Written by: Jason Aaron
Art by: Mike Deodato
Publisher: Marvel
The largest strength of Marvel’s entire line of Star Wars books books has been that the writers have all had excellent handles on pre-existing characters, well loved characters. In addition, Jason Aaron (who writes this issue), Kieron Gillen, and the rest of the creative minds behind the various Star Wars books have done an excellent job of capturing the unique, lived-in feel of the universe. The same is true of the artists – they have, thus far, captured the aesthetic of the universe perfectly. Fortunately, that does not change here. While there isn’t a ton of time for character development, the dialogue that is here feels uniquely “Star Wars,” even when it’s spoken by supporting characters who don’t survive the issue. The dogfight at the start of this issue, in which Vader is downed, sees Aaron and artist Mike Deodato nailing the tone of the universe. The way the Rebel pilots interact with one another feels authentic, and Vader’s lines sound like Vader. As a diehard Star Wars fan, that’s pretty much the highest praise I can give this book
There are two high points of this issue that I want to touch on. The first is Vader’s supporting cast, which carries over from his solo book (which has evolved into more of an ensemble series). These characters are used sparingly, but their interactions not only with Vader, but also with one another, are among the most interesting elements of the book. Second, it’s awesome to see Vader in action on a large scale. The cliffhanger hints at more of this next issue, and that’s exciting. But even in this issue, seeing him go head to head with a group of X-Wings is a lot of fun. Not for the X-Wing pilots, but hey, they’re not actually real! Regardless, it’s pretty nice that we get to see Vader being the badass that we know he is. It’s something that is rarely seen, especially on this scale, and the comics are the perfect medium in which to explore this.
All that being said, Vader Down #1 is definitely set up for the rest of the event. It’s action packed, but there’s not too much depth here, and we jump between the base on Vrogas Vas and the main Rebel fleet. Of course, it is necessary for all the pieces to be in place before the rest of the event can actually occur, and it’s nice that Aaron is able to get that all done in a single, fast paced issue. That is definitely preferable to a slow burn set up that lasts 2-3 issues before we actually get into the meat of the story. That is detrimental to this issue, of course, but in the long run, it’s certainly preferable to do the introduction to the event this way.
In conclusion, Vader Down #1 is a great issue, and a great way to start the first Marvel comics Star Wars event. It seems, to me at least, that the story can only get better from here, and this issue has done a lot to get me really excited for the next five issues in the story, and I would highly recommend this issue.
