Only in George Lucas's world can a character with less than a second of screen time and not a word of dialogue go on to become one of the biggest stars of the movie. No, I'm not talking about Mawhonic (although he is probably just as interesting); I'm talking about Aurra Sing.

Aurra Sing's popularity is starting to reach legendary status. The fact that she closely resembles another character (bounty hunter, little to no dialogue, very little screen time, cool-looking outfit) might have something to do with that. So it should come as no surprise that she would eventually get a comic book series. Dark Horse obliges us with "Star Wars: The Hunt for Aurra Sing."

The Cover Art:

Jon Foster did the four covers in this series. Covers 1, 2 and 4 focus on Aurra Sing while cover 3 focuses on the Dark Woman. The three Aurra Sing covers show the bounty hunter about to take out someone or something. The first two are well done. The fourth cover, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. It looks like Aurra Sing had one too many Corellian Ales and is having problems standing up. The look on her face just reinforces the fact that Aurra Sing can't hold her liquor. Cover #3 is a very nice cover that features the Dark Woman. It is probably the best looking cover of the series. Jon Foster is also slated to do the next eight covers in the Star Wars ongoing series and Star Wars Tales #9. Expect to see the same high quality work as seen in this series. Grade: A-

The Story Art:

Davide Fabbri once again lends his hand to the art of this series. Mr. Fabbri did the pencils for the Jedi Council: Acts of War series. Overall, the artwork is very clean and very pleasing to the eye. There are some cases where he puts too much detail into the panel, and there are other times when he doesn't put enough. The inks, by Christian Dalla Vecchia, and the colors, by Dave McCaig, also contribute greatly to make this series very aesthetically pleasing. It's no wonder that Dark Horse decided to team up Fabbri, Vecchia, and McCaig again. Hopefully we will see this "triple-threat" collaboration once more in a future Star Wars series. Grade: B+

The Story:

The story, by Tim Truman, is not the most thrilling story you are ever going to read. A short time after TPM, several Jedi are found slain in the shadows of the Temple, and the Jedi Council decides it is time to bring Sing to justice. It is a dangerous mission because there is a fine line between justice and vengeance. Adi Gallia, Ki-Adi-Mundi and A'Sharad Hett volunteer for the mission. The Dark Woman also volunteers for the mission but is denied because she is too close to the situation; she was Aurra's former teacher. The Council also questions A'Sharad Hett's decision to seek Aurra because she is the one who slew Hett's father. Hett assures the Council that vengeance is not in him.

Aurra Sing meets with potential employers on a deserted planet. Her employers, a pair of Quarren named Tallet and Lekket, test her by pitting her against three droidekas. She defeats the droidekas and threatens to kill the Quarren. Tallet and Lekket tell her that it was only a test and quickly relay their story and their reason for hiring her. It appears that the Dark Woman is the cause for the two Quarren's pain and suffering. Aurra Sing agrees to take the bounty.

The three Jedi track down Aurra Sing and think they have captured her when Aurra turns the tables and destroys their ship, the three Jedi barely making to the escape pod in time. They are picked up by Senator Tikkes, a Quarren who has also caused some grief for Tallet and Lekket. By "coincidence" all parties involved (Aurra Sing, the three Jedi, the Dark Woman, the Quarren) end up on the same planet. Aurra Sing plants a few traps that get rid of half of Senator Tikkes' entourage. Adi Gallia manages to take down Aurra Sing, but not for long. As Adi, Ki-Adi-Mundi and the Dark Woman search for Aurra Sing, Hett returns to the ship with the Senator. Aurra Sing sneaks aboard the ship and duels with Hett. The young Padawan manages to defeat Aurra Sing.

The story ends with Aurra Sing escaping the three Jedi and the Dark Woman taking A'Sharad Hett as her Padawan. There are several questions that come to mind after reading this story: 1) If Aurra Sing is so deadly, then why only send two Jedi and a Padawan after her? 2) If Aurra Sing is not a Jedi or a Sith, then what is she? 3) How can a Padawan defeat a vicious, Jedi-trained bounty hunter? 4) Why are the Jedi dumb enough to turn their backs on Aurra Sing for a minute thus allowing her to escape? Like I said before, it's not the most thrilling story you are ever going to read. It's enough to get you by until the next comic series comes out. Grade: C

If you must get every single Star Wars comic available, then go ahead and get it. Otherwise don't bother, you won't be missing anything. Overall Grade: B-

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(Jathniel Velázquez is working on converting his Mustang to the Millenium Falcon, complete with hyperdrive and some "special modifications.")