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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 the latest issue of one of the more unique series currently on the shelf at your local comic shop, and that’s issue #3 of Darth Maul: Black, White & Red!
This series is all action & fun from start to finish and while it doesn’t have a ton of impact to the overall canon in Star Wars, it does provide a fun bit of backstory to one of the most famous characters in recent Star Wars history. With that being said, let’s just jump into it!
Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 by Erica Schultz (writer), Leonard Kirk (artist), Andres Mossa (colorist) & VC’s Joe Caramanga (letterer) features Darth Maul getting sent on what’s essentially a bounty hunting mission by his master Darth Sidious (aka Senator Palpatine). This issue takes place an unknown number of years before the events of The Phantom Menace, so obviously subtly is of the utmost importance.
Maul at times has been described as a monster, and certainly if you don’t take into the events that take place during The Clone Wars series that is true. And clearly at this point he’s not the cold calculating crime boss we see him become later. The issue opens up with what Maul does best, fighting and destroying things without any regard for anything. And shortly after his “training” session is over, Sidious gives Maul a mission to track down an individual of great importance to Plapatine.
Of course the main feature of this issue is the artwork, and it’s as incredible as always. It’s easily one of the most unique art styles in all of comics right now. And the style fits Darth Maul so perfectly well with as ruthless a character as he is. Darth Maul is the focus, and the art style makes sure you know that.
My favorite part of this issue is getting to see Darth Maul do some work, because honestly we didn’t get to see him do that much work in The Phantom Menace. Yes, we did get to see a LOT in The Clone Wars but you have to remember that this IS NOT that Darth Maul. This is the ruthless animal Darth Maul who has NO patience whatsoever. And getting to see Maul put in check and forced to be calculating & patient is a very interesting perspective.
FINAL POINT: Much like pervious issues of the Black, White & Red series (Maul & Vader) this issue is a fun read. It’s an easy pickup for any Star Wars fan, no matter what your level of fandom is. From the most diehard to the fan who might have only seen the films once. Like I said when I reviewed issue #3, do you know who Darth Maul is? If the answer is “yes”, than you’re good to go! I HIGHLY recommend this entire series to Star Wars fans.
Score: 9.6 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/!
