by Chris Braly
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IDW Publishing, who is currently publishing Star Wars Adventures, a fun, all-ages take on the space saga, is now inviting readers of all ages to explore the creepiest corners of the Star Wars universe in Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader’s Castle, a five-part miniseries with new issues hitting stands every Wednesday in October.
Cavan Scott and Derek Charm team up with a roster of guest artists for this special miniseries, just in time for Halloween.
“I’ve always loved scary stories, and where better to tell them than the lair of Darth Vader himself?” says writer Cavan Scott. “Being asked to write any Star Wars character is a joy, but tackling the Dark Lord of the Sith? That’s a childhood dream… or should I say, a nightmare! Vader terrified me growing up, and I can’t wait to add to the legacy of Star Wars’ villain, providing frightening new scares for the next generation.”
The weekly series features characters from throughout the galaxy, including Star Wars Rebels stars Hera, Kanan, and Chopper, along with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Count Dooku; Han Solo and Chewbacca; and the Ewoks.
Artist Derek Charm says, “Since this is a spookier story about these characters stranded on this nightmarish planet, it’s been fun really pushing the horror aspect in the art. The shadows are heavier, the colors are harsher, and everything has this apocalyptic vibe… like things may not work out for our heroes!”
Eisner Award-winning artist Francesco Francavilla provides cover artwork for each Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader’s Castle issue, while different creators (Kelley Jones, Chris Fenoglio, Corin Howell, Robert Hack, and Charles Paul Wilson III) lend their distinctive styles to spooky tales over the course of the five weeks.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the creepy Cavan Scott, the frightening Francesco Francavilla, and an array of eerie artists into the creepiest corners of the Star Wars universe for Tales from Vader’s Castle,” says Michael Siglain, Creative Director of Publishing for Lucasfilm. “There’s no better way to celebrate Halloween than with these spooky stories from a galaxy far, far away.”
This seems like a natural growth with IDW currently publishing the Star Wars Adventures line for all-ages, but with the recent announcement that IDW will soon be publishing all-ages tales starring the Avengers, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and several other Marvel Comics super-heroes, many are speculating that Disney may eventually begin to farm out all of the Marvel intellectual properties to other publishers in a cost-cutting measure. The question that seems to come up is “why couldn’t Marvel have published the all-ages books?”
What do you think?
