This comic answers the question how exactly did Darth Vader find out who that pilot was. Taking place about three weeks after A New Hope, this also has Vader and Luke's first face-to-face meeting.

This comic has witty dialogue, and art that at first seems very simple but grows on you. It turns out to be very effective, and the lightsaber blades and blaster bolts look superb.

This is a very refreshing Star Wars comic, better than a lot of the recent drivel such as Leviathan, Evolution, and Crimson Empire II. I definitely recommend this one.

It also introduces the character Mala Mala, who's backstory can be seen in issue #2 of Dark Horse's Chewbacca miniseries.


Very disappointing   April 4, 2000
 9 out of 11 found this review helpful

When I heard that they were finally going to be doing a Darth Vader story in the comics, and that on top of that it would deal with the father/son issue and Palpatine as well, I was very excited. Finally we would know more about the circumstances of when Vader discovered that it was in fact his own son that destroyed the Death Star.

What a complete let-down.

For starters, I was unimpressed with the artwork. There have been some fabulous artists working on the Star Wars comics, and in my opinion this isn't one of them. If you want to see some great Star Wars art, check out the Darth Vader 2-part story in STAR WARS TALES #1-2.

The story was deplorable. Macan completely misses the boat on the characterization of Luke, Vader, and Palpatine.

Luke comes off as a whiny loon with no redeeming value whatsoever. He basically comes off as an idiot - Luke Skywalker is naive, yes, but not a numbskull.

Vader actually gets stood off by a community of aliens. What a complete joke. The evil Darth Vader that we know from the movies wouldn't have ANY probably destroying every last one of them if they were in his way.

Macan has Palpatine executing back-door planning with a third-rate bounty hunter. NO WAY this happens with the Emperor we know in the movies. In the time period of TPM, sure. But once he's in control of the galaxy he's so far up on the totem pole that he'd never have to deal with such lowly citizens.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Vader never even states the fact that he knows Luke is his son, which is the MAIN REASON FOR THE STORY! Instead there is a major focus on new characters that we care nothing about. The only other characters from the movies that appear are Jan Dodonna and Wedge Antilles, and THAT'S IT. The alien race that appears is uninspired and lame, and actually physically resembles another SW alien race, the Bothans. All of this tells me that the author didn't even do his homework, because there are ZERO tie-ins to any other piece of Star Wars literature.

There are some great Star Wars stories out there, but this isn't one of them. I'd recommend checking this out in person before you spend your money on it.


I do like having things explained to me   September 17, 2000
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I have never been entirely certain just what the heck Vader did to find out about Luke Skywalker between "A New Hope" and "Empire Strikes Back." This is actually more of a four-star review, but I am awarding it an extra star for being one of the few SW comic books that I like.

This follows a post-ANH, pre-ESB storyline. The artwork is actually pleasant to look at--I found myself savoring the images. Yes, Luke and Vader do a few things that are out-of-character, but book writers have done worse to Luke (poor Luke... poor poor Luke!).

It's a fairly simple story on the surface, a fairly light story with little of the unrelenting misery that is sprawled throughout the bloated stories that fill the SW comics. This one is fresh, new, enjoyable, and has the added bonus of being drawn in a manner that is highly reminiscent of SW itself, colorful and pleasant.

It's not the greatest story ever written, but it sure is better than most! If you like Vader and/or Luke, be sure to check this comic out!


Not the Expected   October 22, 2001
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I'll say this here and now. If you're looking for a story that dives deep into Vader's past, examines various aspects of the Dark Lord, and features a riveting storyline packed with Darth Vader at his best... You're going to be disappointed. In my opinion they really should have advertised this book differently. Yeah, Vader is an important character and all, which is rare in SW lit, but you don't really get any big revelations.

It is quite different from your standard SW tale, though. Take, for example, Tom Vietch's 'Dark Empire' or Stackpole 'In the Empire's Service.' (I stress that excellence of the latter.) In any case, the story and art are quite different from these two more dark, rugged tales. The story has a fiar degree of humor, as well as very very nice, dramatic moments. The scene at the end in particular is classic, most notably for the shot of Vader standing at the hangar entrance in the moonlight with two rows ofd identical troopers behind him. Very nice and probably the best art moment in the book. The art itself is a bit of a mix. While it lacks detail and possesses a somewhat cartoonish quality, it also has a nice cinematic quality. The coloring is also quite effective. Overall its a very different story than the afformentioned, very series tales. The story is by no means very heavy or deep, but at the same time it's interesting to see Luke still a young naive farmboy instead of the boring, perfect old Jedi he turns into later on.

The gem of this comic has to be the story of Jal. It helpes to add a feel of realism about the Rebellion and defines its early movement fairly well. Once again, a different face instead of a tired old one is always welcome.

For die-hard Vader fans, I reccomend that you resist the urge and consider skipping this one. But for fans of a different tale that goes into some depth about the Imperial-Rebel differences, give it a shot. It's not an excellant comic, but it remains steady throughout. If you want a nice change from the norm than I reccomend this book. However, if you want to see some high-quality Macan scripting I reccomend 'X-wing Rogue Squadron: The Phantom Affair' and indeed the rest of Stackpole's exceptional series.


"Luke Skywalker - Darth Vader" 1st round   June 6, 2002
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

The title says it all... if you ever wondered how did the dark Lord of the Sith ever find out about Luke being his son, this is the book you've got to read...