Darth Vader #7

Darth Vader #7

Writer: Charles Soule
Penciller: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inker: Daniele Orlandini
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Giuseppe Camuncoli and Francesco Mattina

Darth Vader #7 is mostly a setup issue as there’s not much action and not much happens. There’s a lot of dialog, though not much is revealed even there. Simply put, Sidious tasks Vader with bringing back Jocasta Nu alive because she has access to a treasure he wants. Other than that, Vader finds the Inquisitorious lacking, and Jocasta is building some holocrons in some hidey hole behind a waterfall. It’s not the most gripping comic.

The issue opens with Vader standing before the Sixth Brother who has just lost his arm. Soon we find out that Vader has been chopping up all the Inquisitors in order to teach them about loss. He admonishes the Grand Inquisitor in acting too much like a Jedi. They talk some more, or at least the Grand Inquisitor talks some more, but it doesn’t really build the character in any meaningful way. We learn he dislikes Jocasta Nu for being snooty and not letting people view certain parts of the archives.

Elsewhere, Jocasta Nu is building a school and creating holocrons. She finishes her work there and decides she must return to the Jedi archives to get something there. Now the issue is pretty elusive about revealing what this priceless object is, but there is a clue. Jocasta says her school needs students. Back in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, there was a holocron that had a listing of all the Force sensitive children in the galaxy. Could this be the treasure Jocasta and Sidious are after?

Story aside, the artwork in this issue can be hit and miss. Sometimes it looks really good, like the opening with Vader and the wounded inquisitor. It’s a great opening shot with good detail and lighting. The image conveys emotion with Vader looming in the background with lightsaber ignited, and the inquisitor on the ground in pain. But elsewhere, the artwork can look bad, like the scenes with Vader and Sidious. I’m really not a fan of the way Giuseppe draws Palpatine. And sometimes Vader gets a little too stylistic in his appearance. The result is some panels that are just weird or off looking, and those panels have the effect of throwing me out of the story. In general, Giuseppe does a great job with the environments and backgrounds, but sometimes the characters are a miss.

Overall the story is kind of middling. It’s not great but it’s not terrible. It just doesn’t do much, or at least it didn’t do much for me. Soule didn’t capture much personality with the characters in this issue. There’s not really anyone to bond with. There’s nothing charismatic about the Grand Inquisitor, and Jocasta is doomed to die. While there is a great story idea at the heart of it, I don’t think they’re capturing it’s full potential. Regardless, this issue is almost skippable and it’s definitely the kind of issue you rush through to get to the next one. I give it a two out of five metal bikinis.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.