Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "Deadpool & The Mercs For Money" #2 / "Action Comics" #961 / "Darth Vader" #24

"Darth Vader" #24: It's a small glimpse of what this series could have been, if only Kieron Gillen had remotely made use of the potential a character like Darth Vader offers. Too little too late, even though this one here convinces.

7/10

"Action Comics" #961: This is still solid, even though one cannot help but feel that Jurgens has to get the story to some kind of conclusion soon (or shake things up, respectively) if he doesn't want to risk that the series becomes directionless.

7/10

"Deadpool & The Mercs For Money" #2: If you didn't particularly like the first series, you should definitely give this one another try. Deadpool's better, the Mercs a lot deeper and more dynamic, and the cast of villains is highly compelling. 

8/10

Keepin' It 360: "Darth Vader" #22

Only 3 issues to go before we won't have to endure this anymore. Darth Vader has hit another low point with a uninspired, directionless and confusing story. Featuring cheap twists, utterly annoying droids, mediocre art and Darth Vader himself as a mere caricature of his film version, it doesn't manage to convince on any level. "May the farce be with you."

3/10

Further Links:

Darth Vader #21

Darth Vader #20

Darth Vader #19

Keepin' It 360: "Star Wars: Darth Vader" #21

Darth Vader #19 is far away from the lows it reached several months ago, but especially with the series' end looming on the horizon, neither the team around writer Kieron Gillen nor editors seem to care much about it any more (the scary number of typos tells a lot). No glaring issues, just the same story and aesthetics all over again. Only for hardcore fans.

5/10

Further Links:

Darth Vader #20

Star Wars #19

Obi-Wan & Anakin #5

Keepin' It 360: "Star Wars: Darth Vader" #2

Remember when "Darth Vader" used to be good? It was, especially in its first issues, as writer Kieron Gillen offers a thoroughly complex and intriguing take not just on Vader, but also on Tagge. Some unforeseen twists and genuine kickass moments add to the mix, while Larroca's art is unfortunately still too confusing at times, especially in bigger panels.

7/10

Further links:

Darth Vader #20

Star Wars #18

Poe Dameron #1

Review: "Star Wars: Darth Vader" #20

It's good to see Darth Vader being back in good shape again. After the bland and mediocre "The Shu-Torun War" story line, which both writer Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larroca didn't know how to handle or conclude properly, the start of a new adventure for the Dark Lord of the Sith is an opportunity the whole creative team has taken advantage of.

Dealing with the aftermaths of the Shu-Torun War, Cylo's betrayal and Emperor Palpatine's overall scheme, Darth Vader #20 ties up some loose ends from earlier issues while offering a rare glimpse into the Emperor's mind. Gillen does a particularly good job of building tension between Palpatine and Vader, convincingly pointing out how Vader, despite being the Empire's enforcer, is only just a pawn in his master's game. And Vader's later encounter with Thanoth shines with a deep and complex characterization of Vader's old antagonist and a surprising conclusion. 

Larroca's art unfortunately still falters when drawing larger, more swarming panels, but is outstanding on a smaller scale, where his reserved approach is able to deliver drama and excitement like few other can. And the Emperor hasn't looked that good in comics for a long time.

Triple-Zero and Beetee, however, are still some of the worst and most annoying sidekicks in the galaxy, thus making the "Misadventures of Triple-Zero and Beetee" bonus short-comic by Gillen and Mike Norton nothing to fuss about. Going forward, this is a great basis for what will be the last Darth Vader story line before the comic will be end (for now) in August. I'm looking forward.

8/10

Further Links:

Star Wars: Darth Vader #19
Star Wars #18