Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #1

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin is the third Darth Vader mini-series published by Darth Horse Comics starting in April 2013.  Like the previous mini-series, this story takes place during the first months of the Galactic Empire.

A mining operation run by a rich industrialist on an ice planet is visited by the Empire seeking concessions.  Darth Vader is there to oversee the renegotiations.  The industrialist's son is upset and pulls a blaster on one of the negotiators and Vader intercedes, killing the son.

Later, on another planet, the son's father is being escorted by mercenaries through a swamp.  At their destination, the father uncovers a scanning device and uses a severed hand to activate the entrance to an underground fortress.  In the fortress, the mercenaries are confronted by belligerent alien guards who the mercenaries kill.  They enter a chamber with an alien sitting on a throne and the father drops to his knees, begging the alien to help him.  He says money is no object and he seeks vengeance on Darth Vader for killing his son.  The father tells the alien his has hired eight other assassins, but they all failed.  When the father turns around, he sees that all his mercenaries are dead.

An armored assassin that killed the others in the room tells the father he paid a high price to come there and he may not be willing to pay the price for the help.  The father says if the assassin brings him Vader's head, he will pay any price.  The assassin accepts the deal and leaves it to the alien on the throne to work out the details of the payment.  Days later, back in the mining establishment, the father is seen sitting at a desk, his now eyeless sockets covered in bandages, gleefully anticipating Darth Vader's demise.

In the first issue, neither the planet or the characters are named outside of Vader.  We know the father's son is a cruel individual because of how he treats the slave laborers working in the mines shown on the opening page of the story.  It is a safe assumption the rich industrialist is also a cruel and ruthless individual.  It is a decent setup and it will be interesting to see how the story unfolds in future issues.

The cover by Ariel Olivetti shows the industrialist and his mercenaries standing in front of the alien sitting on his throne.  I like that the story subverts our expectations that this menacing looking alien is the ninth assassin.  Instead we find out the alien is just an associate of the assassin.

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #1a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (April 2013)

An exclusive black and white cover was given out at the 2013 Diamond Retailer Summit in Chicago.  This cover shows Darth Vader wielding his lightsaber just after he has killed the father's son.  In the foreground, the father can be seen holding his son's lifeless body.

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #1b - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (April 2013)
Diamond Retailer Summit Chicago 2013 exclusive