STAR WARS Goes Horror In TALES FROM VADER’S CASTLE Comic Series
David Gelmini
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Star Wars is one of the biggest franchises in the world, so we’re always thrilled whenever it crosses over into our genre and ventures into horror territory. Which is exactly the case with the new comic miniseries Tales from Vader’s Castle, which explores some of the creepiest corners of the galaxy far, far away. Although most Star Wars comics are published by Marvel these days, Tales from Vader’s Castle was instead published by IDW, due to the fact that it forms part of their canon young readers’ Star Wars Adventures line. But make no mistake, it may be aimed at a younger demographic, but this is a horror comic through and through. The official Star Wars website even celebrated the fact that the series was released around Halloween, daring readers to brave the horrors that await.
Tales from Vader’s Castle takes place primarily on Mustafar, the lava planet where Darth Vader received the life-threatening injuries which would require him to wear a cybernetic suit for the rest of his life. As we learned from Rogue One, it was also where the Sith Lord’s immense fortress was constructed, hence the comic’s title.
In the first issue, a Rebel crew crash lands on the planet described as the “creepiest of all Star Wars locales”, and as they try to survive long enough on Mustafar to make it off-world, they decide to share scary stories taking place across the vast Star Wars galaxy. Their tales include everything from tribes of Ewoks being menaced by a hungry Gorax (the hulking, ape-like monster seen in the Caravan of Courage TV movie) to Han and Chewie being terrorized by a malevolent witch. You may also have noticed that the second issue is called Count Dooku: Prince of Darkness!, a clear reference to Christopher Lee’s role in Dracula: Prince of Darkness.
Writer Cavan Scott is already well-versed in Star Wars lore, as he authored several books in the Adventures in Wild Space series. Interior artists who worked on the various issues include Derek Charm, Charles Paul Wilson III, Chris Fenoglio, and Kelley Jones, with the covers being provided by Francesco Francavilla.
A trade paperback collecting all five issues of Tales From Vader’s Castle was released in stores earlier this month, and can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and IDW’s official website.
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