So, I’m a fan of Star Wars in general. I like the original movies, but I’ve never been one who reads all the books and comics set in the Star Wars universe. So, I was excited to get a little Darth Vader back story when I started off reading Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison #1. Initially, I was disappointed as the comic focuses on an imperial cadet. It is not that Darth Vader is not there at all, but at least in this first comic he is not the central character. As I read on though I really started to enjoy the story. I’m still hoping the focus shifts to Vader in the following comics but even if it does not the Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison series is looking like it should be a lot of fun.
The comic’s story is set right after the Empire has been formed and Darth Vader is at the height of his power as the Emperor’s apprentice. Things start off giving a good amount of back story to our young cadet. Who he is and how he got to be on Corusant. I’m not going to spoil anything here but the events in the first comic range from fun and jovial to quite intense. There was even a surprise twist that caught me off guard near the end. Fortunately the whole comic is not a setup for the series. Things get under way about half way through and there is plenty of action in the second half.
If you’ve seen many Star Wars comic’s you probably have a pretty good idea of what the graphics look like. The panel layout tends to have diagonal sections splitting the page into 2 or 3 sections. The look is detailed and colorful where it should be. Personally, I really like the look and layout of the comic. It is traditional enough to not be hard to follow but not so much so that it is predictable or boring. I’m looking forward to seeing where the Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison series goes in the remaining 4 comics. Hopefully to a place with a lot of Vader focused action.
