Scan barcode
A review by sil_the_lobster
Star Wars: Darth Vader, Volume 2: Shadows and Secrets by
3.0
Hm. How do I rate this? After raving and fangirling like crazy over Vol. 1 I'm not so sure about Vol. 2. While the artwork still is stunning and powerful and keeps me in fangirl mode, the story as such is not very convincing. There's a lot of eye for detail, e.g. Gillen excels at catching Vader's "voice" (you can hear his basso when you read his lines) and Triple Zero has some excellent lines ("Aren't you adorable? I so love it when they play their parts.") - but the overall story is not really convincing.
I'm alright with Vader agreeing to report to Tagge and to drag Thanoth along because he's not bowing to bureaucracy as such, but he's bowing to the Emperor's will - "it's as the Emperor wills it". I'm also alright with him cooking up his own agenda because he wants/needs to find out about that mysterious pilot who goes by the name of Skywalker - he realises his master has blatantly lied to him when he told him that his child has died along with Padmé, and of course that would infuriate him and of course he will not bow to the Emperor's will here. I will even accept the fact that Vader is running "bitch errands" (as another reviewer has put it) for the Empire because... it's as the Emperor wills it. Fine so far.
But. Here come his potential replacements, creatures so utterly unbelievable and even ridiculous that I half expected Darth Vader to burst out laughing. That Ackbar/Grievous thing? What's that supposed to be? While Ackbar is respectable and capable and even
majestic and while Grievous is scary in a sort of arachnoid way (coughing and all), this creature is just, yeuch... so unworthy of its role as Vader's enemy. The murderous twins? Well. Sparring fodder for the Dark Lord. I forgot the rest of the bunch already, so impressed was I by them.
Aphra. While I do like her and her murderous droids (Triple Zero makes me giggle because I keep hearing C3PO's voice with his lines), she does take a little too much space here. It's a Vader comic, not an Aphra comic. I'm fairly certain she will not survive the series which is a shame, because give her her own series and let her wander off exploring the remote parts of the Outer Rims, digging up all kinds of weird things and giving Triple Zero all kinds of chances to bleed organic things. So: a little too much Aphra here for my taste.
Thanoth. Morgan Freeman looks, Samuel Jackson cool, Sherlock Holmes deductions. All good. And yet, at the end, he yields to Vader's mild suggestion that Aphra is not the thief they're looking for ("These are not the droids you're looking for" - anyone?). That's a bit too easy, isn't it, for someone whose mind is that sharp? And yet, I like him and I hope he won't be disposed of quite as quickly as his predecessor. There's room for improvement, as the saying goes.
Tagge. For some reason, I like him. Maybe it's because I've worked with people of his kind for so long that he's like a familiar face, someone I personally know. Massive bureaucrat, massive smart-arse, but hey, GRAND General and in command. Graphs and all. So, yay Tagge.
Vader himself doesn't display much charisma here. There's such depth and so many layers to his personality that make him rise above the average horde of villains, some of which were very cleverly shown in Vol. 1 in either very brief flashbacks or Force-cracking of windows. Here, he's more in a supporting role and that annoys me. He doesn't have to be in every single picture but when I read a story featuring Darth Vader as the main character then I expect the story to revolve around him - know what I mean? Here, he's just one of many and the fangirl in me shrieks with annoyance.
I'm giving this three stars in total - five for the breathtaking artwork, minus 2 for the story being a little weak. Still, it's enjoyable enough and I'm much looking forward to reading Vader Down.
(Yep, I'm binge-reading Volumes 1-3 plus Vader Down, and my greedy little heart rejoices.)
I'm alright with Vader agreeing to report to Tagge and to drag Thanoth along because he's not bowing to bureaucracy as such, but he's bowing to the Emperor's will - "it's as the Emperor wills it". I'm also alright with him cooking up his own agenda because he wants/needs to find out about that mysterious pilot who goes by the name of Skywalker - he realises his master has blatantly lied to him when he told him that his child has died along with Padmé, and of course that would infuriate him and of course he will not bow to the Emperor's will here. I will even accept the fact that Vader is running "bitch errands" (as another reviewer has put it) for the Empire because... it's as the Emperor wills it. Fine so far.
But. Here come his potential replacements, creatures so utterly unbelievable and even ridiculous that I half expected Darth Vader to burst out laughing. That Ackbar/Grievous thing? What's that supposed to be? While Ackbar is respectable and capable and even
majestic and while Grievous is scary in a sort of arachnoid way (coughing and all), this creature is just, yeuch... so unworthy of its role as Vader's enemy. The murderous twins? Well. Sparring fodder for the Dark Lord. I forgot the rest of the bunch already, so impressed was I by them.
Aphra. While I do like her and her murderous droids (Triple Zero makes me giggle because I keep hearing C3PO's voice with his lines), she does take a little too much space here. It's a Vader comic, not an Aphra comic. I'm fairly certain she will not survive the series which is a shame, because give her her own series and let her wander off exploring the remote parts of the Outer Rims, digging up all kinds of weird things and giving Triple Zero all kinds of chances to bleed organic things. So: a little too much Aphra here for my taste.
Thanoth. Morgan Freeman looks, Samuel Jackson cool, Sherlock Holmes deductions. All good. And yet, at the end, he yields to Vader's mild suggestion that Aphra is not the thief they're looking for ("These are not the droids you're looking for" - anyone?). That's a bit too easy, isn't it, for someone whose mind is that sharp? And yet, I like him and I hope he won't be disposed of quite as quickly as his predecessor. There's room for improvement, as the saying goes.
Tagge. For some reason, I like him. Maybe it's because I've worked with people of his kind for so long that he's like a familiar face, someone I personally know. Massive bureaucrat, massive smart-arse, but hey, GRAND General and in command. Graphs and all. So, yay Tagge.
Vader himself doesn't display much charisma here. There's such depth and so many layers to his personality that make him rise above the average horde of villains, some of which were very cleverly shown in Vol. 1 in either very brief flashbacks or Force-cracking of windows. Here, he's more in a supporting role and that annoys me. He doesn't have to be in every single picture but when I read a story featuring Darth Vader as the main character then I expect the story to revolve around him - know what I mean? Here, he's just one of many and the fangirl in me shrieks with annoyance.
I'm giving this three stars in total - five for the breathtaking artwork, minus 2 for the story being a little weak. Still, it's enjoyable enough and I'm much looking forward to reading Vader Down.
(Yep, I'm binge-reading Volumes 1-3 plus Vader Down, and my greedy little heart rejoices.)