Darth Vader #9 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is s-l-o-w.

First, Gillen has oddly decided to focus a lot of time on the Inquisitor's inquiry into the theft from the Star Cruiser (as we saw last issue).  First, we already know that Aphra stole the credits and gave them to Vader, so it's not like Gillen is using the inquiry as an expository device to reveal the culprits.  Moreover, we know that the inquiry isn't exactly going to result in Vader being charged with crimes against the Empire and locked in a basement somewhere.  Given the lack of mystery and stakes, it makes you feel like you're reading a comic about a tax audit.

Moreover, the inquiry reduces Vader to handling the clean-up work, like killing a bunch of rebels in this issue to create an alibi for why he was on Anthan-13 last issue (where he met Aphra to collect the credits).  Vader is just as annoyed as I am, telling Thanoth that the entire endeavor is beneath him.  But, Gillen persists, and we spend this issue trying to chase down the person that provided Aphra with the explosives, since the Inquisitor has deduced that the asteroid field that hit the ship was man-made.

Speaking of Aphra, her plot is equally odd.  She approaches someone that traffics in information to confirm that a person of interest served as a mortician on Naboo.  Presumably, she's tracking down information on Padme, but, if she knew the guy's name in the first place, why did she even have to bother with paying the trafficker?  Doesn't the Empire have Google?

In sum, this issue felt like we were spinning our wheels.  It's OK for it to happen every once in a while, but this series is about Darth Vader.  I don't really want to feel like I'm reading about some intern working for the Empire's equivalent of Mr. Wolf from "Pulp Fiction."  More action, please.

** (two of five stars)