Welcome to the May the 4th edition of From the House of Ideas. While this column normally drops on Tuesday (kids still say drop, I hear), I thought I’d wait for today, since Marvel just released a solid collection for the Star Wars fans out there.
Darth Vader is a villain, right? I mean, he doesn’t fall under the anti-hero banner, since he’s pretty much an unscrupulous killer of whoever or whatever stands in his way, even younglings. And while the prequel films gave us insight into Anakin Skywalker and how he eventually became Vader, there was a big gap in between the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back where so much happened to the character, most notably how he came to know who Luke Skywalker was and why Vadar was in pursuit of Luke in the first place.
That story, along side what happened between Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, was told by Kiron Gillen and Salvador Larroca beginning in 2015 over the course of some twenty-issues and change, and has been put together in the massive Darth Vader by Gillen and Larrocca Omnibus.
If you haven’t read this Darth Vader series previously, there is no better way to get it than with this book. Along with the convenience of it, the fact is the two creators have created a piece of official cannon that delivers insight into one of pop culture’s most reviled villains, answering questions that fans both casual and hardcore had wondered about. Gillen’s story is equal parts action and Empire intrigue, and Larroca’s art is the perfect vehicle for that engine.
This series also saw the arrival of new characters Black Krrsantan and Doctor Aphra, both of whom become beloved parts of the galaxy (the former was recently featured in The Book of Fett series, so hey, they’re canon!)
Darth Vadar by Gillen and Larroca Omnibus is over 700 pages of Star Wars reading, and well worth picking up this May the 4th for anyone wondering how the on-time Anakin Skywalker discovered he had a son in the first place.
