A young character in the Star Wars Universe, Doctor Aphra made her debut in Star Wars: Darth Vader #3 in March 2015. Created by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Salavador Larroca and editors Jordan D. White and Heather Antos, she was a breakout character and soon will go to headline her own title.
Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, called Doctor Aphra, is a criminal archaeologist who is recruited by Darth Vader to help him get an army of droids. Aphra is quickly established as an anti-heroine, a morally ambiguous and sometimes unreliable character who tends to use people to serve her own interests, but also makes mistakes that put her in grave danger. If she succeeds to stay alive, it’s simply because Aphra is quite smart and is good at improvisation.
The best way to become familiar with Aphra is, of course, to read her adventures following this Doctor Aphra reading order! For an expanded experience, check out our Star Wars Canon Comics Reading order.
Doctor Aphra Reading Order, Omnibus Edition
Meet the galaxy’s most daring rogue archaeologist as she dances between the dark side and the light! Marvel collects the adventures of Doctor Aphra in an omnibus, always a great way to discover a character:
- Doctor Aphra Omnibus Vol. 1
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2016) #1-40; Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Annual (2017) #1-3; Darth Vader (2015) #3-4, #8, 21, #25; Star Wars (2015) #13, #19, #31-32; Star Wars: The Screaming Citadel (2017) #1; material from Star Wars: Empire Ascendant (2020) #1 - Doctor Aphra Omnibus Vol. 2
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) #1-25.
Doctor Aphra Reading Order:
Doctor Aphra, Breakout Character in Darth Vader
Doctor Aphra is introduced in the Star Universe in the series Darth Vader by the creative team of Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larroca, set between the events of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.
Though written later by Gillen, you can also check out the short story “The Trigger” taking place during the 1977 Star Wars movie. There is also Doctor Aphra: An Audiobook Original, written by Sarah Kuhn with Emily Woo Zeller as the voice of Doctor Aphra, which is simply an adaptation of Aphra’s introduction in the comics.
- The Trigger
Short story published in From a Certain Point of View - Darth Vader Vol. 1: Vader
Collects Darth Vader #1-6. - Darth Vader Vol. 2: Shadows and Secrets
Collects Darth Vader #7-12 - Vader Down
Collects Star Wars: Vader Down #1, Star Wars (2015) #13-14, Darth Vader #13-15 - Star Wars Vol. 3: Rebel Jail
Collects Star Wars (2015) Annual #1, #15-19. - Darth Vader Vol. 3: The Shu-Torun War
Collects Darth Vader Annual #1, Darth Vader #16-19. - Darth Vader Vol. 4: End of Games
Collects Darth Vader #20-25. - Galaxy’s Edge
Collects Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge #1-5. Though the main story takes place far away in the timeline, Doctor Aphra appears in flashbacks in issues #3-5.
Doctor Aphra by Kieron Gillen and Simon Spurrier
She survived Darth Vader! Now, Doctor Aphra is the star of her own comics! With the droids 0-0-0 and BT-1 in tow, she’s off in search of rare artifacts from the galactic center to the Outer Rim and everywhere in between. Aphra’s got debts to pay after all. Just as long as she can stay one step ahead of the Empire, some Bounty Hunters and just about everyone else in the galaxy!
- Doctor Aphra Vol. 1: Aphra
Collects Doctor Aphra #1-6. - The Screaming Citadel
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #7-8, Star Wars (2015) #31-32, Star Wars: The Screaming Citadel #1. - Doctor Aphra Vol. 2: Doctor Aphra and The Enormous Profit
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #9-13, Annual #1. - Doctor Aphra Annual #2 (collected in Doctor Aphra Vol. 4, see below)
- Doctor Aphra Vol. 3: Remastered
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #14-19. - Doctor Aphra Vol. 4: The Catastrophe Con
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #20-25. - Doctor Aphra Vol. 5: Worst Among Equals
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #26-31, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Annual #2 - Doctor Aphra Vol. 6: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #32-36. - Doctor Aphra Annual #3 (collected in Doctor Aphra Vol. 7, see below)
- Doctor Aphra Vol. 7: A Rogue’s End
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2016) #37-40, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Annual (2016) #3 and material from Star Wars: Empire Ascendant (2019) #1. - Empire Ascendant #1 (collected in Star Wars Vol. 13, see above)
Doctor Aphra Vol. 2 by Alyssa Wong
- Doctor Aphra Vol. 1: Fortune and Fate
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) #1-5. - Star Wars: Bounty Hunters (2020) #1
Collected in Bounty Hunters Vol. 1: Galaxy’s Deadliest - Doctor Aphra Vol. 2: The Engine Job
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) #6-10. - War of the Bounty Hunters
Collects Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha (2021) #1, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters (2021) #1-5. See our War of the Bounty Hunters reading order for more information. - Doctor Aphra Vol. 3: War of the Bounty Hunters
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) #11-15. - Doctor Aphra Vol. 4: Crimson Reign
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) #16-20. Part of the Crimson Reign event, the follow-up to War of the Bounty Hunters - Doctor Aphra Vol. 5: The Spark Eternal
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) #21-25 - Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Vol. 6: Ascendant
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) #26-31. Part of the Hidden Empire event, the conclusion to the event trilogy. - Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Vol. 7: Dark Droids
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) #32-39. Part of the Dark Droids event.