literally dreams about Aphra rescuing her but I’ll spare you. (But Tolvan, honey, you have to know that this won’t end well.)

Unfortunately, Aphra has way bigger problems to deal with and by bigger, I mean more metallic and homicidal. Triple Zero is blackmailing her into working for his mob and if she doesn’t, he’ll let Vader know that she’s still alive. It’s a crazy script flip on the Aphra and the Murder Droids dynamic that we grew so used to during Darth Vader and the early part of this series. Admittedly, I wasn’t sure what to think when Gillen and Spurrier put the idea before us but it’s growing more and more on me as a way to keep the book fresh and not just a continuous series of wacky shenanigans. (Not that I would have been terribly opposed to that.)

I’m liking Emilio Laiso’s art more and more especially since we got so many different aliens and characters in this arc. If we don’t get to see more of the droideka, I’m going to be very disappointed.

Doctor Aphra seems intent on bringing Tolvan and Aphra back together and I can’t wait to see how that happens in future issues!

Doctor Aphra #15: Kieron Gillen and Si Spurrier/Writers, Emilio Laiso/Artist, Rachelle Rosenberg/Colors, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor, Jordan D. White/Editor