Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Star Wars: Vader Down #1 (One-Shot)
Marvel Comics
Aaron, Deodato & Martin
"Vader Down" marks the first chapter of the six-part crossover between the "Star Wars" and "Darth Vader" Marvel titles. The comic book wastes no time setting the stage for the crossover and is a fast-paced and engaging comic book. The comic is continuity free (from the other comics, but not the films) as book appeals to a wider audience. The artwork doesn't quite live up to the "Star Wars" look but provides some epic pages. Overall, this is a great start to the mini-series and this is a fantastic one-shot.
Vader is hunting down Luke Skywalker. Armed with the knowledge that he is the Rebel that blew up the Death Star and that he is his son, Vader spent a great deal of time learning the boy's identity and location. Now he is cashing in his chips and doing so without the Emperor's knowledge.
Vader finds Luke, but Luke is with a bunch of other X-Wing pilots running drills. Trapped, but not beaten, Vader fights back. Luke takes it upon himself to take Vader down. Both crash land. Vader is once again surrounded as the book ends.
It's a great comic book. Not decent, not average, not good, but great. It's among the best one-shots I've read all year. It is fast-paced, it is clear with the focus and objectives and unveils the plot in a straight-forward way despite the layers to Vader and his devious ways. The comic has a ton of action and somehow manages to make Vader the protagonist and the antagonist throughout the book. This comic appeals to long-time fans, casual ones and new ones. However, the book is not perfect.
There are definitely small problems with dialogue. Unless Vader is on his Twitter account it seems unlikely that he would utter a sentence, "Coming out of hyperspace." And X-Wing pilots (or any pilots) wouldn't state who they were, such as, "This is Blue Three." Additionally, the most recent version of the Empire Strikes Back has Darth Vader discover that he has a son from the Emperor. He could have been faking it but it seems odd that he would know he has a son and be able to keep it from the Emperor all this time. Finally, while the splash page of the pilots and droids floating in space looks cool, how many X-Wings have you seen blow up with anything in tact?
The artwork is the larger problem. Deodato relies heavily on photo references. Han giving his, "who you calling scruffy looking" face in the book is just one blatant example. However, it is difficult to criticize this choice because Deodato struggles to render Vader's mask in a consistent way and he simply cannot draw Chewbacca. His Chewie looks like the 1970s Marvel Comics version where he looks like a body builder and is missing facial hair all around his mouth. This version at least has the hair on the face. To Deodato's credit the art as a whole doesn't pull together with a consistent look in terms of line work or coloring. The book definitely presents some epic battle scenes that thankfully take up the bulk of the book. To look at the book you will be wowed by the dog fights and puzzled at some of the character depictions.
"Vader Down" is a great comic book that sets the stage for the six-part crossover. Vader is on his own looking for Luke when he comes across a nest of Rebels. Vader becomes stranded but he is still the favorite to come out on top it seems. The book throws in all the major players as the book provides something for fans of Luke, Han and Leia as well. The comic is a fast-paced, action-packed, thrill ride that delivers on the inflated $5 cover charge. This is a classic in the making and I urge old and new fans to take a look at.
4.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
