Vader Down continues this week as Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato take over again and oh my word, this issue is fun!  Despite the lovely cover by Mark Brooks, there’s not much of Leia or Vader in this issue.  Instead, it focuses mostly on Dr. Aphra and the Murder Bots versus Han Solo and Chewbacca.  The stakes?  Luke Skywalker and Artoo.

The entire issue is just delightful.  At times, it’s actually incredibly funny despite the decidedly unfunny circumstances but it still works.  We get BeeTee versus Artoo! (And you thought Artoo and Chopper were different…)  We get Chewbacca versus Triple Zero… aka a protocol droid that he doesn’t feel obliged to not rip apart!  And finally, we get Han Solo versus Dr. Aphra which is everything I ever wanted but never knew to ask for despite us as readers being told that she’s a dark mirror version of Indiana Jones from the start.

Star Wars #13 is a bit of a change from the rest of the Vader Down event so far.  It’s a nice breather from being terrified of Vader (although the next issue promises to do that again.)  While some more uptight readers may be put off by some of the humor that verges a little more on slapstick, I found it refreshing and just plain fun.  When else are you going to get to see Chewie go after a droid and [REDACTED]?  Aaron even nails the essence of Han Solo when he makes an ever so slight miscalculation while being so smug and certain.

I also have to take a moment and take Deodato for not only rocking the hell out of this book so far but for also drawing Aphra wearing that rad jacket that Adi Granov used for the cover of Darth Vader #3. It’s finally in the book!

Just like Marvel promised us, Vader Down continues to be an awesome crossover event and definitely one that you should be picking up.