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A review by rhganci
Star Wars: Darth Vader, Volume 3: The Shu-Torun War by Kieron Gillen
3.0
(2.5 stars) I hate to say this--I hate to say this--but Darth Vader is currently my least favorite Star Wars comic book title to such a degree that I have found myself hurrying through these last few issues just to get to something Darth Vader-y. There are a few problems that stand out each month that have really been taking me out of these "adventure" the storytellers are sending Vader on:
1. Writer Gillen seems intent on introducing as many cheeky, quirky, or otherwise "diverse" secondary characters as he possibly can. I was okay with Aphra for a while, but the droids and their weird, murderous antics have become a distraction to the book's narrative, and the multitude of Frankenstein-like experiment-foes that Vader has had to square off with has made the book feel cluttered. None of these characters seem a match for Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, and with all the page-time they're getting, the book seems to be more about them than it does about Vader.
2. Darth Vader has, apparently, forgotten all about the big news that Boba Fett delivered to him in issue #6. Nothing he does here seems related to that major revelatory moment in the slightest.
3. The way in which Salvador Larocca shades his own artwork makes everything look like it has little hair follicles growing out of it. This is my issue. I'm dealing with it.
"The Shu-Torun War" wasn't a bad story--I liked the way it portrayed the Empire's dealing with political unrest that wasn't related to the Rebellion in any way, and there was a great moment in issue #19 about how painful it must be to get burnt by lava--but overall it seemed to be out of place with the previous issues of the book, and its connectedness to the years between the movies. It seems like the adventure of a much younger Vader, not one on the brink of personal and moral crisis. This disconnect made for an uneven read, and while it might be a good look for the diligent followers of the Star Wars titles, it's not a must-read by any means.
1. Writer Gillen seems intent on introducing as many cheeky, quirky, or otherwise "diverse" secondary characters as he possibly can. I was okay with Aphra for a while, but the droids and their weird, murderous antics have become a distraction to the book's narrative, and the multitude of Frankenstein-like experiment-foes that Vader has had to square off with has made the book feel cluttered. None of these characters seem a match for Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, and with all the page-time they're getting, the book seems to be more about them than it does about Vader.
2. Darth Vader has, apparently, forgotten all about the big news that Boba Fett delivered to him in issue #6. Nothing he does here seems related to that major revelatory moment in the slightest.
3. The way in which Salvador Larocca shades his own artwork makes everything look like it has little hair follicles growing out of it. This is my issue. I'm dealing with it.
"The Shu-Torun War" wasn't a bad story--I liked the way it portrayed the Empire's dealing with political unrest that wasn't related to the Rebellion in any way, and there was a great moment in issue #19 about how painful it must be to get burnt by lava--but overall it seemed to be out of place with the previous issues of the book, and its connectedness to the years between the movies. It seems like the adventure of a much younger Vader, not one on the brink of personal and moral crisis. This disconnect made for an uneven read, and while it might be a good look for the diligent followers of the Star Wars titles, it's not a must-read by any means.