Star Wars: Darth Vader by Greg Pak vol. 2 — Into the Fire
I didn’t think much of Pak’s first volume about the Dark Lord’s post-”Empire Strikes Back” adventure. Do you know who else didn’t think much of it? Emperor Palpatine, that’s who. Disgusted at his apprentice’s failings, the Emperor uses his mastery of the Force to show him once again who is boss. Then he leaves a broken Vader at the scene of his greatest defeat on Mustafar with a chance at redemption. That redemption will have to come as Vader not only has to survive the environment of Mustafar, and repair himself, but the threat of the Emperor’s assassin Ochi of Bestoon, and the mad riddles of the Sith creature known as the Eye of Webbish Bog.
There’s always hope that a creative team can make things right after a disappointing first volume, and that’s what Pak and artist Raffele Ienco have managed to do here. “Into the Fire” manages to find a way for us to see Vader struggle without diminishing him, as much of the volume hinges upon the character’s creativity as it does his indomitable will. He knows that he’s not going to win most of these encounters in a fair fight, and it’s refreshing to see him employ more strategy than usual in these encounters. It’s also interesting to see Pak introduce new and weird concepts to the “Star Wars” universe like the Eye of Webbish Bog and to take the familiar concept of a master assassin like Ochi and put him on a journey that’s more darkly comic than you’d expect.
What Pak still hasn’t managed to get over is his regular use of scenes from the movies to reinforce the story he’s telling. This practice isn’t as omnipresent as it was in the previous volume, and while that’s an improvement, I’d still like to see him cut things down even further. Ienco’s art is still capable enough, and while his characters can still stand to loosen up a bit, he’s getting better with conveying spectacle via the splash pages that close out certain issues. This volume doesn’t take the series to the heights of the previous “Darth Vader” series, but it leaves me feeling better about its chances. Which is good enough for now.