Review: Darth Vader Vol. 1- Vader
Quick Summary
Pros: This story provides a look at Darth Vader unlike any other. You get to see exactly what makes him who he is in the movies and why he is that way. The story and art make this feel like an extra Star Wars movie.
Cons: Some may find the evil versions of R2-D2 and C-3PO to be a little annoying and distracting from the plot.
Overall: This is not just a good Star Wars story, this is a good comic book all around. It has an excellent cast with an equally excellent story to tell. It is definitely the best Star Wars title currently being published.
Story
In all honesty, I did not expect Star Wars Vol. 1: Vader book to be as good as it was; it completely blew my expectations away. This book is something everyone can enjoy and is something that every Star Wars fan will completely love. Here fans are shown what happened in the Empire right after the first Death Star’s destruction. This behind the scenes look is full of action, dark humor, and even some surprisingly emotional moments.
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The best part about this book is that it makes use of the comic book medium to show what even the Star Wars films could not: Vader’s inner turmoil. In the films you can extrapolate that Vader has conflicted emotions about his actions and his dedication to the emperor, but this comic allows those to be seen much more clearly. Flashbacks to his past as a Jedi are constantly shown in direct conflict with his present actions, giving his curt responses a touch of sadness and tragedy to them. It makes the reader feel sorry and sympathize with Vader, while also causing them to resent and hate the Emperor. The final panel of this book is the perfect representation of all of this. Vader discovers Luke is his son in a moment that is nearly as powerful as any moment from the films.
In this series, Kieron Gillen also does an excellent job in capturing the voice and the feel of the movies. Honestly, the dialogue feels more authentic to the Original Trilogy than the Prequels did. Darth Vader is brief, forceful, and unapologetic in his speech in the most perfect way. He does such a great job capturing Vader’s voice that I doubt there is any Star Wars fan out there who read this book and didn’t hear James Earl Jones’s voice echoing through the dialogue.
One aspect of this book which I personally went back and forth on was the character’s of Triple-Zero and BT-1. At first I thought they felt out of place and thought they didn’t fit in with the serious nature of this book. However, after a while I grew to tolerate them, and after that I started to really enjoy them. They provide a level of humor and brevity that ends up enhancing the serious moments in the book. They have great potential as characters, however, I could easily sympathize with fans who do end up finding them annoying.
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Art
While the art here isn’t overly special in the world of comics, it does match the art style of the Star Wars movies almost perfectly. The pages look like they were pulled right from a film reel, especially anything with Vader in it. This type of art is perfect for this book as it further stresses that this is more of an additional look at the already beloved movies rather than a completely different story altogether.
The only negatives with the art are that a few characters look a little weird in some panels. Specifically the Emperor looks much more frog-like than he does anywhere else.
Continuity
This book takes place between the movies Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back. While you could theoretically read this without watching the movies, it is highly recommended to watch them first, as much of the story builds off of them.
The story here continues in Darth Vader Vol. 2: Shadows and Secrets.
The story here also references previous stories, detailed below:
- The book starts out with Vader telling the Emperor about a rebel attack on Cymoon One. This occurs in the main Star Wars comic, collected in Star Wars Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes (Review).
- At the end of this book Boba Fett reports back to Vader about his mission. What happened on that mission can be seen in Star Wars Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes (Review).
Collection Notes
Every issue in found in this collection can also be found in:
- Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 1, which collects:
- Star Wars: Darth Vader by Kieron Gillen & Salvador Larroca Omnibus, which collects: