Star Wars: Darth Maul – Black, White & Red #1
Recap
When he first appeared 25 years ago in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul gripped fans’ imaginations with his quiet but captivating presence, his unique lightsaber and dueling skills, and of course, his iconic look. The new series will offer sagas set throughout the character’s mysterious history, diving into his never-before-seen missions and further exploring his twisted bond with his dark master, Palpatine. The series’ first story will see Maul initiate a one-man war against a newly discovered adversary for the Sith.
A prison ship — transporting a cult known as the FINAL OCCULTATION — goes offline, and DARTH MAUL is sent by PALPATINE to investigate. What he finds on board is the stuff of nightmares!!!
It’s up to him to stop this profoundly dark and unstable force that wishes to bring chaos to the galaxy
Review
Star Wars: Darth Maul – Black, White & Red #1 continues the three-color storytelling from Marvel Comics and the second installment for the Star Wars titles, following the exceptional STAR WARS: DARTH VADER – BLACK, WHITE & RED #1: Tales Of A Dark Lord.
Darth Maul takes center stage this time as Benjamin Percy sends the Dark Lord to investigate a prison ship carrying members and the leaders of the cult known as The Final Occultation. Upon his arrival at the ship Maul is thrust into a mind-bending mission to try and stop the leaders whose plans would work against Palpatine’s ultimate goal of conquering the universe.
Related: Expanding The Storytelling Potential Of The Star Wars Universe (Part 2) – The Dark Side
Percy does an excellent job of first capturing the strained relationship that Maul faces with his Master, who is very demanding, and the expectations that Maul expects to not only achieve but in the end surpass. Percy also does a wonderful job of capturing Maul’s inner monologue which serves as the main storytelling method aside from the few interactions as he faces the three main leaders each of which attempt to seduce Maul to turn on Sidious and join their cause instead.
The art is beautiful and stunning especially the shot of Maul’s ship as it approaches the prison ship. Stefano Raffaele gives the right amount of detail to the ship’s control panels and structure without going overboard.
The black/white/red coloring works well for the most part though sometimes it seems computer scenes and such are too heavy-handed with the red aspects, but overall it’s not too distracting.
Final Thoughts
Star Wars: Darth Maul - Black, White & Red #1 is a solid first installment of this foray into three-color storytelling in the Star Wars Universe. The story is mind-bending and captures the character of Darth Maul that will leave readers waiting on the edge of their seats in anticipation of the the next issue of the series.
Darth Maul
- Writing - 9/109/10
- Storyline - 9/109/10
- Art - 9/109/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10
