Star Wars: Target Vader

Tough-as-nails cyborg bounty hunter Beilert Valance made his debut back in the 80’s when Marvel originally published “Star Wars” comics.  Writer Robbie Thompson was apparently so taken with this character (or someone at Marvel who loved the character and knew where Thompson buries the bodies) that he bought the character back in the pages of his otherwise unremarkable “Star Wars:  Han Solo — Imperial Cadet” miniseries.  Here, Valance is hired along with several other bounty hunters to take out none other than Darth Vader.  This is being done through an intermediary of the smuggling group known as the Hidden Hand whose activities have finally put them on the Empire’s radar.

“Target Vader” was originally serialized in the wake of Charles Soule and Giuseppe Camuncoli’s “Darth Vader:  Dark Lord of the Sith” series.  I mention this because it’s been plainly obvious that Marvel wants to have a new “Darth Vader” comic out every month.  This comic was made to fill a void and it sure reads like it too. There’s lots of familiar backstabbing and tough-person talk trying to pass itself off as characterization, with Valance himself not making much of an impression beyond his “Terminator”-esque appearance.  Placed within a story that’s competent but otherwise bland in all regards — down to its use of Vader — it’s a return that doesn’t warrant much celebration.

Marvel certainly didn’t think so.  If they did, then maybe they would have given one of the SIX different artists — Marc Laming, Cris Bolson, Stefano Landini, Marco Failla, Roberto Di Salvo, and Georges Duarte — who worked on this series enough time to do the whole thing themselves.  “Target Vader” isn’t one of those comics where each of its six issues is done by a single artist. No, these six artists all jammed together (likely to the tune of impending deadlines), with as many as three pitching in on a single issue. A comic can still be worthwhile if it has this kind of artist pile-up — just look at vol. 6 of “Doctor Aphra.”  “Target Vader,” on the other hand doesn’t have a story that’s even half as interesting.  It’s all kind of a mess, and while this comic may not be outright awful in any one area, that’s about the best that can be said for it.