6. Darth Vader And The Ghost Prison
Dark Horse Comics has been publishing Star Wars comics since 1991. Admittedly, not all of their stories are good, but occasionally they produce some memorable stories. "Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison" is one of those rare stories that works narratively and artistically. Taking place during the height of the Empire's reign, "Ghost Prison" begins with a terrorist attack hitting a graduation ceremony of Imperial cadets and results in the injury of Emperor Palpatine. Darth Vader, having escaped without harm, sets out to capture the perpetrators. Aided by the cybernetic Moff Trachta and a crippled young Imperial lieutenant, Vader must not only capture the terrorists, but find a way to heal the Emperor; something only the mysterious Ghost Prison may hold the answers to. "Ghost Prison" gives a good standalone Darth Vader story during his glory years serving the Empire. We knew he was a force to be reckoned with, and this comic demonstrates why. Even though he is the protagonist of the story, the younger Vader is shown to be moving away from his hero identity (Anakin) and embracing the role of anti-hero/villain that we see fully realized in "A New Hope." Reading this story reminded me why the bad-ass cyborg Sith Lord is one of my favorite characters of all time.