STAR WARS: VADER DARK VISIONS #5: Monsters in the forest

In this final issue of the series, Darth Vader is in pursuit of a rebel group that has managed to steal vital information about the imperial Armada in that section of the galaxy and he means to get it back no matter what. The Rebels have in the meantime made their way to drinking establishment on the unnamed planet where all patrons are forced to hand in their weaponry and possessions at the door. The rebels are unaware that Vader and his men are so close behind which ultimately leads to their doom…during the slaughter the bartender, a resident of the planet, escapes with a case that contains the plans and some weaponry into the deadly forest in the hope that his knowledge of the environment will help him stay ahead of Vader but a misstep leads to him being poisoned by a psychotropic plant and well it all turns into nightmare fuel on from there as the poison in his system turns the already deadly pursuit into the stuff of literal nightmares which ultimately comes to the same conclusion…what Darth Vader wants Darth Vader gets…

This issue really rounds off the series from Hallum on a high note. All these vignettes have been really well written by himself and I will miss the series now that it is over. The pacing of this is particularly good and the conveys the relentless urgency facing the desperate bartender which is palatable and riveting. Hallum has not once tried to make Vader a sympathetic character in this or any of the previous stories and that consistency is to be appreciated. Vader is as he is meant to be at this point in time: the unrelenting emissary of the Empire and Palpatine who will stop at nothing to protect the Empire and crush the Rebellion.

Hallum’s writing is superbly complemented by the art from Borges and colorist Marcio Menyz that managed to capture the panic of the bartender as he attempts to get away. The bartenders’ eyes convey his desperation from the moment the pursuit reaches him all the way through his nightmare hallucinations after being poisoned by the psychotropic thorns and the color palette grows darker and darker adding to the horror house effect of the final confrontation between Vader and his quarry. The switch between the fever dream-illusions is deftly handled and though the ending is really a foregone conclusion the journey that the team takes us on is harrowing from start to finish and that’s just good comics.

The lettering in this issue is deftly handled by Caramagna who never crowds the visual at any time in the issue and has been excellent this entire series. Gregg Smallwoods psychedelic cover is a clever window into the actual story in the issue and is a genuine work of art.