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Star Wars: Vader's Quest #1-4
Star Wars TP Vaders Quest
Collects Star Wars: Vader's Quest (1999) #1-4. 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.
Comic
First published December 28, 1999
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About the author
Darko Macan
474 books64 followersDarko Macan is a Croatian author and illustrator who has created and collaborated on comics, essays and science fiction and fantasy. He is also an editor.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
June 22, 2024
this may be a silly star wars comic but don’t let that distract you from the fact that, at its core, this is a riveting, deeply emotional tale about the dangers of measles. that may sound like a joke but it’s genuinely not. they put measles in star wars
January 15, 2021
Star Wars Legends Project #244
Background: Vader's Quest, released in December 1999, collects the 4-issue miniseries (February-May 1999). It was written by Darko Macan and drawn by Dave Gibbons. Macan has written a handful of other comics, including Jedi vs. Sith. Dave Gibbons has done very little other Star Wars work. He is best known for illustrating Watchmen.
Vader's Quest is set about 2 months after the Battle of Yavin. The main characters are Darth Vader and Luke, but most of the other movie characters pop in here and there, and the Emperor figures prominently. The story takes place in various locations, including Centares, Dubrava, Jazbina, Coruscant, and Yavin IV.
Summary: After his humiliating defeat at the Death Star, Vader is obsessed with learning the identity of the pilot responsible. But as soon as he hears the name "Skywalker," he immediately shifts his focus to ensuring that no one else learns it. And that means he needs to get to this Skywalker himself, as soon as possible.
Review: I didn't notice that this was by the same writer responsible for Jedi vs. Sith until after I finished. If I had, I probably would have been less surprised by just how much I hated this. There's nothing wrong with the concept, but the execution is utterly wretched. The comic spends a huge amount of time with characters who are not Darth Vader (or even Luke Skywalker), and those characters never justify the attention they get. Most notable is the Rebel pilot Jal Te Gniev, and I think never have I hated a minor character in Star Wars more than I hate him.
And, yes, for most of the story you're supposed to hate him, but then near the end he gets a shot at redemption that's totally ham-fisted and unearned and somehow I just hated him even more. His arc is that he's a Rebel pilot who was sick on the day of the Death Star assault, so Luke flew his X-Wing instead . . . and now he feels that he was robbed of the glory of a heroic victory that should have been his. And whining about that is actually his least obnoxious quality.
There's also a very strange bounty hunter character named Mala Mala who is crippled and can barely move on her own and has to have her droids carry her everywhere and fight for her, etc. It's kind of an interesting idea, but again, the execution just . . . doesn't work. And it's never clear why we're spending so much more time with these characters rather than the character in the title. I don't get why so few people know how to write an actually good Darth Vader story that actually stars Darth Vader . . . but this one doesn't check either of those boxes.
Luke's subplot is pretty terrible, too. The Rebellion stupidly sends him on a solo mission that's an obvious trap, and then it gives off every possible warning sign of being a particularly stupid trap, but he walks face-first into it anyway, because the plot demands it . . . Anyway, I'm spending too much time thinking about this when I'd rather forget it. Not good at all.
D-
Background: Vader's Quest, released in December 1999, collects the 4-issue miniseries (February-May 1999). It was written by Darko Macan and drawn by Dave Gibbons. Macan has written a handful of other comics, including Jedi vs. Sith. Dave Gibbons has done very little other Star Wars work. He is best known for illustrating Watchmen.
Vader's Quest is set about 2 months after the Battle of Yavin. The main characters are Darth Vader and Luke, but most of the other movie characters pop in here and there, and the Emperor figures prominently. The story takes place in various locations, including Centares, Dubrava, Jazbina, Coruscant, and Yavin IV.
Summary: After his humiliating defeat at the Death Star, Vader is obsessed with learning the identity of the pilot responsible. But as soon as he hears the name "Skywalker," he immediately shifts his focus to ensuring that no one else learns it. And that means he needs to get to this Skywalker himself, as soon as possible.
Review: I didn't notice that this was by the same writer responsible for Jedi vs. Sith until after I finished. If I had, I probably would have been less surprised by just how much I hated this. There's nothing wrong with the concept, but the execution is utterly wretched. The comic spends a huge amount of time with characters who are not Darth Vader (or even Luke Skywalker), and those characters never justify the attention they get. Most notable is the Rebel pilot Jal Te Gniev, and I think never have I hated a minor character in Star Wars more than I hate him.
And, yes, for most of the story you're supposed to hate him, but then near the end he gets a shot at redemption that's totally ham-fisted and unearned and somehow I just hated him even more. His arc is that he's a Rebel pilot who was sick on the day of the Death Star assault, so Luke flew his X-Wing instead . . . and now he feels that he was robbed of the glory of a heroic victory that should have been his. And whining about that is actually his least obnoxious quality.
There's also a very strange bounty hunter character named Mala Mala who is crippled and can barely move on her own and has to have her droids carry her everywhere and fight for her, etc. It's kind of an interesting idea, but again, the execution just . . . doesn't work. And it's never clear why we're spending so much more time with these characters rather than the character in the title. I don't get why so few people know how to write an actually good Darth Vader story that actually stars Darth Vader . . . but this one doesn't check either of those boxes.
Luke's subplot is pretty terrible, too. The Rebellion stupidly sends him on a solo mission that's an obvious trap, and then it gives off every possible warning sign of being a particularly stupid trap, but he walks face-first into it anyway, because the plot demands it . . . Anyway, I'm spending too much time thinking about this when I'd rather forget it. Not good at all.
D-
December 22, 2017
A great story with amazing art (Dave Gibbons). The conclusion didn't pay off after all the build up. But it was fun getting there.
August 12, 2023
2/10:
This sure was a grand quest undertaken by Darth Vader……. Oh wait, no, it wasn’t.
This is so insanely boring. This just has Vader looking like an incompetent fool for the entire 4-issue run, an annoying Rebel protagonist in Jal Te Gniev (the pilot who’s X-Wing was used by Luke Skywalker to destroy the Death Star), and way too little of consequence.
Luke was definitely the best aspect of this story as it really shows him in that weird transition period of being a young man who got lucky at the Death Star into a hero of the Rebel Alliance.
This sure was a grand quest undertaken by Darth Vader……. Oh wait, no, it wasn’t.
This is so insanely boring. This just has Vader looking like an incompetent fool for the entire 4-issue run, an annoying Rebel protagonist in Jal Te Gniev (the pilot who’s X-Wing was used by Luke Skywalker to destroy the Death Star), and way too little of consequence.
Luke was definitely the best aspect of this story as it really shows him in that weird transition period of being a young man who got lucky at the Death Star into a hero of the Rebel Alliance.
May 4, 2016
Here's a confession my regular readers are probably sick of hearing: I'm not in to comic books. I'm not. If you're a regular, you've heard me say they're hard to read, they're unappealing, they're confusing. I spent a lot of my realcanon years trying to ignore them and pretend they didn't exist in the canon, unless the novels forced me to accept them like Dark Empire.
The Disney reboot has given me some good things, though. It's caused me to explore and accept parts of realcanon I never would've dreamed of before. It's even gotten me to the point where I purchased this without even reading it, taking for granted it would fit as canon between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
And it's got some great stuff going for it. The story of How did Vader find out who Luke was? has almost certainly been on fans' minds since 1980 and the memorable crawl that states that Vader is obsessed with finding young Skywalker.
In short, this is the story of how Vader discovers Luke's name. It provides a strong background for the fateful holocall in ESB, especially after the 2004 edits made it sound like Vader didn't know who he was hunting in spite of the fact that the crawl explicitly identified it only 20 minutes previously.
The parts with Luke were not anywhere near as strong as the ones with Vader as Vader scrambles to learn Skywalker's name. There's also a sub plot with the rebel pilot who had to sit the Battle of Yavin out (explaining how Luke got an x-wing to begin with) -- and how badly he resents Skywalker and the lengths his resentment takes him to.
However, the bits with Luke . . . well, they might have been okay, but I was overwhelmingly distracted by why the artist chose to have Luke in his moisture farmer clothes, as if Luke only maintains one outfit (or a dozen of the same-looking outfits) for three years. He was even shown in a different suit at the end of ANH! I'm sorry, you might think it's petty, but if anyone ever asks me what I remember about this comic, it's going to be the fact that Luke is shown cartoonishly wearing the same thing he wore at the beginning of ANH.
Otherwise, the Luke segments just miss the mark. Some cool bits about him being blind and hints about sight being deceiving, but they're either hastily done or not well developed, and I'm sure it's not just the fact that I can't track comic books very well that led to me not having a clear idea of what the point of most of this was.
I'd give it a positive-neutral rating if Goodreads let me. Two seems harsh, but 3 stars is too generous. Interesting story, poor execution. Vital curiosity satisfied, but in a curiously confusing fashion. Decent, but not great.
This review via The RebeLibrarian.
The Disney reboot has given me some good things, though. It's caused me to explore and accept parts of realcanon I never would've dreamed of before. It's even gotten me to the point where I purchased this without even reading it, taking for granted it would fit as canon between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
And it's got some great stuff going for it. The story of How did Vader find out who Luke was? has almost certainly been on fans' minds since 1980 and the memorable crawl that states that Vader is obsessed with finding young Skywalker.
In short, this is the story of how Vader discovers Luke's name. It provides a strong background for the fateful holocall in ESB, especially after the 2004 edits made it sound like Vader didn't know who he was hunting in spite of the fact that the crawl explicitly identified it only 20 minutes previously.
The parts with Luke were not anywhere near as strong as the ones with Vader as Vader scrambles to learn Skywalker's name. There's also a sub plot with the rebel pilot who had to sit the Battle of Yavin out (explaining how Luke got an x-wing to begin with) -- and how badly he resents Skywalker and the lengths his resentment takes him to.
However, the bits with Luke . . . well, they might have been okay, but I was overwhelmingly distracted by why the artist chose to have Luke in his moisture farmer clothes, as if Luke only maintains one outfit (or a dozen of the same-looking outfits) for three years. He was even shown in a different suit at the end of ANH! I'm sorry, you might think it's petty, but if anyone ever asks me what I remember about this comic, it's going to be the fact that Luke is shown cartoonishly wearing the same thing he wore at the beginning of ANH.
Otherwise, the Luke segments just miss the mark. Some cool bits about him being blind and hints about sight being deceiving, but they're either hastily done or not well developed, and I'm sure it's not just the fact that I can't track comic books very well that led to me not having a clear idea of what the point of most of this was.
I'd give it a positive-neutral rating if Goodreads let me. Two seems harsh, but 3 stars is too generous. Interesting story, poor execution. Vital curiosity satisfied, but in a curiously confusing fashion. Decent, but not great.
This review via The RebeLibrarian.
August 28, 2019
As a reread, I have very little recollection of this one. There are a few plot strings which are largely independent for the majority of the story which bounces from one place to the next, sometimes at a panel-by-panel pace. I liked the focus on the disgruntled Rebel pilot who missed out on the battle of Yavin because of measles (Measles? Really? Not Yavin Flu, or Space Plague or some such, but no, an Earth-based disease) and is jealous of the attention Luke gets. A nice reminder that the Rebellion isn't just the five or six faces who regularly feature on the front cover of most Star Wars books. Anyway, he has a pretty good arc throughout the story and is single-handedly responsible for one of Vader's more impressive defeats. There are also some interesting new characters who I would have liked to have seen more of, particularly the crippled spy/bounty hunter Mala Mala and her mechanical friends.
May 10, 2021
I think this story is mistitled. I was expecting a story that would be mostly from Vader's POV, but there are a bunch of different POV's here. I was surprised that Vader finding the name Skywalker happens right at the beginning of this story, thus rendering the rest of his "quest" pretty pointless. Kieron Gillen's 2015 Darth Vader comic series is definitely the best telling of how Darth Vader finds out the name and how he reacts to it. There's also something really unnatural about seeing Vader use a blaster.
The pilot who is envious of Luke being the one to destroy the Death Star and get all the glory is somewhat realistic, but it's also pretty annoying how mean he is about Luke. The ending also suggests that, at this time, the EU was going along with the idea alluded to in the Thrawn trilogy that Palpatine removes bits of Vader's flesh as punishment. But for the most part, Vader's Quest feels like such a nothing of an adventure.
The pilot who is envious of Luke being the one to destroy the Death Star and get all the glory is somewhat realistic, but it's also pretty annoying how mean he is about Luke. The ending also suggests that, at this time, the EU was going along with the idea alluded to in the Thrawn trilogy that Palpatine removes bits of Vader's flesh as punishment. But for the most part, Vader's Quest feels like such a nothing of an adventure.
March 21, 2018
What's funny is that this isn't really much of a quest. But it was fun, and had some good characters. Luke was kind of annoying, as young Luke always was. And Dave Gibbons' art was great.
April 20, 2018
Just an okay, bland adventure. Kind of dumb, in a lot of respects. That's probably a bit harsh, but there's just not really much of a story here. Vader is looking for Luke, and we have a pilot for the rebellion named Jal being a jealous douche throughout most of the book.
It's just kind of an oddball read.
Not super worth it.
It's just kind of an oddball read.
Not super worth it.
February 8, 2019
Re-read
This is an odd one. I remember reading this when it first came out and having difficulty reconciling the friendly art and humour, with the sparadic bloody violence.
Neither a must-read nor a skip: worth checking out if you want to see a quirkier Star Wars graphic novel from the end of the 90s.
This is an odd one. I remember reading this when it first came out and having difficulty reconciling the friendly art and humour, with the sparadic bloody violence.
Neither a must-read nor a skip: worth checking out if you want to see a quirkier Star Wars graphic novel from the end of the 90s.
March 17, 2018
3.5 stars
June 5, 2019
The story was meh but I loved the Dave Gibbons art.
November 17, 2019
Although I enjoyed this Graphic Novel... I found the story a little predictable.
August 16, 2020
Simple story although the Quest bit was lost on me because Vader pops up only couple times.
Strong art and as said, simple fun fast paced story.
Strong art and as said, simple fun fast paced story.
August 25, 2020
Disappointing.
January 11, 2021
Vader's Quest
Classic Star Wars tale, featuring the first meeting between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, great writing and art, highly recommend.
Classic Star Wars tale, featuring the first meeting between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, great writing and art, highly recommend.
May 23, 2022
Kaanoniin sopiva lyhyt sarjakuvaromaani toimi jopa yllättävän hyvin. Pitäisköhän tästä maailmasta lukea muitakin?
February 27, 2023
Good ol star wars...not many Droids
April 7, 2023
Entertaining! Not sure how I feel about those who-looking people tho.
September 28, 2024
Considering the involvement of Dave Gibbons, I expected something more, but this is a pretty average offering.
September 22, 2025
1.5 stars, I guess.
Not the worst comic I’ve read but that’s about all this has going for it. The story is mediocre and so is the art. There are definitely better Star Wars comics out there.
Not the worst comic I’ve read but that’s about all this has going for it. The story is mediocre and so is the art. There are definitely better Star Wars comics out there.
March 28, 2025
It's pretty goofy in a lot of places (measles exist in STAR WARS I guess) and has zero tension to its plot, but it's a fun read. I enjoyed the stuff with the disgraced rebel pilot and Darth Vader hunting Luke way more than the Luke subplot of saving an alien princess.
April 2, 2019
After the destruction of the first Death Star, Vader is determined to find out who the Force-sensitive pilot who fired the lucky shot was so he can eliminate such a dangerous enemy. His focus shifts, however, when he learns the pilot's name. In addition to Vader's attention, Luke also unknowingly has to deal with the resentment of a Rebellion pilot who feels Luke has gotten an unwarranted amount of attention, considering he's only had one real mission versus the pilots 30+. Basically, this pilot is a whiny baby that I wanted to punch in the face, tbqh. Overall, very unexciting comic that was more nonsense than anything else.
April 29, 2014
This is definitely one of the worst Star Wars graphic novels I've read. Unless you enjoy a silly style of story that has little relation to the actual Star Wars movies or canon, then you should stay far away from Vader's Quest. The characters are really flat and silly which makes them hard to connect with or care about. The author has a bad habit of telegraphing plot twists before they happen. There is also too many coincidences in the story for it to feel believable. When you add Darth Vader not seeming at all like his intimidating self, you've really got a bad formula for a Star Wars story. The only small saving grace is that the art is not too bad. Dave Gibbons is an accomplished artist and while I didn't like the design of any of his aliens (they all look like generic, old school Sci-Fi and don't fit in with Star Wars) he did a nice job with everything else and his covers are all very strong. I was lucky enough to get this for a low price in a Dark Horse digital comic bundle, but I will never read it again and I think most Star Wars fans would do well to avoid it unless they want a dose of retro-style cheesiness.
October 31, 2016
Vader's Quest has some similar elements to the new canon graphic novel Skywalker Strikes. Vader is trying to figure out who destroyed the Death Star, and when he learns that it was Luke Skywalker, he sends out bounty hunters to find and retrieve him so that he may confront his son for the first time. With Luke getting all the attention, one x-wing pilot leaves and fills his hatred of Luke to the natives of a nearby planet. Luke, meanwhile, finds himself on Jazbina, a planet of dog-like creatures who fear the Empire. While many of them want to be liberated from the Empire's rule and join the rebellion, their fear of Vader has them fighting against Luke's attempts to help them.
The art is a bit older in style, resembling a mix of the old Star Wars Marvel with the new Star Wars Marvel art styles. The special first edition features a holographic title on the cover and a pull-out collectible poster featuring the main characters and supporting characters from the events of the graphic novel.
The art is a bit older in style, resembling a mix of the old Star Wars Marvel with the new Star Wars Marvel art styles. The special first edition features a holographic title on the cover and a pull-out collectible poster featuring the main characters and supporting characters from the events of the graphic novel.
August 1, 2009
What the hell was this shit? What was its purpose? Very little story to speak of with unmemorable characters and an incredibly underused Darth Vader. It's like the comic creators fell in love with the title ‘Vader's Quest’, slapped on a few pretty illustrations and thought story was the last thing on their minds as it would sell anyway. Perhaps following the X-wing pilot who missed out on the Death Star run (and who Luke Skywalker replaced) would have made an interesting story but that wasn’t covered very well…. There was one part that was just outrageously bad in one character’s suggestion to cure Luke Skywalker’s temporary blindness. Did the writers feel that contemptuous to its audience? Ugh, never mind. Stay clear of it.
August 1, 2022
Pre-Disney Star Wars and frankly, I miss the whimsy of pre-Disney Star Wars.
Vader's Quest is not much of a quest (he's supposed to find the pilot who destroyed the Death Star) and Luke is bumbling around on his own (why doesn't he have a handler?) to save a Princess. Not having any understanding of nuance, Luke fouls things up for the rebellion but luckily the plucky natives save the day.
Ok so here's a question. I get why Darth Vader might pretend that Anakin Skywalker is dead and that in his Sithiness he has left the Jedi/human part of him behind. But why does it seem like he has never heard the Skywalker name before? It's not just here, it comes up in other comics too.
Vader's Quest is not much of a quest (he's supposed to find the pilot who destroyed the Death Star) and Luke is bumbling around on his own (why doesn't he have a handler?) to save a Princess. Not having any understanding of nuance, Luke fouls things up for the rebellion but luckily the plucky natives save the day.
Ok so here's a question. I get why Darth Vader might pretend that Anakin Skywalker is dead and that in his Sithiness he has left the Jedi/human part of him behind. But why does it seem like he has never heard the Skywalker name before? It's not just here, it comes up in other comics too.
September 1, 2015
This comic is a perfect example of why the recent "death" (or reboot) of the EU is a good thing. Compare this with the current ongoing Darth Vader series, which also is so far concerned with Vader's investigation into the identity of the young Rebel who teamed up with his former master and blew up the Death Star. Compared with the current story, "Vader's Quest" isn't even noteworthy enough to merit one star. It's just incredibly bland.
April 20, 2014
We veteran fans want to read something that deviates from the cheesy new Star Wars path. I'm referring to the path that Lucas chose to walk after the original Star Wars success. But to like something that deviates from that course just because, it's not enough. And this arc story is just not enough. It's slushy and arrhythmic.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews