Star Wars: Darth Vader - Black, White & Red

Star Wars: Darth Vader - Black, White & Red

by Jason Aaron

One of the most iconic villains of all time, Darth Vader, gets his own entry in Marvel's smash hit monochrome anthology!

Exciting tales from a galaxy of talents featuring the Dark Lord of the Sith! Jason Aaron returns to the world of Star Wars, teaming with artist Leonard Kirk to present a new tale of terror! Peach Momoko spins a story in her signature style! Daniel Warren Johnson brings Vader to life like never before! David Pepose makes his Star Wars debut! Marc Bernardin takes Vader on a mission you won’t soon forget! Frank Tieri sends the Sith lord to the planet Hoth! Steve Orlando goes cerebral with the corruption of Darth Vader’s mind! Plus more chilling tales of evil told in stark black and white — and the crimson glow of a lightsaber!

COLLECTING: Star Wars: Darth Vader - Black, White & Red (2023) 1-4

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Marvel, Graphic Novels Comics, Short Stories

136 pages, Paperback

Published December 24, 2024

About the author

Jason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.

Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.

In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.

Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.

In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.

In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.

After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

"I shall teach you the error of your ways. Because all things are possible when you believe in the dark side of the Force." -- our title character, literally rising from the jaws of defeat during battle

Remember that scene, during the climactic moments in the cinematic Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, when Darth Vader menacingly appears out of the darkness and then slaughters battalion of Rebel troopers who are providing that final line of defense for Princess Leia's escaping spacecraft? Okay, now imagine a graphic novel with the same sort of badass attitude and you have Darth Vader - Black, White & Red, with its title indicating the volume's limited color palette. While the hue choice was no doubt to provide a certain stylistic factor, it was also probably wise because a full-color treatment would be entirely too graphic with the various depicted scenes of torture, dismemberment, and garden-variety brutality either committed by OR suffered by that Dark Lord of the Sith. Although there is one mediocre multi-chapter storyline ('Hard Shutdown') interspersed throughout, the much better sections were the brief and exceedingly violent standalone tales such as 'The Endless Mercy,' 'Diplomatic Immunity,' and the closing 'Return to Hoth,' featuring the return of the Wampa. Really, all that's missing here is James Earl Jones' indelible voice acting, Ben Burtt's trademark mechanical breathing sound effect, and John Williams' 'Imperial March' to liven up the proceedings.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stylish, disposable Vader tales done in the B, W, & R aesthetic. I enjoyed.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun little series. I’m a little tired of Vader series when Star Wars has so many characters they could give a series to. But only using black, white, and red to tell a bunch of random Vader stories is a great idea. The art is absolutely fantastic on every story. Definitely worth a read.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The legend of Darth Vader is one of the coolest and unique media, he gets all the cool lines

[Philip James Ahlschlager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peach and DWJ shine in the treasury edition format. Didn’t love the main story but the one-shots were great.

[ashlabooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Darth Vader: Schwarz, Weiss & Rot von Jason Aaron u.a.

Nachdem Marvel bereits ihre brutalsten (Anti-)Helden in der Dreier-Farbkombi präsentierte, war es eine freudige Überraschung den ultimativen Bösewicht der Filmgeschichte im gleichen Stil beschauen zu dürfen. Hier kommen Fans von Horror und Star Wars auf ihre Kosten.

Der Inhalt:

In 9 Kurzgeschichten muss sich der Dunkle Lord gegen allerlei Gefahren erwehren. Dabei lässt er seine Gegner ihre ganz eigenen Albträume erleben. So versucht in “Ausgeschaltet” der Sohn jenes Wissenschaftlers, der Vaders Rüstung möglich machte, den Dunklen Lord zu überlisten, indem er ihn bewegungsunfähig macht. Eine Maßnahme, die unbedeutend gegenüber den Fähigkeiten ist, die die Macht verleiht...Oder in Peach Momokos “Unentrinnbar” findet sich ein einsames Mädchen auf der Flucht vor Vader - ein Wettlauf gegen die Zeit, den sie nicht gewinnen kann...

Meine Meinung:

Wenngleich die Kurzgeschichten wenig Raum für Tiefe bieten, funktioniert dieser Comic perfekt. Die Farbpalette entspricht der visuellen Erscheinung des Sith ohne Einschränkung. Viele der Autoren nutzen Horror-Elemente, die eine beklemmende Atmosphäre erzeugen und Vader als nahezu omnipräsente Entität darstellen. Wie schon die berühmte Hallway Scene in Rogue One gelingt es den Künstlern den Schrecken, welcher das Eintreffen der rechten Hand des Imperators verbreitet, direkt auf das Papier zu übertragen. Die Aufmachung im übergroßen Deluxe-Album ist wertig und ansprechend.

Fazit:

Schwarz, Weiß und Rot ist die perfekte Mischung - unterhaltsame Kurzgeschichten zum Gruseln und Mitfiebern.

Werbung: Vielen lieben Dank an Panini für die Bereitstellung des Rezensionexemplares!

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just a reminder that if you cross paths with Vader, you have faced death, and you live only if he lets you!!

This is a quick read more action than story, by action, I mean Vader wrenching everything in jus path. There are four chapters/issues, and each is divided into three medium stories. Unlike the other black, white, and red books, the first story of each chapter/issue is a four story.

Different teams create their own visions of Vader, but ultimately, the same core truth he us an unstoppable force of nature. He will destroy everyone and everything in his way.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rousing success as an oversized Darth Vader art book, not quite as strong from a storytelling standpoint. If you've seen Darth Vader triumph over one band of rebels/mercenaries/droids, you've seem him triumph over them all.

The best entry by far is Daniel Warren Johnson's, which expertly matches art and story, creating a "Darth Vader demolishes a Rebel starfighter squadron" tale that actually feels riveting and new.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful Darth Vader graphic novel. It only uses the colors Black, White, and Red to strong effect. No huge twists and turns but I hadn't read a Vader comic in a while and enjoyed it a lot.

[Ben A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted this to be better than it was but unfortunately none of the stories we particularly memorable.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Wars: Darth Vader - Black, White, and Red collects issues 1-4 of the Marvel Comics series including creators such as Jason Aaron, Peach Momoko, Klaus Janson, Daniel Warren Johnson, Steve Orlando, and Frank Tieri.

Black, White, and Red is part anthology series and part limited miniseries. Jason Aaron's return to Star Wars sees a story play out over the course of the 4 issues in which the son of the doctor who "created" Darth Vader springs a trap in order to capture and destroy the Sith Lord. We then also get a series of stories all involving Darth Vader, usually resulting in chopped off limbs, suffering, and death.

This anthology series is presented in black and white with the only highlight color being red. Lately many of these colored anthology series are just a gimmick but it works really well for Vader. The art throughout the book is definitely the highlight and I especially enjoyed Daniel Warren Johnson's entry. I would love to see Johnson tackle a full miniseries in the Star Wars universe. His style would be perfect for a tale set during the Clone Wars. This book is also presented as a Treasury Edition which comes in at a 8.75 inches by 13.25 inches instead of the usual 8.5 inches by 11 inches. I really enjoy the larger art format, but now it doesn’t fit on my shelf.

If you are a Vader fan, this is a must read!

[mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was METAL! i don’t have the trade paperback yet, but i’ve read all 4 issues. essentially this is darth vader + horror one shots. i love this and i love vader, he’s so sassy. the art style is phenomenal. some of my favorite star wars work

[Tom]

I'm really torn on this one because the art is really strong and some of the stories are pretty interesting and different from a lot of other Star Wars stories, but as each story ups the ante on just how powerful Vader is and just how heartless he can be, it's hard not to wonder about what the point of it all is. Vader in the context of Star Wars has a clear purpose: he's a story of redemption, but is that the purpose being served here? Or is it just about how cool this uncaring fascist can look in a cape?

[Benji Glaab · Rating 3 out of 5]

Snap shot style story telling anthology in the signature Black, White, and Red colour palette. There are numerous creators working on the project. Most notable to me being Jason Aaron, Daniel Warren Johnson, and Peach Momoko. All told there is some stunning artwork and fantastic writing, but the limitations of the page count for each team really hurt the overall reading experience. Regardless, Darth Vader was explored in some interesting ways and is as overpowered as ever, but if you're looking for a good Vader book, I would point to the Kieron Gillen run or Charles Soule.

[Connor Stompanato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taking a small break from my chronological New Republic era journey (find all that here if you're also a 'Star Wars' nerd like me) to explore this fun sub-series that Marvel are doing. There are quite a lot of these 'Black, White & Red' books so I obviously wanted to start with the big guy himself, Darth Vader.

Each of the four issues that make up the book as a whole has a small ongoing storyline between them and then lots of short stories to make up the rest. I liked the continuing story as it was one of the first, if not the very first, time that I have seen normal people manage to weaken Vader so effectively. As I'm sure you can guess it doesn't last long but it was still an impressive plot.

With the short stories, they were hit of miss. Overall the colour theme of black, white and red was cool and there were some wonderful illustrations. With so many different writers and artists contributing though, naturally some will be better than others. There were a few stories where the art was too messy or distracting or hard to focus on. I didn't dislike any of them, but some were harder to read than others. Vader is absolutely brutal in most of them, this is as stylish and as violent as 'Star Wars' can get.

Next up in this sub-series is Darth Maul. There is also a Boba Fett run that has just started. It's actually insane how much 'Star Wars' content there is out there in the universe, just when you think you have caught up suddenly five more comic series, three new novels and a tv show is announced.

[Bernardo Martinho · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You fail to realize that you possess the greatest weakness of all. Just the same as everyone else.

I am Vader.

And you are not.”

Do you want to see the destructive Vader we saw at the end of Rogue One? This comic definitely gives us a bit more of that.

With a diversity of stories, mainly with rebels being slaughtered, accompanied by phenomenal art, this comic gives us more of the monstrous Vader we love deep down. The main story was interesting, with an enemy with slightly unusual motivations, but nothing too impressive.

It was worth it, especially for the art.

[Keef Davidson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didnt enjoy this one. It's a bunch of mini stories that don't amount to anything. A lot are bad and some are just ok. I was expecting really cool artwork with something only focused on black, white, and red, but there are only a few cool images. Most of it looks hastily drawn and choppy.

[Heather | Nerdy By Nature Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was doooooope.

[Reinleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trop perché à mon goût et je n'ai pas du tout aimé les différents styles graphiques. Et les histoires sont beaucoup trop courtes

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting concept and one that Marvel/Disney actually managed to pull off…for the most part.

Using a ton of different authors and artists, and focusing on Vader’s badassery while only using the colors of black, white, and red, this actually seems to work more often than not. Disney/Marvel hasn’t been afraid to make Vader one of their flagship comics for years, despite a downward trajectory, but unlike the never ending titular Vader series from Greg Pak, Black, White, and Red harkens back to the days of Charles Soule, Karan Gillem, and Jason Aaron, which isn’t surprising since he penned the one ongoing story in this collection. Vader is back to his villainous ways, kicking ass, and doing the things he’s known for. There’s no simping for Padme or doing lame, emotional things that we’ve seen recently.

I just wish there was more consistency across these collected stories as many felt like quick, throwaway vignettes just to fill in the pages.

[Martijn Van · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole black, white, red thingy feels like a gimmick and colorbook most of the time. And the stories told are fillers at best. We did'nt need another anthology of mediocre throw away Vader stories. Especially not in an incredible clunky big edition that doesn't fit on a regular bookshelf.

[Alex Sarll]

As per that cover, you'd think if ever a character were perfectly matched to the black, white and red format, it would be Vader, but a lot of this feels oddly flat. Maybe it's that I came to it right after Andor, and while this feeds into the beginning of Rogue One and Vader waits at the end, somehow they still feel like very different versions of Star Wars, and the comparison could never be in this anthology's favour? Mostly it's one story after another about how Vader is the ultimate badass and/or how one day he'll nevertheless get what's coming to him - and sure, massively original tales have seldom been the draw for these books, but even the artists on offer aren't super-exciting this time, at least not unless you're considerably more into Peach Momoko than I am, which admittedly many are. Much to my own surprise, I think I'd award the laurels to Daniel Warren Johnson; clearly the stars aligned, because his contribution is the ten pages of cool stuff which do exist in most of his comics, except here they're not drowned in another 90 of cry-wanking. The serialised piece by Jason Aaron and Leonard Kirk is also quite compelling, though, with the son of Vader's cybernetician figuring that, since he knows how to shut down the prosthetics and armour, that will leave what remains of the man as easy pickings. How well do you think that goes for him?

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of nine stories in which the titular Sith Lord overcomes Rebels, assassins, hostile aliens and monsters, all illustrated in only black, white and red.

I don't know where the 'black, white and red' gimmick in comics came from (or why, for that matter) but I have to say that there're few better characters suited to that as an art style than the black-armoured, red-lightsaber-wielding Darth Vader and, as a result, the imagery here is brilliant. Each different artist makes great use of the format and it's interesting to see how each does it in a slightly different way.

The stories themselves are all perfectly enjoyable but do largely follow something of a predictable template: Vader arrives somewhere, it looks like [insert antagonist] has him on the ropes, he turns the tables using his rage and the dark side. I do very much like stories of Vader as an unstoppable powerhouse, but here it does become a little repetitive. It's also fair to say that we certainly don't learn anything new about the title character, so these stories are totally disposable in the grand scheme of things.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Mayumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosto bastante de ver Darth Vader sendo aquele vilãozão, malzão mesmo, quase caricato. Este é um personagem que a gente conhece começo, meio e fim de sua história e, por isso, é difícil a gente achar que alguma coisa muito extraordinária vai acontecer, mas tem sim como contar algum causo interessante da vida dele. Esse é um coletado de várias histórias menores, vou fazer um breve comentário sobre todos.

Hard Shutdown
Gostei muito do argumento e do desenvolvimento até a terceira parte. Achei crível a motivação do personagem principal, ele teve um bom plano e o executou bem, mas é claro que ele não contava com a Força -- ou subestimou. Não temi momento nenhum pelo Vader e achei que a quarta parte terminou um pouco corrida. Gosto muito de lembrar que certos personagens existem.

Inescapable
Adorei essa história! Uma pessoa encara seu trauma de ter encontrado Darth Vader. Arte incrível sem falas, uma lindeza aterrorizante.

Dissolution of Hope
Outra história com personagem traumatizado e um trauma tratado de maneira bastante catastrófica. Mas achei a origem do tom sombrio meio equivocada.

The Endless Mercy
Ai. Brega. Tentou ser uma história envolvendo body horror, mas só achei brega.

Power
Achei meio equivocado. Uma criança que sofre bullying admira o bully-mor? Acho que o fato de ele ter sido poupado não foi o suficiente pra isso.

Annihilated
De vez em quando o Vader gosta de botar a mão na massa e fazer alguma coisa ele próprio. E que terror.

Diplomatic Impunity
Enquanto a última história era um terror físico, essa história é um terror psicológico. Vader é mestre em ambos. E que terror, novamente.

The Inhabitant
Esse tal habitante se entendia como todo poderoso, mas Vader é mais. Outra história levemente brega.

Return to Hoth
Acho que foi uma desculpa levemente esfarrapada pra botar Vader pra lutar contra bichos gigantes. Não gostei de ver, principalmente depois de ler From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dieser vorliegende Band ist eine Erinnerung daran, dass Du, wenn Du Darth Vader begegnest, dem Tod ins Auge blickst und nur deshalb weiterlebst, weil er es so will!

Was bei Marvel und DC schon prima funktioniert hat, macht sich jetzt Disney zunutze und lässt Darth Vader in der Schwarz, Weiß und Rot-Reihe zum Lichtschwert greifen.
Eine Auswahl an Kurzgeschichten von verschiedenen Kunstschaffenden, die jeweils ihre eigene "Vader"-zentrierte Sichtweise erzählen - von denen einige, offen gesagt, besser sind als andere, wobei gleich die zwei ersten Geschichten für mich stark hervorstechen:
In Ausgeschaltet gelingt es dem Sohn des Mannes, der Vaders Anzug entworfen und gebaut hat, eine Schwachstelle aufzudecken, die Vaders Körper zwar lähmt, ihn dennoch bei Besinnung hält. Sie wollen ihm bei vollem Bewusstsein alle Körperteile entfernen und diese verkaufen, doch fatalerweise haben sie die Macht vergessen.
Peach Momoko bringt ihre lebendige und surreale Kunst in die wortlose Kurzgeschichte Unentrinnbar ein, in der eine junge Frau von Vader besessen ist und sieht ihn in allem, was sie umgibt.

Die Farbe rot ist in dieser überformatigen Deluxe-Ausgabe weitaus stärker vertreten als in den anderen Bänden dieser Art, hier ist nicht nur das Lichtschwert scharlachrot, aber seht es Euch selbst an, besonders wenn Ihr Star Wars-Fan seid.

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

EN Darth Vader is, without a doubt, a fascinating character who has reached a level of notoriety that his creators could hardly have foreseen.

In this Black, White & Red collection, we see the iconic villain in several stories written and illustrated by different authors. Among them, Jason Aaron’s stands out as the most extensive, spread across the four issues that make up the book.

The contributions by Peach Momoko and Daniel Warren Johnson are, in my view, the most striking and creative. Overall, this is a solid read and perhaps one of the best titles in the Black, White & Blood series — even if, in this case, the subtitle was changed to Black, White & Red.

--

PT Darth Vader é, sem dúvida, uma personagem fascinante que alcançou um nível de notoriedade que os seus criadores dificilmente poderiam ter previsto.

Nesta coletânea Preto, Branco e Vermelho, vemos o icónico vilão em várias histórias escritas e ilustradas por diferentes autores. Entre elas, destaca-se a de Jason Aaron, a mais extensa do volume, dividida pelas quatro issues que compõem o livro.

As contribuições de Peach Momoko e Daniel Warren Johnson são, a meu ver, as mais marcantes e criativas. No conjunto, trata-se de uma leitura sólida e talvez de um dos melhores títulos da série Preto, Branco e Sangue — ainda que, neste caso, o subtítulo tenha sido alterado para Preto, Branco e Vermelho.

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey there book lovers! It is your old pal, Ninetoes, coming at you with a review of Star Wars: Darth Vader Black White and Red. I have coffee in my system, and my thinking cap on, so let's do this!

I am a Star Wars fan. I was there in 1977 when it first premiered and I have loved every movie that has come out since. My favorite character is Darth Vader. Sure, he is the galactic badass and looks cool in his armor and red lightsaber, but when you get right into it, he is a tragic character. His is a life filled with sorrow, loss, and most of all rage. His anger propels him forward in whatever he does, it is his fuel, and the emperor makes sure to stoke the rage.

In this book, there are several stories featuring Darth Vader. They only have three colors throughout the entire book; Red, White, and Black. The art is stark and propels each story. The use of red is the main driving force in each story. Red is the color of rage, rage propels Vader onward, and I could not wait to see how the color was used on the next page.

If you are a Darth Vader fan, this book was done with you in mind!

I give this 4.5 bookmarks out of 5!

Happy Reading!

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel is a collected bersion of the Darth Vader: Black, White, & Red miniseries of four issues. Each issue contains one of four parts of "Hard Shutdown," the main arc in the collection, featuring a team aiming to keep Vader at bay as they pull his mechanics apart. What they don't realize is the Force defies the chains of physicality. The rest of the collection is an amalgomation of short stories compiled by various writers and artists. Each one seems to be its own experience with the exception of the main arc, "Hard Shutdown." 

It is hard to determine the timeline for these stories, but seems to be close to the Battle of Yavin, either before or after, but close nonetheless. The art styles vary across issues, some being very anime-esque, while others are classing, and some have the more modern Vader feel to them. The trim size is larger than your average comic, and can be described as a matte paperback with thicker binding. The entirety of the collection only uses black, white, and red in its color mechanics, making for an eery and foreboding experience with Darth Vader.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really disappointed in this collection. The art style decision to only use black, white, and red is something that seems to be getting stale, and none of these stories really do a great job of using the style to memorable effect. Maybe some of it is that none of the stories are memorable on their own. I was underwhelmed by Jason Aaron's multi-issue story, the longest in the collection, because even though it spans four issues, it doesn't have any real depth. And all the other stories are short 8-10 pagers, with almost no likeable characters, and tending toward gratuitous levels of death and destruction. I don't know where the line between appropriate (fun), gratuitous (not fun), and absurd (which returns to fun) is, but this book hits gratuitous dead on, and suffers for it.
Unmemorable stories, unpleasant amounts of destruction, and an art style that really doesn't add anything all add up to a very blah collection. Not one I would recommend.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special short stories about Darth Vader. I don't think this format works very well for Marvel. Only one story, the one by Marc Bernardin took advantage of the limited color palette. Of course they were also only one of two stories that actually used a color artist and it showed. Every other story just looked like uncolored art that didn't use any shading or techniques a book intended to be black and white would use to give the art more nuance. I think DC did a better job with their version of this format with things like their Superman: Blue and Red book or Wonder Woman: Black and Gold.

I did really like the oversized art this was printed on. It was more the size of art boards the pages are originally drawn on or those old treasury size comics from the 70s. I'd probably say differently though if I had to store this on a shelf instead of getting it from the library.