Book Haul – 5 October 2021

On October 4, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul3 Comments

I have had a pretty awesome week book-wise, having been lucky enough to receive several amazing novels that I am quite excited to read. I have been waiting for several of these novels for some time now, with multiple being amongst my most anticipated reads for the second half of the year. I have some extremely high hopes for all of them and I imagine that many will be some of the best books I read this year.

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

One of the best books I recently received was the incredibly awesome The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Serving as a sequel to The Thursday Murder Club, one of the best books, audiobooks and debuts of 2020, The Man Who Died Twice continues to follow four senior citizens who investigate crimes that impact their sleepy retirement community. Featuring another great story with a fascinating group of characters, I have already finished this book off and will hopefully put a review up in the next few days.

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

Another epic sequel I got this week, The Last Graduate is the follow up to the fantastic 2020 read, A Deadly Education. I have already started reading The Last Graduate, which follows an extremely powerful teenage magic user as she tries to survive inside an extremely dangerous magical school. I am already deeply enjoying this cool book and it is turning out to be an exceptional piece of fantasy fiction.

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly

After being lucky enough to have two Michael Connelly books come out last year (Fair Warning and The Law of Innocence), I have just received an advance proof of this great author’s next novel, The Dark Hours. The Dark Hours will continue the amazing Ballard & Bosch sub-series that teams up two of Connelly’s best protagonists. I have really loved the last two Ballard & Bosch novels (Dark Sacred Night and The Night Fire) and I am really excited to see what compelling story is featured in this latest book. There is currently a review embargo on this book until November, so it might be a little while until I can post anything about it, however, once able, I will report on how much fun I had with this fantastic mystery.

Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn

I was particularly happy to grab a copy of Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn. Featuring a fun story about a fantasy heist, Among Thieves is one of the most anticipated debuts of 2021 and I am extremely excited to see what happens in this awesome sounding novel.

Cold Justice by Ant Middleton

I was also pretty happy to receive a copy of this fun sounding thriller, Cold Justice by Ant Middleton. Cold Justice has an awesome plot which follows a damaged former special operator as he attempts to save a life in South Africa. Sure to be an intense and electrifying read.

2 Sisters Detective Agency by James Patterson and Candice Fox

Another impressive thriller I recently received was 2 Sisters Detective Agency, which combines the talents of legendary thriller author, James Patterson, with Australian author Candice Fox. This cool sounding novel sets two newly introduced half-sisters on a dangerous investigation as they find themselves working at their dead father’s detective agency. I really enjoyed Fox’s latest novel, The Chase, and I look forward to seeing what these two great authors produce.

Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) – Volume Two: Into the Fire by Greg Pak, Raffaele Ienco and Neeraj Menon

I also received a couple of fantastic Star Wars comics that I have been hoping to grab for a while. The first of these is the second volume of the impressive Darth Vader (2020) series, Into the Fire. Following on from the outstanding first volume, Dark Heart of the Sith, Into the Fire sets Vader against the Emperor as the Sith master and apprentice finally come to blows over the lies and tragedy surrounding the discovery of Luke Skywalker’s parentage. An emotionally charged and powerful comic that I read the moment I got my hands on it, Into the Fire is an epic read which I will hopefully review soon.

Star Wars: The High Republic – Volume One: There is no Fear by Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito

The other Star Wars comic I recently got was the first volume of the new The High Republic comic series, There is no Fear. Set in the latest era of Star Wars history, the High Republic, There is no Fear introduces the readers to some cool new storylines and some great characters. An emotional and action packed comic, this was a great volume for those readers interested in the High Republic era, especially as it was written by Cavan Scott, author of the amazing 2021 book, Star Wars: The Rising Storm.

Well that’s the end of this latest Book Haul post. As you can see I have quite a bit of reading to do at the moment thanks to all these awesome books that have come in. Let me know which of the above you are most interested in and make sure to check back in a few weeks to see my reviews of them.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Loved that Made Me Want More Books Like Them

On June 8, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn List5 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants are challenged to list books that they loved and which subsequently made them want to read more books like them. While this is a rather wordy topic, I am choosing to interpret it as any amazing book or comic that, upon completion, immediately made me want to read or enjoy something similar, be it in the same genre, format or by the same author.

This was a rather interesting topic to consider, and for a while I was not certain that I could field a Top Ten List for it. However, after a long think, I was able to come up with 10 incredible books or comics that awoke something in me and helped to shape what I would read in the future. Each of the entries on this list really spoke to me for some reason or another, and many of these are responsible for my current reading choices.

Top Ten Tuesday:

Jingo by Terry Pratchett

Let us start off this list with the outstanding and funny Discworld novel, Jingo by Terry Pratchett, which really ignited my passion for this amazing series. Funnily enough, I actually read this novel for the first time while waiting in line for a Terry Pratchett book signing in a book shop here in Canberra. Due to the long line, I was able to get through a good swath of the novel while I waited and found myself deeply enjoying the outrageous and clever story within. While I had read some of Pratchett’s novels before, such as The Carpet People or The Nome trilogy, I do not think that I ever fully appreciated the Discworld series until that moment as I swiftly got caught up in Jingo’s great humour, clever satire, and fun characters. After getting my copy of Jingo signed (it remains one of my most prized possessions), I immediately went about reading or re-reading some of the other Discworld novels, and soon I was hopelessly addicted to this fantastic series. Since that day I have read every entry in this amazing series innumerable times and in my opinion it is the best and most impressive literary series of all time. I still deeply, deeply love all the Discworld novels (check out my reviews for Moving Pictures and The Last Continent), and I owe my love of this series to Jingo.

Deep Silence by Jonathan Maberry

Next, we have the awesome and exciting Deep Silence by Jonathan Maberry, the 10^th and final entry in the crazy Joe Ledger series. When Deep Silence came out, I grabbed an audiobook copy of this book because I thought it sounded interesting and I wanted to try something different. However, I was unprepared for just how much I would enjoy Deep Silence’s cool thriller/science fiction hybrid story, as it ended up being one of the best novels I read in 2018. I loved this amazing book so much that the moment I finished Deep Silence I immediately started reading the first novel in series, Patient Zero. Since then, I have gone on and read all 10 novels in the Joe Ledger series, as well as the first novel in the Rogue Team International series, Rage (one of the best books and audiobooks I read in 2019), and standalone novel Ink (one of the best books and audiobooks of 2020). I am now a deeply devoted fan of Jonathan Maberry’s writing, and I will be grabbing every single novel that he realises in the future, including the upcoming Relentless.

Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee

The third entry on this list is the epic Batman comic, Hush, which is responsible for my current love of comic books. Years ago, I happened across a copy of Hush while in the library. Looking for anything to do other than the very important maths homework I had, I chose to read Hush, figuring it would be interesting. At that point I really had not read any mainstream comics before, but Batman is Batman, so I thought it would be worth it. What I found was a really cool Batman story that saw Batman face off against all his greatest enemies, as well as new foe Hush. I really liked this comic, especially as it serves as an excellent introduction to key elements of the Batman mythos, and I had a wonderful time getting through it one sitting. Right after finishing it, I immediately started reading some of the other comics the library had, which kept enhancing my love for superhero comics and hooked me for life. While I have read many comics since then, I fully blame the existence of my multi-shelf comic collection on Batman: Hush.

Star Wars: Last Shot by Daniel José Older

Those familiar with my blog will know that I have a certain fondness for Star Wars tie-in fiction, having read and reviewed a ton of Star Wars novels and comics over that last couple of years. However, the book that started my current obsession with Star Wars media was the fun Last Shot by Daniel José Older. Serving as a tie-in to the Solo film, Last Shot was an impulse buy I made as I thought it would be an interesting novel to review. This proved to be correct as I really enjoyed Last Shot and soon after I started grabbing more and more Star Wars books. This obsession continues to this day, and I have already enjoyed several great Star Wars books this year alone (make sure to check out my recent list of favourite Star Wars novels).

Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond E. Feist

The next entry on this list is a rather interesting Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond E. Feist. I received a copy of Talon of the Silver Hawk as a birthday present years ago and while I was unfamiliar with the author, I thought it was a great gift and immediately started reading it. I swiftly became engrossed with this awesome novel and despite it being the 20th book in Feist’s Riftwar Cycle, I had an incredible time reading it. I had so much fun with this book that I immediately grabbed a copy of Feist’s debut novel, Magician, from the library and from there, every single Riftwar Cycle novel, as well as the tie-in Empire trilogy. The Riftwar Cycle proved to be an interesting grounding in fantasy fiction, and I fully blame Talon of the Silver Hawk as the reason why I currently have a massive stack of Feist hardcovers in my study, including his latest two novels, King of Ashes and Queen of Storms.

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

Another series that I instantly became addicted to, is the epic Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. I had long meant to read this amazing urban fantasy series, but I only got a chance to do so last year when I received a copy of the latest book, Battle Ground. I had such a great time reading Battle Ground that I went on to read some of the early entries in the series, including Storm Front, Fool Moon and Grave Peril. This is turning into such an incredible series to explore in full, and I am so very glad that I read Battle Ground last year.

Star Wars: Darth Vader (2015): Volume One: Vader by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

In a similar vein to Last Shot and Hush above, I owe my current love for Star Wars comics to one specific release, the first volume of the awesome Darth Vader (2015) series, Vader. This was an incredible comic that showcased Darth Vader right after the events of A New Hope and includes the moment that he found out that his son was alive. I have a lot of love for this awesome comic especially as it convinced me to grab the rest of the Darth Vader series, and then several other awesome series. I have since gone on to read most of the current comics in the canon (check out my list of favourites) and I am eagerly awaiting the next batch of awesome Star Wars comics.

The Crystal Shard by R. A. Salvatore

Salvatore is another author whose works I have greatly enjoyed over the years, and my appreciation of his novels begun when I read The Crystal Shard. The Crystal Shard was an impressive fantasy novel released as part of The Forgotten Realms shared fantasy universe and contained a fantastic story that introduced many of Salvatore’s iconic characters. I really enjoyed The Crystal Shard and after I finished I quickly read the rest of the books in The Icewind Dale trilogy as well as all three books in prequel Dark Elf trilogy. I have since gone on to read over 30 of Salvatore’s novels, including his recent releases Timeless, Boundless and Relentless, and he remains one of my all-time favourite writers.

Sword Song by Bernard Cornwell

While I currently enjoy novels from a great range of different genres, for many years I predominantly read historical fiction novels. While much of this was a professional choice, the reason I started reading this genre in the first place was because I happened across a copy of Sword Song by Bernard Cornwell. Sword Song was an excellent historical fiction novel and the fourth entry in The Last Kingdom series. Despite reading it out of order, I had an incredible time with Sword Song, and I swiftly started reading the rest of Cornwell’s novels, as well as several other great historical fiction reads. Historical fiction still remains one of my absolute favourite genres to this day, and much of this is thanks to the awesome story contained in Sword Song.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

The final entry on this list is The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. As I mentioned above, for many years I primarily read historical fiction novels, which meant that my fantasy fiction reading was severely neglected. However, once I started reading and reviewing recent fantasy novels, I decided that I would be useful to go back and check out some of the bigger fantasy series that I had missed. One that particularly appealed to me was Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards series, including the first novel, The Lies of Locke Lamora. I had heard amazing things about The Lies of Locke Lamora and this praise was well deserved, as this novel was a clever and outstanding piece of fantasy fiction. I had such an incredible time reading The Lies of Locke Lamora that I instantly started the rest of the Gentleman Bastards books. I was also inspired to check out several other great fantasy series I had heard mentioned in the same breath as Lynch’s books, such as The Kingkiller Chronicles, The First Law series, and The Stormlight Archive. My adventures in these epic fantasy series has proven very enjoyable and I am so glad that reading The Lies of Locke Lamora led me to them.

That is the end of this latest Top Ten list. I think I came up with a really interesting and varied list of books that inspired me to read similar titles and I ended up having a fun time producing this article. Each of the novels and comics above comes highly recommended and you may be surprised how inspired you may find yourself after checking them out. Let me know which of the above entries are your favourites and I cannot wait to find out what novels inspired you to read more of the same.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Comic Series

On June 1, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, List18 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday participants get a freebie when they get to do any topic of their choice. While there were a few interesting topics that I was tempted to write about, I decided to write a list about my favourite comic book series.

We are currently in a golden age of comics and creativity and there are some truly amazing comics coming from all the various publishers. Over the years I have had the great pleasure of reading or collecting quite a few different series, including quite a few superhero comics. While I tend to easily enjoy most comics that I come across, there are several great series that I would consider my absolute favourites, either because they are exceptionally written and drawn, or because something about that series draws me back in time and time again for a reread. So I thought that this freebie week would be a good opportunity to highlight these epic and addictive comics, especially as there are some real gems that all comic fans should really try out.

To pull this list together, I went through some of the best of most entertaining series that I have read and picked out my 10 absolute favourite comics, with a generous honourable mentions section. For this list, I chose to focus purely on ongoing series rather than one-offs or limited series, although I will probably feature a different list for them in the future. I also avoided several great long-running series, mainly because I have not read all the entries in them. I think that I came up with a rather good list in the end, containing an interesting collection of comics from several different publishers and universes. I quite like how this list turned out and I think it encapsulates what my favourite comic series are.

Honourable Mentions:

Batman (Volume 3)

One of the series I have most recently gotten into was this recent Batman series. Starting in 2016, this great comic follows Batman as he faces off against some of his most iconic foes, while really getting to the heart of the Dark Knight and his relationship with his rogues’ gallery. I have not finished this series off yet, but I have deeply enjoyed several key storylines within it, including the exceptional The War of Jokes and Riddles, and it will be interesting to see where this series lies once I finish all the main volumes in it.

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra

I had to include the excellent and amazing Doctor Aphra series in this article somewhere as it is one of the most impressive Star Wars comics in recent years. Featuring the outstanding adventures of original character, Doctor Aphra, this series contains a huge number of heists, betrayals, and deep introspection from the titular character as she spreads chaos across the galaxy. I loved this outstanding series, and it has some amazing volumes in it, such as Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End.

Y: The Last Man

Anyone who has read this iconic series from Brian K. Vaughan will appreciate why I had to feature it in this article. Following the last man left alive after a disease kills every male on the planet, Y: The Last Man is an intense and powerful comic with an amazing story to it. This was one of the first non-DC or Marvel comics I ever read and it has definitely stuck with me over the years as one of the best comics out there. If they ever manage to get around to adapting this series into a television show, it is going to be the next big hit.

All-New Wolverine

A brilliant and self-contained series that follows one of my favourite comic characters, X-23, as she claims her place as the new Wolverine after her father’s death. This was an amazing series with a unique feel, fantastic emotional edge and outrageous humour, which I loved it so much I kind of wished that Wolverine would stay dead for just a little bit longer.

Top Ten List:

Usagi Yojimbo

So I very much doubt that anyone is going to be surprised that the first entry on my list is Stan Sakai’s masterpiece series, Usagi Yojimbo. Following a rabbit samurai as he adventures through an alternate version of Feudal Japan, the Usagi Yojimbo series is easily one of the best comics I have ever read, and I am currently reviewing every single volume of it (for example check out my reviews of the 11^th volume Seasons or the 34^th volume, Bunraku and Other Stories). I absolutely love this simple but powerful and exciting comic, especially as Sakai pours all his love for Japan and Japanese culture into it and produces some epic adventures.

Teen Titans (Volume 3)

There is no way I could do a list about my favourite series without talking about one of the earliest comics I ever got into, the third volume of the outstanding Teen Titans series. Staring in 2003 and helmed by Geoff Johns, this series featured former members of Young Justice, Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl and Impulse, as they step up and join long-term members Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven in a whole new incarnation of the team. This was an exceptional series which revitalised a lot of interest in the team, especially as they ended up playing key roles in the Infinite Crisis crossover. While the series did dip a bit in quality after Geoff Johns left, this was an overall epic series, and it is one that I have read an insane number of times.

The Punisher (2004)

While there are many great Punisher series out there, the best one in my opinion is the dark and violent 2004 series, also known as The Punisher MAX. Primarily helmed by Garth Ennis, of Preacher and The Boys fame, this was an epic series that followed a grizzled Frank Castle as he pursues his bloody, never-ending war on crime. Released under the adult MAX imprint, this Punisher series was particularly over-the-top and gruesome in places, but it is so much fun to read, especially as Ennis comes up with some insane and utterly compelling storylines. This is the definitive series for all fans of The Punisher, and you will not regret checking this comic out.

Green Arrow (Volume 3)

Another incredible DC comic that I really love is this Green Arrow series. Starting back in 2001 with Quiver, this series resurrected classic comic character Green Arrow, taking him back to his roots and providing him with an epic and captivating series. Featuring an array of great writers, including Kevin Smith, Brad Meltzer and Judd Winick, this was an outstanding series that really revitalised the Oliver Queen Green Arrow, brought in some great new characters and contained some impressive and powerful storylines. I have so much love for this series and one of the storylines, The Archer’s Quest by Meltzer, is one of the best comics I have ever read.

X-Factor (Volume 3)

X-Factor is a long-running X-Men title that has had many incarnations with varying success. However, one run on the comic ended up becoming an amazing and powerful series that I was lucky enough to stumble across some years ago. Running between 2005 and 2013, this X-Factor series followed X-Factor Investigations, a combined mutant superhero team and private investigation firm, as they become embroiled in some weird conflicts and adventures around New York. Primarily written by Peter David, this was a very unusual and clever series that was overshadowed by the major Marvel titles but ended up lasting longer than most and producing some exceptional storylines. Featuring fantastic, if underused mutant characters, including Multiple Man, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, M, Rictor, Siryn and the mysterious Layla Miller, this was a great, character driven comic that really dived into the hearts of its diverse and unique cast. I loved this comic so much, and it is one of the best X-Men comics that has ever been written.

Darth Vader (2015)

I had no choice but to feature the outstanding Darth Vader series by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca on this list due to how impressive and amazing it is. This series follows one of the greatest villains of all-time right after the events of A New Hope as he fights against rivals and old enemies to secure his place within the Empire. This was easily one of the most consistent and epic Star Wars series out there, especially as it also includes the spectacular Vader Down crossover. There are so many cool elements to this series, such as the introduction of Doctor Aphra or the intense scene where Vader finds out Luke’s true identity and realises that the Emperor has been lying to him for years. I love this great series and it is the reason I am currently so in to Star Wars comics.

Runaways

I have long been a major fan of the iconic Runaways series by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. Following a group of teens who find out their parents are supervillains, this series, which mostly avoids the main events and characters of the Marvel universe, is a fantastic and powerful comic with some real heart to it. Introducing a colourful team of teenage heroes with some great powers, this is one of the most distinctive comics to come out of Marvel and is always going to remain a huge favourite of mine.

Robin (Volume 4)

One of my favourite Batman associated comics is the long-running fourth series of Robin comics that followed my favourite version of the character, Tim Drake. Set shortly after the death of Jason Todd in the infamous A Death in the Family, this comic introduced a whole new Robin, who swiftly won fans over. Tim Drake, who relied more on his intelligence than his fighting ability, was an outstanding hero, and the creative team came up with some great stories for him which ensured he kept his spot at Batman’s primary sidekick for 20 years. This entire comic is pretty epic, and while I deeply enjoy the post-Infinite Crisis Robin comics (all the way up to the really good Red Robin sequel series), his earlier stories are also pretty good and are very much worth checking out. A great series that will appeal to comic fans young and old, I love this take on the classic sidekick.

New Avengers

Over the years there have been an immense and wide-reaching collection of Avengers comics, from the classic storylines to weird and short-lived spin-offs, all of which I have tended to buy and read. So for an Avengers comic to really stick out to me, it would have to be pretty damn exceptional, and that is exactly what the New Avengers was. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch, this series brought back a cooler and more modern version of the iconic team after the Avengers Disassembled storyline. Bringing in beloved characters such as Spiderman, Wolverine and Luke Cage, this series helped to redefine the Avengers. There are several amazing phases to this comic over the years, especially as it ran through some of the key crossovers like Civil War, Secret Invasion and Dark Reign, and it was an absolute joy to read from start to finish.

Secret Six (Volume 3)

The final comic on my list is the often overlooked but incredibly fun Secret Six series. Following on from the Villains United limited series, Secret Six follows a dysfunctional team of supervillains, including Deadshot, Bane, Scandal Savage, Ragdoll and Catman, as they engage in several morally grey mercenary jobs around the world. Helmed by Gail Simone and featuring some rather insane, if touching, storylines, this was an amazing series that is near and dear to my heart, especially as Simon manages to turn eternal joke character, Catman, into the biggest badass ever.

Well, that is the end of my latest Top Ten List. I think that I came up with an interesting list of comics, especially as it features such a wide range of titles. I will admit that I did stick heavily to the Marvel and DC titles, and I also seemed to have primarily featured comics from the early 2000s. Despite this obvious preference form me, I think this turned out to be a great and diverse list, and it definitely represents the comics I enjoy the most. I think this might be a list I come back to in the future, especially as I will read some additional comics in the next year, and it will be interesting to see how this list changes. In the meantime, let me know what your favourite series are in the comments below.

Star Wars (2020): Volume One: The Destiny Path by Charles Soule and Jesús Saiz

On May 4, 2021August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Star Wars4 Comments

Publisher: Marvel Comics (Paperback – 10 November 2020)

Series: Star Wars (2020) – Volume One

Writer: Charles Soule

Artist: Jesús Saiz

Colour Artists: Arif Prianto, Jesús Saiz, Rachelle Rosenberg and Dan Brown

Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles

Length: 136 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

The next stage of the Star Wars comic universe continues as Charles Soule, Jesús Saiz and their team of talented artists present the first volume of the Star Wars (2020) series, The Destiny Path.

Shortly after the Disney buyout of Star Wars and their subsequent creation of a whole new canon, Marvel Comics started to develop a new range of Star Wars comics. While there were several great series, limited series and standalone comics set during various periods of Star War history, the main series were set between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. These key comics, which included the Star Wars (2015), Darth Vader (2015) and Doctor Aphra (2016) series, did a fantastic job of filling in the gaps between these two films and presenting readers with some clever and unique adventures. All these series came to an end in late 2019, with their plots coinciding with the start of events from The Empire Strikes Back. In the wake of their cessation, Marvel announced four new Star Wars comic series that would take their place (after suffering some pandemic-related delays), set in the aftermath of The Empire Strikes Back. While I have already looked at some of these comics, including the first entry of the Darth Vader (2020) series, I think it is time that I explored the flagship series of this new run of comics, the Star Wars (2020) series.

The Star Wars (2020) series will explore what happens to the main cast of protagonists after the events of The Empire Strikes Back and is set in the year or so between that film and Return of the Jedi. This looks set to be a long-running series that will not only tell its own tale but will tie in to the events of the other current comics, probably resulting in some crossovers. This first volume, The Destiny Path, contains issues #1-6 of the Star Wars (2020) series and serves as an excellent and compelling introduction to the rest of the series.

Following the battle of Hoth, the Rebel Alliance is in disarray. With their fleet scattered around the galaxy and the might of the Empire reigning supreme, these are the darkest days the Rebellion has ever faced, especially as the Empire appears to have found a way to locate their ships and hiding places. The hope of the entire Rebel Alliance may lie in the hands of its greatest leaders and heroes, but, after the events on Bespin, even these shining beacons of rebellion have been damaged beyond recognition.

With Han Solo captured by the Empire and handed over to the bounty hunter Boba Fett, those on the Millennium Falcon are dispirited and lost. However, finding a Rebel cell under attack prompts them into action. Despite missing the man she loves, Princess Leia is determined to rescue him and revive the Rebel Alliance by any means necessary. At the same time, reluctant Rebel recruit Lando Calrissian attempts to make himself useful, despite mistrust from everyone around him. Finally, Luke Skywalker, after losing a hand and finding out the horrible truth of his parentage is in shock. Worse, his meeting with Vader appears to have damaged his connection to the Force, and neither of his masters will appear to talk to him.

As the Rebel Alliance seeks a way to survive, each of these players, with the help of Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2, begin the next stage of their journey. As Luke seeks a lightsaber, Leia looks to find a way to save Han and Alliance, while Lando looks for redemption in all the wrong places. All their journeys lead the back to the scene of one of the worst moments of their past, Bespin. But how far will Luke, Leia and Lando go to achieve their goes, and will they be able to survive the dangerous enemies chasing them?

This is an outstanding and intense Star Wars comic that does a wonderful job of setting up a brand-new series of exciting adventures. Charles Soule, who has written some of the best Star War comics out there, creates an exceptional and captivating tale that highlights the tragic consequences of The Empire Strikes Back. Featuring some incredible artwork, amazing big moments, and a perfect portrayal of some of the iconic original trilogy cast, this is an outstanding and awesome comic.

For this cool first volume in the Star Wars (2020) series, the author has come up with an extremely compelling and clever multi-part narrative that I deeply enjoyed. The Destiny Path has a strongly character-driven story, following Luke, Leia and Lando as they attempt to recover from the traumatic events of The Empire Strikes Back. The narrative starts right after the heroes escape from the Cloud City at Bespin (technically before the closing scene of The Empire Strikes Back) and places the shell-shocked characters right in the middle of a firefight against an intriguing new foe. The next stage of the story contains an intriguing couple of sequences aboard the Rebel medical frigate, showing off some new angles to the film’s final scenes, while also following Lando and Chewie as they head to Tatooine to scope out Jabba’s palace. This part of the narrative is very clever and exciting, especially as it paints Lando as a bit of a wildcard, with unclear loyalties. The next section of the comic takes Luke, Leia and Lando back to Bespin, each for a different reason. There are some high octane and emotionally rich comic issues here, especially as all three of the characters are forced to face up to their recent mistakes and losses, while also taking on the Imperial garrison stationed there. All of this leads up to the final part of the book, which is primarily focused on Luke, who journeys to several distant planets following a vision to find a new lightsaber. There are some really cool sequences here as Luke continues to battle his own personal demons (and a real one, but we’ll get to that later), before eventually coming away with an unexpected prize. All these disparate storylines work really well on their own, but their real strength lies in the way in which they tie together perfectly throughout The Destiny Path. You end up getting a fantastic story as you follow one major event to the next, and I liked the unique tales contained within each section. All of this serves as an awesome and powerful start to the Star Wars (2020) series, and there are plenty of hints of awesomeness to come as the Rebels bounce back while Luke continues to grow as a Jedi. Epic Star Wars storytelling at its best!

There is no way that I can talk about The Destiny Path without geeking out about some of the cool and memorable Star Wars elements and references featured within. I deeply, deeply enjoyed seeing the intriguing and dramatic aftermath of The Empire Strikes Back that Soule envisions here, especially as he took the time to explore the various traumas and consequences of the events at Bespin. This was a fantastic heart of the entire volume which is going to appeal to all fans of the Star Wars franchise. Other cool Star Wars moments that fans will love include the mysterious events occurring around the Skywalker lightsaber. This lightsaber, which disappears at the end of The Empire Strikes Back and reappears in The Force Awakens, is a major item throughout the Star Wars canon and I liked seeing Luke trying to find it in the bowels of Cloud City, only for it to slip into another mysterious person’s grip. It will be interesting to see what happens to that in the future, and foresee it being a fascinating narrative thread throughout this entire series.

In addition to these elements from the films, Soule also fits in a lot of other cool references and call-backs to previous Star Wars comics, especially ones that he has had a hand in. The most obvious of these was the appearance of Verla, who Luke encounters while trying to find a new lightsaber. Verla is a Force-sensitive woman who first appeared in The Burning Seas volume of Soule’s Dark Lord of the Sith comic series. It was great to see that Verla survived, and Soule does a good job working her into this story, portraying her as the damaged and cynical former Jedi student who is just trying to survive. Verla’s inclusion allows Luke to learn more about Vader, both as a Jedi hunter and a Jedi named Anakin, and it was interesting to finally see him learn about the Jedi purges, Order 66, and the Inquisitors. I also noticed a lot of mentions about the High Republic in this volume. I really should not be too surprised about this, especially as Soule is one of the leading creative minds behind the High Republic range, having written the first novel in the series, Light of the Jedi. It looks like Star Wars (2020) is going to rely on several events from the High Republic books, and I am intrigued about how Soule will work them into his cool story. All of these Star Wars elements are extremely cool, and I think that they will deeply appeal to every fan of this franchise. While mega fans are obviously going to love some of the more obscure references that Soule fit into this comic, this series is also very easy to enjoy if you have a more basic knowledge of Star Wars.

I do have to quickly highlight that one of my favourite parts of this entire comic is one of the final sequences in the volume. In this sequence, Luke visits an abandoned Jedi temple which is filled with a mound of untouched treasures, including a lightsaber which he desperately needs. However, it turns out that this entire building is a trap (Luke was warned, to be fair), as he is quickly attacked by the ghost of the Grand Inquisitor. The Grand Inquisitor is an awesome character who served as the main antagonist of the first season of the Star Wars Rebels animated series. Soule has previously utilised him in his Dark Lord of the Sith comic series, especially the first two volumes, Imperial Machine and Legacy’s End, but this current comic is set after his death in Rebels. There are so many cool elements to the Grand Inquisitor’s return in this comic, including a fantastically drawn fight between him and Luke, where Luke encounters a double-bladed lightsaber for the first time, and I loved the Grand Inquisitor’s fiery, spiritual appearance. However, the best part of this whole unique inclusion was the characters final interaction with Darth Vader. Here it is revealed that Vader is the one trapping the Inquisitor’s spirit in this world, using him as a tool and a trap. When the Inquisitor begs Vader for his release, Vader refuses, as the Inquisitor still has use to him. The forlorn spirit starts to fade, but not before sadly uttering “there are worst things than death”. This is an outstanding call-back to the character’s final words in Rebels, and it was so cool to see his morbid prediction come to pass. This whole sequence really pushed The Destiny Path up a level for me, and I love how the creative team worked this into this fantastic and awesome comic.

Easily one of the best parts of this entire comic is the creative team’s portrayal of the iconic Star Wars characters who serve as the main protagonists of this amazing first volume. Soule has done an incredible job writing a character-driven narrative around these protagonists, and I love his in-depth examination of their psyches and actions following The Empire Strikes Back. The author pulls together some great storylines around these characters, and I loved seeing what amazing adventures they went on between these two films.

One of the main characters explored during this book is the original Star Wars hero, Luke Skywalker. Now, Luke is going through a lot at this point, having just had his hand chopped off and learned that his father is Darth Vader. Luke spends most of the first part of the novel absolutely traumatised by these events and ends up doubting himself while also concealing this revelation from his friends. To compound his issues, Luke finds his connection to the Force somehow damaged or fractured, as neither of his masters, Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda, are reaching out to him. This results in a more scattered Luke, and I loved the way that Soule dove into his damaged mindset. There are some great and powerful moments throughout this comic that show off Luke’s trauma, as well some dramatic moments when he lashes out uncontrollably with the Force. After receiving some visions and engaging in a hunt for a new lightsaber, Luke starts to come to terms with the events surrounding him, and it is great to see him recover somewhat, including by learning more about his father. This slight reconciliation with his identity enables Luke to regain his control over the Force, and there are some very cool scenes where he uses his powerful and advanced abilities against the Empire. Overall, this was a pretty spectacular look at Luke, and I really appreciated the cool story that Soule spun around him. It will be interesting to see what is going to happen to Luke in the future entries of this comic, especially as he continues along his journey to become a full-fledged Jedi. It will also be cool to see more of Luke’s new yellow lightsaber, which was an intriguing decision by Soule which I think is going to really pay off.

In addition to Luke, a lot of the story focuses on Leia. Like the rest of the characters, Leia is pretty traumatised, as she discovered her love for Han only to lose him in seconds. While at times she seems in control, especially as she works to salvage the Rebels fleet, she is clearly still impacted by this loss. As a result, she desperately attempts to find a way to save him from Boba Fett, even if that means risking herself and her friends. Her recklessness leads her back to Bespin with the others as she attempts to find more about the carbonite freezing process. While Leia’s arc is possibly the least interesting (which isn’t a criticism; it’s just the other two main characters have some outstanding stories), she does have some great moments in this comic, and I especially loved the visual of her also trapped in carbonite. It was also great to see more of badass Rebel leader Leia in this comic as she steps up and takes charge to protect those around her. I imagine that the creative team have some great ideas for Leia in the future and I cannot wait to see what they are.

The other main character of this volume was the flashy and charismatic rogue, Lando Calrissian, who finds himself stuck with the other protagonists after helping them flee from Bespin. Despite his attempts to do the right thing at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, Lando is still not trusted by anyone, as they blame him for his betrayal and the loss of Han. As a result, Lando attempts to find some form of redemption with them, although he mostly comes across as a self-centred bastard. Soule works a really intriguing storyline around Lando, and I loved seeing his meeting with Jabba the Hutt as he makes some initial inquiries into Han’s location. Lando is able to talk his way out of a meeting with Jabba, although the reader is left wondering whether he plans to sell out the Rebels. This nicely leads into his storyline on Bespin as he accompanies Luke and Leia back there. It was great to see Lando returning to his city, especially as he manages to con his way through a range of different Imperial obstacles, and he was fully in his roguish element. While Lando appears to return to Cloud City for selfish reasons, such as throwing a big middle-finger to the Empire, his jaunt does awaken his inner hero a little, and you get a glimpse of the person we eventually see in Return of the Jedi. Lando is easily the most entertaining character in the entire comic and most of The Destiny Path’s humour is derived from his interactions with most of the other characters. He is a very funny character, and it was great to see so much focus on him after barely featuring in the last stage of Star Wars comics. I look forward to seeing what Soule and the creative team have for him in the future, and I think he is going to be the MVP character of the entire series.

Aside from the three main characters above, The Destiny Path also includes a great range of other characters from various points in Star Wars history. Like its precursor comic, Star Wars (2020) also follows Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2, although I think these three great characters were a little overshadowed by Luke, Leia and Lando in this volume. Chewie does have a bunch of fun moments throughout the comic, mostly in his interactions with Lando, and it is entertaining to see him be forced to deal with the cocky former friend. R2-D2 does have a great sidekick time with Luke, and it was always fun to see him save the mighty Jedi’s life again and again. There is also an interesting focus on a couple of new or lesser-known characters. For example, it looks like Soule is going to spend a bit of time following Kes Dameron and Shara Bey, the parents of a certain Poe Dameron. The Destiny Path also introduces an intriguing new antagonist in the form of Commander Zahra, a fanatical Imperial officer placed in charge of eliminating the remnants of the Rebel Alliance. Zahra is tactical genius who I understand is going to have a major role in some upcoming comics. This volume proves to be an excellent introduction to this cool new character, especially as it establishes her dangerous intelligence, murderous mentality and the insane grudge she bears against Leia, all while she commands the unique Star Destroyer, Tarkin’s Will, which still bears scars from being hit by wreckage of the original Death Star. Zahra proves to be an outstanding antagonist, and I cannot wait to see what deviousness and insanity she brings to the rest of the series.

I definitely need to highlight the incredible and eye-catching artwork that was an outstanding and memorable feature of this awesome comic. The artistic team behind this comic did an amazing job from start to finish, and every page was a visual treat for the eyes. While all the art in this comic is great, there are a few things that really stood out to me, such as character design. The artists do such an incredible job capturing the main characters throughout this comic, especially in the first issue where all their post-The Empire Strikes Back pain and emotion is on full display. It was uncanny how similar these characters looked to their portrayal in the film, and it is a testament to the artists’ amazing ability. There are also several awesome combat sequences scattered throughout the comic and I loved the way in which the art brought them to life. A particularly good example of this was the opening space battle between the Empire and a small Rebel fleet. The artists come up with an incredible background for this fight, which takes place between a sun and a concentrated barrage of green turbolaser bolts, which are being used to fence the Rebels in place. This was so visually pretty, and it really enhanced the cool story and fighter combat that was taking place in front of it. I also deeply enjoyed the way in which the artists have recreated several key scenes from The Empire Strikes Back. These scenes, which include Luke losing his hand, finding out that Vader is his father and Han giving his iconic “I know” to Leia, are scattered throughout key parts of The Destiny Path. Not only are these cool visually, but they are also clever from a writing point of view, dragging the readers back to the emotional impact of these events and driving how much they are still sticking in the mind of the protagonists. I cannot overstate how awesome this art is and I had an absolute blast seeing every explosion, Force burst and clever flashback that they were able to fit in.

Well, if the above multi-page rant above didn’t give it away, then I’ll say it clearly here: this comic is incredible! Soule, Saiz and the other talented artists have done an amazing job with this first volume of the Star Wars (2020) series, and The Destiny Path is an epic and awesome read. I loved the in-depth examination of these key characters after The Empire Strikes Back and there are so many cool Star Wars elements worked into the story. This is one of my favourite Star Wars comics and it gets a full five-star rating from me. I cannot wait to see what extraordinary stories and powerful artform this fantastic creative team comes up with next and I need to order the next volume in now.

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Star Wars: Darth Vader: Volume One: Dark Heart of the Sith

On December 29, 2020August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Star Wars5 Comments

Publisher: Marvel Comics (Paperback – 24 November 2020)

Series: Darth Vader (2020) – Volume One

Writer: Greg Pak

Artist: Raffaele Ienco

Colour Artist: Neeraj Menon

Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Length: 136 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of the first entries in a new set of Star Wars comics is here and it is pretty damn awesome, as Greg Pak, Raffaele Ienco and Neeraj Menon present the first volume of the 2020 Darth Vader series, Dark Heart of the Sith.

Dark Heart of the Sith contains issues #1-5 of the Darth Vader (2020) comic book series which takes place right after The Empire Strikes Back. The Darth Vader (2020) series is part of a new range of Star Wars comics which include the Star Wars (2020), Doctor Aphra (2020) and Bounty Hunters series, all of which are set in the year between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. These comics follow on from earlier series which were set between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. This latest round of comics attempts to provide details about what occurred between the events of the second and third films, as well as create some new and exciting adventures. All of the comics in this range sound fantastic, and I have been eagerly anticipating all of them, especially Darth Vader (2020) due to all the potential for action and drama that it has.

To tell this unique tale, Marvel have utilised the fantastic team of author Greg Pak, artist Raffaele Ienco and colour artist Neeraj Menon. Greg Pak is a film director and author who has written several amazing comics in his career, with a particular focus on the Hulk and Hercules series for Marvel. I am somewhat familiar with Pak’s work, enjoying his current run of Firefly comics for Boom!. I am a little less familiar with Ienco and Menon (although Menon did work as a colourist on the Target Vader limited series), but both are experienced artists who have worked on some intriguing-sounding projects in the past. This is an intriguing team, and they came together to produce an excellent and powerful Darth Vader story.

During the climatic events of The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader revealed that he was Anakin Skywalker to his son, Luke, and offered him a chance to rule the galaxy by his side. However, Luke refused to join him out of fear and disgust, choosing instead to plunge to an unknown fate beneath Cloud City. Now, rejected and betrayed, Vader finds himself full of rage and determined to seek revenge on anyone who kept his son from him and made him weak.

Tracing Luke’s life before the Rebellion, Vader attempts to find anyone he can take his frustrations out on. But with everyone in Luke’s past dead and beyond his wrath, Vader decides to investigate what happened to his wife, Padmé Amidala, after their final confrontation on Mustafar. Investigating a listening device left in Padmé’s apartments on Coruscant, Vader travels to a hidden Rebel base where he makes the startling discovery of a woman with a shocking resemblance to an older Padmé.

Despite the initial shock, Vader is soon able to determine that this is not his dead wife returned from the grave but the Queen’s Shadow, Sabé. Sabé was once Padmé’s most loyal friend, handmaiden, bodyguard and double, and her death has haunted Sabé for years. Determined to use Sabé to find the answers he is looking for; Vader decides to work with the former handmaiden to find out the truth of Padmé’s last moments. The information that they need apparently resides on Naboo, and Vader is forced to relive the ghosts of his past life as Anakin Skywalker to find the truth. However, more treachery awaits Vader on Naboo as a secret organisation waits to kill him. The Handmaidens of Amidala know who truly killed their mistress, and they are finally ready to take their revenge.

What is it about Darth Vader that makes it impossible for someone to create a bad comic about him? I mean, seriously, all the previous Darth Vader comics in the current canon have been absolute masterpieces, from the epic 2015 Darth Vader series (check out my reviews for Volume One: Vader, Volume Two: Shadows and Secrets and the crossover comic Vader Down), the impressive prequel series Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith (check out my reviews for Volume Two: Legacy’s End and Volume Three: The Burning Seas), the first volume of the 2015 Star Wars series, Skywalker Strikes, or the fun limited series, Dark Visions. Each of these comics has been impressive in its own way, and in each of them Darth Vader shines as the ultimate badass. This first volume of the new Darth Vader series is no exception as it follows Vader through a harrowing journey of discovery that takes him back into his tumultuous past and explores the consequences of his actions at the formation of the Empire.

Dark Heart of the Sith contains an epic and emotional narrative which follows one of fiction’s greatest villains after he encounters one of the biggest setbacks in his life. Set mere moments after Vader’s final appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, the Dark Lord of the Sith embarks on a deeply personal mission that is half rampage and half voyage of discovery. After some initial setbacks, Vader eventually finds Sabé, the Queen’s double, whose appearance in the final panel of Issue #1 was a major selling point for the series. Sabé’s introduction to the plot leads Vader to revisit some of the most important locations from his life as Anakin Skywalker, before an inevitable run-in with Padmé’s former followers, who hold Vader responsible for her death and the death of Anakin Skywalker. This entire arc is extremely well written, and I absolutely loved the ambitious and clever story that Pak came up with. The author does an awesome job of combining an exciting narrative made up of several epic and impressive moments and with a deep dive into Vader’s mind, and this results in a captivating and powerful read that serves as a particularly distinctive chapter in the history of Darth Vader. I really enjoyed where Pak took Dark Heart of the Sith’s amazing story, and while certain elements lose their impact in the internet age of freely available spoilers, there are some big and impressive moments in here that all Star Wars fans need to see.

One of the things I most enjoyed about this comic was the way that the creative team brought in elements from the Star Wars prequel films and inserted them into a story set right after The Empire Strikes Back. Dark Heart of the Sith takes the reader back to several key locations from the prequel films and reintroduces several minor characters who appeared in them, including Sabé, one of the pilots from The Phantom Menace and Captain Gregar Typho, Padmé’s security guard in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. This use of these elements from the prior movies works extremely well in the context of this comic’s story, as Vader is forced to revisit his past at a point when he is the most vulnerable in the present. This makes Dark Heart of the Sith quite an interesting comic for Star Wars fans, who will greatly enjoy the inclusion of elements from two distinctive eras of the franchise. I felt that Dark Heart of the Sith was a very accessible comic for readers with limited familiarity with Star Wars fiction, and readers only need to check out some of the films to get a good understanding of what is happening.

However, as an established fan of the franchise, I was quite overjoyed to see that this comic had an interesting connection to some interesting pieces of Star Wars extended fiction, namely two recent novels by E. K. Johnston, Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow and Star Wars: Queen’s Peril. These two novels, which serve as sequel and prequel to The Phantom Menace respectively, are set around the lives of Padmé and her handmaidens and provide added details about how they came into her service and the loyalty that they felt to her. The narrative contained within this comic serves as a sequel to an arc set up in Queen’s Shadow, where Sabé swears to find justice for the death of Padmé, with several of the unique characters who were either introduced or sufficiently fleshed out in these novels also appearing. This results in several awesome scenes, including one particularly epic sequence in which Vader is confronted by Padmé’s surviving handmaidens, who engage in an all-out brawl against him. I found all of this to be immensely cool, and I really enjoyed seeing some of the elements from these books concluded in this comic, especially as Dark Heart of the Sith serves as a definitive conclusion to these character arcs.

Unsurprisingly, the standout character of this comic is Darth Vader himself, who goes through a lot during Dark Heart of the Sith. Pak really turns this first volume into a deep exploration of Vader’s complex psyche, and there is an interesting examination of how Vader is feeling in the immediate aftermath of Luke rejecting him. Without his usual determination and dedication to the Dark Side, Vader is lost in this comic, acting out of impulse and searching for someone or something to take his rage out against. The introduction of Sabé and the return to several key locations from his past only adds to his confusion and emotional instability, and it is blatantly obvious that this is not the same Vader we have come to fear and admire. Instead, this Vader hesitates to do some of his usual acts of destruction. Certain memories from his past suddenly spring to the forefront of his mind, turning him away from his desired actions, such as sparing Sabé after revisiting his memory of killing Padmé. Vader is also continually thrown by the return of several figures from his past, each of whom had a connection to both Padmé and Anakin Skywalker, and it proved to be quite fascinating to see Vader interact with them differently, especially as none of them are aware that Vader is Anakin.

This comic also contains some key moments of history for Vader; not only does he finally visit Padmé’s tomb but he also admits to her murder, all of which have major emotional implications for him. I quite enjoyed this dive into Vader’s psyche and I really appreciated the way that the creative team tried to show just how complex and conflicted the character can be. Based on how Volume One ends, this is probably going to be a recurring theme of the Darth Vader (2020) series and it will be interesting to see the many different changes in the character’s psyche. I should mention that even though this is a focus on Vader’s mind and his innumerable regrets, the creative team do go out of their way to show just how much of a badass he is and there are several impressive sequences where he doles out death and destruction on an epic level, including killing some of the biggest and most dangerous creatures on Naboo. All of this results in a deeply impressive Darth Vader comic, and I love the creators’ take on this amazing villain.

Aside from Vader and the returning characters from the prequels, Dark Heart of the Sith also features a fun new posse for Vader in the form of three Death Troopers (the elite Stormtroopers introduced in Rogue One) and the forensics droid Zed Six Seven, who accompany Vader throughout this mission. While the Death Troopers do have a key role in this comic as Vader’s bodyguards and backup, they are mostly just background characters, without any major defining characteristics or moments. Zed Six Seven, on the other hand, does a lot of talking, commenting on every event and revelation that occurs within the course of the narrative. This extra commentary is essential, as Zed Six Seven provides nearly all the necessary exposition within the narrative, as Vader has less dialogue than a typical comic protagonist. Despite primarily being an exposition machine, Zed Six Seven does prove to be an entertaining character, and I quite enjoyed his reactions to certain revelations or the events, even if his inability to keep his robotic mouth shut does cost him in the end. Overall, I really liked all the character inclusions and development featured within Dark Heart of the Sith, and it helped to make an epic and powerful story.

I really must highlight the exceptional art featured within this volume as the two artists, Ienco and Menon, do an amazing job bringing this captivating narrative to life. I absolutely loved all the art contained within this comic and I felt that each of the scenes was drawn very well, with the various featured characters representing their film counterparts in impressive detail. I particularly enjoyed the excellent way that the artists recreated a ton of key events from the prequel movies and featured them throughout the comic. The recreated shots from the films were done with a distinctive red filter and were utilised as Vader’s flashbacks to key events from his life. These flashback scenes help to highlight just how muddled and conflicted Vader’s thoughts are, and they are utilised to great effect throughout this first volume, often shown side-to-side with current events for some amazing contrasts. I felt that this excellent artwork really helped to enhance Pak’s clever story, especially as the artwork provides the reader with some fantastic visuals of Vader’s emotional range. It is a real testament to their drawings that you constantly have an idea of how Vader is feeling even with the mask on, and a lot of this is down to the way that the artists portray his body language and reactions. I also loved several sequences that recreate Luke’s fall to the bottom of Cloud City at the end of their duel in The Empire Strikes Back. These sequences are featured multiple times throughout the comic, with Luke replaced with several other characters, including various iterations of Vader himself, reflecting just how fractured or lost Vader feels. This comic is also filled with some action-packed and explosive moments that see Vader attempt to kill everyone and everything in his path. These action sequences are an exciting treat at several key points throughout the narrative and it is always fun to see Vader kick ass and take names. Highlights included several sequences where Vader faces off against the megafauna of Naboo, including one massive leviathan (whose introduction is one of my favourite panels in the entire comic). There is also a particularly brutal fight sequence towards the end of the comic where Vader releases years of anger and frustration in one destructive flurry. All this awesome art adds so much to the comic and I cannot compliment it enough.

Dark Heart of the Sith, the first volume of the Darth Vader (2020) series, is an absolute triumph that may be one of the best pieces of Star Wars fiction this year. Featuring an outstanding combination of exciting narrative, compelling character development and eye-popping artwork, Dark Heart of the Sith was an absolute treat to read from start to finish. I loved the way in which the creative team dived into the mind of my favourite Star Wars character, and it proved to be a gripping and powerful read. This was one of the best things I read all year and it gets an easy five-star rating from me.

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Star Wars: Doctor Aphra written by Sarah Kuhn and performed by a full cast

On December 22, 2020August 19, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, LGBT+, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel16 Comments

Publisher: Random House Audio (Audio Drama – 21 July 2020)

Series: Star Wars

Script: Sarah Kuhn

Cast: Emily Woo Zeller, Jonathan Davis, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Sean Kenin, Nicole Lewis, Carol Monda, Euan Morton, Catherine Taber and Marc Thompson

Length: 5 hours and 35 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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The most brilliant and conniving archaeologist in the entire Star Wars canon gets her own audio drama as author Sarah Kuhn and an exceedingly talented cast of audiobook narrators present Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, the audio drama.

Throughout the galaxy Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra is renowned as a criminal and bringer of chaos without peer, but in her own eyes she is simply an archaeologist and technology enthusiast, albeit one willing to sell her findings to the highest bidder. However, her latest venture is about to get her into the worst type of trouble, the sort that will haunt her for the rest of her incredibly short life. Attempting to steal a dangerous weapon from a restricted alien vault, Aphra finds herself surrounded and slated to die, that is until Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith and overall badass suddenly appears and saves her.

Vader is engaging in a high-risk power play against the Emperor and Aphra has just become his most useful pawn, whether she likes it or not. Working as his agent, Aphra must utilise her skills as a con-woman, genius technician and criminal mastermind to help Vader achieve his goals: depose the Emperor and find his new obsession, the pilot who blew up the Death Star, Luke Skywalker. Determined to stay on Vader’s good side, Aphra, with the help of her two friendly murder droids, Triple-Zero and BT-1, helps her new master engage in all manner of shenanigans across the universe, including kidnappings, torture and elaborate heists. However, Aphra knows that all it will take is just one mistake or slip-up to earn her new employers’ deadly wrath. To avoid her inevitable appointment with Vader’s crimson lightsaber, Aphra will need to pull out every trick in her impressive arsenal if she is to survive. But can even the great Doctor Aphra outsmart Darth Vader and the entire Empire, or has the smartest woman in the galaxy finally met her match?

Well this is an exceedingly fun and entertaining entry in the Star Wars expanded universe which provides a new angle to the tale of Doctor Aphra. Doctor Aphra is an incredible and complex character who has only been recently added into the canon. Introduced in the opening issues the 2015 Darth Vader comic book series, Doctor Aphra served as a major supporting character for much of the series run, entertaining readers with her antics and ability to survive working for Darth Vader. Aphra proved to be an extremely popular character, and this resulted in the character getting her own comic book series (which ironically lasted more issues than the Darth Vader series she was introduced in). The Doctor Aphra series ended up being an amazing hit thanks to some exceptional writing and it is one of my favourite pieces of Star Wars tie-in fiction (make sure to check out my reviews for the last two volumes in the series, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End), and there is even a second Doctor Aphra series on its way. It seems that Aphra’s popularity has continued to grow as earlier this year this Doctor Aphra audio drama was released, written by talented author Sarah Kuhn. This proved to be an exceptionally impressive audio release that does an amazing job bringing this fantastic character into an entirely new format. This audio drama has a run time of around five and a half hours, which listeners are able to breeze through in no time at all.

The Doctor Aphra audio drama contains an intriguing and captivating story that follows the character as she engages in all manner of adventures in service to Darth Vader and her own survival. Told entirely from the perspective of Aphra as she makes a series of recordings to an unknown person, and set shortly after the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, this story follows Aphra through the entirety of her ill-fated association with Darth Vader. This employment places her in all manner of danger, as she completes a series of tasks important to Vader, including an elaborate heist; gets in the middle of a deadly conflict between Vader, one of his rivals in the Empire, and the protagonists of The Original Trilogy; and finds herself a prisoner of the Rebel Alliance before eventually attempting to manipulate the Emperor for her own ends. At the same time, Aphra is constantly balancing on a knife’s edge, as her beloved boss has made it abundantly clear that he will kill her the moment she displeases him. This forces Aphra into a number of tense and dangerous situations as she needs to convince Vader to keep her alive throughout the entire book. This struggle to stay alive adds a substantial amount of suspense to the audio drama, as the listener really wants this entertaining character to survive, and it eventually leads to an outstanding and epic conclusion. All of this proves to be an exceedingly captivating adventure, and listeners are in for an exciting and hilarious time, especially with Aphra’s entertaining and over-exaggerated narration of the events occurring.

While I did really enjoy the story contained within this audio drama, I do need to point out that it is not actually an original tale; instead it is an adaption of several canon comic book series, namely the comics that featured Aphra’s early adventures. The first part of the audio drama adapts most of the first two volumes of the 2015 Darth Vader comic series, Volume One: Vader and Volume Two: Shadows and Secrets. From there the story follows the course of the crossover limited series, Vader Down, before moving on to the events of the fourth volume of the 2015 Star Wars comic, Rebel Jail. Finally, the story returns to the Darth Vader comic, utilising parts of the fourth and final volume, End of Games. Doctor Aphra proves to be an exceptional adaptation of these comics although they only show off the events that Aphra herself witnessed or was a part of. I had an amazing time listening to this adaptation and I really enjoyed seeing several of the amazing events that originally occurred on the page being brought to life by this enjoyable performance.

People interested in listening to this audio drama do not need to have read the adapted comics first, as Kuhn provides Aphra with a great deal of narration that explains her role in the story and all the events leading up to the comics. As someone who has read the comics before listening to this audio drama, I found that there was a lot in this production for fans of the comic. I personally really enjoyed seeing these events from Aphra’s perspective (as the original comics mostly followed main characters such as Vader, Luke, Leia, and Han), and it was extremely interesting to see her thoughts on the various events occurring. The author also comes up with a lot of additional backstory that helps to enrich Aphra’s involvement in the narrative, which fans of the character will really appreciate. While I had a great time listening to this audio drama, I did notice that several events were glossed over, mainly because Aphra did not witness them occur in the comics. For example, you have no idea who is behind several of the battles or attacks that Aphra finds herself in the middle of, with Aphra herself giving limited explanations for them. While I knew full well what was going on, people who haven’t read the comics are going to be full of questions and this may make the audio drama a little confusing at times. That being said, this was still an outstanding and deeply enjoyable production, and perhaps it will encourage listeners to check out some of the adapted comics (trust me, they are awesome).

One of the best things about this audio drama was the way in which the narrative explored the complex and exceedingly likeable character of Doctor Chelli Aphra. Aphra is a clever, impulsive and chaotic rogue archaeologist who is obsessed with ancient technology, particularly unusual droids and dangerous weapons. Aphra is a wildly entertaining character who is essentially an amoral version of Indiana Jones that has no problems cheating or betraying people who she encounters, as long as she gets to hold onto the valuable antiques or can sell them for vast amounts of money (none of her loot belongs in a museum!). Aphra appears to have a relentlessly positive personality, providing the listener with a string of continual jokes and funny observations with an infectious amount of enthusiasm. However, deep down Aphra is actually a deeply damaged individual who has suffered a number of losses and betrayals that impact her current outlook on life and other people.

Despite the fact that Aphra is the very definition of an unreliable narrator (she literally deletes or edits the parts of the story she does not like to suit her agenda), I felt that this audio drama does an amazing job exploring this wily protagonist. Having Aphra’s inner monologue about the events occurring during this story proved to be not only entertaining but also very enlightening, and it showed some fascinating glimpses of her inner personality and emotional state. While much of Aphra’s story was previously explored in the comics that Doctor Aphra is based on, this adaptation does go a little further, pulling in some backstory that was introduced in the later Doctor Aphra comics and expertly working it into this narrative. Kuhn also comes up with some additional history that is unique to this production, including a number of scenes that explore her previous romantic relationship with Sana Starros. While this relationship has been mentioned and discussed in several of the comics, this is probably the most in-depth examination of it in the canon and it becomes an important part of the overall plot. I really enjoyed the way in which Doctor Aphra examined its titular protagonist and I felt that the story really captured her essence and outrageous personality.

This audio drama sports an amazing voice cast and each of them does a fantastic job in this production. However, I really must highlight the performance of Emily Woo Zeller, who portrayed the titular character. Zeller is an experienced and talented narrator who has contributed to a huge raft of audiobooks, including several I am quite interested in checking out, such as Cyber Shogun Revolution by Peter Tieryas. Due to how the audio drama is written, Zeller’s voice is the one we hear the most throughout Doctor Aphra, as she recounts all of the characters dialogue and the overall narration of this book. I really loved the way that Zeller portrayed the character of Aphra in this audio drama and I thought she got all the aspects of the character down perfectly. Zeller gives a particularly energetic performance throughout this adaption, and listeners get a real sense of the mischievous and over confident outer shell that Doctor Aphra portrays to everyone she meets. However, Zeller also captures the vulnerable nature of this complex protagonist, showing off the character’s full range of emotions when she is scared, angry or contemplating her many regrets. This rich and amazing performance from Zeller really helps to make this audio drama something special, and I am really glad that she was able to bring Doctor Aphra to life in such an exceptional way.

Doctor Aphra also makes use of several other impressive voice actors throughout this audio drama, each of whom are portraying major Star Wars characters who Aphra interacts with through the course of this adventure. This audio drama features a who’s who of Star Wars audiobook narrators, many of whose works I have previously enjoyed in a range of productions including the previous Star Wars audio drama, Dooku: Jedi Lost. These additional narrators include Jonathan Davis (who I previously enjoyed in Star Wars: Master and Apprentice and Lords of the Sith), Sean Kenin (Death Troopers), Euan Morton (Tarkin), Catherine Taber (Queen’s Peril and Queen’s Shadow), Marc Thompson (Thrawn, Thrawn: Chaos Rising, Dark Disciple and Scoundrels), Sean Patrick Hopkins, Nicole Lewis and Carol Monda. Each of these voice actors did an exceptional job of bringing their various characters to life throughout Doctor Aphra. I particularly enjoyed Marc Thompson’s Darth Vader and Euan Morton’s Emperor, as both voice actors brought some realistic menace to these iconic villains. Catherine Taber, who is best known for her portrayal of Padme Amidala in The Clone Wars animated series, does an excellent Princess Leia in this production, and I really appreciated the choice to cast her. Sean Patrick Hopkins does a really cool Luke Skywalker, and I was really struck by how close he got to a younger Mark Hamil’s voice. I also really enjoyed Sean Kenin’s Triple-Zero, and I felt he really captured the essence of this crazy character. Each of these side characters added a lot to the production as a whole and, while they were not as heavily featured as Aphra, each of them had their own entertaining moments and interactions. I particularly loved the threatening aura that Darth Vader exhibited towards Aphra, and there is also a very entertaining interaction between Aphra and Han Solo that results in some of the best jokes in the entire production. You also have to love the fact that Aphra ends up with a posse that essentially reflects the main characters from The Original Trilogy, with a protocol droid (Triple-Zero), an Astromech (BT-1) and a Wookie (Black Krrsantan). Of course, Aphra’s friends are all dangerous killers, which makes for some extremely entertaining and deadly encounters.

In addition to featuring an impressive voice cast, Doctor Aphra also features the full range of iconic Star Wars sound effects and musical scores that were made famous in the movies. Pretty much every action that occurs within the book is accompanied by a sound effect, whether it be blaster fire, the sound of engines or even a susurration from other people in a crowded room. I always love how these sound effects helped to create an atmosphere throughout the course of a Star Wars novel, and I felt that they were particularly useful for this audio drama format due to the lack of narration that a standard audiobook would have. I also have to talk up the excellent use of the incredible Star Wars musical score that features during several key scenes of the novel. Hearing this music during some of the most pivotal, dramatic or action-packed sequences makes the narrative seem that much more epic, and I absolutely loved hearing this music throughout this production. The use of the sound effects and music enhances the story in immeasurable ways, and it helps to turn this audio drama into an exceptional treat for the ears.

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra is an impressive and deeply enjoyable audio production that brings fan-favourite character Chelli Aphra into a whole new light. Cleverly adapting several amazing Star Wars comics, the Doctor Aphra audio drama features an interesting story from author Sarah Kuhn that shows the events from the perspective of the chaotic and duplicitous titular protagonist. Featuring an exceptional voice cast, Doctor Aphra proves to be an extremely entertaining and exceedingly addictive listen that I had a very hard time turning off. I personally think this was one of the best audio productions of 2020 and it comes highly recommended both to general Star Wars fans and to those who have read the adapted comics. I had an amazing time listening to this audio drama and I hope that they think about adapting the later Doctor Aphra comic book series next as there are some impressive storylines featured in there.

Amazon Book Depository

Book Haul – 31 November 2020

On November 30, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Book Haul1 Comment

2020 is nearly at an end but the books keep on rolling in. I have been rather lucky over the last couple of weeks to receive several awesome new novels, and I have also gone and bought a few cool comics as well. As a result, I thought I would do a quick Book Haul post to share which recent releases I am hoping to read in the next month. I am extremely happy with the haul I received, as not only have I managed to get my hands on several books I have been really looking forward to, but I also received a couple of intriguing new releases from the start of 2021. All of these should make for some fun reading and I cannot wait to start diving into the books/comics below.

Call of the Bone Ships by R. J. Barker

The first book on this list is the second book in the Tide Child trilogy, Call of the Bone Ships, by rising fantasy phenom R. J. Barker. Barker has been doing some incredible work over the last couple of years, including last years extraordinary release, The Bone Ships. The Bone Ships was one of my favourite books (and audiobooks) 0f 2019 and I have been eagerly waiting to see how the series continues for some time now. Call of the Bones Ships should be a pretty epic read and I think it has the potential to be one of the best books of 2020. I am hoping to read it in the next week or so and I am very eager to finally pick it up.

Fool Me Twice by Jeff Lindsay

Next on this list is Fool Me Twice, the cool new thriller from bestselling author Jeff Lindsay. Fool Me Twice is the fun sounding sequel to Just Watch Me, which follows the adventures of a master thief as he completes a dangerous heist. Fool Me Twice has a really cool plot and it should make for a fantastic read.

Gallowglass by S. J. Morden

Gallowglass is a cool science fiction novel from S. J. Morden, an author who I am a little unfamiliar with, but whom I am quite eager to try out. Gallowglass has a very interesting plot to it and I cannot wait to see where this fun adventure in space goes.

The Last Convict by Anthony Hill

Anthony Hill is a compelling Australian author who specialises in interesting historical fiction novels. His latest novel, The Last Convict, will follow the life of the last convict ever sent to Australia and should make for an excellent read.

Lightseekers by Femi Kayode

Lightseekers is an extremely fascinating upcoming crime fiction novel set in Nigeria. The will be the debut release from author Femi Kayode and it is already getting a substantial amount of buzz. I reckon this will be a fantastic read and I look forward to seeing how Kayode’s first book turns out.

War Lord by Bernard Cornwell

I went out and grabbed my copy of War Lord last week and I should hopefully get to it soon. War Lord is the final entry in Cornwell’s long running The Last Kingdom series and it will extremely awesome, if a little sad, to see how Cornwell finally wraps these books up.

In addition to the impressive novels above I also received my pre-ordered copies of the latest Star Wars tie-in comics. This new range of Star Wars comics are set in the aftermath of The Empire Strikes Back and takes Star Wars fans on a series of new adventures between the second and third movies in The Original Trilogy. I have been eagerly waiting for these comics for some time and each of them brings something different to this fantastic franchise. Naturally, I read them the moment I got them and I am hoping to get some reviews for them up soon.

Star Wars: The Destiny Path

The Destiny Path is the first volume in the new Star Wars comic series and it follows the protagonists from The Original Trilogy as they attempt to recover from the events of The Empire Strikes Back. This was an awesome comic and it answers several cool questions about what happened to these characters between the movies.

Star Wars: Darth Vader – Dark Heart of the Sith

Out of the three Star Wars comics I recently received I have to say that Dark Heart of the Sith is probably my favourite. Dark Heart of the Sith is the first volume in a new Darth Vader series and it follows an enraged Vader as he attempts to get revenge on anyone who crossed him. This volume contains an impressive storyline that sees Vader confront the ghosts of his path in the most brutal way possible.

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters – Galaxy’s Deadliest

The final Star Wars comic I received was Galaxy’s Deadliest, the first volume in the new Star Wars: Bounty Hunters series. Bounty Hunters follows some of the toughest and most dangerous hunters in the Star Wars universe as they all compete for a major bounty and a lot of revenge. Spinning off from last years Target Vader, this first entry in the Bounty Hunters series is chocked full of action and is an amazing comic to check out.

Waiting on Wednesday – Upcoming Star Wars Comics

On May 13, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Waiting on Wednesday7 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I am still in a massive Star Wars mood after listing my favourite pieces of Star Wars fiction for last week’s Top Ten Tuesday, so I thought I would use this article to highlight some of the amazing upcoming Star Wars comics that I will be purchasing later this year.

If the fact that I wrote a massive and detailed list last week to celebrate May the Fourth wasn’t a hint, then I’ll flat out say it: I love Star Wars. I am an avid consumer of all things Star Wars, and for the last couple of years I have gone out of my way to watch all the movies, read all of the new Star Wars tie-in novels and absorb all of the associated animated shows. However, in my opinion, some of the best examples of Star Wars fiction that are being created at the moment are the franchise’s excellent comic books.

Marvel Comics have released some truly terrific Star Wars comics over the last couple of years, from ongoing series like Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith (check out my reviews for volumes Two and Three) and Poe Dameron, cool crossovers like Vader Down, and even some exceptional limited series, such as Vader: Dark Visions. These examples are just a taste of what is available, and there have been several other great comics released over the last few years, including some incredible ongoing series. Pretty much all the current Star Wars comics are outstanding reads, featuring impressive stories, fantastic portrayals of characters from movies, cool new characters and eye-catching artwork.

2020 is shaping up to be an awesome year for fans of these Star Wars comics, as four new ongoing series have just recently started up, all of which sound really cool. I am particularly excited for three of them, as they will follow on from some of my favourite Star Wars comics that have only just recently finished in the last few months. All four series will be set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and each of them will follow a different group of Star Wars characters throughout the turbulent times between these movies. Each of these series will feature a new creative team, which should help produce some cool, fresh storylines and perspectives. If the previous run of Star Wars comics is anything to go by then these four series are all going to be heavily linked with each other, and there will probably be some storyline connections later down the line. Heck, it would not surprise me if all four of these comics have a massive crossover at some point, which would be beyond awesome. While all four of these series have actually already started, I am going to feature them in this Waiting on Wednesday article because it will take several months for me to get copies of all of them, due to my preference for collected editions over individual issues. I am also going to have to wait a little longer than usual to get these comics, as Marvel Comics were forced to temporarily postpone their publishing line in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, although this is not something that I am going to complain about.

The first of these new series is Star Wars (2020), which will no doubt serve as the central post for this entire new run of Star Wars ongoing comics. This new Star Wars (2020) ongoing series is written by Charles Soule and drawn by Jesús Saiz, and will follow the adventures of the Rebel Alliance, with the focus on the protagonists from the Original Trilogy, namely Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2 and Lando Calrissian. This series has a lot of storyline potential, as it will deal with all the fallout from the events of The Empire Strikes Back. In addition, it will probably also follow on some of the events that were explored in the previous long-running Star Wars comic series, which started in 2015 (check out my review for the first volume). The first upcoming volume is currently set for release on 21 July 2020, and it sounds like this comic is going to focus on quite a few intriguing story threads.

Volume Synopsis:

“No…I am your father.”

In the wake of the events following The Empire Strikes Back, it is a dark time for the heroes of the Rebellion. The Rebel fleet…scattered following a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Hoth. Han Solo…lost to the bounty hunter Boba Fett after being frozen in carbonite. And after being lured into a trap on Cloud City and bested in a vicious lightsaber duel against the evil Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker…learned the horrible truth about his past. Vader did not kill Luke’s father, Anakin – Vader is Luke’s father! Now, after narrowly escaping the dark lord’s clutches, and wounded and reeling from the revelation, Luke, Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, the Wookiee Chewbacca and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 must fight their way back to the Rebel Alliance – for the fate of the entire galaxy is at stake! After so many losses, is victory still possible? But, what Leia, Luke and their ragtag band of freedom fighters do not realize is that they have only traded one Imperial trap for another! Enter the cunning and vengeful Imperial Commander Ellian Zahra, at the helm of the Tarkin’s Will! Writer Charles Soule (DARTH VADER) and artist Jesús Saiz (DOCTOR STRANGE) are taking us all to the galaxy far, far away!

The next series that I am looking forward to is the Darth Vader (2020) series of comics. There have been some incredibly cool comics focused around Darth Vader released in the last few years, from The Dark Lord of the Sith series that I mentioned above (which focused on the early days of Darth Vader after the events Revenge of the Sith), to Darth Vader (2015), which was strongly connected to the events of the Star Wars (2015) series. This was an amazing comic that not only introduced a barrage of awesome and distinctive new characters but which showed a number of extremely captivating moments in Darth Vader’s new history, such as the moment he realised that Luke was his son. I massively enjoyed this series when it came out, and I have recently reviewed Volumes One and Two of the series, giving them both five-star ratings.

As the Darth Vader (2020) is a bit of a direct successor to two excellent prior series that focused on the character, I have extremely high hopes for this new series, which will be written by Greg Pak and features the artistic talents of Raffaele Ienco. This new series has already caught my attention as the first issue apparently ends with Vader coming face-to-face with the most significant person from his past. I also really like that the series as a whole is going to focus on Vader as he comes to terms with the fact that Luke refused to join him and turn to the Dark Side of the Force, something which apparently has an interesting impact on Vader’s psyche. This first volume of this series is set for release on 25 August 2020, and I am deeply invested in checking this volume out as soon as possible.

Volume Synopsis:

“JOIN ME, AND TOGETHER, WE CAN RULE THE GALAXY AS FATHER AND SON!”

In the shattering climax of The Empire Strikes Back, DARTH VADER infamously reveals his true relationship to LUKE SKYWALKER and invites his son to rule the galaxy with him. But Luke refuses – plunging into the abyss beneath Cloud City rather than turn to the Dark Side. We all remember Luke’s utter horror in this life-altering moment. But what about Vader? In this new epic chapter in the Darth Vader saga, the dark lord grapples with Luke’s unthinkable refusal and embarks on a bloody mission of rage-filled revenge.

Writer Greg Pak and artist Raffaele Ienco unleash Darth Vader on his dark quest of vengeance and discovery!

The third series that I am going to check out later this year is Doctor Aphra (2020). This is a series that I am really looking forward to, as it features one of the best new Star Wars characters of the last few years, the titular Dr Aphra. Aphra was originally introduced in the Darth Vader (2015) series, and is a rogue archaeologist, tomb raider, con artist, thief and adventurer, who is essentially a combination of Han Solo and Indiana Jones, but without any morals. She proved to be an extremely popular character who not only survived the events of the Darth Vader series (despite Vader’s best efforts) but was eventually given her own ongoing series. I am a massive fan of the previous Dr Aphra series, and in my opinion, it was one of the best comics of the last few years, featuring some extremely clever stories, excellent character work and an outstanding sense of humour. I have recently reviewed the last two volumes of this series, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End, both of which got a full five stars from me. Due to how much I loved the previous versions of Dr Aphra, I am extremely keen to check out this series, and I cannot wait to see what happens to this cool character next.

This new Doctor Aphra comic features the creative team of Alyssa Wong and Marika Cresta, neither of whom I am very familiar with. I am, however, rather curious to see their take on this amazing character, and I cannot wait to grab this comic later this year. Unfortunately, this series is facing some major delays due to the aforementioned publication cessation, so it might be a while before I get to check out the collected volume. The first issue was only just released, but it sounds like it has a fun story to it, and it should prove to be a good basis for the rest of the issues in the first volume. The premise certainly sounds very Dr Aphra, as the protagonist and her allies (a combination of new and old characters) attempt to find a legendary cursed item.

Issue #1 Synopsis:

NEW CREW, NEW MISSION! With the Rebel Alliance back on the run after their defeat at the Battle of Hoth, it’s never been a more dangerous time for outlaws, scoundrels and the errant rogue archaeologist to make their way in the galaxy. But after a string of bad luck and near escapes, DOCTOR APHRA is back on the job! She’s been keeping a low profile – jobs are scarce and credits scarcer. But the promise of the score of a lifetime is a chance too good for her to pass up. And to find the cursed RINGS OF VAALE, Aphra will need a crew of treasure hunters the likes of which the galaxy has never seen before! But RONEN TAGGE, heir to the powerful Tagge family, also has his eyes on the prize. Do Aphra and her team stand a chance at fortune and glory?

The final series starting up in 2020 that I am going to look at in this Waiting on Wednesday is Bounty Hunters, written by Ethan Sacks and illustrated by Paolo Villanelli. As the name suggests, this series will focus on several of the Star Wars universe’s iconic bounty hunters, including Beilert Valance, Boba Fett and Bossk. This is the only series in this article that is not a sequel to an existing series, although backstory elements of the main character, Beilert Valance, were recently set out in the Target Vader limited series.

As Bounty Hunters is not a direct sequel to an established series that I have gotten into, I do not have quite the same emotional attachment to it that I do with the other three series mentioned in this article. Despite this, I am planning to grab this series when it comes out, and I am actually rather looking forward to it. Bounty hunters such as Boba Fett, Cad Bane and the protagonist of The Mandalorian are amongst some of the coolest characters in the Star Wars canon, and they have some the best stories in the franchise. A whole comic series set around some of these characters sounds like a lot of fun, and the central story of the first volume is apparently going to focus on Valance, Fett and Bossk all hunting for a fellow bounty hunter who betrayed them years ago. I am rather curious to see where this series ends up going, and I am also glad that there is a finally an ongoing comic series that features Boba Fett as a recurring character (particularly as he is going to appear in The Mandalorian later this year). Bounty Hunters is another series that has been significantly impacted by the Marvel Comics shutdown, with only the first two issues currently released, and the third not scheduled to come out until June. This probably means the first collected edition will take a while to come out, but I can wait, especially as the first issues sounds rather cool already.

Issue #1 Synopsis:

NEVER BETRAY A BOUNTY HUNTER – ESPECIALLY IF IT’S BOBA FETT!

Years ago, VALANCE and fellow bounty hunters BOSSK and BOBA FETT took on a mission that went sideways in a bad way after Valance’s mentor, NAKANO LASH, violently betrayed them. Valance’s team barely escaped with their lives. He never thought he’d face his old mentor ever again-until Lash finally resurfaces under mysterious circumstances. Every bounty hunter in the galaxy wants a piece and Valance is hell-bent on getting to the prize first. He has score to settle-but so does Boba Fett! ETHAN SACKS (OLD MAN HAWKEYE and GALAXY’S EDGE) and PAOLO VILLANELLI (VADER: DARK VISIONS and JEDI FALLEN ORDER – DARK TEMPLE) are teaming up to bring you the bounty hunter adventure you’ve been waiting for this March!

As you can see, there are some truly awesome-sounding Star Wars comics coming out later this year, and I am deeply excited for all of them. Each of these new ongoing series has a lot of potential, and I honestly think that I am going to love all four of these series once I get my hands on their first collected edition. Let me know which of these comics you are most excited for in the comments below. In the meantime, make sure to check out one of my previous Waiting on Wednesday articles where I look at the next three Star Wars novels that are set for release.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Pieces of Star Wars Tie-In Fiction

On May 5, 2020May 5, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, List, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel11 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week, the official topic is to list Ten Things I’d Have at My Bookish Party, although I’m once again going to do something a little different, mainly due to the date.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday falls just one day after May the 4^th, which is officially Star Wars Day. I have made no secret of my love for the Star Wars franchise, and this blog is packed full of reviews for the various Star Wars tie-novels and comics that have been released in recent years. My current deep obsession with Star Wars tie-in fiction is a surprisingly recent thing, as I only started really getting into Star Wars books and comics in 2018 after reading Last Shot by Daniel Jose Older. Since then I have gone out of my way to read a ton of Star Wars novels and I have dived deep into the current vein of comic books. All of these have been pretty damn amazing so far, and I have really enjoyed some of the comics and novels that I have had the opportunity to read. Due to this, I thought I would celebrate this Star Wars Day by listing my top ten favourite pieces of Star Wars fiction.

For this list, I have pulled together the top Star Wars tie-in novels and comics that I have read and tried to figure out which ones were my absolute favourite. This turned out to be somewhat difficult because I have read quite a few outstanding Star Wars books and comics over the last two years. In order to get a list together that I was happy with, I decided that I would feature whole series of books and comics together as a single entry, which ensured I wouldn’t have to choose which individual volumes were my absolute favourite. This allowed me to come up with a rather good list that contained most of my favourites, although I did also include a rather substantial Honourable Mentions section. I am actually surprised at which pieces of Star Wars fiction I ended up excluding from this list, including some fantastic novels and comics that I wrote multi-page reviews for. However, I am rather happy with what ended up on this list, and without a doubt, these following entries are my absolute favourite pieces of Star War fiction that I have read so far.

Honourable Mentions

Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston

The first entry in my Honourable Mentions is a firm favourite of mine, mainly because it focuses on one of the best characters in the expanded Star Wars Universe, Ahsoka Tano, and bridges the gap between The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated show. This young adult Star Wars novel is very good and is best enjoyed in its audiobook format, which is narrated by Ashley Eckstein, the voice actor who portrays Ahsoka in the shows.

Poe Dameron (2016)

The Poe Dameron comic book series is an excellent series written by the amazing Charles Soule and drawn by Phil Noto and Angel Unzueta. This series ran between 2016 and 2018 and focuses on the adventures of Resistance pilot Poe Dameron and his X-Wing Squadron, Black Squadron. Set just before the events of The Force Awakens, this is a fantastic series filled with some rather cool storylines and outstanding characters. I actually still have to finish this series off, and the final volume, The Awakening, should hopefully be arriving by post very soon.

Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott

A clever piece of fiction that tells the tale of a young Count Dooku, showing how he fell to the Dark Side of the Force. While this was released in book format, Jedi Lost was originally an audio drama, featuring the vocal talents of some of the best Star Wars audiobook narrators and actors, and that is definitely the best way to enjoy this piece of Star Wars fiction.

Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp

This is the latest Star Wars novel that I have read, and I only got a review up for it a couple of weeks ago. Lords of the Sith is an extremely fun and action-packed Star Wars novel that is highly recommended for anyone wants to see Darth Vader and the Emperor let loose in some over-the-top ways.

Top Ten List (No Particular Order):

Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn

The first entry on this Top Ten List is the excellent new Thrawn trilogy from legendary Star Wars tie-in author, Timothy Zahn. Zahn is one of the best authors of Star Wars fiction, and in this series he brought his most iconic character, Grand Admiral Thrawn, into the new Disney canon, backing up the character’s appearance on Star Wars Rebels. This trilogy is made up of three spectacular books, Thrawn, Alliances and Treason, all three of which I deeply enjoyed. The first book, Thrawn, is probably the best Star Wars novel I have so far read. This is a fantastic series to check out, and I cannot wait to grab Zahn’s next piece of fiction.

Star Wars (2015)

This is the first of several comics series featured on this Top Ten list, and it is a rather impressive series that I literally just finished yesterday. The Star Wars (2015) series is the backbone of the current run of the franchise’s comics and ran between 2015 and 2019, with 75 issues, thanks to the efforts of a massive team of contributors. This series is set between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back and follows the adventures of the main protagonists of the Original Trilogy as they fight the Empire and get into all manner of trouble. This series starts off with a massive bang and has some very impressive highs throughout its run. My absolute favourite volume in this series has to be the outstanding first entry, Skywalker Strikes, although other awesome volumes include Rebel Jail, The Last Flight of the Harbinger and Hope Dies. Skywalker Strikes is the only volume of this I have so far reviewed, although I plan to review the other volumes at some point in the future.

Dark Disciple by Christie Golden

The third entry on my list is a rather intriguing novel, Dark Disciple, which follows two fan favourite expanded universe characters, Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, and concludes their stories after their last appearance in The Clone Wars animated series. Based on unused scripts for a proposed arc in The Clones Wars by Katie Lucas, this was an outstanding tale of love, revenge and hate that I was really glad I checked out.

Darth Vader (2015) by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

The Darth Vader (2015) comic book series is a particularly awesome series which follows the dark and destructive adventures of the titular antagonist after the events of A New Hope. Strongly connected to the events of the Star Wars (2015) comics, this series ran for 25 issues between 2015 and 2016 and featured some incredible storylines and introduced some cool characters to the canon. I really loved this incredible series, and the two volumes I have so far reviewed, Vader and Shadows and Secrets, each got a five-star rating from me.

Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray

This next entry was a captivating novel released last year that explored the complicated relationship between Quin-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, several years before the events of The Phantom Menace. This was a deeply captivating novel that featured an interesting dive into the Star Wars lore while also presenting the reader with a fun and action-packed adventure. One of the top Star Wars novels of 2019, Master & Apprentice is a fantastic book to check out.

Vader Down

Vader Down is the latest piece of Star Wars fiction that I have reviewed, as I only just featured it in a Throwback Thursday article last week. This is an extremely awesome comic that serves as an outstanding crossover between the Star Wars (2015) and Darth Vader (2015) series. An explosive comic, full of violence, fun character moments and a compelling story, Vader Down is pure entertainment from start to finish.

Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

This is the second entry on this list that was written by Timothy Zahn and the only book that is from the older Star Wars Legends canon. Scoundrels was an entertaining take on the heist genre that followed Han, Chewie, Lando and a crew of their criminal friends as they attempt to pull off an impossible robbery. An incredibly gripping novel with an exciting premise that I had a blast reading.

Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith by Charles Soule and Giuseppe Camuncoli

Another top-rate Star Wars comic book series featuring Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith followed the early days of Vader and is set right after the events of Revenge of the Sith. This was a very impressive series, and it was one of the first Star Wars comics that I really got into. I absolutely loved all four volumes (made up of 25 issues) of this series, and the two volumes I have reviewed, Legacy’s End and The Burning Seas, both got five-star reviews from me.

Tarkin by James Luceno

An early entry in the new Star Wars canon, Tarkin created a new history for the titular character, Grand Moff Tarkin, and showed the events that led to him becoming one of the most powerful men in the Empire. This was an extremely clever and well-written novel that I deeply enjoyed, and it is a great piece of Star Wars fiction to read.

Dr Aphra (2016)

The final entry on this list is the epic and always entertaining Dr Aphra comic book series. The Dr Aphra comics spun off from the Darth Vader (2015) series and followed several of the amazing side characters that were introduced in the series, including the rogue space archaeologist Dr Aphra. Dr Aphra ran between 2016 and late 2019 and followed the crazy misadventures of the good doctor as she spreads chaos across the galaxy. This series only just ended after 40 incredible issues, and it is really worth checking out. This is easily one of my top comic series at the moment, and I loved how this series overlayed a captivating character study with cool storylines, clever action and amazing humour. I loved every second I spent reading Dr Aphra, and the two volumes I have so far reviewed, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End, are incredible reads.

Well, that is the end of my Top Ten list. I am rather happy with how it turned out, and I think that I have included some rather interesting choices on there. I had a wonderful time coming up with this list, and I think it is something that I will come back to each year around May 4th. I imagine that my next list is going to look substantially different, as there is a huge amount of new Star Wars fiction coming out in the next year. This includes three fantastic new books from authors I read last year (Queen’s Peril, Thrawn: Ascendancy: Chaos Rising and Shadow Fall), a young adult book focused on Poe Dameron, and the books that are going to fall under the new High Republic sub-series. There are also several new Star Wars comic series starting up this year, including Star Wars (2020), Darth Vader (2020), Bounty Hunters and Dr Aphra (2020), all of which I am really looking forward to checking out. I will probably also check out some older Star Wars books in the next year, such as A New Dawn and the Aftermath trilogy, both of which I have heard things about, and I might also check out some books from the old Star Wars Legends canon. All of these should result in a ton of new entries in my next list and I may actually break it up into two separate lists, one for comics and one for novels. Until then I hope you enjoyed the list above and May the Fourth be with you. Let me know what you think of my choices and let me know what your favourite Star Wars books and comics are in the comments below.

Throwback Thursday: Star Wars: Vader Down

On May 1, 2020August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Throwback Thursday9 Comments

Publisher: Marvel Comics (Paperback – 19 April 2016)

Series: Crossover – Featuring Issues from Star Wars (2015) and Darth Vader (2015)

Writers: Jason Aaron (Star Wars: Vader Down #1, Star Wars #13-14) and Kieron Gillen (Darth Vader #13 – 15)

Artists: Mike Deodato (Star Wars: Vader Down #1, Star Wars #13-14) and Salvador Larroca (Darth Vader #13 – 15)

Colourists: Frank Martin Jr (Star Wars: Vader Down #1, Star Wars #13-14) and Edgar Delgado (Darth Vader #13 – 15)

Letterers: VC’s Joe Caramagna (Star Wars: Vader Down #1, Darth Vader #13 – 15) and Chris Eliopoulos (Star Wars #13-14)

Length: 152 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

For this latest Throwback Thursday I go back and look at the epic and deeply enjoyable Star Wars comic book crossover extravaganza, Star Wars: Vader Down.

Vader Down was a crossover, published in late 2015 and early 2016, of two of the best Star Wars comic series at the time, Star Wars (2015) and Darth Vader (2015). These two series ran side by side during this period and were set between the events of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back and expanded the new Disney Star Wars canon. Both of these series were extremely good in their own right, with some very impressive comics during their early run (check out my reviews for some of these earlier volumes, Skywalker Strikes, Vader and Shadows and Secrets, all three of which got five-star reviews from me). These two comics ended up converging during the events of this crossover, with both series’ creative teams pooling their efforts to tell an exciting and action-packed tale. Vader Down is made up of a single introductory issue (Star Wars: Vader Down #1), two issues of Star Wars (2015) (issues #13-14) and three issues of Darth Vader (issues #13-15)

Darth Vader is a man on a mission. Ever since he discovered that the Rebel Alliance pilot who destroyed the Death Star was Luke Skywalker, the son he never knew he had, Vader has been scouring the galaxy for him, determined to claim Luke and use him to take control of the Empire. It finally appears that his patience has been rewarded, as his sources have revealed that Luke is visiting an abandoned Jedi temple on the planet of Vrogas Vas. However, Vader is unaware that he is falling into a trap set by one of his rivals, the Mon Calamari cyborg Commander Karbin. Instead of finding Luke by himself, he discovers an entire Rebel fleet orbiting a planet housing a secret Rebel facility. Despite being outnumbered, Vader is able to fight off the Rebel pilots trying to kill him, until Luke, in a desperate move, smashes his fighter into Vader’s ship, sending them both crashing down to the planet’s surface.

Now on foot, Vader sets out across the desolate planet to find his wayward son and turn him to the Dark Side of the force. However, the Rebels send a significant force to Vrogas Vas to capture or kill Vader. But even surrounded and outnumbered, Vader is more than a match for anything the Rebels can throw at him, and it seems only a matter of time before he finds his son. Luke’s only hope to survive lies in his friends, as Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 all set out to save him. However, Luke is not the only one with friends on the way, as Vader’s reluctant agent, Doctor Aphra, also sets course to Vrogas Vas in order to save herself from being murdered by her employer for this debacle. By her side are three of the most dangerous beings in the galaxy, the murderous droids Triple-Zero and BT-1, and the vicious Wookie bounty hunter Black Krrsantan.

As the two sides engage in all-out war across the planet’s surface, neither is aware of the danger coming for both of them. Imperial forces under the command of Commander Karbin have come to Vrogas Vas in the aftermath of the conflict not only to capture Luke but to also kill Vader so that Karbin can take his place by the Emperor’s side. Can Vader and the Rebels survive the onslaught of Karbin and achieve their desires, or is this the end of all of them?

Wow, wow and wow!! This crossover is just plain incredible as the two talented creative teams of the Star Wars and Darth Vader comic book series come together to create an action-soaked masterpiece. I absolutely loved this fantastic and inventive story, which not only contains a substantial standalone adventure but which advances both series in some rather interesting ways, especially when it comes to separating the character of Dr Aphra and moving her briefly into the Star Wars comic series. The story contained within this volume is really amazing, as it sets a rampaging Darth Vader against a swath of enemies while the great characters from both series face off in a rather entertaining battle of their own. All of this is set to some incredible artwork from the two series’ respective artistic teams, which brings the phenomenal action to life in all its destructive glory. Unsurprisingly, this comic gets a full five-star rating from me, and it is easily one of the best crossover comics that I have ever read.

Vader Down features six separate comic book issues, including an introductory issue, three issues from the Darth Vader series and two issues from the Star Wars series. Each of these comics has been written and drawn by the creative team of their respective series, with the Star Wars issues written by Jason Aaron and featuring the art of Mike Deodato, Frank Martin Jr and Chris Eliopoulos, while the entries from the Darth Vader comics are written by Kieron Gillen and contain the art of Salvador Larroca, Edgar Delgado and Joe Caramagna. The introductory issue, Star Wars: Vader Down #1, was also written by Aaron and drawn by the Star Wars artistic team (although with Caramagna doing the lettering rather than Eliopoulos), and this allows both creative teams to contribute three separate issues to this crossover. The story is set out in an alternate fashion, with the narrative beginning in Star Wars: Vader Down #1 and then continuing in Darth Vader #13, than going to Star Wars #13 and so on and so forth all the way till the volume’s end at Darth Vader #15. This proved to be quite an interesting way to set out the volume, and I think that it really speaks to the coordination and discussions that must have occurred between the two separate creative teams.

Like most pieces of Star Wars tie-in fiction, Vader Down is naturally geared more towards those established fans of the franchise, especially those who have some history and knowledge of the extended universe. However, I would say that this is definitely a comic that can be enjoyed by casual fans of the Star Wars franchise, especially as the story is very easy to enjoy and appreciate. Readers do not need a massive amount of knowledge about the comic series that are crossing over in order to enjoy Vader Down. I myself had not read any of the Star Wars (2015) comics when I first enjoyed this volume, and I experienced no problems whatsoever following the plot. That being said, it might prove useful to read the first two volumes of the Darth Vader series first, as that serves to introduce several supporting characters in the volume, as well as the main antagonist.

I felt that one of the biggest strengths of this comic is the way that it utilised and portrayed several iconic Star Wars characters, and I particularly loved how Darth Vader is featured in this crossover. I am a massive fan of the character of Darth Vader, and I am really enjoying how all the current pieces of Star Wars extended fiction portray him as a destructive powerhouse, perhaps as a way to rehabilitate him after the prequel films. However, Vader Down really takes this into overdrive as Vader finds himself alone on a planet surrounded by a vast army of enemies who are hunting him. While on paper it would seem that Vader is at a disadvantage, this really does not prove to be the case, as Vader tears through everyone who stands between him and Luke, often in some particularly devastating manners. Vader comes across as a massive badass in this comic, and I loved every second of it. From the way that he nearly takes out an entire fleet of Rebel fighters right at the beginning (only being stopped by a Kamikaze attack from Luke), to the continuous and effortless destruction of every Rebel he comes across (note to self: never wear grenades anywhere near a Force user), nothing seems to stop Vader, and it is pretty darn impressive.

I also love how Vader has some of the best lines in this volume as well, from his response to a request from Aphra to run: “I am a lord of the Sith. They are the ones who should be running”, to his fun response to a Rebel leader who tells him that he is surrounded (shown in the midst of a great full double page spread, just to show how surrounded he is): “All I am surrounded by is fear. And dead men.” However, his best line occurs later in the volume when he engages Commander Karbin in a particularly cool looking lightsaber duel. Karbin, whose enhancements make him resemble General Grievous, is gloating about how much better he is than Vader as he can wield four lightsabers to Vader’s one. However Vader, after throwing a massive statue at him simply responds with: “When you wield the power of the Dark Side one lightsaber is all you need”, which I thought was a pretty badass line, which also reveals why you never see Vader bothering with something more fancy like his Inquisitors do. Needless to say, I thought this portrayal of Vader was very epic and awesome, and it definitely is one of my favourite appearances of this character.

In addition to the amazing use of Darth Vader in this comic, I thought that the creative teams did a great job including the supporting characters from the Darth Vader series, namely Dr Aphra, Triple-Zero, BT-1, and Black Krrsantan. These four characters are, in manner different ways, all rather fun and evil doppelgangers of some of the key characters from the original trilogy. Black Krrsantan is an ultra-violent Wookie bounty hunter, more concerned with killing and money than saving lives like Chewbacca. Triple-Zero is pretty much a snarkier version of C-3PO who delights in torture and mutilation and has the inbuilt tools to back it up. BT-1 is an astromech like R2-D2, except he is loaded up with all manner of firepower and he has a nasty habit of melting anyone he dislikes, and BT-1 dislikes pretty much everything and everyone. Finally, you have Dr Aphra, who is a notorious rogue and thief like Han Solo, except rather more successful. She is also a fully trained archaeologist who uses that ability to rob tombs for valuable artefacts, essentially making her a cross between Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Vader Down is the first time that the supporting characters from the Darth Vader series actually meet their more iconic counterparts, and the results are extremely entertaining.

There are quite a few great moments throughout this volume where these two groups of characters come together, and they are all pretty fun. Some of my favourites include an extended brawl between the two Wookies, Chewbacca and Black Krrsantan, as they fight to achieve their opposing goals. This turned into quite a brutal matchup and it definitely does not end in the way that most people would expect. There is another cool scene where BT-1 faces off against R2-D2, who is trying to defend Luke from the evil droids. The two get into a vicious argument of beeps (apparently) and R2-D2 pulls out his built-in taser to fight off his opponents. However, BT-1 is rather better armed, and the sudden appearance of a mass of blasters, missiles, a flamethrower and other assorted weapons from BT-1’s chassis is enough to make R2 run off rather quickly, although he gets a measure of revenge later in the volume. Triple-Zero has a fun time imitating C-3PO at one point in the comic (all it takes is a coat of gold paint) and the subsequent meeting between the two protocol droids does not go well for Threepio (let us just say he gets disarmed).

My favourite out of all these interactions between the classic Star Wars characters and the new ones established in the Darth Vader series has to be the fun meeting between Han Solo and Aphra. Aphra is probably one of my favourite new characters in the current Star Wars canon (make sure to check out my recent review for A Rogue’s End, the seventh volume of her spinoff series), and her fun sense of humour really shines through in this encounter. There is a pretty funny scene towards the front of the book, when Aphra, researching the members of the main Star Wars cast, sees Han Solo and responds with an uber sarcastic: “Han Solo. The Han Solo. Oh me, oh my. What are we going to do facing Han Solo?” When they subsequently meet, Aphra continues to be unimpressed by Solo, deflating his ego over his apparently insubstantial reputation and managing to scare him with her own name. They two share some rather good verbal barbs before the shooting starts, and I think that the writers came up with the best resolution to this fight, which can only be described as an unintentional and funny draw. Overall, I really loved seeing all these fantastic characters coming together in this volume, and it is an impressive and entertaining highlight.

While most of the character arcs in this book lean more toward either humour or pure destruction, the writers also did a rather good emotional storyline around Princess Leia. Leia arrives on Vrogas Vas to lead the hunt for Vader, and eventually ends up coming face to face with him. As this is the first time Leia has seen Vader since he stood by and watched the destruction of Alderaan, this proves to be a rather hostile meeting, and Leia is overcome with a desire for revenge and is willing to sacrifice herself and her friends to see Vader taken out. There are some great moments throughout Leia’s scenes in the book as she presents her righteous indignation towards Vader, whose response is less than repentant: “This is not a war, Princess. Wars are for lesser men than the Emperor and myself. This is a series of executions. And yours is long overdue.” All of this gets pretty intense, and Leia actually tries to commit suicide at one point in an attempt to take Vader with her. She is eventually broken out of her mission for revenge thanks to an urgent plea for help from C-3PO, who is watching the rest of their group getting attacked and captured. All of this proved to be a rather powerful and emotional storyline within this volume, and I think its inclusion helped to enhance and elevate the entirely of the comic’s plot.

I also must highlight how impressive the two separate artistic teams were, as both groups of artists come up with some fantastic sequences in Vader Down. As I mentioned above, the issues alternate throughout the volume, and as a result the artistic style of the comic changes with each new issue. There is a rather distinctive difference in the designs and illustrations of the two separate teams, and it proved interesting to jump between these styles each issue. I liked both unique art designs and colourations (with perhaps a slight preference towards the Darth Vader comics style), and I think that they all did an excellent job of portraying the epic story. It actually proved to be rather intriguing to see the separate teams have a go at drawing some of the characters who usually appeared in their counterparts’ comics, and it was also cool to see sequences that lasted more than one issue (such as the lightsaber duel between Vader and Karbin) go through some stylistic changes with each changing issue. There are a huge number of amazingly drawn scenes throughout this comic, although I think the best highlights had to include the extremely impressive starfighter battle in the first issue, with all the blaster bolts and explosions occurring out in space. Other cool scenes included a sudden spaceship crash in the final issue and a series of explosions and lightsaber work in the front of the volume’s second issue. I also liked how both teams of artists utilised the desert landscape of Vrogas Vas in their drawings; the constantly swirly dust really helped to enhance some of the battle scenes in this book and bring a sense of movement and a planet disturbed by violence and death. As a result, I think that both teams of artists did an outstanding job throughout the comics that made up Vader Down, and it certainly helped to enhance the epic experience I had reading this crossover volume.

Vader Down is an immensely cool and exhilarating Star Wars comic that serves as an impressive crossover between two excellent comic book series. This combination of the Star Wars (2015) and the Darth Vader comics proved to be deeply entertaining and it is a clear example of how awesome the Star Wars extended universe can truly be. An absolute blast from start to finish, with non-stop action, eye-catching artwork and some clever character work, Star Wars: Vader Down is a must-read comic for all Star Wars fans and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Amazon