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Star Wars: Darth Vader, Vol. 2: Shadows and Secrets

(Star Wars: Darth Vader (2015-2016) #2)

Kieron Gillen,

Salvador Larroca (Illustrator),

Adi Granov (Illustrator)

4.09 · Rating details · 7,539 ratings · 528 reviews

Bounty Hunters on the attack--against the Empire! Vader has a new mission to do for the Empire. Unfortunately, it's completely at odds with his own mission. What's a Dark Lord to do? Plus: Who is Tagge's mysterious new agent?

COLLECTING: Darth Vader #7-12. ...more

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Paperback, 136 pages

Published January 5th 2016 by Marvel Comics

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Jun 09, 2017 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it really liked it

Shelves: comics-graphic-manga, kindle-unlimited

Still loving these graphics and the story line. This second Vol and the first Vol are on Kindle Unlimited for those that have it. I am very much enjoying these books and will add the real paperbacks to my collection.

Fin ...more

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Feb 02, 2016 Alejandro rated it really liked it

Shelves: detective, science-fiction, media-tie-in, comic-book, star-wars, espionage, horror, politics, military

Darth Vader’s secret schemes continue!

I got this storyarc on its single comic book issues but I chose to make the review using this TPB edition to make a better overall review. The story is set after the events of “Star Wars IV: A New Hope” but before the events of “Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back”. This TPB edition contains from the title of “Star Wars: Darth Vader” #7-12 in its new Marvel Canonic run.

Creative Team:

Writer: Keiron Gillen

Illustrator: Salvador Larroca

VISIT TATOOINE, EN ...more

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Mar 16, 2016 Sean Barrs rated it it was ok

Shelves: sci-fi, 2-star-reads, comic-graphic-novel

BEWARE STAR WARS FANS! BEWARE LORD VADER!

FOR A NEW ENEMY RISES.

BEHOLD! IT’S GENERAL ACKBAR-GREVIOUS!

description

I scared you didn’t I?

I can’t stop laughing at this guy. He actually thinks that he is going to kill Lord Vader and become the new dark power in the galaxy. Seriously though, this is pathetic. I mean fair enough on a character level he may be delusional, but I feel like in terms of the plot, this guy is actually being set up as Vader’s nemesis. I mean come on. Look at him. Look at him. In what world could this weird amalgamation of Admiral Akbar and General Grievous actually have a chance against Vader? It’s just ridiculous. It’s like setting up a wrestling match between Chewbacca and Ja Ja Binks. It could only go one way. You're picturing that now aren't you?

Vader is far beyond such a contraption. The rest of the imperial enforcers are just as bad. Two are androids that think there are Jedi Knights. Vader will cut them down. Another is a tactical genius with a weird shaped head. Great description I know. Vader will force suffocate the life out of that fool in seconds. And the Grievous thing, the mon-calamari android, will just crumble before the might of Darth Vader. The situation is plausible, but these rivals could actually be threatening; they could actually have potential to slay Vader, that way the comic would be a little more intense because these guys are morons.

The main drive of this story is Vader’s hunt for Skywalker. He has just realised that he is his son, which gives him another reason to hate his master. So, Vader’s on his own; he is forced to us his own recourses and find his own allies. His personality isn’t going to win anyone over, so he uses his only tool: power to induce fear. He’s bound a young doctor his cause, which will, no doubt, eventually end in her demise. I wouldn’t trust Vader. I wouldn’t go within a mile of him.

This wasn’t as good as the first volume; it lacked the drive and focus of its predecessor. Most of the side characters are terrible, though there is an interesting imperial investigator assigned to Vader. He might make it to the end of this series, hopefully. Most imperials are just cannon fodder so he has a good chance of survival. I’m hoping the story picks up again and that these ridiculous rivals to Vader are killed off soon. Otherwise I may not read too far into this series.

Vader Comics
1. Vader- A dark four stars
2. Shadows and Secrets- A weak two stars

description

...more

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Feb 02, 2016 Kemper rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, tv-movies, star-wars, 2016, comics

It’s hard out here for a Sith Lord…

Like the other current Marvel Star Wars titles this is set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Darth Vader is on the Emperor’s shit list for the destruction of the Death Star. Vader now has to answer to another Imperial officer, and the Emperor has been grooming a group of dangerous candidates to be his potential replacement someday. Now Vader has discovered that the Force-strong pilot who blew up the Death Star real good is named Skywalker which is ...more

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Sep 21, 2018 Calista rated it really liked it

Shelves: bage-young-adult, i-marvel, genre-thriller, 2016, genre-fantasy, genre-comedy, series, series-unfinished, comics-graphic-novel

I read the omnibus edition and I didn't realize this would be a duplicate. I am enjoying this new series.

Psychopathic robots in Triple zero and BeeTee are the comic relief. I mean, if they were real, they would be horrifying, but listening to them go on about the joys of torture is some dark humor.

Luke has blown up the Death Star and he is being hunted by many people in the galaxy including Vader. He wants the truth about is this his son or not. I enjoy the new characters and this would make a ...more

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May 04, 2016 Sam Quixote rated it it was ok

May The 4th Be With You!

What is it with Kieron Gillen and armoured characters? After thoroughly trashing Iron Man with his (overlong) run, he’s now doing the same with Darth Vader - someone stop him!

Vader now knows Luke is his son who is on the path to becoming a Jedi - but doesn’t do a whole helluva lot with that knowledge (and can’t because of the big confrontation that takes place in Empire and this is set between A New Hope and Empire). Nevertheless he continues his clandestine plans of bu May The 4th Be With You!

What is it with Kieron Gillen and armoured characters? After thoroughly trashing Iron Man with his (overlong) run, he’s now doing the same with Darth Vader - someone stop him!

Vader now knows Luke is his son who is on the path to becoming a Jedi - but doesn’t do a whole helluva lot with that knowledge (and can’t because of the big confrontation that takes place in Empire and this is set between A New Hope and Empire). Nevertheless he continues his clandestine plans of building his own droid army, which he needs for some reason, by ripping off the Empire through Aphra, the woman on the cover. He takes out a mob leader, sends all the cash on a poorly defended ship and has Aphra and a crew of bounty hunters attack and loot the ship, taking a chunk of the plunder back to Vader’s hideout.

The problem with this story is how thin it feels stretched out over six issues and it’s not that interesting to start with. It also seems like a really small, piddling story for a character like Vader - he should be above this wheeling and dealing with petty thieves. Oh, and remember that dull subplot from the first book where Vader was assigned an auditor whom he “dealt with” permanently? Gillen trots it out again in the form of an inspector who threatens to reveal Vader’s hidden activities and it’s still not any more compelling the second time around.

I really don’t like Aphra, the annoying “spunky” female character who’s basically the main character, and that irritates me more - Vader’s a supporting character in his own book! I picked this up to read about him, not some idiot called Aphra! I also hate the evil Artoo and Threepio, those derivative clowns. Ugh, and why not visit Naboo to remind everyone of the awful Prequels? Pass the vomit bucket…

Salvador Larroca’s art continues to be the highlight of this series with his clean lines and imaginative eye for creative angles. The use of wide panels to simulate a cinematic look continues to be effective and Edgar Delgado’s colours are utterly beautiful. Larroca and Delgado make this feel like a real Star Wars story even if Gillen’s hamfisted script doesn’t. The Ghost-Face alien character design though was pretty terrible.

Darth Vader should be one of the best titles on Marvel’s publishing schedule but I don’t think it will be until they boot Kieron Gillen off it. He rarely manages to produce great comics and he’s definitely failing with his lacklustre, uninspired take on Vader. This second volume is boring and irrelevant - the Dark Lord of the Sith deserves better! ...more

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May 23, 2016 Chad rated it it was amazing

Star Wars at its best. In this volume, Vader is saddled with a new inquisitor that he has to do an end run around to keep him from finding out that Vader is behind the crime they are investigating.

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Jul 02, 2017 Trish rated it really liked it

Another great volume about Darth Vader, bad-guy supreme!

In this volume we get more of Vader's chase for the location of his son. We also get more of the cat-and-mouse game that had already started in book #1. There are some rivals pitted against Vader by Palpatine - though I'm not sure why because I can't imagine Palpatine actually thinking they could ever replace someone like Vader. Moreover, the human general is still Vader's boss, strictly speaking, and pairing him up with yet another adjutan ...more

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Oct 28, 2015 Sesana rated it liked it

Shelves: comics, superhumans

Still really solid. This story kind of dragged on a bit towards the end, but it was still more than interesting enough to keep the pages turning. I'm still unconvinced about this Aphra character. I really like her and her murder droids, but I still don't feel like she really belongs in the Darth Vader comic. Now, give Aphra her own book, or make her a supporting character in one of the other Star Wars comics, and I'm all for that. But especially in this volume, when she and Vader are very rarely ...more

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Jan 09, 2018 Gianfranco Mancini rated it really liked it

Shelves: star-wars, comics-and-graphic-novels, adaptions-tie-ins-novelizations, disney, marvel-comics, science-fiction

Maybe this volume is just as not good as previous one, storyline is essentially an "heist movie" in Star Wars universe, evil versions of fan favourite characters popping out of nowhere more and more start being too much cheesy and ridicolous (but for Triple 0 and Bt-1 that I just love!), but I'm still liking very much how Gillen totally nailed Vader's character and a few of his moments and scenes here depicted are just some of his best ones ever.
Aphra and Thanoth (imagine Sherlock Holmes played ...more

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Nov 18, 2016 Raoufa Ibrahim rated it really liked it

Shelves: star-wars

actual rating :3.5
Vader is trying to find Luke .. without letting anyone know!
the illustrations were really good but there are things I didn't understand such as (view spoiler) ...more

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Dec 28, 2015 Paul E. Morph rated it really liked it

Shelves: comics-read-in-2016

While I still really enjoyed this book (the artwork is amazing and Gillen really nails Vader's 'voice'), I didn't get as much out of it as I did the first volume. It seemed a little meandering, as if it wasn't a story in its own right but was rather building up to something... Oh, wait! What's that on the last page? 'To be continued in 'Vader Down'?

For fuck's sake, Marvel! You're even going to start putting crossover 'events' in your Star Wars books now?

I'm going to go and have a little cry now. ...more

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Dec 19, 2020 Lashaan Balasingam (Bookidote) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: comic-books, digital, star-wars, read-in-2020

This story-arc further explores Darth Vader and Aphra's alliance as their interests diverge and converge in unexpected ways. Each of their missions sends them in different directions until they crash and collide, forcing them to renew their pact and come to terms with a new objective. There's a lot of things happening behind the backs of everyone but it is fascinating to watch Vader find himself in a not-so-Alpha position and having to dupe his way into getting things done the way he wants them ...more

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Nov 25, 2015 Matthew rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, young-adults, star-wars-canon, favorites, 2015, star-wars, series, adults, adventure, fantasy

To check out all my reviews: http://dancinginth3dark.blogspot.com

Disclaimer: I read the individual comics.

When it comes to Star Wars comics, I believe Vader is by far one of the best that Marvel has produced and while it maintain a level of authenticity and kept my captivation I felt like this volume showcased a wimpy version of this mysterious and evil Vader that we have come to love and appreciate. With the events of the previous volume, we learn that Vader knows that Luke Skywalker is the one To check out all my reviews: http://dancinginth3dark.blogspot.com

Disclaimer: I read the individual comics.

When it comes to Star Wars comics, I believe Vader is by far one of the best that Marvel has produced and while it maintain a level of authenticity and kept my captivation I felt like this volume showcased a wimpy version of this mysterious and evil Vader that we have come to love and appreciate. With the events of the previous volume, we learn that Vader knows that Luke Skywalker is the one who destroyed the Death Star and is his biological son. He had already known from his encounter with Luke in the Star Wars comics but the wonderful Boba Fett confirmed it.

With this huge information Vader has learned that the Emperor lied to him when he told Vader that Padme had died and so was his unborn children which begins the process of how to destroy the Emperor and Vader needs Luke to come to the Dark side in order to succeed his wish of ruling the Galactic Empire. With that ending we get the introduction into this new volume with Vader making a visit to Tatooine to learn more about Luke and Obi-Wan.

What I loved about this part is in a way Vader is retracing his steps of the past with his relations to Tatooine and he learns a lot about Luke with his lack of Jedi training, his anger to the Empire, and practically Vader killed Luke's aunt and uncle. If it weren't for that mistake Luke would have never left home and seek revenge especially after Obi-Wan Kenobi death. Revenge is one hell of a motivator and Vader couldn't agree more.

Vader's crew which consist of Aphra, 0-0-0, and BT-1 are still doing top secret missions for their master and I love the relationship between Vader and his crew particularly with Aphra. I have feeling in the end she is going to be killed by Vader in order to keep Vader's plan a secret. What I love about her character is because she worships Vader and praises him we see that she is practically the first female to be in his constant presence after Padme and we may see his vulnerability the longer she remains by his side.

Since Vader is working with the Hutts and doing illegal missions that the Empire doesn't know it comes to bite him in the ass with Tagge assigning a new lieutenant to monitor Vader's activities, and with the discovery of this abomination crew of robots who yield lightsabers they are hired to attend to missions of these illegal activities that are happening in Outer Rim.

Pretty much with these descriptions the whole volume becomes this whole circus chase of the Empire trying to find Aphra and her crew while Vader has to carefully maneuver everything in order not to get caught and be successful with his secret plans. By having this drama it portrayed Vader being anxious and to me personally Vader should never be anxious especially over pity drama like in this volume. I can understand being anxious over Luke being strong with the Force or Palpatine grooming someone who can replace Vader but not about illegal activities in order to fund his operations.

In the end I know that this is all gearing up to the epic Vader Down crossover and I am excited for all that jazz. I believe this still gets all the stars for the illustrations, the storytelling, and we get prequel reference in the volume which was wonderful and refreshing to remind many people that the prequels did exist and has an influence to everything of Star Wars. ...more

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Oct 11, 2017 Andrew rated it liked it

Shelves: comics, marvel

I still hate Larroca's artwork, and parts of the "Vader investigates himself" plot are silly, but Gillen is making the most of his exploration of the odd corners of the Star Wars universe, and his original character Dr. Aphra is more interesting than any of the characters in any of the new Star Wars movies. Plus, the evil version of C-3PO still makes me laugh every time. ...more

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Jul 31, 2020 Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight rated it really liked it

*3.75
I'm having a bit of a love-hate relationship with these Vader comics. Maybe it's the fact that these stories are more plot- than character-driven, like Skywalker Strikes. The concepts in this series are strange.

I didn't say it in my review of Vader, but murderous R2 and 3PO are a bit odd. I suppose there're a bit of a hit or miss for readers.

I found Vader to be more in character here than he was in book 1. He wasn't depending on other people and he was furthering his own agenda. I did like ...more

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Jan 01, 2016 Donovan rated it liked it

Shelves: owned

Hmm.... I didn't like this as much as Volume 1. In Volume 1, Vader was trying to prove himself to Palpatine following his failure with the Death Star blowing up and the rebels getting away, he was nostalgic, he was heartbroken over Padme, he was powerful but exhibiting self-doubt. It was a humanistic portrayal meanwhile Vader searched for "the missing pilot" with Doctor Aphra, and he had suspicions of the pilot's importance and connection to the Force, i.e. Luke his son. This is nothing like Vol ...more

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Mar 08, 2016 Matthew Quann rated it liked it

Unfortunately, the second collection (issues #7-12) of Darth Vader don't live up to the excitement promised by the first instalment. Gillen continues to be a good fit for the most famous Sith of them all, but he spends a great deal of his time with Vader's supporting cast. This is not to say that they aren't interesting, it's just that I expected a lot more Sith-ing and less intrigue in this volume.

Though the story in this one wasn't incredible, it is really the art that drags this book throu ...more

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May 16, 2016 Lance Shadow rated it liked it

Shelves: star-wars, canon, darth-vader, comics

So I found Vol. 1: Vader to be quite awesome. (review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). It had a compelling story, some excellent new characters, and wonderful artwork. And after seeing the progress Marvel's other major comic series, Star Wars, made with Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, I was hyped to continue this series. After an incredible first volume I was really looking forward to seeing how the story would continue and the characters would develop. After reading it though ...more

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Jul 07, 2017 Erin the Avid Reader ⚜BFF's with the Cheshire Cat⚜ rated it it was ok

Shelves: graphic, sci-fi

The only character in this compendium I found interesting was Triple-Zero, the protocol droid that specialized in torture who possessed a psychopathic personae. (can you put those two words together)?He's genuinely the only one I found fascinating, and I would love to see a graphic novel written solely about him.

The rest is...not good. The main villain who wants to usurp the power away from Darth Vader looks likes a garish amalgamation of Admiral Ackbar and General Grievous. His plans are also n ...more

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Dec 07, 2015 Jordan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: highest-recommendations, star-wars, comics-graphic-novels, pulp-fiction, sci-fi, thrillers

New Star Wars comics! No time to chat!

Still reeling from the revelation that the pilot who destroyed the Death Star is named Skywalker, Darth Vader redoubles his efforts to track him down off the books. For that, however, he's going to need funds. Staging a heist is easy. Getting away with it is less so....especially when he's partnered with a genius investigator and ordered to solve the crime at all costs! Vader is soon forced to play a deadly game, one in which his catspaw Dr. Aphra may just b ...more

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Jan 13, 2016 Chris Lemmerman rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016-comics-and-manga-read

Darth Vader's struggle against his master's chains continues as he tries to discover the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker before the rest of the Empire - but when his investigation (with the aid of Doctor Aphra and her murder-droids) collides with the investigation he's actually meant to be heading up, things get a little...explosive.

Circles within circles, wheels within wheels in this volume as Vader's true motives and the motives he wants to communicate to the Emperor collide; Kieron Gillen layer ...more

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Nov 13, 2015 Alex Sarll added it

Part of what I love about this series is that it reminds me how comics used to be. Vader's new supporting cast develop, he plays a dangerous game going up against the Empire on a mission of his own, we finally see the other side of the Luke/father reveal...but at the heart of it all, Vader remains Vader. His personality doesn't get flipped by a MacGuffin. His identity isn't assumed by one of his mates. Reworks and gimmicks are for the lesser characters; the really iconic* ones can stand just fin ...more

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Oct 28, 2015 Jordan Lahn rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphic_novels, star_wars

Dr Aphra is an interesting and likeable addition to the Star Wars universe, and her interactions with Vader are skillfully handled. Hard to root for Vader when he's slaughtering Rebels, but it's fun watching him deal with corrupt Imperial elements. ...more

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Aug 16, 2016 Robert rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Those Looking to Fill in the Years Between "A New Hope" and "Empire"

Shelves: guerre-stellari

Not quite as epic as the previous volume, though we get to learn a bit more about Dr Aphra's backstory and watch Vader scheming and spinning plates in his quest to be first to a certain Tatooine-farmboy-turned-rebel-pilot whose name eludes me... ...more

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Apr 07, 2016 Jerry rated it really liked it

More fun space opera comics from Marvel. Seriously, all Star Wars fans should check these volumes out.

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Apr 25, 2016 Dan rated it it was ok

I thought this would be good as it's Vader, but this felt so flat and seemed like nothing really important happened. Just trying to squeeze money out of Star Wars fans. ...more

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Jan 06, 2017 Tokio Myers rated it it was amazing

Shelves: marvel-comics

Really enjoying this series guys.

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Jan 29, 2020 Alec Engerson rated it really liked it

Doctor Aphra is a beast and the best new Star Wars character. Love her.

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Jan 20, 2016 Dimitris Papastergiou rated it it was ok

What the stars are saying. It was ok. Was expecting more. You can't expect me to like a Darth Vader title after all this time, also being back to Marvel with the whole franchise, and to barely have any Vader in it, all the while I'm forced to read about this con-artist kinda girl who's boring as hell and has nothing interesting to tell me.

Anyway, since I've already started the next "chapter" in all of this, and also the Vader Down arc, I'll say this, read it just for the heck of it, because what ...more

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