– Spoiler Review –
The ghoulish fun of the Vader’s Castle series of IDW comics returns for an epic-sized 2020 one-shot issue, titled Shadow of Vader’s Castle, and these Halloween frights really delight despite the shorter length this year!
When IDW started the Vader’s Castle series to celebrate the spookiness of Halloween three years ago, I could only hope they’d bring it back for another year. I’ve been here or there on the 5 issue length of the miniseries due to the framing story at times, though making it weekly typical keeps it negligible, but I was certainly disappointed to see Shadow of Vader’s Castle only be a one-shot this year, no matter its expanded page count. As much as I look forward to full 5 weeks of scares again, Shadow of Vader’s Castle felt like the perfect length, keeping the stories tight, the framing story in focus more, and scares more consistent.
Cavan Scott, the series’ resident scare writer extraordinaire, finds a lot of strength, and haunts, in the one-shot’s focus on a larger framing story and shorter spooky tales. In the framing story, two young Mustafarians decide they want to rid their planet of the blight and curse that is Vader’s Castle, as the Rebellion has told the galaxy of its defeat of the Empire at Endor, including the death of Darth Vader himself. Well, one is less eager to commit than the other, the voice of reason pulled along by the stronger-headed friend. An old Mustafarian who had a brief run-in with Anakin shortly after his massacre of the Trade Federation and prior to Padmé/Obi-Wan’s arrival, shown in an spooky, evocative opening prologue, even warns them against the curses and natural gases pumping through the Castle, but Giggek is too eager to be a hero and doesn’t listen, pulling his friend Tuttel along. They share a story or two during their expedition and mission of blowing up the Castle, only to run into a familiar, freaky face who tries to derail their plans. Giggek ends up making the sacrifice to destroy the Castle and bring it down the man they find inside…or so they thought. More on that soon!
For the scary stories told, I’ll start with the prologue/Uncle Lellis’, as they are connected in a sense, making me happy they didn’t put the prologue in Star Wars Adventures #2 (Vol. 2) as originally planned, as it certainly flows better together. As I mentioned, the opening prologue takes place in a narrow window of Lord Vader before he has to don the armor, as the faces of his past haunt him over his dark, twisted decisions, thanks to the noxious natural gas from Mustafar. Lellis, wearing a mining mask, tries to save a young Mustafarian eager to meet the Jedi, but it’s only Anakin’s anger at the voices swirling around him that pushes them both out of harm’s way. Vader remembers the effects of the gas, still allowing it to permeate his Castle many years later, using it to bend someone to his will as a servant. It was a cool surprise to meet an Imperial officer who approaches Vader to ask him to stop the gas messing with the troopers stationed there…only for him to become Vaneé, Vader’s faithful servant from the previous two Vader’s Castle entries! I hadn’t ever wondered who/how Vaneé came to be, but I really enjoyed the spooky way he fell to his new role in life. Derek Charm’s bright, clean art graces these two tales, fitting considering his heavy involvement in the series from the start. I loved the look of the monstrous Yoda, Ahsoka, Qui-Gon, and more swirling in the gas taunting Anakin, while Charm’s ability to tap into Vader’s pain, managing to retain the power of the single tear in Vader’s eye after killing the unarmed Federation goons, despite the stylistic and warm art, really shows his talents.
The next tale comes from Tuttel, who tells of a young Twi’lek girl tasked by Darth Sidious to gather him an ancient jewel filled with powerful knowledge. The droids dressed up to be ghosts was an excellent touch, giving the whole story a cursed treasure pirate/Indiana Jones feel that I was really digging. Nicoletta Baldari’s art, which always looks like a framed stain glass painting in each panel, even managed to be dark and unnerving with the robotic ghost hands digging out of everywhere to chase her down. I’m curious if the gem has some connection to The High Republic era, but otherwise this was the least spooky of the tales, though the art really brought it up several notches by making it quite memorable to look at!
The last story comes from Vaneé himself, distracting and gaining the trust of the two Mustafarians with a tale about a Imperial scientist’s mad scheme to get vengeance on Vader. This one reminded me a bit of Tales from Vader’s Castle Dooku story, where the old Count turns into a “Vampire” and those he touches and bites do too, but in this story it’s Gamorreans. Honestly, it would be the far scarier of outcomes, as this version there seems to be no hope of turning back, which is one of my biggest irrational fears as a child: turning into something else and not being able to turn back (so yes, that means I was scared of The Sword in the Stone or The Incredible Mr. Limpet). Anyways, I liked the little twist on how the scientist wanted Vader dead, though he didn’t quite think that through! Art for this story comes from Nick Brokenshire, who just provided an excellent little villainous tale in Star Wars Adventures #1 (Vol. 2), who continues to shine with his gritty, darker, and edging-just-out-of-all-ages look; I don’t know how he manages to pull it off, but most of the all-ages art sometimes gets a little too campy, but he manages to keep an older-looking style and provide just enough of the gruesome without going overboard.
The true master of horror art helps Scott spin the framing tale: Francesco Francavilla! He always injects the creepiest of vibes into any tale or moment, from the overall dark hues of his colors, tons of shadows, and the scratchy, hard lines; it reminds me an old 30’s horror film all the time. He’s also the perfect artist to provide the story because of its final page, teasing a whole new entry in the series for next year: Ghost of Vader’s Castle! It seems Giggek’s sacrifice to save Tuttel, besides freeing his friend, was mostly in vain, as the Castle still stands because of course Momin and Vader built it to last, but also…Vaneé survives! A strange voice reaches out to him, telling him his work isn’t done, and that he will help bring Vader back! What is going on? Whose voice is it? And how do they think they’ll bring back Vader from the dead? Vaneé does call himself an Acolyte of the Beyond, a group we’ve not heard much about since their intriguing appearances in the Aftermath Trilogy interludes, but could the group somehow be involved with this upcoming entry in the Vader’s Castle series? The promise of a ghostly resurrection of Vader is such an awesome cliffhanger and tease for what’s next it might be worth the price of admission alone!
Here are a few other things:
- The rest of IDW’s schedule is still in flux, as not even the Star Wars Adventures (Vol. 2) issues this month couldn’t stop jumping week to week, while we have a third issue in the series scheduled for January and a fourth issue in December, so hopefully they manage to get a little more organized going forward, especially with their The High Republic Adventures series incoming in February.
- Learn more about this iteration of the series with the official site’s interview with writer Cavan Scott, while check out the opening prologue sequence with their preview!
- Of course, many thanks to the talents of Valeria Lopez on lettering and the editing team of Elizabeth Brei and Riley Farmer.
Shadow of Vader’s Castle might only be a one-shot, but it’s a shot well worth it for its focused scares, surprises, and teases for what’s to come!
+ Focused nature of the one-shot
+ One art team after another impresses with their version of scares
+ What a tease for what comes next
– Maybe I’ve been wrong to criticize 5 issues in the past…I want more!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
IDW’S STAR WARS ADVENTURES:
Return to Vader’s Castle (miniseries) | Tales from Vader’s Castle (miniseries)
Vol. 2: #1