The Force Isn't Strong With This One
I've dabbled in Star Wars fandom since I was little, introduced to it by my father. I've seen all the films, appreciate the Clone Wars TV series (both of them), read various Star Wars books when younger, and am cautiously holding my breath for Episode 7. But I've never really picked up a Star Wars comic book before, and figured it was about time. I found this one at my local library and thought I'd give it a shot.
The characterization here is pretty basic. There are only three people here you'll know at all going into it (unless you're really familiar with the extended universe): Vader, the Emperor, and one character who comes in later in the story (I won't give that away). They are all faithful to their film counterparts, but don't do much else, remaining rather stationary in their character arches rather than doing anything out of the ordinary. Darth Vader, unsurprisingly, shows the most development, but it's minimal at best. He is frequently plagued by flashbacks to different parts of his life that are meant to relate to a specific situation at hand. However, none of these memories feel like they have an impact over what's going on or why anything here has happened, feeling more like a thin idea of what's going on in Vader's head, something that can't really be captured well in the films (especially since Episodes I-III didn't exist yet). All the other characters are reduced to single-characteristic personalities, as we have next to no time to get to know them. Not only this, but a lot of the characters look the same. With there being so many Stormtroopers and men in the same fleet uniform, it can become confusing and difficult to follow.
The setting is very similar, and nothing new is brought to the table. Even the visuals seem unimaginative, sticking to the same old same old that we've seen before. Nothing here feels fresh or new, and I think that's why this book suffers so much. At it's heart, this is a quick event that we've essentially seen before in some other capacity. Yes, it's on the inside of the Sith organization, but that isn't delved into well, sticking to what we know. Hopefully, there are better Star Wars comics out there, but this one is just okay.