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Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! And it’s time for my review of Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2! Of course this issue is a part of the black, white and red line, which means the artwork is so unique and really stands out from nearly everything on the stands.
Darth Maul is of course one of the most iconic characters to emerge out of the Star Wars prequel films, and he has an argument for being the most iconic characters EVER. And while we know a little bit more about him now than we did after The Phantom Menace hit theaters in 1999, thanks in part to the incredible work Dave Filoni and the crew of The Clone Wars did, we still don’t know much about his time as an apprentice to Darth Sidious leading up to the events of Episode I. And this series is doing an incredible job exploring it. With that said, let’s jump into it!
Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 by Mark Russell (writer), Carlos Neito (artist), Carlos Lao (designer) & VC’s Joe Caramagna spends the entirety of this story is self contained on the Moonbender Colony in the outer rim, involving the colonists confrontation with the Sith Lord. We meet some of the colonists who are just trying to live their life, and then Darth Maul shows up and things kick off QUICK. The colonists try to outsmart and outwit Maul, but he’s more than prepared for whatever they throw at him.
This issue is all action, no negotiations and that is where the issue excels. Russell does such a great job of putting Maul in situations where you don’t think he’ll be able to advance further into this fortress and making you sit there and think “maybe he won’t win this battle”. And sure we know he’ll survive this encounter, but that’s not to say he might fail. My highlight of the issue is all the action sequences, it’s too hard to nail down just one. They do a great job of showing just how ruthless Maul is and why he was a force to be reckoned with no matter who he went up against in battle.
Of course the biggest feature of this issue is the artwork. And this issue lives up to it’s predecessor’s (Darth Vader included). It’s simplistic, but incredibly vibrant. And it uses it’s limited color pallet wonderfully, and really gives it a feeling of being boxed in and not having much hope against Maul.
Final Point: This is a fun issue to read, and is an easy pickup for all Star Wars fans. Do you know who Darth Maul is? You’re good to go! That’s all you’ll need. Mark Russell does a wonderful job of showing just dangerous he is and why you really cannot underestimate him. And given the ending of this issue, it’s going to be interesting to see if maybe that plays a factor into the story going forward. I HIGHLY recommend this issue to all Star Wars fans.
Score: 9.5 out of 10
Thanks for checking out my review on Nerd Initiative. For more of my content, check out ODPHpodcast.com, follow me on Twitter, and check out more of my reviews here on Nerd Initiative: https://nerdinitiative.com/author/padawanj/!
