Happy May the 4th! Today is a great day to read some Star Wars comic books, which is what I wound up doing over the course of the weekend. ComiXology is having a massive Star Wars sale, including deep discounts on Legends titles, IDW’s Star Wars Adventures, and the various relaunched Marvel series’.
For the later, there are so many books to choose from, but I knew exactly where I wanted to look, and that was at Charles Soule’s Darth Vader series. Soule, who is a fantastic writer whose work I’ve enjoyed for years now, had been getting raves for this series, and having blitzed through the two omnibuses that collected Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith. The series picks up directly following the end of Revenge of the Sith, with Emperor Palpatine saving the former Anakin Skywalker’s life following his battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi that left him mutilated and near death. From their we watch as Darth Vader claims his red lightsaber and is tasked with tracking down any remaining Jedi following Order 66.
The great thing about the current crop of Marvel titles is that they’re considered part of canon, and seeing what happens in the aftermath of Revenge of the Sith is a compelling story, wonderfully told by Soule. The tone of Darth Vader is expertly captured and, while he’s the lead character of the series, he’s never painted in some sort of sympathetic light. And even though it’s easy enough to predict various outcomes of conflicts and battles, Soule and artist Giuseppe Camuncoli tell the stories in this series so well, I found myself still engaged and invested.
There are so many Star Wars stories to choose from, but I guarantee you can’t go wrong this May the 4th reading Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith.
Star Wars wasn’t the only thing I was reading this week, of course. There were also new books that captured my eye. First of was the Hellfire Gala Official Guide, which is a free title that I actually read through in it’s entirety. Mainly because it’s more image based, with looks at the various outfits that our favourite mutants will be wearing for the big event. It’s a quick and easy book to breeze through, but I was definitely impressed by the design work by all the artists involved. Marvel has done an excellent job hyping up the event, and the Hellfire Gala Official Guide is a nice prep for the main event.
Finally, The Marvels is a new series written by Kurt Busiek and illustrated by Yildiray Cinar that’s inspired by Busiek and Alex Ross’ groundbreaking series Marvels.
The book veers through different eras and characters to tell a larger story. There are familiar faces liked Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, Captain America, and others, while new characters are also introduced that will seemingly have an impact. The Marvels didn’t immediately grab me from page one; I wasn’t exactly sure where Busiek was taking me. However, by the middle of the book and the introduction of a tourist ideas that’s brilliant, I was right into the story. Busiek has the innate ability to capture the voices of all the characters in the Marvel Universe in a way that few others do. That talent shines through the story, thanks in no small part as well by Cinar’s gorgeous outwork. Like the best books, by the end of The Marvels #1 I was eager to see what happens next.
