@offthegeekend
Alright, you know why you are here. You want to know how this new series about Darth Vader, one of the most popular villains in history, pans out in the latest of Star Wars comics.
Proper nods to the original trilogy are given, as this takes place between my favorite, Empire Strikes Back, and the sixth installment in the franchise, Return of the Jedi. Drawn by Raffaele Ienco and Colored by Neeraj Menon, this new series takes us to a point in the saga that has not yet been explored.
Star Wars: Darth Vader takes place during a point I never knew I wanted to know about, and now I’m invested.
Lord Vader takes it upon himself to track down the Skywalker family and those that have betrayed him, and uncovering mysteries unknown to him since his full transformation into the Sith Lord as we known him. What he finds out will not only surprise him, but you as well.
I won’t give away any spoilers; but after reading it twice I’m still not sure how to process it. It’s definitely a surprise and shock to the system. Greg Pak‘s writing pulled me in and has me ready for the second issue. I’m anxiously awaiting the follow-up to see what comes from the last page of this new series. All fans need to grab a copy and see for themselves what Lord Vader finds in his search for answers and vengeance. 4.5/5 Bibles.
-Patrick Obloy
@TheDeacon2814
Let’s get this out of the way: I know nothing about the Conan character other than the ‘92 cartoon, Conan the Adventurer (which is awesome, btw), or his history; I certainly don’t know what backstory there may or may not be leading into this series. But– it didn’t matter. I learned all I need to know from the first few panels.
This issue is the beginning of the same “fish out of water” story we’ve seen a dozen times… Aquaman coming to the surface world, Thor coming to earth, etc… but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Conan arrives in Las Vegas determined to slay an evil wizard for… reasons? I’m sure we’ll find out later. He needs money however, so he tries to rob an armored car and gets tased; a thief named Nyla bails him out and they split the cash. She talks him into helping with another heist to rob a “bad man”
Conan was never good a subtlety though.
So, a heist becomes smash and grab as our mighty warrior climbs the hotel and knocks out the guards. They get to their prize and predictably — it’s already been stolen — less predictably, by Ms Felica Hardy, one of my personal favorite Spidey foils: The Black Cat. I hadn’t realize this was a Marvel comic until this point (despite the big ol’ Marvel logo on the cover).
The last panel however is the most interesting, if still predictable… It turns out that this whole thing was set up by the devil–literally. Mephisto has orchestrated this whole thing, including bringing Conan here, and he plans on manipulating our Cimmerian into freeing him from wherever he’s trapped this time. It’s a familiar premise, and it works, so I can’t knock it, plus the artwork is on-point. While I’m not waiting at the edge of my seat for the next issue, I might still check it out. 3.5/5 Bibles.
-Dave Story
I honestly don’t know what to say about this one. Doctor Strange goes to the mutant island to find Magick because he fears Kulan Gath is back. Then we get 60 pages that are literally 2 comic books from the 60s that we’ve all read. It jumps back to now, long enough for them to jump through a portal.
With Savage Avengers #0, there was nothing new, nothing exciting. Rather, it was a very lazy way of introducing a new saga. They could have given a brief rundown of the past, and started moving forward instead of only giving us 4 pages of new material. 1.5/5 Bibles (half a point because Magick looked awesome!)
-Jimmy Cupps