Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows #1 of 5
Dark Horse Comics
Siedell, Guzman & Atiyeh
The latest Darth Vader mini-series begins with an issue dedicated solely to the clone that seems to be obsessed with Vader. It's an okay start to the mini-series but it certainly leaves a lot of holes when just reading this individual issue. This mini-series might pick up steam as it moves along but the opening issue is fairly tame.
Unusually, this comic book is told entirely in the first person narration from that of the clone. There is no dialogue and no other character's point of view used throughout the entire comic. There are some panels where the clone doesn't appear but the assumption would be that this is his imagination running wild. This makes the comic move along like an origin story told in a flashback where the characters aren't seen but they are talking. It's fairly straightforward as far as origins go.
The clone details out how the stories he's heard about Vader can't possibly be true. However, he's fallen in love with the idea that a warrior hates the Jedi as much as he does. Oddly, this is where the continuity of the book's placement can detract from the enjoyment. If you aren't too into Star Wars then this all might make sense because the clone was stranded out on the battlefield by his Jedi general. However, if you are deep into continuity and your knowledge of clones is vast then you might wonder how the clone was able to develop such an emotional reaction to someone that was following orders and doing what was best for the unit. This is very un-clone-like behavior.
The artwork is good as the clone's story transforms him from a clone turned native turned back to clone in the span of the book. The Darth Vader battle scenes are a little over the top and seem kind of like they are overkill. If Vader was capable of pulling a ship out of space then why didn't he do this trick when pursuing the Millennium Falcon in the Empire Strikes Back or during his X-Wing case in the Death Star trench? Overall the artwork helps the narration story along nicely.
This mini-series is clone centric. Generally that is a good thing and if the series is done entirely from the first person point of view then that might enhance the reading. This is basically the clone's origin and it isn't anything too wild. This is a decent start to the mini-series and worth keeping an eye on.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
