12 Star Wars Graphic Novels You Must Read Before You Die

And speaking of Vader Down, it simply could not have happened without the sharp pen and sharper storytelling of Kieron Gillen, who shepherded both the current Star Wars series and the brilliant Darth Vader series toward that dynamite collision.

But the breakout character under Gillen's deft direction has undoubtedly been the amoral, ambitious, and devious Chelli Lona Aphra. An archaeologist readers first encountered in the pages of the Darth Vader title, she has since left Vader's employ and embarked on her own solo title, Doctor Aphra, to rave reviews.

Star Wars has plenty of rogues, bandits, thieves, and corrupting forces, but there has never been anyone quite like Doctor Aphra, a character as capable as she is unpredictable. Throw in two murderous droids and a Wookiee bounty hunter, and you've got a recipe for an enjoyable trip into the darkest alleys of the Star Wars universe.