Star Wars: Tales From Vader’s Castle #3 is written by Cavan Scott, art by Derek Charm and Corin Howell, colors by Charm and Valentina Pinto, Letters by Robbie Robbins and Tom B. Long.

The five-issue weekly comic book series continues as Lina, Hudd, Skritt, CR-8R (Crater), and G3 advance towards Vader’s Castle for shelter. From the opening page, the crew is attacked by a legion of Imperial Death Troopers. Lina urges her team to get to the fortress, and while most don’t hesitate, G3 vows to protect Lina as he believes it is his duty. Funnily enough, Hudd proceeds to pick the lock of Vader’s Castle. I had to let this pass, but to think of one actually picking the lock of Darth Vader’s castle doesn’t come off quite as believable. Again, I had to remind myself that I am not the target age for these comics.

Tell Me A Story

Once inside the fortress, Crater suggests that Lina tell Skritt a story to calm his fears. Lina begins to speak of a young woman who needed a pilot to take a rare work of art to a collector on Rendel. That young pilot turns out to be Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca. Han, never one to turn down some credits, agrees to take the artwork to the collector on Rendel. Upon landing on Rendel, Han and Chewie encounter a wrecked ship they recognized as belonging to one of their friends, Karamu. Shortly afterward they discover Karamu’s damaged droid SV-3 who warns the two of Zalla, the Emerald Witch (the Star Wars version of Batman’s Poison Ivy).

I appreciated this bit of meta within Star Wars storytelling. Star Wars is nothing but stories being passed on from one generation to the next, and here we have Lina telling Skritt a story within a story.

Whereas last weeks issue may have been a little too creepy for younger readers, this one read more like a thriller than a spooky ghost story. Han soon discovers the woman who hired Han for the job is Bellan, former Queen of Rendel. When Bellan became queen, she locked her sister away for fear of her power. Scott could’ve easily allowed the Emerald witch to be the villain and continue accordingly. Instead, he plays one sister against the other. Who’s the real villain now? Depends whose perspective you decide to look through. Did Bellan lock her sister away to protect others of her power, or was she jealous of her sister’s potential?

Charming To The Last

Scott’s writing and Charm’s art are consistently worthy of praise. Scott writes Lina in a way where her leadership skills are up there with Hera and Jyn. I would love to see Lina in an animated television series someday soon. Charm’s bold lines and colors make it one of the most enjoyable Star Wars comics to look at. Howell’s work on the flashback scenes expertly captures Han’s cocky/devil-may-care attitude. Coming off of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the Han we see here is closer to that Han than the cynical Han from the original trilogy.

Definitely more toned down in the scary department in this weeks issue of Tales From Vader’s Castle, but no less enjoyable. Fans of the Ewok Adventures will enjoy next weeks (available 10/24) issue as it will feature Ewoks and a Gorax! Star Wars Tales From Vader’s Castle #3 is available now at your local shop and Comixology.

By: Eric Onkenhout