– Spoiler Review –
Darth Vader: Black, White & Red #1 kicks off the experimental miniseries with a bunch of little stories about everyone’s favorite nightmare, the titular Sith Lord himself. Within its opening issue, there’s the beginning of Jason Aaron’s return to Star Wars comics, a surrealistic story like only Peach Momoko could deliver, and Toruun Grønbekk’s debut, all presenting Vader in different ways. However, are they different enough from what’s all come before? Find out in my review!
Another year, another Darth Vader comic, but mixing it with Marvel’s unique styling system with their Black, White & Blood series offers the opportunity to take a new approach to a character who might be, or already has depending on who you ask, met his (at the very least) comic saturation point. Darth Vader: Black, White & Red #1 certainly ends up feeling unique with the restrictions on only allowing for black, white, and red colors in the art, giving us stories with artwork styles we aren’t typically used to for Star Wars comics, both older looking ones and surreal options, but the real question is if it’s enough to make this 4-issue miniseries feel distinct or necessary compared to all the Vader content we’ve had in comics since 2015. By the end of issue #1, I wasn’t quite sure it hurdled the bar, as the stories were interesting and distinct looking, but they felt like more of the same we’ve gotten about the helmeted Sith Lord over the years, especially after the controversial Vader: Dark Visions miniseries already tried to do unique things with the character from different points of view. For fans who have been reading the comics for years and were left rolling their eyes over the announcement of another Vader comic, which includes myself, it hasn’t done enough to win over my skeptical point-of-view the Vader well has mostly run dry (the main Vader series has had its issues too, which doesn’t help my feelings on this), but this might be more for fans who haven’t really dipped their toes into the comics or those who are always hungry for more of the Sith Lord, as I can imagine they’ll have a more enjoyable time. Don’t get me wrong, there are highlights in issue #1, like Peach Momoko’s tale and the potential in Aaron’s, but my overall impressions leave this idea neat, but not yet proving its worth over other options, like focusing on any other character. Maybe a female character, like Leia?
“Hard Shutdown Part 1” Written by Jason Aaron, Art by Leonard Kirk, Colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr., Lettering Throughout by Joe Caramagna
With a story which will span all four issues of DV: BW&R, Jason Aaron returns to Star Wars comics for the first time since departing back in 2017! Having shepherded the Star Wars mainline comic starting in 2015, including the Vader-centric crossover, Vader Down, he’s no stranger to the character and the universe, though, alongside Kirk’s old-school style art, he returns in a strange yet compelling way with “Hard Shutdown Part 1.”
Vader’s meeting with a potential rebel dissident goes about as you’d expect, with him trying to strong arm the man into submission to give him the information he wants, but this contact feels emboldened and attacks. Instead of laser weapons, they’re using ballistic ones, so it’s a little harder for Vader to block the many attackers which appear, but he’s slicing limbs and cutting them all down like you’d expect. With his contact on their knees, it all looks to be over but he draws Vader close by invoking Padmé’s name, giving him a chance to place a mysterious device in Vader’s outstretch palm and activates it, rendering Vader’s suit powerless!
And when I say invoking Padmé’s name, it’s actually a reference to a fan theory I had no idea about until this issue came out. Because Vader’s initial reaction isn’t asking why Cyn says his wife’s name, he instead demands, “Tell me where you heard those words!” This drew confusion from me to start, as I couldn’t recall Anakin or Vader ever saying those words in the films, nor could I quite imagine a time in The Clone Wars, but the phrasing was there for a reason. So I Googled it and it turns out people believe Vader says “Padmé, save me,” as he dons the famous helmet for the first time at the end of Revenge of the Sith! I never heard of this theory and it’s not mentioned in the script or even novelization, nor can I hear it when watching nor are there captions for it, as all I’ve ever heard is the whine of the helmet as it seals him in, but it’s a fun way to both revive the theory and use it to catch us, and Vader, off guard. Or…he looked it up and thought it was real and not a theory and th
Leonard Kirk has done many Star Wars comics as well, from villains for the Age of Resistance and Han Solo’s Imperial cadet days, but he goes for a much older, almost newspaper-like looks for his styling here unlike his previous appearances. When the action kicks off I got a little lost due to the style, as the background was amorphous and limbs flying everywhere, but elsewhere I quite enjoyed Kirk’s work. Vader certainly looks imposing, almost indifferent in many of the panels, while Fajardo Jr.’s colors, bathing the scenes in red when Vader’s slicing and dicing or seems to have won, added to the scary factor of the character. It was telling then when it switched back to white for the overall panel color as Cyn makes his move, the red Aurebesh letters on his arm showing us the way he’s found to be deadly compared to Vader.
“Inescapable” Written and Art by Peach Momoko
It’s a comic written and illustrated by Peach Momoko, what more do you need to know!? Seriously, this dreamlike, ethereal is one I’m sure might haunt my memories as well. The main character is seemingly haunted by Vader the Empire, and while it’s revealed this is a dream, the terrors have a hold over the main character even in their waking moments. As far as I could tell, or extrapolate from the art only story, is the person at the core of the story might have committed some sort of atrocity, potentially on the Empire’s behalf, maybe even Vader’s direct orders, hence them pouring dust which turns out to be skulls, and their actions have obviously weighed on them ever since. I don’t know if that’s officially Momoko’s intentions, but it’s what I took away from it.
There are some bizarre and disturbing, in the best way, images throughout, with the final one of the TIE Fighter with an eyeball where the pilot would be, all veiny and organic looking, being the stuff of absolute nightmares. The way the woman lays beneath it, a shadow over her head, the expansive starfield behind, makes it feel like she’ll never, ever get away from the pain. The veiny look across much of Momoko’s other panels makes me squirm and I appreciate the constant return to such an effect, as making us uncomfortable certainly seems like the point, so we feel the same terror she does from her dreams, and it certainly works on me. Honestly, this is some of the best, most strange, and unique art I’ve yet to experience, especially in Star Wars comics, and it must be seen to be believed. Momoko’s stunning work is enough to justify the purchase of this issue alone. There’s a high bar to cross for inventiveness in the next three issues!
“Dissolution of Hope” Written by Torunn Grønbekk, Art by Klaus Janson
A fancy Imperial party ends abruptly from a rebel-led terrorist attack, though the group finds out their main target, Darth Vader, wasn’t there the hard way, as he ends up tracking them down and ending the rest of their plans. I liked Grønbekk’s Vader narration throughout the issue as he identifies the problems on both sides of the fight, as the Imperial’s are at the rebels’ mercy because of indifference and lazy officers (much like Cassain Andor said to Luthen on why he can sneak into their midst), while these rebels still fail in the end because they fear failure more than death, not totally committed to the cause. That he does all this from the shadows, only appearing at the very end like in Rogue One to end the rebels’ lives, serves to highlight the truths inherent in his deconstruction of people’s natures and how deadly he is as he takes them out in a matter of seemingly seconds. The commentary on men often being the problem was a fitting stance to take with her story, as it’s hard not to see the topical tilt to the point Grønbekk makes, and just how right she is. As much as I liked those themes, I was the least engaged with this story and found some of it unclear/lacking enough context, while some intriguing planet-specific stuff about tapestries got left behind for more ‘Vader wins’ content.
Prolific artist Klaus Janson, who even did work for the original Marvel years of Star Wars comics, makes a great return, though some of my confusion with this story drew from the artwork as well, like I wasn’t sure if one of the rebels was the soon to be wife of the Imperial officer killed in the beginning. I ended up really liking his usage of Ben-Day dots for his coloring process, as it really highlight the negative spaces in the limited color scheme he has to work with. The times he invoked red led to some interesting connotations: having the moons red and said color most associated with Vader when he finally appears links them together, to make the point he’s always watching like his narration suggests.
Darth Vader: Black, White & Red #1 has a narrative hook to get readers back and the other unique visions on display suggesting more is on its way, but it can’t quite escape feeling like just another Vader comic.
+ Opening tale left me intrigued enough
+ Momoko’s work stuns for its surreal and spooky nature
– Can’t quite escape the feeling of a well run dry
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.