Darth Vader - Dark Lord of the Sith Vol. 3: The Burning Seas
January 2019
Alex
Alex
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Author:
Charles Soule
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Artists:
Guiseppe Camuncoli & Daniele Orlandini
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Colourists:
David Curiel &
Java Tartaglia |
Publisher:
Marvel
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Publication Date:
11th Sept 2018
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RRP:
£16.99 / $19.99
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Collecting issues 13-18 of Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith
Since creating the comics for Star Wars, Marvel has created and developed the Star Wars universe in so many ways (see my article about their success here) and this set of books is no exception! The title ‘Burning Seas’ is the most apt title for this series of books! We join Vader on his continuing quest for Jedi that have escaped the great purge and Order 66. Following on from previous editions, Vader is joined by his army of Inquisitors on this hunt. Sent to Mon Cal by the Emperor, we see Vader and Tarkin do what they do best and negotiations take a turn for the worse, for the Mon Cal! With the belief that a Jedi is helping the Mon Cal King (Lee-Char, who we first met in the Clone Wars animated series where he was Prince), Tarkin is taking the lead from a military perspective and Vader tackling the ‘Jedi problem’. The opening panels from the book sees a familiar scene for the readers where Vader flashes back to Mustafar and his final battle with Obi-Wan…however Anakin is already Vader and the battle plays out totally differently with Vader the victor. Opening the book with this twist on a great scene gets the story off to a great start and doesn’t let up. At all! We are soon introduced to Jedi Farren Barr who at the start, seems to be a glimmer of hope to the Galaxy. He knows that Vader is fallen Jedi Anakin Skywalker, he knows about Order 66 (which we see him utilise), and he has the ear of the Mon Cal king. But all is not as it seems for this escaped Jedi. Farren Barr becomes the villain of the whole story and Vader, in a way, the hero. Farren Barr has used his ability in the Force to gain followers after respective tragedies of family members, he manipulates the Clones invading to turn on the Inquisitors, “once a Jedi, always a Jedi”, by using Order 66 instruction and then it becomes clear his sole objective was for him to take down the Sith, singlehandedly. Even Vader calls him out on how far he has fallen…the irony? Ultimately, the story ends with the Jedi’s plan failing, his death and the Mon Cal King giving into the Empire. What is apparent in this story is the might of the Empire, but it also explains how the Mon Cal joined the Rebellion. Mon Cal were seen as a threat to the Empire who used its 2 strongest weapons, Vader and Tarkin, to take down this threat. You know the Empire means business when Tarkin shows up…then Vader! Throwing its full weight of weapons to support these two and continual bombardment of Mon Cal shows the Empire is taking no prisoners. Literally. Many Mon Cal died, to bring this rebellion to an end. With Radus and Ackbar appearing in this story as advisors to the King, we know where they end up, but this also explains how they get there. Both use their ships to defend Mon Cal but then escape in them from the clutches of the Empire. It is a fascinating story contained within these pages. Overall the Vader series has been superbly written by Charles Soule and he really seems to get how to write Vader. Keiron Gillian did a great job writing the initial Vader story once Marvel took over and Soule has continued the excellence on the pages. The panel and page spread artwork is fantastic. Stand out panels include Vader marching with his inquisitors and his Shadow Troopers behind him, the Battle of Dac City where we see Tie fighters, AT-ST and AT-AT all in actions destroying the Mon Cal city. The digital version comes with a bonus of Darth Vader Annual 2.
I was hoping for an extension to the Mon Cal story but what we get is something akin to Alien v Predator. With Vader the Alien and Tarkin the Predator.
In book 16 of Burning Seas, Vader does Tarkin a favour who is then in his debt. This book is Tarkin returning the favour. It is a call back to the Tarkin novel by James Luceno (a great book by the way: Editor), where he explored the younger days of the Grand Moff, where he would go hunting. Here we see Tarkin and a squad of Imperials, hunting Darth Vader. The twist here is that it was at Vader's request to keep him sharp. As a story, it was OK, but what stood out was the way Tarkin assumes he knows what Vader would do only to be bested. It is a fascinating dual between the two villains. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and thought that the drawings alongside the great story made this a compelling read. I read this in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down! The next collection in the series is the final set of books compromising Vader 19-25 and with the limited knowledge I have of these books, will be quite a read! Release for this was 15th January, and is already waiting in my Marvel Comics app wish list. |