Comics Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith #13-18: Burning Seas (6/6 Released)

Soule writes so many things concurrently, it's amazing how he manages to keep up! Does the guy sleep?

 

@AdmiralNick22 you're gonna love this issue

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Not shown, but clones are confirmed to be in service to the Empire one year after ROTS in canon! It's the small things that bring a smile to my face sometimes

 

I've been really enjoying this story arc but it didn't feel like much happened this issue. Looking forward to a more action-packed story next issue.

 

That just isn't feasible. Think about how much is being worked on, all at the same time. Full-time writers wouldn't be able to keep up with it, nor should they be expected to. That's what the Story Group's for.

 

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Wow. Vader creates a bubble around him to push back the ocean that is crushing him. Then he proceeds to fight within that bubble.

One of the things I like about new canon is that Darth Vader is now superman, and it works for me.

BTW, this confirms a long held belief I had: Obi Wan and Anakin could fight near a live volcano because they were cloaking themselves in the Force and protecting themselves from the heat and other stuff. Vader essentially does something similar here with the ocean crushing in on him.

Powerful Jedi they were.

 

Heh. I'm waiting for someone to sass Vader. If he never needs help, why does he need so many Inquisitors with him?

I actually think this is what's left of Anakin. The part that craves comrades. Certainly, Darth Vader as portrayed in this comic does not need help with a no name Jedi. Especially after we see him in action in this issue.

 

This also makes me look forward to a Darth Vader series that takes place between ESB and RotJ that explains why Vader all of a sudden became afraid of the Emperor.

"I must obey my master."

But dude...in the last movie and the first Darth Vader series, you were ready to kill him. And...you seem to have the power to do it! Something happened between ESB and RotJ.

 

@The2ndQuest
(3/6 Released)

I love this series, but unfortunately #15 felt like a setup to the next issue concerning the Jedi. I did love Ackbar being badass and of course the Vader stuff was neat, but while a giant bubble makes sense, I don't understand the smaller ones unless there wasn't a smaller one and he was potentially in danger again. Some more warnings from the suit would have been cool to give some context.

 

It still bothers me though. Since to me, it's like a group project but hardly anyone is communicating with each other and are often times contradicting each other, or at the very least are ignoring what came before it and waiting for the Story Group to clean up their mess because they can't be bothered to do some research.

 

Where are you getting that from? Nobody's communicating? We've had plenty of reports of cross-department communication. Rebels ships and assets being used in Rogue One, for instance, or even just characters like Sana Starros crossing over from comics to prose. It's also unfair and unfounded to suggest writers aren't "bothered to do some research"; I can't see how you have any insight into how the production process is actually carried out, so you're simply seeing the end result of a lot of material with a few contradictions and assuming laziness on all parts.

 

I mean I want there to be absolutely zero issues even before print. If they aren't going to be following the canon then they should be told what has already happened in whatever era they are going to be working on to ensure that we don't get issues like what happened at the beginning of this arc where Tarkin was named Grand Moff before he was supposed to be and Sixth Brother being alive.

 

That's not going to happen regardless of how much communication goes on, and it didn't in the old EU either. Things will always slip through the gaps, but at least things like Tarkin and the Sixth Brother were caught and corrected in subsequent printings and issues.

But beyond what issues there are, suggesting things like "hardly anyone is communicating [...] or at the very least are ignoring what came before [...] because they can't be bothered to do some research" has no basis or evidence. You don't know how production operates, and to suggest "they should be told" everything about the eras they're working in (which, for someone like Charles Soule, would be several eras and a huge amount of information, is remarkably vague and hardly feasible. Who's telling them? Who has the time to sit down and explain every single detail of every single story to every single writer? And which writers have the time to hear it?

 

I just don't like the fact that twice now Soule has made the same mistake, both in the first issue of this arc but also in the little blurb for issue 18 where he still calls Tarkin "Grand Moff" and not "Governer."

 

I doubt Soule writes the solicitation blurb himself.

 

This is an impossible standard. Yes, continuity errors -should- be caught by those whose jobs are to catch them, but no person or group can have flawless performance forever, and you can save yourself some grief by readjusting to a more realistic expectation. Disappointment and mild annoyance are reasonable reactions to blunders, but IMO the intensity of the frustration you're repeatedly expressing here is disproportionate to this particular example.

Yes, I thought of Nick straight away too when I saw this panel

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Solicitations aren't canon so we'll just have to wait to see if he is called Grand Moff in the actual issue.

In anycase people are just being overly picky about stuff. The continuity errors there have been so far have really been very minor. So minor infact that they really are hardly noticeable. Only a few handfuls of people are going to know that Tarkin shouldn't be called a Grand Moff before 15BBY. The writers don't need to spend hours upon hours reading everything just to make sure insignificant errors like that don't get through that probably fewer than a few hundred people are even going to notice. Most of those errors are corrected in the editing process anyways. This is a huge universe they are telling stories in and lots of different people are telling stories in it. It won't be a 100 perfect all the time and we shouldn't expect it to be a 100% perfect all the time. We should just expect them to avoid any major errors. And so far there hasn't been any major errors.

Good issue by the way but like others have said it was pretty much just a set up issue.

 

There is also the fact that Tarkin looks too old for this point in the timeline.

 

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Well, the issue itself was pretty good, I think. There was something that I didn´t completely understand, however: we know Vader did some amazing stuff to survive at the beginning of the issue, but why would it be considered so extraordinary that Vader indeed survived, and not the Inquisitors or, even more so, the clones? It didn´t take anything away for me, just curious about it.

By the way, I´m pretty happy to see such a powerful Vader. I would love to see what was my childhood interpretation of the Emperor and Vader´s relationship back into canon, with Vader being extraordinary in martial aspects of the Force, but unable to deal with the more arcane abilities of his master. I mean, how do you surprise/betray someone that can see the future?

Vader chiding the Inquisitors for actually rescuing him sounds fairly Anakin like indeed. He did need rescue on Mustafar, so it makes sense that he presents himself as absolutely independent and needing help from no one. From psychological point of view, it works fine for me.

 

Yeah, this was a AWESOME issue. My highlights below:

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• GUYS. The submersible that the Quarren used is from THE GLOVE OF DARTH VADER!?!
• Side note- I love that Quarren found Lee-char. They are equally citizens of Mon Cala and I'm happy the peace has held.
• Imperial Sky Bases. Super cool, remind me of the ones the First Order used in the Poe Dameron comics.
• ACKBAR IS BACK. Seriously, I loved his aquatic/aerial attack on the Sky Base.
• I'm curious about what Raddus is doing with the "reef ships" at the South Pole...
• The Mon Cala bacta tank was cool. I loved it was a self-suspended bubble, looked more oceanic.
• I'm guessing we're gonna see some orbital bombardment in the next issue. Tarkin's called for more ISD's...

Seriously, another epic issue. Best arc I've read in a long while!

--Adm. Nick

 

I can't believe I missed this! It really is. Great catch, Nick! Comparison pics:

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So, Jocasta Nu didn't recognize the Grand Inquisitor in issue #9... but I'm wondering if Master Barr will recognize and name any of the Inquisitors in #16 and #17. Especially if the theory we've been kicking around is true and...

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...the Tenth Brother is indeed former Master Prosset Dibs.

Would be neat if we could finally put a name to any of them.

 

I'm not sure it was fear, I think he became depressed because Luke made him realize all the evil he has done. All those deeds must be a terrible burden on one's conscience. And when you're depressed, you think very lowly of yourself. Palpatine of course is also a convenient scapegoat. "The evil man made me do it." A very convenient excuse I would say.

 

Darth Vader #16 preview.

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Yes! This remains my favorite SW comic series of all time!

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