An extended start to the crossover arc.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jason Aaron
Art: Mike Deodato
Colors: Frank Martin Jr.
What They Say:
When Darth Vader accidentally finds himself facing off against the Rebel Fleet on his own, the rebels will learn the true strength of the Dark Side of the Force! Once Vader crashes on a nearby planet, the Rebellion is willing to risk everything for this once-in-a-lifetime chance to take out one of their biggest enemies! Luke! Vader! Leia! Aphra! Han! Chewie! And all manner of Droid, good and evil!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
At this stage in my comic collecting life, I’m extremely wary of any $5 books – especially digitally since there are no discounts involved. Where they’ll get me each and every time is with a Star Wars book though. And that’s because they’ve earned it so far this year with the writing teams that have put out some fantastic entertainment. With Vader Down, we get the first crossover arc in full underway with this standalone issue to draw folks in before weaving into the other titles. It has the heavy lifting to do yet manages to it with ease, even while there are two ongoing series with twelve issues each out there of stories that builds into this.
The book picks up from where the last main Darth Vader book ended as we get our lead character heading off to Vrogas Vas in search of where Skywalker is. Vader and Aphra have paid some interesting prices for the information and his goal of getting to the pilot behind the destruction of the Death Star is part of a race of sorts with Karbin, the Emperor’s current hand-picked favorite that Vader sees as trying to take away some of his own standing in the Empire. Vader is certainly motivated, but you also know he has his own reasons for all of this as he’s learned a good bit along the way, realizing who Luke is and what was told to him by the Emperor in the past. It doesn’t change his allegiances, but there’s not a totality there that might have been before, at least from our understanding.
What this issue has to do is to set up the main thrust of events with several characters while keeping Vader as the main focus. His arrival is one that reminds you of his confidence and power as Vrogas Vas is a secret Rebellion fuel supply planet and there are a couple dozen X-Wings doing maneuvers in orbit there when he comes out of hyperspace. What we get are some gorgeous spreads from Mike Deodato in bringing this to life. Space combat sequences are difficult to really give a good sense of motion or strategy in illustration form but he does it in a really engaging way combined with the dialogue from the various pilots involved. Vader’s presence alone ramps up the intensity and seeing him use the Force along the way to survive it is really spot on. Similarly, we get to see Luke’s different kind of intensity as he wants to protect everyone to the point of seeming self-sacrifice. That leads to the event’s title, of course, but it’s handled beautifully here.
In bringing everyone down to a surface level on Vrogas Vas we’re going to be able to see a different side of Vader, one that’s not presented in the movies where he’s more of a menace as opposed to a direct threat to ground troops. He has his moments in the films, but here amid a company of Rebels? That’s a whole other game. And having Luke crashed on the planet as well leaves you wondering if there’s going to be a new meeting between them that you can factor into the larger film continuity. Naturally, others are going to join the party as well as we see Han and Leia being drawn in and I’m looking forward to the excitement of seeing what Aphra brings to it as well, though more to see what Beetee will do once given free rein to kill indiscriminately…
In Summary:
The story setup here is spot on as it serves both as a strong launching point for people new to the books but familiar with the characters while also serving as a strong bit of story progression from both ongoings, though heavily towards the Vader series. Jason Aaron has found his groove recently in the main book and that shows here. The real “surprise” for me here is seeing Mike Deodato’s artwork on the book. I’ve enjoyed his artwork before, but man, this just feels like he’s put absolutely everything into it as a kind of culminating point to show how big he can go. It’s the kind of book where I’m glad I’m reading digitally so I can pinch and zoom to really look at the details up close. This is a strikingly beautiful work with great captures of the actors blended in while still being its own thing. Forget Secret Wars, this is the event of 2015 to be reading.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: November 18th, 2015
MSRP: $4.99
