Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Omnibus

Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #1-6

by Charles Soule, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older

All-out war engulfs the Star Wars galaxy! Notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett has finally landed his greatest prize — Han Solo, frozen in carbonite. But Solo is about to become one highly sought-after smuggler! The rebels want their friend back, the Empire seeks revenge on one of its greatest enemies, and other bounty hunters have their eyes on a big payday — but what moves will the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate make? Featuring Darth Vader, Jabba the Hutt, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Valance, Doctor Aphra and more!

COLLECTING: Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha (2021) 1, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters (2021) 1-5, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters - Jabba The Hutt (2021) 1, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters - 4-Lom & Zuckuss (2021) 1, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters - Boushh (2021) 1, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters - Ig-88 (2021) 1, Star Wars (2020) 13-18, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters (2020) 12-17, Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) 12-17, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) 10-15, material from Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha Director's Cut (2021) 1

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Marvel, Comics Manga, Comic Book

848 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 14, 2022

About the author

Charles Soule is a #1 New York Times-bestselling novelist, comics author, screenwriter, musician, and lapsed attorney. He has written some of the most prominent stories of the last decade for Marvel, DC and Lucasfilm in addition to his own work, such as his comics Curse Words, Letter 44 and Undiscovered Country, and his original novels Light of the Jedi, The Endless Vessel, The Oracle Year and Anyone. He lives in New York.

Reviews

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Closer to 4.5/5 rounded down. I forgot how exhausting it can be reading big Marvel events that have already been finished. They kept that going for Star Wars as well. I had to take a break, read roughly half last night and the rest today. A truly massive undertaking but a really fun one. I have been dying for either a sequel to the Solo movie or at least a continuation of the story and sadly this is probably the closest we’ll ever get to it. This is part one to a three part event series. So starting now with War of the Bounty Hunters and moving immediately into Crimson Reign with the ending being Shadow Empire sometime soon. Boba Fett has the frozen Han Solo and is off to take him to Jabba the Hutt. But he takes a brief detour where Han is stolen and this starts a series of events that leads to the reemergence of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. Believing Boba sold Han to someone else, Jabba places a bounty on his head so big that every hunter in the galaxy begins to head after him while he attempts to get Han back. All roads lead to an auction where all four current Star Wars series perfectly tie together to a point where I would say reading all four is necessary to enjoying the event entirely. I had a lot of fun with this and I’m very excited to dive right into Crimson Reign.

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long time ago in a Galaxy far far away, there was a bounty hunter who has just four lines of text and 6 minutes of screentime originally, and yet he was one of the coolest characters ever...

I have been working my way through the Star Wars omnis originally released by Dark Horse, but now it was time for a original Marvel Star Wars Story. War of the Bounty Hunters is a huge crossover event with lots of series that tie in in true Marvel fashion, normally not that big a fan of those, but its Star Wars dammit! This contains the mini series, Jabba The Hutt, IG-88 Star Wars, Darth Vader and Doctor Aphra to name a few. The Artwork all over is lots of different artists, but good ones,and this is a damn cool event.

[Robert Bridgewater · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dont like lore reimagined. This whole story takes place from when Boba Fett flies off with Solo in carbonite, and ends around the time the Rebel Alliance finds out Solo is in Jabbas Palace. An awful lot happens in this story, and for none of it to ever be mentioned in the next film, is just funny. It was entertaining though with lots of characters crossing over into the arc.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.
The event contained in this omnibus is one that I find actually very intriguing. After Han Solo is frozen in carbonite, I always assumed he was just delivered to Jabba The Hutt. However, and likely for the sake of comics run longevity, we’ve come to find out that this wasn’t exactly a direct transaction and that Fett might’ve had a bit of a difficult time on his journey of getting Han Solo from Bespin to Tattooine. With knowledge of Solo in his current state, it seems everyone in the galaxy wants to get their hands on him for one reason or another.
Things really pick up as Crimson Dawn announces their return and decide to make a move for power. Most fascinating is the revelation of who their leader is, especially in regard to Han Solo being stolen by their clan. The rest of the stories that continue in this omnibus are interesting but also very busy with so many new characters and factions warring with each other. What I did find very amusing as I continue to read this is the relationship of Zuckuss and 4-LOM and the depression that Zuckuss faces when missing his partner.
With Crimson Dawn auctioning off Han Solo, things get very interesting with what seems to be everyone in the galaxy heading out for a chance to claim the scoundrel. The Rebellion wants their hero back. Aphra and Sana are hired to gather intel while there. Lando is up to his usual selfish, shifty scheming. Things really get interesting when someone powerful and unexpected shows up, though the head of the returned Crimson Dawn shows us what a fight is when you’re not afraid of your opponent.
The hunt for Han Solo continues on off-world and it stays pretty entertaining throughout every different issue in the various series collected within this omnibus. I remained impressed with the lengths this event has gone to for a story about Han Solo eventually making his way to Jabba The Hutt.
Obviously having to come to an end the way we see it does between episodes V and VI, Han ends up back with Jabba, but throughout this entire event, I really enjoyed the ride to see what he does through to get there. The Vader and Luke relationship that continued was an interesting aspect to keep an eye on in this omnibus. The bounty hunters were showcased very well, increasing my appreciation for Boushh and IG-88 from their own solo stories and reinforcing my love for the character of Beilert Valance. Qi’ra and The Crimson Dawn have me excited to see where this story goes. The only complaints I have with this event were that some of the Aphra stories just seemed too forced near the end. Outside of that, this was a thrilling and exciting read!

[Joshua K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like the bones of a great event are here, you just need to not read it in this format. Theres a fair amount of retread in the issues, events from the main WOTBH book are shown again in the issues of the ongoing SW titles, which is kind of exhausting, and honestly just makes the WOTBH main book feel like a recap book after awhile, designed for the people who may only read one of the ongoings. Maybe reading this as it was released could have been fun, but I would honestly recommend just reading the main book and then back tracking to the other books to see how they tie in.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those rare Marvel cross universe events that is actually worth the price of admission. I thought it was great from start to finish. Some of the peripheral things going on didn’t matter so much or we’re not as fun, but the main story was brilliant.

[TAB · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a reader of Star Wars comics since the late 90s. There were some incredible stories told in the Expanded Universe era, but one thing Dark Horse never attempted or can't match like Marvel is the tent-pole crossover event. Though I eschewed the name change of EU to Legends, I gave the new comics a try when Disney bought the IP and was SERIOUSLY underwhelmed by the initial offerings. It is clear though that in the unofficial phase 2, they figured out what they wanted to do with the comics in a spectacular way. I cannot wait to continue with the next event and go back and read all the individual comics from their restart in 2020.

[Evan Dossey · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 3.5. I enjoyed this more in book form than I did when reading it on Marvel Unlimited. It's as tight a cross-over as I've read in recent years - the tie-in issues set during the main event do a great job serving as the same story, from different perspectives. The problem is that the spine story just isn't as compelling as I'd have liked it to be. There's really no "War" to speak of, here. It's mostly set-up for Crimson Reign and Qi'ra's bigger arc across that story and "Hidden Empire." Which I'd like in Omnibus form, but it still feels like a let-down that this premise, and this title, didn't just deliver on a badass Boba Fett yarn. This does have a lot of great Fett material, though! I enjoyed it. Didn't love it. Felt a little lost during the Aphra and Bounty Hunter issues, two series I have no intention of reading.

God bless Soule for doing so much with stuff from Solo, though!

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read separate volumes of this event, I was left confused and annoyed by all the missing pieces (exacerbated by me not realising I didn't have all the volumes I needed). It really has to be read as an omnibus to make sense of things. But this way, you also see just how many weaknesses are spread across the different comic lines that are running under the Star Wars banner - and that's without considering the fact that various issues in this collection repeat events from different points of view (without changing enough to make the repetition worth it). I know it wouldn't be cost effective, but an edit rearranging/consolidating the crossover scenes would have been awesome.

So this is more of a "me" thing. I've never liked stories trying to add adventures between ESB and ROTJ because they rely on Boba Fett being terrible at his job - honestly, the dude deserves better than this - and there's no tension in the interactions between Darth Vader and Luke because we know they can't meet until Endor. And also... I just don't like Qi'ra.

It's not all bad, though. It's mildly entertaining.

[Arka · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long, dense read that combines and introduces several new storylines. It could really use a Table of Contents so you can skip to the next issue of the story you care about. Even if you start getting into one of the dozens and dozens of stories for a series you never wanted to follow, it too, gets interrupted for a new storyline...which gets interrupted for a new storyline....which gets interrupted by a new storyline...until I gave up.

The sheer length and density of this combined with the tons of new information, and the lack of any kind of continuity makes this a slog of a read, and the lack of a Table of Contents makes it an irritating slog.

Learn from my mistakes; don't bother trying to fight your way through this omnibus. Just buy the series that you are interested in, like I'm about to do.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really dynamic drawing together of the various storylines from the collection of Star Wars Universe comics that began in 2020. The story is overall good, though the contributions from the "Star Wars" series are pretty weak, not surprising when they are missing the only really compelling stories from the rest of the series. The rest of the stories are drawn in really well, and each plays out in orbit around the drama of Boba Fett's commitment to mission and the reemergence of the Crimson Dawn in a way reminiscent of the complex story from Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels but in a way that doesn't reduce the other stories to simple plot points.

[Joshua Mifsud · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole run, collected here, is about 28 comics worth, which is gigantic. The artwork is absolutely incredible and overall probably the best run Marvel has done for Star Wars. I think the alpha is the best work funnily enough. I am still mad that they decided to grant Durge to the Aphra comics though, which is the biggest waste of a badass character ever. I thought the homages to the legends material were great, like Vader's fight with IG-88 and the whole story was clearly inspired by Tales of the Bounty Hunters and Shadows of the Empire.

[Alex Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is widely accepted that crossover events suck unless you’re there when they happen. They’re a hassle to read after the fact, having to skip around various series of varying interest and art quality. I thought having them compiled together would help but it only made the thing feel more disjointed.
I did enjoy the characterization of Zuckuss

[Evan Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really fun comic omnibus--some stories i enjoyed more than others, but it was fun to read a comic series taking place with so many characters weaving in and out. was shocked to see it end on a cliffhanger after 800+ pages...but the story must go on!

[Neon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but ending it on a 'to be continued' was incredibly frustrating.

[MovieSquid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onder de noemer "niet nodig, wel grappig".
De titel is wel spannender dan het event daadwerkelijk is, want van een echte "war" is geen spraken helaas.

[Jamieson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you ever wonder what adventures Han-in-Carbonite had on way from Bespin to Jabba's Palace? Or what happened to Qi'ra after Solo: A Star Wars Story? This is that story. Let me back up a little. This is the first crossover of the second run of post-Disney Marvel Star Wars comics. It crosses between the 2020 ongoing series of Star Wars, Darth Vader, Doctor Aphra and Bounty Hunters, as well as its own miniseries and a scattering of one-shots.

The plot revolves around the return of Crimson Dawn and is the first of a trilogy of crossovers and miniseries that focus on Qi'ra's gambit to destroy the Sith. In this story, Crimson Dawn steals Han from Boba Fett and attempts to auction him off to the highest bidder. When Fett loses Han, jabba puts out a massive bounty on Fett. On top of this, you have the Rebels attempting to steal Han back, Vader turning the Hutts against each other, other Imperials attempting to take out Vader and Aphra and Sana Starros attempting to steal from Crimson dawn for Domina Tagge. It's a bit of a mess with a ton of characters to keep track of, but it's good story (in theory).

The problem is that you either need to read the individual issues or this massive omnibus. When I first read this in trade paperback form across the four different series and the miniseries, I got horribly lost as there are a handful of footnotes stating "see Series X: Issue Y", and not having all five trades in front of me or waiting several weeks for one that was referenced in the first one I read was really annoying. Even in this, there are a few issues that should've been slightly reordered as one of those references appeared, and the issue it referenced was a couple issues ahead in the omnibus. The Omnibus is definitely the way to experience this story, it's just a massive tome that took forever to get through.