Star Wars: Darth Vader #1 Review
Written by Greg Pak
Art by Raffaele Ienco


Greg Pak does an absolute stunning job delivering this first issue of Star Wars Darth Vader which takes place in the aftermath of empire strikes back. The story is intriguing as you travel with Vader on a journey for retribution and almost feel every emotion as he tries to reason why his son refuses to rule by his side. Greg Pak does an excellent job of finding a voice for Darth Vader throughout the issue and exposing the duality between himself as the now dark overlord of the sith to the younger Anakin in flashbacks. I absolutely loved that they used flashback scenes from the prequels to tie in Anakin's past. Even though Vader is an emotionless figure due to lack of expressions, Pak does a great job of delving behind the helmet and into the psyche of Anakin. Finally, lets get to the stunning artwork of Raffaele Ienco and how he successfully conveys the range of emotions from anger to sadness through the helmet of Darth Vader, helping Pak explore the psyche of Darth Vader. This issue is a must buy and read for any Star Wars fan.



Score: 5/5
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The Crow Lethe issue 1 follows the story of a sideshow circus performer Null Narcos, who has the ability to withstand large amounts of pain by performing self torture techniques to his body. Null Narcos however, has no recollection of his past with only flashes and frames being exposed to him as the story progresses. We are introduced to a unique cast in this issue from his family of performers to a mysterious villain which seems to be stalking him and has control of Crows?

I was slightly disappointed by this issue in what seems to be a three issue miniseries. The story had a great pace to it which seemed to be a detriment because the story felt short and not fleshed out. The story takes a few twist and turns because of introduction to the characters as well as flashback scenes that involve the main character. Onto the protagonist Null Narcos, I developed little to no connection to his story or affection for his character. There are alot of questions surrounding Null Narcos, and I understand that it builds anticipation for the next issue which is great but his development was so little in this issue that it impacted my interest in the main story. Aside from some of the negative, there are ocool concepts that can be presented with Null Narcos within the next issues that I am very hopeful for, it has never been implied or confirmed in the story that Null has been brought back from the dead and he has no direct communication with a crow in this issue; He still seems to bleed and not regenerate which seems to further the theory that he might not be undead and the mysterious Villian that is introduced seems to have a connection with the crows. So are the roles reversed and are we actually following the story of the Villian? The artwork in this issue is really good and does a great job of depicting the sideshow environment. The art and colors really pop from the pages, also love the incorporation of fire throughout the book to transition into scenes. I'm very hopeful for issue #2 and the prospect of certain reveals to the character Null Narcos. If done right then maybe all the seeds that were planted in this issue are not a waste and it might make this issue better than I originally graded it. Only time will tell...



Positives:
- The art style really depicts the sideshow environment that the story takes place in and love the color palettes used.
- The story seemed to move in a nice pace and didnt have any points of lag that made you drift off.

Negatives:
- The book seemed short to me (Maybe because the pace was quick but not fleshed out)
- The story wasn't introduced in the most effective way
- Unfortunately, I dont know or care enough for the protagonist because I feel that his story isn't fleshed out enough in this first issue for me to root for him. more