Darth Vader #10 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

The plots, as they say, thicken.

First, Aphra finds the mortician that worked on Padme's body, and we learn why she's taken a sudden interest in him:  she uses Triple-Zero to get him to admit that Padme had a son.  Apparently the holographic images of her body made her appear that she was still pregnant, but Aphra knows that the son survived (since Vader knows that he did from Boba Fett).  Going into the search with that information, she gets the confirmation that she needs.  The interesting part is that the mortician expresses complete loyalty to Padme here and, as such, doesn't totally betray her:  he doesn't confirm that Padme delivered twins.  It's a reminder that Vader doesn't actually discover this information until "Return of the Jedi," and Gillen does, yet again, a perfect job of using this series to give us even more insight into the movies.  (I always wondered how Vader knew that Luke was his son, but didn't know that Leia was his daughter.)

Moreover, the audit of Vader's finances continues.  I still can't say that it's exciting, but Gillen uses a cool code-breaking sequence to again underscore Thanoth's talents and Vader's grudging respect for him.  Assuming that the device that we see hovering over Vader's shoulder at the end of the issue is a surveillance drone, then it appears that Thanoth knows exactly what Vader did.  I still don't see how it's going to result in anything interesting, since we know the outcome.  But, Gillen does a better job this issue of adding tension to this plot, showing Vader actually getting something like nervous as the noose tightens around his neck.  (Earlier, Thanoth came even closer to discovering who bought the explosives used on the Star Destroyer).

The issue closes with Vader sending Aphra after the rebel pilot that destroyed the Death Star.  He tells her that another imperial agent has been tasked with this responsibility, but he wants them to find him first.  I don't remember seeing anything about someone else on Luke's trail, so I'm not sure how Vader got this information.  But, it's interesting to watch Vader come step-by-step closer to finding Luke.  You have to wonder if they're going to have another confrontation, like they did in "Star Wars" #2.  I guess we'll see!

*** (three of five stars)