September 12, 2018- DARTH VADER #21, DAREDEVIL #608, DARTH VADER TPB VOL 3

Three big releases this week - a Sith Lord, a blind lawyer and, er, another Sith Lord… just more of him. Let’s start with Vader #21. Art and cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli, colors from David Curiel, letters by VC’s Joe Caramagna, inks by Daniele Orlandini, and the cover was painted by Elia Bonetti.

Okay, Mustafar at last! We’re on the lava planet where Vader was “born,” more or less, and for some reason he’s decided to build a permanent home there. Or has he? As we see in this issue, Vader’s motivations weren’t necessarily to build himself a vacation palace, but more of a research station. There’s a mystery he wants to explore, set up all the way back in Vader #5, when he was forging his lightsaber on the planet.

This issue also brings back the mask of Lord Momin, first introduced in my Lando miniseries from 2015 with Alex Maleev and Paul Mounts, and we’ll see much more of that terrifying artifact moving forward in the FORTRESS VADER story. I’ve finished writing this arc, and I love how it wraps up. It gets realllly trippy, in a way Star Wars doesn’t always allow itself to be. It’s almost a silent issue, in a way. But that’s down the road. For now… enjoy the ride.

Speaking of rides, how about Daredevil #608! Art and cover by Phil Noto, colors from Matt Milla, and letters by VC’s Clayton Cowles.

What a cover, right? Phil Noto is one of the very best cover guys in the biz, if you ask me. This issue wraps up the “Double Vision” arc that reintroduces Mike Murdock to the Marvel U. For a brief moment, I considered cutting Mike back out - killing him, to the extent that you can kill someone that is only marginally real, marginally alive. Once I started writing the character, though, I knew that would be a mistake. There are way too many stories yet to be told with this guy. In fact, he’ll show up in the next arc of my Daredevil run, which as of this writing has been announced… my final arc, no less. It’s called “The Death of Daredevil,” and while I’m sad to leave the title, I’ve been on it for ages and it’s time for me to move on and someone else to chronicle ol’ Hornhead’s adventures.

Each issue in DoD is named after a particular fear. The first, 609, is Thanatophobia, and it’ll run through 612. Hope you’ll come along for the ride!

Finally, it’s the third volume of my Darth Vader series - credits as above for #21.

This trade collects the third arc of the story, issues 13-17, the huge Mon Calamari war arc called “The Burning Seas.” I love how this one came together, and based on social media and reviews, it seems like you guys do too. It also collects what I consider the best single issue of the series, #18, the “hunt” issue starring Tarkin and Vader. #25 might give it a run for its money, though.

Coming out next week: Return of Wolverine #1 and Curse Words #16!