Review: Darth Vader #1 is a pitch perfect start to Marvel's new Star Wars on-going.

Today Marvel has released the first issue of their second Star Wars title, an ongoing Darth Vader series written by Kieron Gillen (Young Avengers) and Salvador Larroca (Invincible Iron Man). This is far from the first time the Dark Lord of the Sith has appeared in a comic, nor is it the first time he's appeared in his very own series. Dark Horse had been publishing stories featuring the character for over 20 years until Disney, which now owns both Lucasfilm and Marvel, made the decision last year to move the rights to their own comic book publisher.

It should be noted that this is not Marvel's first time publishing stories featuring Vader, either. It was Marvel who first acquired the rights to publish Star Wars titles in the 70s, and published all kinds of wild stories set in the Star Wars universe. What makes Marvel's new collection of Star Wars titles so intriguing is that Lucasfilm as stated that all stories published by Marvel will be considered canon. That's a pretty big deal. It's not something that Dark Horse could ever boast.

So, how does Marvel's first Darth Vader comic hold up? Find out after the jump.

 Thoughts:

I can't believe how good this comic is. It just feels pitch perfect in every way. The story is set in the days following the destruction of the first Death Star by the Rebels. Darth Vader is the sole survivor of this event, which the Emperor refers to as "the greatest military disaster in [his] empire's history." This is a story of a guy on the ropes. His boss is pissed. His reputation has suffered a blow. He has a long way to travel on the comeback trail, and he's going to make it to his destination by any means necessary. That's a pretty interesting take on this character. When I first read that there was going to be a Darth Vader on-going, my first question was, "How do you make Vader a sympathetic protagonist?"

The pressure these creators must be feeling as they embark on this new, canonically relevant set of stories must be huge, but Gillen does some amazing work here. Not only does he manage to write a first issue that sets up an interesting premise to explore in future stories, but it also helps to reconcile the original and prequel trilogies. As much as fans might want to forget the prequels ever happened, Gillen can't, and he uses the events of those films in surprisingly powerful ways. The last page of this issue is bone-chilling, and it's a callback to something that happens in Attack of the Clones.

Aiding Gillen in this endeavor are Larroca's gorgeous pencils. Larroca's work has always had a cinematic feel to it, as does John Cassaday's. It's no surprise that these two were tapped for Marvel's first SW comics. Like Gillen, Larroca brings something extra to this work. The main character is a guy in a hard, expressionless mask, but Larroca still has a lot of room to play with regarding the supporting cast, and he makes good use of them. This Emperor Palpatine is probably the nastiest you've ever seen. Gillen writes the emperor almost as an emotionally abusive parent, and Larroca is right on board, giving Palpatine just the right amount of sneer to make us almost pity Vader.

Remember all those times in the films when Vader force-choked some officer to death? Now we know he was probably picturing the Emperor's total look of disgust as he did so. Classic displacement issues.

This is a very promising start to what could be a really tremendous series. I'll definitely be back on Feb. 25 when issue two hits.