In the 6th volume of the Darth Vader monthly series, we see Greg Pak dig deeper into the Handmaidens storyline from his previous arc on the book, giving greater insight into the titular Dark Lord of the Sith. It’s a fine Vader adventure that has a foot firmly planted in the prequel film trilogy without becoming an overly nostalgia-focused narrative.
Collecting issues #28-32, the storyline focuses on Vader and one of Padme’s Handmaidens named Sabe who he has developed a relationship with and is tasked with assassinating the pirate Jul Tambor. All the while, the remaining Handmaidens fight to save their previous ally from falling under the sway of the Empire. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Tambor has built quite an army and is prepared to take on Darth Vader.
Greg Pak is doing some of the best scripting of any Star Wars comic, with this storyline having a brisk, focused, yet substance heavy storyline. Vader and the Emperor always had some comical supervillain dialogue in the films, but those old tropes don’t always stand up when removed from the cinema. Thankfully, Pak’s writing is solid and the interactions between characters feels natural.
There are three artists on the book (Raffaele Ienco, Luke Ross, and Ibraim Roberson) as well as two color artists (Carlos Lopez and Federico Blee), which is surefire way to give a 5-issue book incoherence, but that isn’t the case here. I wish Ienco’s art was featured throughout, but every contributor does a fine job keeping the visual style of the book consistent. It’s a beautiful comic, benefiting from the rich, dense colors provided in the digital age.
The book ends on a cliffhanger (much like the book that came before), but that shouldn’t make new readers think this book will be unapproachable. It’s an exceedingly easy title to jump into, and having paid very little attention to handmaidens lore within the Star Wars Universe, I’m actually excited to see what else Pak will do with these characters in the future. Add to that the half-dozen full color variant covers at the end, and you have yourself an entertaining Star Wars trade for fans of any era.
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