KIERON GILLEN LOOKS BACK AT MARVEL’S DARTH VADER SERIES, PART 1

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Via Starwars.com:

IN ADVANCE OF NEXT WEEK’S SERIES FINALE ISSUE, STARWARS.COM TALKS TO WRITER KIERON GILLEN ABOUT MARVEL’S SAGA-CHANGING COMIC.

Darth Vader is such an icon, not just for film, but for culture in general. With that kind of legacy comes an incredible amount of expectation, and Marvel’s Darth Vader ongoing series continually delivered. The first issue was published in February of 2015, and the title has since left an indelible mark on the Star Wars saga. With the final installment, issue #25, hitting next Wednesday, October 12, StarWars.com spoke with Darth Vader writer Kieron Gillen about the legacy of Vader, making him a starring character, and how he got us to root for a Sith Lord.

StarWars.com: Describe your relationship with the character of Darth Vader before you learned you were going to write an ongoing series.

Kieron Gillen: I mean, I always say this when I talk about Darth Vader — the very first movie I ever saw in the cinema was [The] Empire [Strikes Back]. You know, that was the first movie I remember being taken to the cinema to see. Darth Vader was literally the entry point of me into fantasy and science fiction. It’s my entry into public life and geek culture. It’s my kind of formative view into what evil looks like.

So, for me and Jason [Aaron], and I’m sure a lot of Star Wars writers, are on an age where Star Wars was absolutely formulate. So that’s where I shoot with Darth Vader there. He’s like one of the iconic pop cultural villains of the 20th century.

StarWars.com: Oh, absolutely. And I think if you grew up in a certain generation (I was born in the early ’70s), he’s just kind of imprinted in your mind.

Kieron Gillen: Oh yeah, absolutely. It’s like I said, you know, I was born in ’75, so he’s just there, looming, magnificent. I’ve always said, it’s like it’s very weird of me doing Vader, ’cause of course, it’s between New Hope and Empire, so as I’m basically writing the prequels to my own entry into pop culture. So it’s like a weirdly cyclical thing, and it’s very primal.

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