Star Wars: Vader's Quest (Comic)

~ (Author), Dave Gibbons (Author), Angus McKie (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

After Darth Vader`s narrow escape from the destruction of the Death Star, the Dark Lord is consumed with a desire to find the Force-strong young pilot who fired the fatal shot. For Luke Skywalker represents the heart and soul of the Alliance, and perhaps, for Vader, he represents much, much more. The book`s first printing features a foil-stamped logo and special bonus fold-out poster by Gibbons and Angus McKie.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Comic: 96 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse; 1st edition (January 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569714150
• ISBN-13: 978-1569714157
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,077,402 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good, February 24, 2000

By	Nathan Blumenfeld "mastadge" (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is definitely one of the better of the recent Star Wars comic story arcs. As a matter of fact, it is one of the best ones yet.

This comic answers the question how exactly did Darth Vader find out who that pilot was. Taking place about three weeks after A New Hope, this also has Vader and Luke's first face-to-face meeting.

This comic has witty dialogue, and art that at first seems very simple but grows on you. It turns out to be very effective, and the lightsaber blades and blaster bolts look superb.

This is a very refreshing Star Wars comic, better than a lot of the recent drivel such as Leviathan, Evolution, and Crimson Empire II. I definitely recommend this one.

It also introduces the character Mala Mala, who's backstory can be seen in issue #2 of Dark Horse's Chewbacca miniseries.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I do like having things explained to me, September 17, 2000

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have never been entirely certain just what the heck Vader did to find out about Luke Skywalker between "A New Hope" and "Empire Strikes Back." This is actually more of a four-star review, but I am awarding it an extra star for being one of the few SW comic books that I like.

This follows a post-ANH, pre-ESB storyline. The artwork is actually pleasant to look at--I found myself savoring the images. Yes, Luke and Vader do a few things that are out-of-character, but book writers have done worse to Luke (poor Luke... poor poor Luke!).

It's a fairly simple story on the surface, a fairly light story with little of the unrelenting misery that is sprawled throughout the bloated stories that fill the SW comics. This one is fresh, new, enjoyable, and has the added bonus of being drawn in a manner that is highly reminiscent of SW itself, colorful and pleasant.

It's not the greatest story ever written, but it sure is better than most! If you like Vader and/or Luke, be sure to check this comic out!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing, April 4, 2000

By	"ryanmac" (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews

When I heard that they were finally going to be doing a Darth Vader story in the comics, and that on top of that it would deal with the father/son issue and Palpatine as well, I was very excited. Finally we would know more about the circumstances of when Vader discovered that it was in fact his own son that destroyed the Death Star.

What a complete let-down.

For starters, I was unimpressed with the artwork. There have been some fabulous artists working on the Star Wars comics, and in my opinion this isn't one of them. If you want to see some great Star Wars art, check out the Darth Vader 2-part story in STAR WARS TALES #1-2.

The story was deplorable. Macan completely misses the boat on the characterization of Luke, Vader, and Palpatine.

Luke comes off as a whiny loon with no redeeming value whatsoever. He basically comes off as an idiot - Luke Skywalker is naive, yes, but not a numbskull.

Vader actually gets stood off by a community of aliens. What a complete joke. The evil Darth Vader that we know from the movies wouldn't have ANY probably destroying every last one of them if they were in his way.

Macan has Palpatine executing back-door planning with a third-rate bounty hunter. NO WAY this happens with the Emperor we know in the movies. In the time period of TPM, sure. But once he's in control of the galaxy he's so far up on the totem pole that he'd never have to deal with such lowly citizens.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Vader never even states the fact that he knows Luke is his son, which is the MAIN REASON FOR THE STORY! Instead there is a major focus on new characters that we care nothing about. The only other characters from the movies that appear are Jan Dodonna and Wedge Antilles, and THAT'S IT. The alien race that appears is uninspired and lame, and actually physically resembles another SW alien race, the Bothans. All of this tells me that the author didn't even do his homework, because there are ZERO tie-ins to any other piece of Star Wars literature.

There are some great Star Wars stories out there, but this isn't one of them. I'd recommend checking this out in person before you spend your money on it.