Written by Cavan Scott
Illustrated by Derek Charm
and Charles Paul Wilson III
Published by IDW Publishing
The main event has arrived!
Rebel Commander Lina Graf and her crew have finally come face to face with Darth Vader.
If that’s not bad enough, they also have to contend with a squad of security droids and Stormtroopers.
There is also a crazed-looking hooded servant who takes over the storytelling duties for this issue.
Tales of diversion become a legend to emphasize the gravity of the Rebel’s horrific situation.
The story within a story concept was used well here because it was primarily a bad guy boasting about what happened to the last person who broke into Vader’s house.
The artwork of Charles Paul Wilson III shined as these moments were exhibited as flashbacks instead of an entirely different story. The same applies to the little-scared technician bug, Skritt who calls back to the stories told over the last four issues to find the courage to save his friends.
The man and the myth of Darth Vader are used at the appropriate times to augment the story. Since this series is designed for younger audiences, it was easy to figure out the Rebels were not going to die. Also, this is Darth freaking Vader we’re talking about and the way he “lost” will send everyone home happy.
The final chapter of Tales From Vader’s Castle highlighted the pros and ignored the cons of this series, which made for an excellent conclusion. More misses than hits throughout these five issues made the grand finale of finally seeing Darth Vader do his thing an arduous journey that was almost not worth the trip.
Rating: B+
