This is an early spoiler-free review of VADER DOWN #1 by Jason Aaron, Mike Deodato, Frank Martin Jr, and Kieron Gillen. It hits comic shelves and the digital market on Wednesday, November 17.
This book may as well be called "Vader Unleashed" because that's exactly what it feels like. Through watching the prequels, fans have learned that Darth Vader is quite the pilot, but this first issue shows readers just how great he is in battle, in space. VADER DOWN #1 has one of the best space battles in comics, hands down, and that's just how the first issue opens the event up.
The story is simple and actually a bit of a breath of fresh air. Nothing feels convoluted or forced, and fans who have been reading the DARTH VADER series know that Vader is out to find his son, Luke Skywalker and that's exactly where this story leads the reader. The first issue is straight-to-the-point and throws readers right into the action. The one-page opener catches up readers on everything they'd want to know about the story and Vader is at from there and it's off to the races. This whole set-up may be a bit underwhelming to readers expecting a little more from this opening issue though.
This book is really tied to the DARTH VADER series, which has been pretty fantastic on its own. It's not a book that has to be read in order to enjoy this new book, but it does put a lot of things into a better perspective, like who Aphra is, aside from the person helping Vader out. However, reading more of the books in this SW comic universe will be something the reader has to start doing since this is a story that jumps between books, which can be frustrating for some readers. While the story starts here, it will jump back and forth between DARTH VADER and STAR WARS, so that's a couple books that need to be on the reader's pull list. Regardless, both of those series are really great, so the only real downside is reading more great comics.
Artistically, this book is beautiful, especially within the fight sequences in space. Mike Deodato and Frank Martin Jr provide some of the best looking Star Wars are that we've seen at Marvel thus far. This is how you kick off a book, visually. Obviously, we won't/can't get into too much detail with the art, as we're trying to be spoiler-free, but Deodato and Martin have a way of bridging the gap between the comic and cinematic universes because the art has a great, large, cinematic feeling to it.
Marvel continues to produce incredibly wonderful Star Wars comics. This opening offering leads to a potentially awesome crossover story. The artwork here is outstanding, and it's worth the price of admission alone. This book does tie into the STAR WARS and DARTH VADER series, so that's something to expect going in and the overall story may feel a tad underwhelming to some readers, but overall VADER DOWN is a wonderful experience.