Chris' Midichlorian Corner for September 19th, 201

Greetings Star Wars fans. Welcome back for the exciting conclusion of this amazing series: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison. Last time, Vader had just recruited the strongest prisoners from the secret Jedi prison: Prism. He hoped these people would help him attack Headmaster Gentis, a man responsible for an attempt on the Emperor's life. Time is of the essence, as Vader and his forces must rush to intercept Grand Moff Tarkin before he can go to Coruscant and fall into Gentis' trap to take control of the entire Imperial military.

The issue opens with Tarkin's arrival on Coruscant. Gentis awaits with the entire Imperial Academy behind him, seemingly in a show of respect. But of course this is just a ruse. As Tarkin and his entourage exit their shuttle, Gentis orders them taken into custody. Everything seems to be going according to plan. Until all hell breaks loose. 

Turns out Tarkin wasn't alone. Vader rushes forth, his subordinates and the prisoners of Prism in tow, and proceed to lay waste to Gentis' forces. They are nothing more than a collection of students who clearly have a lot more to learn when faced with the Jedi's fiercest enemies from the Clone Wars. Among the fallen students is Gentis' last son. As Gentis embraces his son's lifeless corpse, he is engulfed in a flurry of Sith lightning, which courses throughout his body and melts his flesh. It would seem Tarkin didn't only have backup from Vader. The Emperor has returned and he is pissed.

From there we see the Emperor's forces make short work of retaking the Empire. Lieutenant Tohm is given the task of executing the traitors. Moff Trachta is awarded the rank of Grand Moff and appointed Headmaster of the Imperial Academies. And the prisoners are granted conditional freedom as long as they promise to never return to the Empire. However, this freedom proves to be short-lived. As their shuttle takes off from the launchpad, the prisoners explode over Coruscant. It would seem Lieutenant Tohm is truly a ruthless servant of Lord Vader.

Even the Emperor is impressed by this fact. He suggests that Tohm might prove to one day be a suitable replacement to Vader, should anything ever happen to the Dark Lord. Vader sees through the Emperor's words to their true meaning and has a private conversation with Lieutenant Tohm. The Dark Lord intends to give one final lesson to his would be successor, and what follows is one of the most chilling moments in any. Comic. Ever. Period.

This story arc is quickly becoming my all time favorite. It reminds us all why we first loved Darth Vader as a character (and it wasn't his dislike of sand). It is the absolute ruthlessness that he keeps contained beneath his cold mechanical demeanor. To quote a wise Jedi master, "He's more machine now than man. Twisted and evil." He no longer sees the people who serve with him as allies, but as tools to be used and then discarded when they have outlived their usefulness or as threats who must be eliminated. If this arc cemented anything into the Star Wars universe, it's this: you don't fuck with Darth Vader. And I dunno about any of you, but I hope Haden Blackman returns for future arcs of the Dark Lord of the Sith, with Agustin Alessio's art returning as well. These guys produce absolute gold.

Until next time Star Wars fans, may the Force be with you.

Chris' Midichlorian Corner for August 22nd, 2012

Welcome back Star Wars fans! I'm sure you were all as eager as I was to read the latest issue of "Darth Vader and The Ghost Prison." The last time we saw the Dark Lord of the Sith, he had just taken control of the Jedi Council's secret prison with the assistance of Lieutenant Tohm and Moff Trachta. Elsewhere, General Gentis, headmaster of the Empire's military academies, continues his plan to kill the Emperor and take control of the Empire so that he can bring peace.

Boy howdy, did this issue ever hit the ground running. The last issue ended with Tohm suggesting to Vader that they free the prisoners held captive by the Jedi. And then rather than see the course of events play out directly after that point, we're instead dropped right in the middle of the aftermath of that decision. This choice on writer Haden Blackman's part really helps us to feel the hecticness of being in the middle of a battle. As the battle plays out, we're introduced to two new characters, Baron Nax Cirvan and Captain Shonn Volta.

Cirvan and Vader have a history that is repeated briefly during the battle. At the first sign of Vader being off his guard, Cirvan won't hesitate to stab him in the back to seize power. Volta is given much more development in this issue, as we learn why it is that she hates both the Jedi and the Republic. Hearing her reasoning, one might even agree that she's in the right. Not only do we get her backstory, but we learn more about Lieutenant Tohm, and it continues to make the reader empathize with him. One might even start to like Trachta as he gives a pretty good speech to the remaining prisoners to get them to join Vader in the fight against Gentis' forces in exchange for their freedom.

Gentis is given even less time in this issue than the last (a mere two pages).  I realize that it's called "DARTH VADER and the Ghost Prison," but I'd still prefer to see a bit more of Gentis' side of the story. Or at least have his dialogue feel a tad less expository. I'd rather see him put his plan in place rather than hear him talk about it with his accomplices. But I'm sure we'll see more in the next issue, seeing as it's the final part of the arc. It's just so sad we have to wait a whole month for it. 

Until next time Star Wars fans, may the Force be with you.

Chris' Midichlorian Corner for July 18th 2012

Greetings again Star Wars fans! This week I'll be talking to you about the 3rd installment of “Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison.” This was my entry point into the story, but I've got to say, I wasn't lost for a second. Haden Blackman does an excellent job of writing this issue in such a way that by the end of it, you forget you're actually reading part 3. 

To fill you in on what happened before, the Headmaster of the Empire's military academies has made an attempt on the Emperor's life. All of his students are behind him save one, disabled Lieutenant Laurita Tohm. Tohm aids Darth Vader and Moff Trachta in moving the Emperor to a secret hangar bay while they look for a place to get Palpatine the care he needs. Perhaps the Jedi had such a place, and it is at the beginning of this issue that we see Darth Vader has gone to the abandoned Jedi Temple to find out.

It gave me such an eerie chill to see Vader standing in the middle of the Jedi briefing room watching holograms of Jedi Masters long since dead. We learn that the Jedi had a secret prison, secret even from the Republic, and that they've been running it for years. It was Vader's former self, Anakin Skywalker, who was in fact responsible for the capture of more than half of its inmates.

Vader is enraged to find that this was kept from him and hurls a chair out of a window with the Force. It was really shocking to see Vader lose his cool like this. We're all used to seeing the cold and collected Vader from the films, who very rarely shows his anger. So to see him completely lose his shit, even if just for a moment, is pretty damn awesome. To do it in such a recognizable location from the films just adds that much more weight to the moment.

For those like me, who haven't read the previous issues, we're then introduced to two more major players, Lieutenant Laurita Tohm and Moff Trachtis. We get to see how each of the characters suffered their own disfigurements, we get a good feel for the balance of power between them, and we get the feeling that there is clearly no love lost between these two, though there is at least respect. 

In the next scene, we see both new and familiar faces. Grand Moff Tarkin is being briefed by Headmaster Gentis of the attack on the Emperor. When questioned, Gentis makes it seem like he has the Emperor in his care and that Darth Vader has mysteriously disappeared. This greatly interests Tarkin, who decides to come visit Gentis on Coruscant to take over the investigation. It was cool to see another familiar face from the films. I always thought Tarkin could have made a better villain if Lucas had known his franchise was going to be popular enough to continue past the first film, and so it's very nice to see him again here. Gentis is interesting because, while he is loyal to the Empire, he's not at all loyal to its leader. His one-page scene later on, where he explains the motivations behind the attack, really makes you root for the guy, because he values each and every Imperial life. Well, you know, except for the Emperor's.

The last part of the issue, when Vader takes over the Jedi prison Prism, moves at a quick pace. Vader comes one step closer to the eradication of the Jedi, Trachtis shows just how much a monster he really is, and Tohm comes up with a plan to help Vader retake control of Coruscant. It sets up the next issue nicely and gives you a better understanding of the newer characters. I'm definitely interested in continuing this series. As a huge fan of the original trilogy, it's always nice to read new stories that feature Vader. It also doesn't hurt that Agustin Alessio's art here is absolutely incredible. This is the first time I've read a Star Wars book that felt less like a comic and more like an extension of the films, and that is due in no small part to the expertly drawn characters and environments by Alessio. His characters are all very emotive and it really lends a lot of weight to certain scenes when you can clearly see what the character is feeling. I can't wait to see more of it.

Let us know if you enjoyed it too. Until next time, may the Force be with you.