Review: Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader’s Castle #3

Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader’s Castle #3 is an example of just what a great tragedy it would be if the rumors are true and Disney is truly pulling the all-ages license away from IDW. A horror Star Wars series for kids is not something Marvel would ever even dream of doing. But it clearly works incredibly well in the right hands and there is no better creative hands than Cavan Scott and Francesco Francavilla.

Francesco Francavilla proved with his work on Afterlife with Archie just how great he is at combining different genres, and his work on the framing pages of these horror tales add such an epic scope to the production. Add to the incredible art of Robert Hack as Hudd has nightmarish recollections of a journey with Luke Skywalker to face the Darkness on Dagobah with Luke Skywalker. This ominous adventure feels like a natural fit to the Star Wars mythos as we have seen Dagobah be nightmare fuel in the past.

The art in this issue is some of the best we’ve ever seen in any Star Wars comic. Gone is the bland photo-realism we too often get with Marvel books, instead replaced by visceral action, great character work and a setting that feels familiar, beautiful and yet deeply disturbing.

Add to this the wonderful twist at the end of the central tale, with Yoda’s force ghost himself appearing and Luke giving him just the briefest glance. This simple story revisiting an old haunt is better than all the sequels combined. As our heroes head back to Vader’s Castle next issue we look forward to more greatness even as we mourn the potential ending of the IDW era.

Writing: 4.3 of 5 stars
Art: 4.8 of 5 stars
Colors: 4.9 of 5 stars

Overall: 4.7 of 5 stars

Writer: Cavan Scott
Art: Francesco Francavilla and Robert Hack
Publisher: IDW Publishing

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.