Being assigned to watch Vader is not in your best health.
Creative Staff:
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Salvador Larroca
What They Say:
Ever since Darth Vader made his first on-screen appearance, he became one of the most popular villains to ever haunt an audience’s dreams! Now, follow Vader straight from the ending of “Star Wars: A New Hope” into his own series, showing the Empire’s war with the Rebel Alliance from the other side!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The opening installment of the Darth Vader series is one that got me more enthused than the main Star Wars series that Marvel kicked off simply because it looks like the tone was captured in a more engaging way and the potential to explore some really intriguing areas was made clear. The second issue, which isn’t double-sized of course, follows up the basic events of the first and establishes things in a rather enjoyable way here as we watch events from the other side, something that doesn’t quite paint the Empire as good guys in a way, but makes it clear that there’s more to them than just our hardened view of them through the eyes of the Rebels. And that in itself is what makes this series so potentially strong as it can really shift your view of things, even while keeping the core of it strong.
Vader’s position having been changed after the loss of the Death Star is what’s driving things at the moment as he’s not in command, though it’s obvious that he’s definitely still in control. Grand General Tagge, one of the best things to come out of the book so far, is making sure that his own plans are moving forward as he has a real shot at making something of himself now that Tarkin and his folly of the Death Star are done and over with. I love the little discussion that’s had about how Tarkin was a man of vision while Vader calls Tagge a man of graphs and charts, but there’s also this real sense that Tagge likely has the better plan, to use the resources towards growing the fleet of super star destroyers rather than these larger projects like the Death Star, so they can essentially flood the starways.
With the dynamic of the relationship between Vader and Tagge part of the fun here, we see how Tagge has assigned an adjutant to Vader to keep an eye on things and that has Tagge getting first hand perspective of the mission Vader’s on to chase after some pirates that absconding with Imperial weapons through the use of a droid ship. This is a welcome tie back to some of the Clone Wars era machines as well as more present day ships, and seeing the little twists and turns that play out definitely makes it exciting to read. Vader’s not one to be trifled with and while he would suffer at the leash of Tarkin, because he was a man of vision – something that Anakin was always taken by – Tagge doesn’t earn that respect and so he orchestrates events in his own favor, while allowing Tagge to think he has the upperhand instead. It’s well played and provides for a great dance between the two men to watch.
In Summary:
While we get a mostly standalone story here, it’s one that’s mixed into the bigger picture that’s going on with several threads to pick up and explore along the way. The series is one that has started off strong in both writing and artwork and it’s easy to imagine all the talent involved is just loving being able to participate in it because it shows so well in each panel on each page. The main draw for me right now is definitely events with Tagge and Vader, though I’ll be curious to see how other aspects pick up in his quest to find out more about Luke and Vader’s own intent to get back into the Emperor’s good graces. There’s a whole galaxy to explore out there and the book is definitely itching to start grappling with it. Very good stuff and definitely the perfect follow-up to the first issue.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: February 25th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
