"Shadow of Vader's Castle" by Cavan Scott

"Shadow of Vader's Castle" written by Cavan Scott, illustrated by Derek Charm, Nicoletta Baldari, Nick Brokenshire, and Francesco Francavilla

This is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This was a super enjoyable romp through a variety of different stories with a dark twist. My only complaint is that it did not come out before Halloween like it was supposed to!! Wah wah. But reading it now has let me enjoy the spirit of my favorite holiday a little past it's expiration which is fun. The over-arching story is two young Mustafarian boys wanting to blow up Vader's castle to rid Mustafar of the lingering effects of being under the shadow of Vader. The mini-stories throughout are essentially trying to scare them away from attempting such a crazy scheme.

We start off on Mustafar "many years ago" with a Mustafarian named Kakan who wishes more than anything to see a Jedi with his own eyes. Then rumors erupt that a Jedi has arrived on the planet and the boy runs out to find him...only to discover Anakin with Sith eyes, tears streaming down his face (I LOVE this animated depiction of this moment of turmoil for Anakin--see below). Anakin takes pursuit of the young boy, not wanting any witnesses of his deeds that day. Lellis, an older Mustafarian saves Kakan and starts "playing with the vents" of lava to release gases that creep into one's mind and bring your worst fears to life. Anakin is assaulted by angry visions of Yoda, Qui-Gon, and Ahsoka among others, calling him weak and not worthy of being a Jedi (see below). In this moment, Anakin is so ripe for being tormented, too. I find it incredibly sad for the new Sith. Eventually Anakin prevails though and disperses the fumes to become coherent of mind once again (as coherent as he could be post-becoming-Vader).

Then we skip ahead to post-Endor on Mustafar and come across two Mustafarians discussing their supposed new-found freedom. Tuttel says even the storm clouds celebrate while Giggek claims as long as they exist under the shadow of Vader's castle, they will not be free. So the two devise a plan to blow the castle to smithereens. Lellis stops them and tells the tale of how Vanee came to be!!! He was an Imperial officer who completely succumbed to the seeping mists in the castle, becoming Vader's servant as a result. So cool that they give Vanee a backstory!!

And then Tuttel tells a story of a young Twi'lek girl and her pet Kowakian Monkey Lizard, Welk, who are hired by Palpatine to find the Gem of the Luminous (see below). The art for this particular story is absolutely gorgeous! I love how the Twi'lek and Monkey Lizard are depicted...so freaking cute! And Palpatine gets a pretty sweet makeover as well (see below)! 

In the next story, we meet Doctor Restin who is out for vengeance against Vader for the destruction of Alderaan. He has created an injectable serum that turns its victims into Gamorreans if they hear a Gamorrean squeal (see below). It's super reminiscent of the Hulk. And the infection is spread by sweat contact to others! Dun dun dun!! But Vader will not be cowed. As the narrative says, "Darth Vader wasn't afraid of becoming a monster, after all...that had happened a long time ago."

And finally, we return to the finale of Giggek and Tuttel's plan as they have entered the castle and are ready to plant charges...only to find someone alive and trapped below a vent. Who is this mysterious person?? Is he on their side?? Or is he on Vader's?? Will the two young Mustafarians succeed in their plan?? What will become of Vader's castle?? You'll have to read to find out!

At the very end of the issue, it said "continued in Ghosts of Vader's Castle"!!! But I can't find any information on this!! Is this going to be 2021's version of this story collection?? I can only hope that it truly is a publishing plan in the works!!

So overall, I loved it. I mean, come on, it's more tales from Vader's castle. I adore these spooky little chunks of story so I was bound to enjoy this one. But the morals of each story were a little lost on me. They mostly just seemed like spooky stories without any real point to the main story. But hey, that's fine, because it was still a blast to read!