Creative Staff:
Story: Jason Aaron
Art: Mike Deodato
Colors: Frank Martin Jr..
What They Say:
Bringing together the smash-hit Star Wars and Darth Vader series! Leia comes face to face with true evil!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Just hitting the halfway mark of this event at the end of this issue, the Vader Down storyline continues here albeit with a change out that’s not a bad thing to do. Mike Deodato steps in to handle the artwork here and that lets Immonen get a bit of breathing room for the main ongoing work itself. Deodato’s no stranger here as he illustrated the really strong Vader Down opening salvo issue, so I was glad to see him return here. While I thoroughly loved what he did there, this installment just feels a bit more rushed and chaotic with the artwork, though some of that falls on the writing that throws things all over the place.
With this segment of the six-part storyline, Vader himself is kept to the background and really only appears on the final page. What we do get in regards to him is Leia gearing up along with some other Rebels to head off and try and capture him or kill him if need be. There is some nice tension presented with it since they get to hear what’s going on through the comms and that definitely is a plus. When it comes to the bulk of the book, however, it’s all about what’s going on with Luke and how Aphra is about to collect him. There’s a lot of good material here, especially in how Aphra has to try and corral both Triple-Zero and Beetee, but there’s also a lot of odd material here. Some of that feels like it’s coming from Solo as he arrives to try and rescue the kid and it’s most that some of the dialogue just feels off.
That’s not to say there isn’t fun, especially as Solo knows Aphra by reputation whereas she’s just heard of him and you know that wounds him a little. Where it gets a little cringe worthy for me is the confrontation between Beetee and Artoo as Beetee’s roll out of weaponry just takes me out of the moment as it’s too cartoonish. I do like the chaos of our killer droids and their dialogue throughout it and there are some really fun moments for both Luke and Chewie amid this. I even like the regular nudging about Artoo and his language – something that gets more attention over in Star Wars Rebels with Chopper’s supposed rough language. The droids getting as involved as they do here isn’t bad per se, but it just has that cartoonish element that when combined with Solo and Aphra’s own shenanigans just makes me cringe a bit more than I would have expected.
In Summary:
The Vader Down event is a bit light on the whole Darth Vader element but that’s not a problem since there’s more than enough going on to work with. Where it weakens, especially in comparison to the recent issues we’ve had, is that it’s more on the comedy side and cartoonish elements than we’ve had before. And that just takes me out of it when it’s done in this style. Deodato continues to be a solid addition to the roster but I don’t think the story material was the best suited for him, especially after seeing such strong work on the Vader Down special. I enjoyed the book overall as it nudgings things forward and plays to some cute nods toward the films, but it’s a bit of setup for what’s to come more than anything else.
Grade: B
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 2nd, 2015
MSRP: $3.99