The lessons begin to grow more dangerous.
Creative Staff:
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Salvador Larroca
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
What They Say:
Would you follow Darth Vader into war? Better that than to be against him. A lesson the Ore Barons are about to learn…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Darth Vader series delighted me with its return to the world of Shu-Torun last time around after giving us our first exposure to it in a solid annual previously. Annuals tend to be crapshoots but using it as a foundational piece for something in the main series works well. We were able to go into this arc with a better understanding of how the world works and quirks of the politics of it in a good way, making it easier to just work through the main story issues that Gillen has been crafting in general. The only downside is that Aphra continues to be missing after the last arc, though at least we’re getting some good material out of her from the main Star Wars ongoing series. Suffice to say, I’m pulling for her own series if she survives all of this.
With Vader having made quite the example of one of the regions the last time around the impact of it has definitely been felt. Trios herself is unnerved by it but Vader has made clear how he operates and that this will bring the ore barons to heel quicker than any other methods. While Vader can be subtle with his plotting and methods as we’ve seen, when it comes to the business of the Empire he’s more of a hammer in these regards. Not too surprising is that the ore barons see Trios having forgotten her place in the scheme of things with how it’s all unfolded and that has the senior one, Rubix, going even bigger against her in order to remind her. It’s a great kind of lava-submarine attack that gets underway with the citadel that has a lot of history for the peoples here and it’s a thoroughly engaging piece to watch how Vader takes it down, giving the twins a chance to show what they can do as well.
The action component of the book is solid and it definitely has some great visual elements to it that Larroca brings to the page. There’s moments where it feels like we’re getting callbacks to the third movie where Anakin’s fate changed dramatically, but any lava based world will do that. The flow of the action is really good, though the twins are such non-entities that they don’t really stand out visually here. What I do like in the back half of the book that we get is a sequence with Tagge working with Cylo to find a way to end Vader as a threat. Tagge’s been a solid foil to have in the mix with his particular style and distaste for Vader so seeing him utilize Cylo, who has his deep seated issues with Vader himself, works really well in adding a layer of mystery to what’s to come. Part of it is just hoping to see Vader put his lightsaber through either of Cylo’s eyes in order to end that threat once and for all.
In Summary:
The Shu-Torun arc continues on here and it’s once again solidly engaging to read. Gillen and Larroca are killing it here as the two are in sync and presenting some fantastic looking work with great detail in both story and artwork. This storyline is in its second chapter but when you add in the backstory of the annual it becomes something more. I’m loving the detail of this world and its oddness with the barons and their view of how the galaxy works while also bringing in the element of Vader and his style as well as that of Tagge and Cylo. The small bit we get with regards to Aphra isn’t bad but it’s certainly a delicious tease that made me wonder if I missed things in the other book before the truth was revealed. Good stuff all around here that leaves me wanting more.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: March 2nd, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
