REVIEW: Darth Vader Black, White, and Red #2

Sci-fi’s most iconic villain returns in issue #2 of Darth Vader: Black, White, and Red.

The issue starts with a bang picking up right after the events of the debut issue. Vader has been captured by Cyn who is on a very personal mission against the Sith Lord. He talks too much instead getting down to business and Vader goes Vader and starts cleaning house with The Force. No spoilers on exactly what he does but it is brutal…and kinda (by kinda I mean very) cool.

And that is part one of three as the issue is a collection of short Vader adventures. The second finds Vader on the hunt then becoming the hunted and then once again, going Vader. We do learn more about the true power of dark side in this story. And Vader even wax’s poetic about the meaning of life (while ending lives). The third short shifts gears completely and is a bullying story Vader only shows up in at the end to prove a point.

Vader isn’t one for long soliloquies so when he does talk, people listen. Jason Aaron, David Pepose, and Victoria Ying’s writings reflects this. Most of the other characters have a flair for the (over)dramatic but it’s good ‘ol science fiction fun and serves to highlight just how cool Vader is in any situation.

The art is the thing that stands out the most here. The subtitle Black, White, and Red is taken literally and it’s the entire color pallet for the book. For colorist Romulo Fajardo Jr. it’s a bold direction as Star Wars is known for its colorful aliens and habitats. It is akin to how people with certain levels of color-blindness see the world. It does make some the action hard to distinguish at times while emphasizing certain actions in other situations. If you can work with the limited colors, Leonard Kirk, Alessandro Vitti, and Marika Cresta creates some very cool art for their respective stories.

It’s interesting to see Vader in the mud so to speak doing the dirty work he usually relegates to others. Here Vader is explicitly the menace he’s more often only spoken about being in hushed tones in the films. While others want to play the bad guy, Vader shows them all in this issue that there’s levels to this. The only question left is which poor souls are next to catch his wrath.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Coloring – 3.5 Stars

Overall – 4 Stars

Written by; Jason Aaron, David Pepose, and Victoria Ying
Art by; Leonard Kirk, Alessandro Vitti, and Marika Cresta
Colors by; Romulo Fajardo
Letters by; Joe Caramagna
Published by; Marvel Comics

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Christopher R. Ford

Writer, author, and blogger. Published author of three children's books and also writes for the boy Creators For The Culture. Part-time sneaker head, full time nerd.