REVIEW: Darth Vader Annual #1 – Why Vader Rules

Kieron Gillen continues his brilliant storytelling in the pages of one of the greatest villains in popular culture history, Darth Vader. The British writer extraordinaire (alongside with Jason Aaron) already presents the true awesomeness and badassery the Sith Lord truly has in the ongoing Darth Vader and Star Wars crossover, Vader Down, and this time, he dedicates his time exploring the Dark Lord in the very first Annual issue: Darth Vader Annual #1, with Philippines’ greatest comic book two-hit combo tag-team, Leinil Francis Yu and Gerry Alanguilan.

The DARTH VADER: ANNUAL #1 can be fitted as a stand-alone chapter and to some degree, a prelude before the abovementioned Star Wars comic event. In this annual, Gillen puts some Shakespearean elements in a tale that touches on family, duty and responsibility, sacrifice, and more so, fate itself. I have a hunch why he is THE excellent choice in the Darth Vader series, including this one: Gillen possesses great command of the narrative approach, particularly his sequential pacing. One good example here is that there are many pages that are silent and/or wordless, letting the The Force-inspired artwork to do the talking.

Silence is key
Minimalist at best, Gillen demonstrates his penchant for straightforward dialogue for better narration—less foreshadowing and sub-plots in exchange for an accelerated pace in action, suspense and a climatic expository that truly fits the current Star Wars continuity. It especially conforms in between the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, including the ongoing Star Wars and Darth Vader Marvel comic series. But Gillen remains focus on his true objective—make the Sith Lord eloquent and establish him to be the true force to be reckoned with by singlehandedly bring down, literally and even figuratively, a kingdom.

A personal confession here: the British scribe’s wording makes you hear James Earl Jones’ masterful and grand voiceover in the original Star Wars trilogy in your head. Of course, Gillen’s brand of subtlety is present in the first pages that carry on to the ultimate fate of Vader’s adversaries. It fuses with the British scribe’s finest storytelling tropes yet and demands an intelligent, focused, and careful read to gain the full benefit of the story’s main plot.

With this stand-alone tale, Gillen brings back the true pop meaning, relevance, comprehensibility, and grandeur of the Dark Side. My faith to the Force is now reinvigorated.

I find your lack of face disturbing
On the other hand, learning that Leinil Francis Yu (and to a great extent, Gerry Alanguilan) finally draws Darth Vader, I got very excited and already marked this one for my serious pull list.

I loved how our countrymen illustrated the target planet, and the intricate details of the throne room, to say the least. Also, the artist’s cultural comprehension of the grand architectural designs of the palatial interiors was impressive, and his world-building interpretations of the planet and/or kingdom were reminiscent of the fateful scenes in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Most significantly, his virtually perfect renditions of the Emperor Palpatine’s greatest apprentice and enforcer of all was spot-on.

In many pages, Yu overlapped the panels to emphasize his Vader illustrations, which I feel understandably cleared his perspective of the character’s level of awesomeness and as the true focus of the story. Moreover, the inking served the story pretty well since most of it took place indoors, and obviously featuring the ink-heavy Darth Vader. Yu was impressive in the sequential paneling that fulfillled the author’s goal of establishing Vader as the Dark Lord that he truly is.

However, there were some slight anatomical awkwardness in the artist’s part, particularly in the legs and the feet in far angular perspectives. Sometimes, some of Vader illustrations were bulkier than most of the drawings. Regarding the long angle looks: some of the faces in some panels were definitely faceless. There were few instances where the princess’s facial portrayals were slightly forced, if not borderline lifeless. Or was it due to her slight characterization?

You are mine now!
Darth Vader: Annual #1 is an excellent chapter for both Star Wars fans and newcomers alike. In the presentation of the Sith Lord and Empire’s greatest enforcer at the height of his powers, Gillen’s Shakespearean eloquence gives credence to the character’s resurgence as one of the greatest and most feared dark lords ever, from the height of the Empire’s reach to the would-be rebellious counterparts. The Force is indeed in great hands with Gillen.

As for Yu and Alanguilan, they maintain their excellent artistic synchronization, with some minor hiccups along the way. Regardless, I personally cannot wait for their Jedi-bad-ass run next year in Jason Aaron’s Star Wars. This annual serves as a great hors d’oeuvre for the Philippine superhero artistic tandem’s take on the Star Wars mythos, and most importantly, it definitely is the reason why The Force Awakens.