Star Wars Darth Vader #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Greg Pak
Art by Raffaele Ienco
Colors by Neeraj Menon
Letters by Joe Caramagna
The Rundown: In the wake of his encounter with Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader will go on a hunt through the young Jedi’s past and re-live some bitter truths.
After revealing to Luke Skywalker that he was his father, Darth Vader is both impressed by and angry at the boy for his action on Bespin. When he his friends escape, Vader contemplates what made Luke so weak in his estimation and decides to take his personal shuttle to find out. Taking a small group of death troopers and a forensics droid with him, Vader begins a mission of revenge against those who made his son so weak and everyone who hid him from Vader in the first place.
His first stop, Tatooine.
After finding no one alive who can answer to him, Vader will have to be content with taking out a group of thieves attemting to rob his ship and crew. His next stop will take him to Coruscant and the former apartment of Padme Amidala. When the droid discovers hidden data in the apartment, Vader and his crew discover a location hidden from him and a discovery no one expected all the while Vader is haunted by visions of his past.
The Story: Well crafted, well paced and entertaining, Greg Pak delivers a story that has some intriguing moments throughout leading to an unexpected and surprising cliffhanger ending. The story is interesting and bold. Having Vader go on a mission of vengeance is an engaging way to showcase the duality of the character and reconcile both his past and present. Hopefully, the story will go deeper into the Vader’s psychological journey as his hunt yields more surprises and revelations for the reader.
The Art: Ienco delivers some stunning art in this first issue. The visuals have the look and feel of previous Star Wars stories and that is comforting to fans of this universe visually. Ienco brings some great visual touches throughout and the point of view panels from Vader’s perspective are remarkable.