Written by Greg Pak
Art by Raffaele Ienco
Published by Marvel
WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS CONTINUES!
Darth Vader #14 is a gorgeous issue that fills in the much-needed story gap between IG-88’s assassination attempt on Vader and Vader’s unexpected arrival at the close of Han Solo’s carbonite block auction hosted by Crimson Dawn.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge proponent of non-linear storytelling.
But this issue, and this week’s companion issue, Jabba the Hutt #1, are the first issues of the War of the Bounty Hunters series that exploit the gimmick of bringing us to the precipice of an important event and then take a step back to show us how we got there. This contributed to the jarring nature of last week’s issues, Doctor Aphra #12 and War of the Bounty Hunters #2.
I love the artwork in this issue.
We follow Administrator Sly Moore, first seen in Attack of the Clones. Her slim imperial black outfit gothically contrasts with her pale features creating a stark and vibrant tone for the issue in and of itself.
The writing and visuals work perfectly to capture moods, a nuance that most issues in War of the Bounty Hunters sorely lack. We know exactly what Sly Moore is thinking in all panels.
This almost makes up for what I suspected was coming, the contrived plot of Darth Vader hunting down Luke Skywalker by way of his friend Han Solo.
I just don’t buy it.
What’s far more interesting is Sly Moore’s obsession with besting Darth Vader. She’s smart and well.., sly. Brain vs brawn. A classic struggle that never gets old. Had I not known how it eventually ends for Vader, I’d actually be concerned.
I also love the Star Trek II: THe Wrath of Khan nature of this issue. We barely see Darth Vader, but he’s on everyone’s mind. A brilliant way to keep a wall of mystique around a well-established character.
We end in the same exact place as the previous two issues, with Vader’s dramatic entrance to Crimson Dawn’s auction party. But, even after the fleshed motives revealed within this issue, the question still begs…
Why? What is Darth Vader doing there?
