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Star Wars Adventures: Vader's Castle #1
Star Wars Adventures: Tales From Vader's Castle
How do a band of rebels distract themselves when sneaking into the creepiest place in the galaxy? Tell scary stories of course!
Follow Lina Graf, Crater, and friends as they sneak--and fight--their way into the terrifying castle of Darth Vader! Along the way, they'll trade spooky stories featuring the most terrifying villains and creatures in the universe! Your favorite characters, like Obi-Wan, Han and Chewie, Hera Syndulla, and the Ewoks, face classic creeps like ghosts, monsters, witches, and more... all with a signature Star Wars twist!
Collects the five-issue series.
Follow Lina Graf, Crater, and friends as they sneak--and fight--their way into the terrifying castle of Darth Vader! Along the way, they'll trade spooky stories featuring the most terrifying villains and creatures in the universe! Your favorite characters, like Obi-Wan, Han and Chewie, Hera Syndulla, and the Ewoks, face classic creeps like ghosts, monsters, witches, and more... all with a signature Star Wars twist!
Collects the five-issue series.
Paperback
First published April 17, 2019
About the author
Cavan Scott
871 books450 followersis a freelance comic writer and author. He is best known for his work on a variety of spin-offs from both Doctor Who and Star Wars, as well as comics and novels for Vikings, Pacific Rim, Sherlock Holmes, and Penguins of Madagascar.
Cavan Scott, along with Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, Daniel Jose Older, and Charles Soule are crafting a new era in the Star Wars publishing world called Star Wars: The High Republic. Cavan's contribution to the era is a comic book series released through Marvel Comics titled Star Wars: The High Republic.
Cavan Scott, along with Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, Daniel Jose Older, and Charles Soule are crafting a new era in the Star Wars publishing world called Star Wars: The High Republic. Cavan's contribution to the era is a comic book series released through Marvel Comics titled Star Wars: The High Republic.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
December 14, 2019
This is a collection of stories that is meant for the younger audience. A small group of Rebels have to make an emergency landing on Mustafar and they are in a dire situation. To take their minds of their current situation they tell stories. These stories are actually scary stories (not really) and are fine for the younger audience. They also contain a variety of fan favorites like Count Dooku, Hela, Han Solo and even Ewoks.
This was so much better than I thought it was going to be. I believe one's enjoyment of this collection relies on what they would like to get out of this collection. If you go into this collection looking for fun and giggles this collection completely works. If one would like a connection with the overall arc this collection is not for you. The stories were quick but amusing and I enjoyed how the stranded Rebel crew drew from them was a nice connection. Seriously, who cannot get behind a possessed Chopper on the Ghost? The final issue with Darth Vader was a great way to end this collection even though his powers were obviously nerfed for the sake of the target audience.
Sometimes, a collection completely takes the reader by surprise and this is one of those times. I don't need my reading material from this universe to be all serious all of the time. I enjoy a little comedy and parody and this fits the bill with its content and the artwork.
This was so much better than I thought it was going to be. I believe one's enjoyment of this collection relies on what they would like to get out of this collection. If you go into this collection looking for fun and giggles this collection completely works. If one would like a connection with the overall arc this collection is not for you. The stories were quick but amusing and I enjoyed how the stranded Rebel crew drew from them was a nice connection. Seriously, who cannot get behind a possessed Chopper on the Ghost? The final issue with Darth Vader was a great way to end this collection even though his powers were obviously nerfed for the sake of the target audience.
Sometimes, a collection completely takes the reader by surprise and this is one of those times. I don't need my reading material from this universe to be all serious all of the time. I enjoy a little comedy and parody and this fits the bill with its content and the artwork.
February 6, 2022
I am not a horror fan but I quite enjoyed this book. Not my favorite artwork style either but it definitely fot the story. The thing is it does not take much to imagine Vader as a unstoppable nightmare monster which is probobly why the story worked for me.
A group of Rebels' ship is damaged and they are forced to crash land on an ominous lave planet, with an Imperial presence and a sinister looking citadel. I don't think it is a spoiler to anyone, who has read the title of the book, who's castle this is.
Of course the perfect way to take your mind off the fear of your current predicament would be to tell scary stories of unexplained events in other era's of Star Wars. The time the crew of the Ghost picked up an unexpected visitor, Obi Wan met another Dark Lord, a young Han Solo had a delivery to make, or the Ewokes facing the unknown. Yet all these stories cannot prepare them when facing the Lord of castle.
A quite enjoyable book. Used a lot of the horror or skasher clichés and they work well together. I am looking forward yo the other books in the series.
A group of Rebels' ship is damaged and they are forced to crash land on an ominous lave planet, with an Imperial presence and a sinister looking citadel. I don't think it is a spoiler to anyone, who has read the title of the book, who's castle this is.
Of course the perfect way to take your mind off the fear of your current predicament would be to tell scary stories of unexplained events in other era's of Star Wars. The time the crew of the Ghost picked up an unexpected visitor, Obi Wan met another Dark Lord, a young Han Solo had a delivery to make, or the Ewokes facing the unknown. Yet all these stories cannot prepare them when facing the Lord of castle.
A quite enjoyable book. Used a lot of the horror or skasher clichés and they work well together. I am looking forward yo the other books in the series.
April 14, 2020
A great anthology of original "legendary" stories framed around a desperate rebel incursion into Vader's castle on Mustafar, it pulls from all over Star Wars canon and makes wonderful use of different narratives and art styles to tell entertaining tales. Highly recommend!
November 29, 2022
“Tales From Vader’s Castle” is a fun, young-adult (closer to tween-age/middle school age) Star Wars Adventures comic book series from Disney/IDW. It’s meant to be an homage to the old EC horror comics like “Tales From the Crypt”, which seems odd since most kids wouldn’t get the reference, but it doesn’t matter, as it works. The stories aren’t that scary, so kids as young as 7 or 8 could probably enjoy them, depending on their scare-level. If they’re reading “Goosebumps” at that age, they can certainly handle this. Cavan Scott is the one who wrote the stories, but the team of artists—Derek Charm, Chris Fenoglio, Kelley Jones, Corin Howell, Robert Hack, and Charles Paul Wilson III—-are the ones who bring them to spooky, Technicolor life.
October 20, 2025
[3.5]
May 22, 2022
Und die Moral von der Geschicht...
Fazit: Kurzweilige Geschichtensammlung für den Star-Wars-Abend am gemeinsamen Lagerfeuer. Weiß zu unterhalten. Gesamt: 4/5
Inhalt: In dem Sonderband "Geschichten aus Vaders Festung" verfolgt Autor Cavan Scott einen Horror-Ansatz. Rebellen-Commander Lina Graf und ihr Team stürzen auf dem Lavaplaneten Mustafar ab. Ihre einzige Hoffnung zu entfliehen, ist die Festung des Sith-Lords Darth Vader. Auf dem beschwerlichen Weg fallen ihnen einige Geschichten ein, die sie sogleich auch erzählen. Passenderweise sind die Geschichten von Grusel und Spuk gespickt, der von den Mauern der Lavafestung widerhallt...
Bewertung: Lobend hervorzuheben ist die Idee hinter diesem Band. Horror macht sich gut in dem weiten Star-Wars-Universum, in dem quasi alles möglich ist. Das Konzept einer Rahmenhandlung mit aufeinanderfolgenden Kurzgeschichten passt zu einem Abend voller Erzählungen. Dabei sind die einzelnen Abschnitte stets überzeugend dargestellt und bereiten großen Spaß beim Lesen. Abwechslung wird hier gelebt. Jede Erzählung wartet mit ihrem eigenen Tempo und Stil und vielen bekannten Charakteren auf. Passenderweise gibt es dabei auch immer eine "Moral", die sich auf die Rahmenhandlung auswirkt. In derselbigen erhalten die Charaktere leider nicht so viel Platz, wie sie zur Entfaltung benötigen würden. Bis auf Lina Graf und den Techniker Skritt wirken sie letztlich unterentwickelt, was jedoch nicht zu stark ins Gewicht fällt. Ganz anders ist der Grafikstil. Die Rahmenhandlung bietet eine stark stilisierte Darstellung mit kräftigen Farben. Die Geschichten hingegen haben jeweils einen eigene Kunst - von sehr realistisch bis zu klassischem Comicstil. Da ist für jeden was dabei.
Fazit: Kurzweilige Geschichtensammlung für den Star-Wars-Abend am gemeinsamen Lagerfeuer. Weiß zu unterhalten. Gesamt: 4/5
May 25, 2025
I stumbled upon a deluxe edition of Vader’s Castle at my local library: hardback, glossy colorful pages, black-edged pages, a black ribbon book mark, and overly large. It’s the beginning of this teacher’s summer break. How could I resist?
I’m clearly not the target audience for these comics. They’re definitely intended for younger readers (my guess is middle grade readers). But that’s okay! Star Wars has been forced to mature over the past decade or so. This collection takes Star Wars back to its family friendly, pulpy style.
The storyline: a group of rebels have to make an emergency landing on Mustafar, where Vader’s castle is located. To pass the time, they tell scary stories. The main storyline sort of gets lost as the rebels tell story after story featuring ghosts, witches, vampires, etc. Some fan favorites appear: Obi-Wan, Count Dooku, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Ewoks. Since this is for kids, none of the stories are particularly scary.
I wasn’t really a fan of the flashback storytelling style. I get Cavan Scott was attempting to tell several Star Wars horror stories in a short go, but it just didn’t work for me. By the time you got your head into one story, it abruptly ends with little or no resolution before heading onto the next one.
The art was fun: bright, colorful, pulpy. The horror elements were aptly scary looking. Some of the “normal” characters are a bit on the cartoony side, but again, this is for kids.
Overall, fun for an adult but don’t expect your mind to be blown.
I’m clearly not the target audience for these comics. They’re definitely intended for younger readers (my guess is middle grade readers). But that’s okay! Star Wars has been forced to mature over the past decade or so. This collection takes Star Wars back to its family friendly, pulpy style.
The storyline: a group of rebels have to make an emergency landing on Mustafar, where Vader’s castle is located. To pass the time, they tell scary stories. The main storyline sort of gets lost as the rebels tell story after story featuring ghosts, witches, vampires, etc. Some fan favorites appear: Obi-Wan, Count Dooku, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Ewoks. Since this is for kids, none of the stories are particularly scary.
I wasn’t really a fan of the flashback storytelling style. I get Cavan Scott was attempting to tell several Star Wars horror stories in a short go, but it just didn’t work for me. By the time you got your head into one story, it abruptly ends with little or no resolution before heading onto the next one.
The art was fun: bright, colorful, pulpy. The horror elements were aptly scary looking. Some of the “normal” characters are a bit on the cartoony side, but again, this is for kids.
Overall, fun for an adult but don’t expect your mind to be blown.
January 3, 2021
This is a Star Wars horror comic aimed at younger readers. Think Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark crossed with Star Wars and you get an idea. I thought this was pretty good. I like the animated art style, and the horror stories set in the Star Wars universe are very entertaining. This isn't dark horror but scary stories aimed at younger readers, but it's good enough adults will get a kick out of it as well.
August 30, 2019
Es mas que digno de destacar (y lo que mas me gusto de todo) como las historias cobraron sentido mas alla de si mismas y aportaron a la historia principal. Hermoso final.
November 7, 2024
"Never underestimate fear, Commander Cody. It is the most devastating weapon of all."
December 26, 2018
This is a light, fun, and really enjoyable anthology adventure. It’s definitely geared towards a younger audience, so even though is kinda-sorta dubbed a “horror anthology,” it’s more of a series of adventures with mildly spooky elements that are tied together by an ongoing story of typically-mischievous Star Wars rebels. And I really liked that.
There’s something refreshing about this comic. Cavan Scott’s writing feels right at home in Star Wars, but carries an airy, flexible tone that capably manages to bounce between stories revolving around icons like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and even a tribe of Ewoks, while also delivering a thorough line plot about new characters accidentally stumbling into Vader’s fortress on Mustafar. The stakes never feel *that* lofty, but Scott’s pacing is spot-on and keeps things moving so no single scene overstayed it’s welcome.
The same goes for the artwork, which changes depending on the particular one-off story each issue focuses on, but remains consistent and enjoyable. Nothing really blew me away, but the layouts balanced panels and splash pages really well, and I did love the coloring. Lots of contrast and some great uses of reds and blacks went a long way in elevating the artwork. I definitely enjoyed Derek Charm’s work the best though; his classic-cartoon-esque style for the mainline story was delightful and colorful, and his expressiveness was really a lot of fun. He also draws a real scary and larger-than-life Vader, which is also a winner.
This comic is a lot of fun, and even though it’s not earth-shattering in its story or “scariness,” it’s a consistent delight and I greatly enjoyed my time with it.
There’s something refreshing about this comic. Cavan Scott’s writing feels right at home in Star Wars, but carries an airy, flexible tone that capably manages to bounce between stories revolving around icons like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and even a tribe of Ewoks, while also delivering a thorough line plot about new characters accidentally stumbling into Vader’s fortress on Mustafar. The stakes never feel *that* lofty, but Scott’s pacing is spot-on and keeps things moving so no single scene overstayed it’s welcome.
The same goes for the artwork, which changes depending on the particular one-off story each issue focuses on, but remains consistent and enjoyable. Nothing really blew me away, but the layouts balanced panels and splash pages really well, and I did love the coloring. Lots of contrast and some great uses of reds and blacks went a long way in elevating the artwork. I definitely enjoyed Derek Charm’s work the best though; his classic-cartoon-esque style for the mainline story was delightful and colorful, and his expressiveness was really a lot of fun. He also draws a real scary and larger-than-life Vader, which is also a winner.
This comic is a lot of fun, and even though it’s not earth-shattering in its story or “scariness,” it’s a consistent delight and I greatly enjoyed my time with it.
September 15, 2019
Take the word 'Scary' with a grain of salt if you have more than one digit in your age. This definitely a youth-targeted series, and Star Wars doesn't really work well for scary stories in general. Even with force ghosts and werewolves, the scariest thing is Vader in the wraparound story (which features a bit more death than I would have expected, honestly). The 'stories' range from a pre-Rebels incident with Kanan and Hera, an Ewoks story (that works primarily because of its impressive art and color work), a young Han story with evil plants, and an Obi-Wan story with werewolves (and Dooku in a decent supporting role). Again, nothing is particularly scary, but it's nice to see something a little different presented here, and nothing is terrible either. Definitely recommended for younger Star Wars fans with an interest in scary stories, but I don't think this will be giving anyone nightmares.
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November 18, 2019One of the many peculiarities of the comics business: despite Marvel doing Star Wars comics since Disney bought both, Star Wars comics for kids are produced under licence by another company altogether, IDW. This is a lot closer to the oddball stuff which was coming out around the original trilogy, albeit with a slightly tighter handle on continuity, and despite the spooky theme, art from the likes of Derek Charm ensures it's never going to provide more than a gentle scare to any but the most timid tiny. It's just a shame that among the various nods to horror classics, they never quite get from the wicker Ewok to a Wicket joke.
September 15, 2020
A supposedly scary compilation that's as threatening as a porg. A few of the internal stories are ok, but the ones with known characters are so beyond canon as to be ridiculous, and the narrators in the framing tale are just the worst - bland, brash, and invulnerable. Hard to do horror if no one is in danger.
November 28, 2022
*4.75
Ooh OOH this was creepy.
This book is a delightful collection of scary SW tales. They all have a different art style and come with their own 80's horror cover, so that's so cool. The stories are all in the format of bedtime tales as Lina Graf makes her way through Vader's castle. And the atmosphere is just - ooh, it's so good.
The first story in here is focused on Kanan and Hera, which I was thrilled about. They're literally the best fictional couple I've ever encountered, and I love anything and everything about them. The story is a cool creepy one about a ghost-like entity. It's a good one.
The next story has a pretty neat art style. It has Obi-Wan, Adi Gallia, and Dooku - and also what are sort of like space werewolves? In a sense? I guess that's the appeal of SW - with such a massive galaxy, almost anything can exist - but it's kind of funny that these things are just, there.
Story three follows young Han and Chewie on a mysterious mission to a plant-infested planet. The plot has a touch of witchy magic to it, and Han has a nice line about how he's not alone now, so I liked that. The vibes of all of these stories are always so strong.
I think the fourth story, the Ewok one, is the scariest. The color palette is just exceptional (those reds!) - and the angles of the scenes, ooh. I'll just always be somewhat creeped out by monsters that are INCREDIBLY large in comparison to the viewer.
There's just one more "side story" in here, and, plot-wise, it's a fairly unremarkable one that's also about Han and Chewie. But it has a nice, smooth art style that I'm a fan of. And Han escaping enemies by claiming that the Millenium Falcon is a bad ship - hiliarous.
Oops, my bad, there's another tale - but it's like four pages, so I don't know if it counts. It's just what happened when raiders tried to come to Mustafar soon after the castle was created. You can take a guess how well that went.
From this point onward, the story falls back into place with Lina Graf trying to escape Vader's castle. I absolutely love the stark art style and use of colors - it genuinely gives an eerie, trapped feel to the danger.
I highly recommend this as a spooky read - 4.75/5 stars!
Ooh OOH this was creepy.
This book is a delightful collection of scary SW tales. They all have a different art style and come with their own 80's horror cover, so that's so cool. The stories are all in the format of bedtime tales as Lina Graf makes her way through Vader's castle. And the atmosphere is just - ooh, it's so good.
The first story in here is focused on Kanan and Hera, which I was thrilled about. They're literally the best fictional couple I've ever encountered, and I love anything and everything about them. The story is a cool creepy one about a ghost-like entity. It's a good one.
The next story has a pretty neat art style. It has Obi-Wan, Adi Gallia, and Dooku - and also what are sort of like space werewolves? In a sense? I guess that's the appeal of SW - with such a massive galaxy, almost anything can exist - but it's kind of funny that these things are just, there.
Story three follows young Han and Chewie on a mysterious mission to a plant-infested planet. The plot has a touch of witchy magic to it, and Han has a nice line about how he's not alone now, so I liked that. The vibes of all of these stories are always so strong.
I think the fourth story, the Ewok one, is the scariest. The color palette is just exceptional (those reds!) - and the angles of the scenes, ooh. I'll just always be somewhat creeped out by monsters that are INCREDIBLY large in comparison to the viewer.
There's just one more "side story" in here, and, plot-wise, it's a fairly unremarkable one that's also about Han and Chewie. But it has a nice, smooth art style that I'm a fan of. And Han escaping enemies by claiming that the Millenium Falcon is a bad ship - hiliarous.
Oops, my bad, there's another tale - but it's like four pages, so I don't know if it counts. It's just what happened when raiders tried to come to Mustafar soon after the castle was created. You can take a guess how well that went.
From this point onward, the story falls back into place with Lina Graf trying to escape Vader's castle. I absolutely love the stark art style and use of colors - it genuinely gives an eerie, trapped feel to the danger.
I highly recommend this as a spooky read - 4.75/5 stars!
August 23, 2021
Fun and fast paced, this was not what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. This collection of short “scary” tales from Vader’s Castle is definitely one that I will keep on hand during Spooky season!
March 2, 2020
To all the people who read Scary Tales to Tell in the Dark and watched Are You Afraid of the Dark, this comic salutes you.
May 15, 2019
I think this is my new favorite SW comic this was so good!!
August 11, 2026
¡¡Skritt es genial!!
Me la pasé bien leyendo está colección de relatos. Siendo el terror uno de mis géneros favoritos, me encanta como, similar a la colección de la Estrella de la Muerte, se aprovecha cada momento de una trama general vertiginosa para armar una serie de relatos entretenidos, cada uno con un estilo de dibujo único y que permite explotar las posibilidades.
La colección también logra ser narrativamente satisfactoria, al usar cada cuento para entregar un mensaje de fortaleza a Skritt, uno de los protagonistas. Dios, cómo me encantó ese pequeño camarón! Es carismático y me gusta la simpleza en su desarrollo y diseño, de manera similar a Lina (que gusto ver a un miembro de la familia Graf que no es un patan). Puede que, personalmente, no crea que la intención final de Vader fuera la que describen en la historia, pero ciertamente me quedo con una grata satisfacción al terminar este cómic!
Finalmente, algunos pensamientos al azar de cada historia:
- The Haunting of the Ghost. Se deshicieron del fantasma (el de verdad) demasiado rápido. Es difícil sentir miedo cuando tienes el arte del holocron a la mano.
- Count Dooku: Prince of Darkness. Un gran homenaje al otro papel icónico de Sir Christopher Lee (y a man bat, eso creo).
- The Briar Witch. Zella estaba justificada en su manera de responder; su hermana fue la que actuó con mala fe. El título me hizo pensar en lo genial que sería algún proyecto de SW en formato found footage.
- Night of the Gorax. No había leído antes algo que involucrara a los Ewoks y estoy feliz de que esto fuera lo primero. Ellos están más cerca de los Na'vi que de los ositos cariñositos.
- The Terror of Darth Vader. Uff, esos lava troopers son absolutamente hermosos.
Me la pasé bien leyendo está colección de relatos. Siendo el terror uno de mis géneros favoritos, me encanta como, similar a la colección de la Estrella de la Muerte, se aprovecha cada momento de una trama general vertiginosa para armar una serie de relatos entretenidos, cada uno con un estilo de dibujo único y que permite explotar las posibilidades.
La colección también logra ser narrativamente satisfactoria, al usar cada cuento para entregar un mensaje de fortaleza a Skritt, uno de los protagonistas. Dios, cómo me encantó ese pequeño camarón! Es carismático y me gusta la simpleza en su desarrollo y diseño, de manera similar a Lina (que gusto ver a un miembro de la familia Graf que no es un patan). Puede que, personalmente, no crea que la intención final de Vader fuera la que describen en la historia, pero ciertamente me quedo con una grata satisfacción al terminar este cómic!
Finalmente, algunos pensamientos al azar de cada historia:
- The Haunting of the Ghost. Se deshicieron del fantasma (el de verdad) demasiado rápido. Es difícil sentir miedo cuando tienes el arte del holocron a la mano.
- Count Dooku: Prince of Darkness. Un gran homenaje al otro papel icónico de Sir Christopher Lee (y a man bat, eso creo).
- The Briar Witch. Zella estaba justificada en su manera de responder; su hermana fue la que actuó con mala fe. El título me hizo pensar en lo genial que sería algún proyecto de SW en formato found footage.
- Night of the Gorax. No había leído antes algo que involucrara a los Ewoks y estoy feliz de que esto fuera lo primero. Ellos están más cerca de los Na'vi que de los ositos cariñositos.
- The Terror of Darth Vader. Uff, esos lava troopers son absolutamente hermosos.
July 18, 2019
This j-fiction level story is an interesting way to integrate the story of Vader's fortress (something new in the canon that has been explored in the Marvel comic) to the younger audience. Presented as short stories (containing characters we already know) being told to new characters in the form of an object lesson, this story has enough new material laced with nostalgia to grip any Star Wars fan.
Lina Graf and her crew crash land on Mustafar and head for Vader Fortress, not knowing how much danger they are heading into, as they seek a way off the planet. They tell 4 stories over the course of the adventure, and the lessons learned in the stories help them to escape Vader, the Imperial Troops, and get a ship off the planet.
The stories told:
- Hera, Kanan and the other members of the Ghost have to deal with the Force Ghost of a Sith Lord who plagues their vessel.
- Obi-Wan responds to a distress signal, only to get involved in stopping a plot where Count Dooku and a mynock queen are trying to take over the whole universe. (WAIT... this story threw me. Last I knew, mynocks were tiny bat-like creatures that consumed power, not humanoid-sized demonic power-eating creatures resembling DC's Manbat! When did they become canon?)
- Han and Chewie take a risky artifact delivery job that goes sour when they find it is part of a political overthrow plot between sisters
- Ewoks! A shaman betrays his people as he prepares a sacrifice for a huge beast. (Just what is going on in the environment on Endor?)
Well written, but not overall impactful to the Star Wars Universe at large. Better if you are younger, but still recommend.
Lina Graf and her crew crash land on Mustafar and head for Vader Fortress, not knowing how much danger they are heading into, as they seek a way off the planet. They tell 4 stories over the course of the adventure, and the lessons learned in the stories help them to escape Vader, the Imperial Troops, and get a ship off the planet.
The stories told:
- Hera, Kanan and the other members of the Ghost have to deal with the Force Ghost of a Sith Lord who plagues their vessel.
- Obi-Wan responds to a distress signal, only to get involved in stopping a plot where Count Dooku and a mynock queen are trying to take over the whole universe. (WAIT... this story threw me. Last I knew, mynocks were tiny bat-like creatures that consumed power, not humanoid-sized demonic power-eating creatures resembling DC's Manbat! When did they become canon?)
- Han and Chewie take a risky artifact delivery job that goes sour when they find it is part of a political overthrow plot between sisters
- Ewoks! A shaman betrays his people as he prepares a sacrifice for a huge beast. (Just what is going on in the environment on Endor?)
Well written, but not overall impactful to the Star Wars Universe at large. Better if you are younger, but still recommend.
August 5, 2019
Scary stories from the Star Wars universe! The Star Wars Adventures series continues with a unique framing device: A Rebel contingent crash-lands on Mustafar and must steal a shuttle from Darth Vader's castle to get off-world. This frame story, unfortunately, is fairly lean and Vader himself plays a disappointingly small role.
The scary stories are told by individual characters, often as a way of explaining that the situation in Vader's castle isn't all that scary. As you might expect, the stories range from cool and exciting to confusing and dull. It's a neat concept, overall, although I think being forced into the Star Wars Adventures mold holds it back a little. The main Darth Vader series this is not.
The scary stories are told by individual characters, often as a way of explaining that the situation in Vader's castle isn't all that scary. As you might expect, the stories range from cool and exciting to confusing and dull. It's a neat concept, overall, although I think being forced into the Star Wars Adventures mold holds it back a little. The main Darth Vader series this is not.
November 18, 2019
So two stars to this because the concept of it was actually pretty neat; telling stories as people try to sneak into Vader's castle. But it was just *so bad*. The stories, the characters, the writing. All bad. I'm unsure if this was canon or not, but everything was just so infantile and the characters were so stupid it was ridiculous. At one point I even checked to see if this was for kids. It's not. It's just that bad.
Like I said, the concept was good, but they should've waited until the characters were more fleshed out or something, because relying on characters from Star Wars people already know and love (like Han Solo) was just kinda sad.
That said, why are all the women tied to Vader Asian now? What's up with that?
Like I said, the concept was good, but they should've waited until the characters were more fleshed out or something, because relying on characters from Star Wars people already know and love (like Han Solo) was just kinda sad.
That said, why are all the women tied to Vader Asian now? What's up with that?
February 8, 2021
Star Wars: Tales from Vader’s Castle is a darkish tale of storming Vader’s castle on mustafar with Star Warsy humor sprinkled in. Along with the main narrative are three to four other tales told, like ghost stories around a camp fire, which all come together in the main story.
I was hoping for a dark twisted take on Star Wars but what I got was just mediocre cheesyness and not really the good cheesy either...it was just 😑
Feel the force with a 📖 & stay lit!
#bookrecommendations
August 4, 2020
The title is misleading. Only the framing device actually takes place in Vader's Castle. So in five or so issues you really only get one issues worth of said castle. The rest are short ghost stories set in the Star Wars universe, which is fine, but not what was advertised.
January 1, 2020
First book of 2020 has been been finished. This was a really fun set of stories and the art was really cool! I have always been a fan of horror elements in Star Wars and hope for more!
October 29, 2019
Spooktober 2018 Book 18
This is a weird entry into my October reads list:
1) It’s Star Wars and horror
2) It’s a comic/graphic novel (of which I’ve read zero for this month)
3) Its obviously meant for young readers...and while I’ve read 3 Goosebumps novels up to this point (which are also obviously penned for younger brains and younger eyes), I don’t think I’ve read a series tailored towards the younger segment of comic readers.
And that last point probably should give me pause and not give Tales From Vader’s Castle too negative of a rating, but, just as other Star Wars books for young readers like Star Wars: Myths and Fables and The Adventures of Luke Skywalker this one just didn’t work. None of the stories had any bearing on the Star Wars canon universe in general. They also felt weak and just not that good. The first one with Kanan and the Sith holocron was just ok, but that about does it for the whole collection.
The whole Star Wars and horror angle also doesn’t work. Actually, I take that back; Joe Schriber’s novels like Death Troopers and Red Harvest worked for me and I thought they were fantastic attempts and blending horror and a galaxy far, far away into books that didn’t feel finicky, but they weren’t for everyone and I’ll freely admit they were incredibly decisive amongst fans.
But back to the matter at hand. In general, mashing up 2 genres in a well loved franchise very rarely works (Galaxy of Fear, anyone?). Tales From Vader’s Castle doesn’t buck that trend. Again, it’s for a younger audience, and hey, that’s awesome, however, that doesn’t mean that your “scary” or “spooky” stories have to be so dull and lacking in any kind of fear. I scratched my head and tried to find one mildly frightening element here and I came up empty. I suppose if I were an Ewok, the Gorrax would definitely be terrifying, but as a human? Nah.
Seriously though, I wasn’t impressed at all by Scott’s attempt at this. The effort was valiant and I can’t fault him (and, begrudgingly Disney), for their work with the Adventures line of comics, but maybe they just stick to those and not try their hand at horror?
This is a weird entry into my October reads list:
1) It’s Star Wars and horror
2) It’s a comic/graphic novel (of which I’ve read zero for this month)
3) Its obviously meant for young readers...and while I’ve read 3 Goosebumps novels up to this point (which are also obviously penned for younger brains and younger eyes), I don’t think I’ve read a series tailored towards the younger segment of comic readers.
And that last point probably should give me pause and not give Tales From Vader’s Castle too negative of a rating, but, just as other Star Wars books for young readers like Star Wars: Myths and Fables and The Adventures of Luke Skywalker this one just didn’t work. None of the stories had any bearing on the Star Wars canon universe in general. They also felt weak and just not that good. The first one with Kanan and the Sith holocron was just ok, but that about does it for the whole collection.
The whole Star Wars and horror angle also doesn’t work. Actually, I take that back; Joe Schriber’s novels like Death Troopers and Red Harvest worked for me and I thought they were fantastic attempts and blending horror and a galaxy far, far away into books that didn’t feel finicky, but they weren’t for everyone and I’ll freely admit they were incredibly decisive amongst fans.
But back to the matter at hand. In general, mashing up 2 genres in a well loved franchise very rarely works (Galaxy of Fear, anyone?). Tales From Vader’s Castle doesn’t buck that trend. Again, it’s for a younger audience, and hey, that’s awesome, however, that doesn’t mean that your “scary” or “spooky” stories have to be so dull and lacking in any kind of fear. I scratched my head and tried to find one mildly frightening element here and I came up empty. I suppose if I were an Ewok, the Gorrax would definitely be terrifying, but as a human? Nah.
Seriously though, I wasn’t impressed at all by Scott’s attempt at this. The effort was valiant and I can’t fault him (and, begrudgingly Disney), for their work with the Adventures line of comics, but maybe they just stick to those and not try their hand at horror?
November 7, 2021
A Rebel team led by Commander Lina Graf (of the 'Adventures in Wild Space' books) crash-lands on Mustafar. As they investigate the sinister Imperial fortress there they exchange spooky tales from across the galaxy featuring such characters as Hera Syndulla, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Han Solo.
Let's be fair, you need a pretty robust willing suspension of disbelief to accept that these desperate Rebel agents would keep stopping to tell each other ghost stories as they infiltrate Darth Vader's castle but, honestly, if you can get past that then there's a lot to enjoy here.
The story of the main characters is engaging enough (nice to see Lina and Crater in action again) but each of the flashback tales is pretty compelling too.
Personally I'm an absolute sucker for the Ewoks, so getting a Wicker Man (Wicker Ewok?) -esque story featuring young later-Chief Chirpa was a real treat. Not least because we also get to see Logray as an apprentice and get the now-in-canon return of Chukha-Trok and Ra-Lee, from the 80s Ewoks movies and cartoon.
The story also makes excellent use of Vader himself, the true horror lurking behind everything else going on in the book.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com *
Let's be fair, you need a pretty robust willing suspension of disbelief to accept that these desperate Rebel agents would keep stopping to tell each other ghost stories as they infiltrate Darth Vader's castle but, honestly, if you can get past that then there's a lot to enjoy here.
The story of the main characters is engaging enough (nice to see Lina and Crater in action again) but each of the flashback tales is pretty compelling too.
Personally I'm an absolute sucker for the Ewoks, so getting a Wicker Man (Wicker Ewok?) -esque story featuring young later-Chief Chirpa was a real treat. Not least because we also get to see Logray as an apprentice and get the now-in-canon return of Chukha-Trok and Ra-Lee, from the 80s Ewoks movies and cartoon.
The story also makes excellent use of Vader himself, the true horror lurking behind everything else going on in the book.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com *
July 1, 2021
Not great, but maybe more for kids. The "bookends" for this collection of vaguely spooky tales set in the Star Wars universe is a fairly ridiculous account of some rebels crash landing near Vader's castle. The idea of telling each other stories is dumb...but some of them are not bad and feature familiar characters. There's an Ewok story, OK?! So the Duloks and Gorax are canon! If the last sentence meant nothing to you, there's no reason to read this comic; there are better ones. However, I could see it appealing to a younger audience just getting into spooky stuff and/or Star Wars.
October 29, 2021
Really strange plot, a group of characters find themselves in Vader’s castle and in order to psychic themselves up to continue their adventure they share ghost stories with each other that star the familiar characters from the Staw Wars universe.
Most likely I am the wrong audience for this book, I am in my 40s, a casual fan of the extended Star Wars universe, and have never really been into comic books. Perhaps if you are 8 this would be great, but I really question how this could be considered a great Star Wars comic book.
Most likely I am the wrong audience for this book, I am in my 40s, a casual fan of the extended Star Wars universe, and have never really been into comic books. Perhaps if you are 8 this would be great, but I really question how this could be considered a great Star Wars comic book.
November 1, 2018
I honestly did not expect to like this series. There were things about it that were a bit too juvenile or "Kiddy", but this story was pretty awesome. There were some really great tales starring some of our favorite characters. This definitely surpassed my expectation and did not go the direction I thought it would, which is a good thing. I absolutely adored the Ewok story and the Obi-Wan/Dooku one. I wan more of both in canon. Amazing read for October!
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