Want to know how to end a comic book issue? Read Darth Vader #21 because this one definitely got an ‘OH SNAP’ from me. We’re in the final days now of this awesome run by the Vader team and I suspect that very bad things are going to be happening. But first! Dr. Aphra is back!

It’s been fun reading about the adventures of Aphra, Sana, and Leia over in the main Star Wars book but I’m glad to see her returned to the pages of Darth Vader. It’s felt like something was missing the last few issues even though she was never forgotten in the story. Even when she’s clearly feeling less than her best, there’s something about Aphra that just makes her pop off the page. Don’t get me wrong: I’m still very worried about her surviving but it just feels right to have her around again.

On the flip side, we have Vader (I mean, I guess it’s technically his book) who is 100% done and ready to just crush Cylo and move on to better things. In this issue, we get both the ruthless Vader and the one who can outfly almost anyone. The latter is a tricky thing to convey in comics since you’re restricted to unmoving images but Larroca makes it work. If you ask me, Cylo is handling Vader coming after him all too calmly. Even if we didn’t know that Vader and the Emperor survive, those are not two people I would want to tick off on a personal level.

Oh the Larroca/Delgado artwork for the nebula? Drop dead gorgeous. I’d kill to see more pages with it. (And the space whale-shark-abomination thingys. Can’t forget them.)

Darth Vader #21: Kieron Gillen/Writer, Salvador Larroca/Artist, Edgar Delgado/Colorist, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Jordan White/Editor, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor