Fabio Fiori at Tatooine Times has caught up with Raffaelle Ienco, the current artist for the latest Darth Vader comic series from Marvel.
Ever since the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of Darth Vader in Revenge of the Sith—the stories around the Dark Lord of the Sith have briefly touched upon the tragedy of the man behind the mask. We’ve read about the ruthlessness of Vader and the inspiring heroism of Anakin Skywalker—but we had yet to really dive deeper into the fallen Jedi’s dark heart and how the past still haunts him. The new Darth Vader ongoing comic book series—written by Greg Pak—explores new ground, focusing on the Dark Lord’s vulnerability through heart-wrenching flashbacks and unexpected reunions.
Artist Raffaele “Raff” Ienco is bringing the story to life through character and environment authenticity while masterfully incorporating some of the most unforgettable scenes from the prequels with the series’ events. Although this is Ienco’s first work in a galaxy far, far away—his fascination to the franchise has been there since childhood. “As a kid, I remember getting a book with iron-on decals so you could transform any t-shirt into a Star Wars themed shirt. A lot of my shirts became Star Wars crested overnight,” Ienco shared in an interview with TatooineTimes.com.
Ienco has been a fan of Star Wars ever since—religiously watching all the movies and keeping up with the comic book runs of the new Marvel era—but when the opportunity to draw Darth Vader came around, he admitted it was a frightening challenge to take on. “I had never drawn anything Star Wars before, not even for fun but Mark [Paniccia] was up for giving me a try,” Ienco said. “Before I got a script I had to do some character head rotations and have them approved by Lucasfilm. Characters and vehicles and locales have to be as precise as possible, and I just happened to have a knack for that—so I got the gig! I’d be drawing Star Wars: Darth Vader for Marvel!”
Apart from Star Wars icons such as the Dark Lord himself, Ienco had the opportunity to design a new character—ZED-6-7, an Imperial forensics droid assisting Vader on his vengeful quest whose logical humor counters the constant dark tone of the story. “I have an affinity for ZED-6-7 since I designed him based off another droid that Lucasfilm recommended,” Ienco said.
To read the full interview, click here.
