The Star Wars: Rebels animated series debuted in October 2014 and ran for four seasons. The show featured the crew of the starship the Ghost which includes: Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, Zeb Orrelios, and Chopper. The show was well received and when Marvel reacquired the license and began publication in 2015, one of the first titles they introduced was Star Wars: Kanan. The title mostly told stories about a younger Kanan when he was a Jedi Padawan. Most of the stories are framed with the crew of the Ghost recounting the younger Kanan tales, but some of the issues have stories about the Rebels crew themselves.
While U.S. readers had the Kanan title to receive their Star Wars: Rebels comic fix, international readers were getting the Star Wars: Rebels Magazine which began publication in January 2015. Inside each magazine are 12 pages of Rebels comics. The magazine ran for an impressive 39 issues of which 2 of the issues (#36 and #38) contained reprints of earlier 12-page stories. The first 24 issues stories were collected in 3 trade paperbacks that were released in Germany. The first trade paperback, Star Wars: Rebels - Widerstand or Resistance, contains the 8 stories from Star Wars Rebels Magazine #1 - 8.
Star Wars: Rebels - Widerstand a - Panini Comics, Germany (March 2016) reprints Rebels comics from Star Wars: Rebels Magazine #1 - 8
In August 2022, Dark Horse Comics published Star Wars: Rebels a trade paperback collecting all the Star Wars: Rebels comics from the Star Wars: Rebels Magazine as well as it successor the 4-issue Star Wars: Rebels Animation Magazine. This was the first time U.S. readers were able to easily acquire these stories.
Jaum and the sharpshooter leave the collapsed mine in a landspeeder. Chewbacca is holding up a portion of the mine using a horizontal beam and Zarro and her dad help by bracing the beam. As they start to leave the mine, Zarro's dad says the beetles will return to the mine without the power and they should be cautious where they walk because the beetle are poisonous. Just then, a swarm of beetle appear and Chewbacca shoots another horizontal beam, collapsing the mine on the beetles and blocking their escape through the mine's entrance. They meet up with other workers who are devising a plan of escape. Chewbacca decides to climb out through one of the air vents and is able to pull the other survivors out of the mine.
Zarro and Chewbacca, wanting to stop Jaum, go to the spaceport to meet one of Zarro's friends, Sevox. Sevox is a blind tinkerer who uses a robot I-7 to see. Chewbacca looks at all the droid parts Sevox has collected and has a plan. Meanwhile, one of the surviving workers is caught and brought before Jaum. Jaum asks how he escaped and the worker tells him it was the Wookiee. Jaum kills the worker and contacts his Imperial liason, Commander Kai, for assistance.
The only cover for Star Wars: Chewbacca #3 shows Zarro and Chewbacca side by side with a visage of Jaum in the background.
Star Wars: Chewbacca #3a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (November 2015)
The story continues to move at an extremely slow pace. Eight of the nineteen pages of this story deal with Chewbacca climbing up the air vent and pulling the survivors to freedom. There is suppose to be some suspense during his climb when the shovel he is using breaks, but the sequence is hard to follow and in the end, his climb should have been told on a single page. Between the padding of the story and Zarro's constant narration, this is a tedious mini-series to read.
Darth Vader is greeted by one of the disfigured people in the headless snake temple. He tells Vader that they have been expecting him. The greeter tells Vader the beam that took down the Imperial Star Cruiser is called the Basis. As Vader is led through the temple, he sees two boys fighting and, shortly afterwards, the boys have attracted a crowd and one of the boys is killing the other. The greeter shows Vader ancient drawings on the wall that foretells of his coming and leading the temple occupants. As they enter the chamber to see the high priests, the greeter tells the temple dwellers the first half of the prophecy has been fulfilled.
The three high priests call Vader their savior and say he will slay the Jedi and the Empire throwing the galaxy into chaos. Vader brandishes his lightsaber and asks for them to confess to the attempts on the Emperor's life. The three priests eagerly goad Vader to kill them to fulfill the prophecy and Vader hesitates. He picks up the greeter using the Force, but decides knowing how the weapon operates is more important. Inside a small room, he leans over a green, glowing pedistool and vines reach out and bind him. He then experiences visions of him fighting and defeating both Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Emperor. When he emerges from the chamber, the greeter leads him to a throne room. In the center of the room is a hole crackling with energy, the heart of the weapon. Vader uses the Force to retrieve a crystal from the hole that the greeter says amplifies the beam's power. He then Force pushes several temple dwellers into the hole filled with energy. As he strodes through the temple to the exit, he uses the Force to collapse the temple behind him. When Vader walks out of the ruined temple, the ninth assassin spots him from the nearby jungle.
Like the previous issue, Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #4's cover is more appropriate for the previous issue. It shows Darth Vader fighting one of the many creatures he encountered in the jungle on the way to the temple.
Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #4a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (July 2013)
The ninth assassin continues to be unimportant to the story. The next and final issue of the mini-series will no doubt be the confrontation between this mysterious character and Darth Vader.
Vader does fulfill the prophecy fortold in the temple's drawings. Years later, he will defeat both Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi, as well as the Emperor, the Empire. Additionally, he brings chaos to the followers of the headless snake when he destroys their temple.
Dave Dorman is a legendary artist who is best known for his Star Wars artwork. He provided the artwork for many of Dark Horse's classic Star Wars titles including: Dark Empire, Tales of the Jedi, and Crimson Empire. George Lucas is a big fan of Dave's work.
Dave's artwork adorns the M&M Comics exclusive cover for Star Wars: Vader Down #1. The cover shows a tattered Darth Vader brandishing his lightsaber in front of his crashed TIE Fighter. Vader Down #1 has a plethora of covers and this one easily ranks among the best.
Star Wars: Vader Down #1am - Marvel Comics, U.S. (November 2015) M&M Comics exclusive
A black and white version of the cover was published as well. Both pieces are beautiful to behold but Darth Vader really pops on the colorless version with the details in his cape and armor being more apparent.
Star Wars: Vader Down #1an - Marvel Comics, U.S. (November 2015) M&M Comics black and white exclusive
