Star Wars: Darth Vader Volume 1 - Vader

by Kieron Gillen

Salvador Larroca (Artist), Kieron Gillen (Script Writer), Al Milgrom (Illustrator), and Adi Granov (Cover Designer)

The original Dark Lord of the Sith stars in his first ongoing series! Ever since Darth Vader's first on-screen appearance, he has become one of pop-culture's most popular villains. Now, follow Vader straight from the ending of A NEW HOPE (and the pages of the new STAR WARS comic book) into his own solo adventures - showing the Empire's war with the Rebel Alliance from the other side! But when a Dark Lord needs help, who can he turn to? As Vader pursues a very personal vengeance against the Rebels and investigates the Emperor's secret machinations, he clashes with weapons scavenger Aphra and deadly Battle Droids, and returns to Geonosis to build an army. But some very powerful people don't want him to learn the truths he seeks! Guest-starring Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett and more! Collecting DARTH VADER #1-6.

• ISBN10: 0785192557
• ISBN13: 9780785192558
• Publish Date: 6 October 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Marvel Comics
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 160
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780785192558

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

This week I finally caved and started reading through Darth Vader (courtesy of Marvel Unlimited: the biggest supporter for comic binge reading). So I’m a little behind on the times, but I’m really glad I’m finally getting around to reading it, because it has been fantastic! No additional reading is needed to understand what’s going on here, as all the context is provided within the first couple of pages (I love it when that happens). This is especially true if you’ve seen all the movies (and if you haven’t, you’re probably not likely to want to read the comics anyway?).



So there’s obviously not a ton of comics out there where the perspective is without a shadow of a doubt the bad guy, but this is one of them. Despite that I found myself really enjoying the read, as I got to see more of the conflict between him and Palpatine as well as all the efforts he made to get his hands on Skywalker (more on both of those later). So if you’re finding yourself resistant to giving this series a try for that reason, maybe consider those little tidbits.
A surprising amount occurred in volume one, so I’ll just focus on the highlights. For starters, Palpatine is a sneaky bastard. He’s either openly considering replacing Darth Vader, or (more likely, if you ask me) setting Darth Vader up to believe that’s the cause, making it yet another test. Considering Vader’s reaction, I’m more than willing to believe the latter. It’s hard to believe anything other than that Palpatine is playing the long game (as he always does), plus having read some of the novels I know how fond he is of testing Vader (his loyalties, his abilities, you name it).
Young, quirky Aphra was introduced already, along with her murdering robot pals (whom I adore, fyi, as they’re hilarious). I actually think that Triple Zero got one of the best lines of the volume (“Oh! Well then it’s good news and good news!”). I’m still curious about Black Krrsantan, whom I know ends up running with Aphra at a later point in the series.
Other moments worth mentioning: Boba Fett cameo! Vader hires him to track down and catch Skywalker (before he knew the kid’s name, that is). Vader’s reaction to that bit of news was…interesting. I highly recommend looking into it yourself, as it’s worth seeing (even if you just google the images for those pages).


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[inlibrisveritas]

Darth Vader Vol. 1 is the graphic novel I had hoped it would be, with plenty of story to add depth to the movies and a lot of moments that reminded me why Darth Vader is one of my favorite Star Wars characters.

Darth Vader from the movies is a masked, villian…who is willing to go drastic means to further the goal of the Emperor…and only in the end do you see that he as actually a person with wants and desires of his own. That was a big flaw for me in those movies, because WHO is Darth Vader? So it’s nice to see the new EU roll out stories like this one. Vader is portrayed as a true danger, who position is in constant flux thanks to the Sith code. He has to rise above and adapt to new obstacles to remain an ally (and by relation, a worthy rivil) to the Emperor, all while battled back his past. There is nothing wrong with a shadowy big bad, but you don’t get true villainy until you understand his mindset. So it’s awesome to see him think about his past with Padme and to get to know his actual frustrations with serving a man who values constant strength and cunning.

The story is really great as well. Vader’s not in the best place when it comes to the Emperor’s graces after the destruction of the first Death Star, and they are at odds when it comes to what should be done. We get to see some more of the Emperor’s plans that he hasn’t disclosed, and Vader’s rather head on way with dealing with the deception. The addition of Triple-Zero, Bee-Tee, and Alphra were really great as well…and bring a bit of slight off humor to the book. Triple-Zero and Bee-tee are basically C-3P0 and R2-D2 gone horribly wrong. They are the perfect anti-thesis to the heroic droids, as they have a taste for murder. Alphra is the answer to Vader’s quiet cold dominance. She’s super talkative, a bit all over the place, and has a little touch of Indiana Jones in her. I liked her, but I do admit it’s a bit weird to see a Vader fangirl with such an out there personality…then again I suppose it’s basically a mirror to real world fangirls (myself included).

The art for the most part is fantastic. It has plenty of details and bright colors, but never loses that dark shadowy feel that seem wholly necessary for the story. There were only a few times where I questioned why they drew a panel a certain way…particularly towards the end.

I can’t wait to read the next volume! It’s definitely off to a great start.