ER FATHH E YEAR OF T
DADDING LIKE A DARTH Marlin. Mr. Incredible. Mufasa. These dudes would be inaugural inductees if there was a Disney Hall of Fame for fathers. Meanwhile, Darth Vader—who became a Disney dad when the Mouse House purchased Lucasfilm in 2012— only gets in if he buys a ticket. Though Vader is also voiced by Mufasa’s James Earl Jones, the similarities between he and his fellow Disney fathers stop there. Certainly the galaxy’s greatest deadbeat dad, Vader ditched Luke and Leia before they were even born, leaving diaper changes and night feedings to nanny droids. And instead of teaching his teen twins how to fly T-16s, lecturing them not to do death sticks, or taking them on trips to Galaxy’s Edge in Orlando, he spent their formative years married to his work, brutally subjugating worlds for the Empire. He remained absent from their lives until they were well past puberty, steering clear of awkward conversations about the birds, the bees and body hair. Vader takes a hard pass on warm hugs when he first meets Leia, preferring to poke and prod her with an interrogation droid and then idly stand by as Tarkin makes her homeworld of Alderaan go boom. His first encounter with Luke goes no better when he demands that the prospective Jedi join the dark side. When Luke refuses, couldn’t dear old dad have cut off his iPad privileges instead of his hand!?! And couldn’t he have waited for a better time to reveal the results of the paternity test!?! Or offer to kiss Luke’s boo-boo!?! Sure, Vader forfeits a father-of-the-year award, but he does ultimately sacrifice himself to save Luke’s life, even if it’s only after some serious lobbying from his son. But hey, it’s Father’s Day, so let’s give the Dark Lord a break and show him some love for at least teaching us how not to be a dud of a dad. —Drew Thompson
COMICS CORNER I stopped buying monthly comics in October 2018. It’s the first time in more than almost 30 years that I wasn’t buying monthly comics for myself. Shortly thereafter, I started to subscribe to the DC Universe app. For $7.99 a month I have access to the whole historical library of DC Comics. The one draw back is that first run books are 6 months to a year behind. When I first started interacting with the app, I was so much more drawn to the live action (Titans, Doom Patrol, etc.) and animated offerings (Harley Quinn, Hush) than I was with the comics offerings. I found it a little difficult to get into the flow of the comics on my phone. In fact because I was ahead of where the current books were (because of the release delay) I started to dive into classic runs of books that I had missed. Mid ’80s Legion of Superheroes, sign me up. That has all changed for me in a big way during quarantine. In fact, I must say, I have used the app just about everyday during quarantine. It’s allowed me to catch up with Bendis’ run on Superman and Action Comics, King’s Batman, Snyder’s Justice League, Jones’ Catwoman, while also discovering books like Steve Orlando’s Martian Manhunter. While a completely different experience than thumbing through a paper comic, I’ve come to enjoy advancing panel by panel through the digital edition of the comics. My one recommendation would be to read it on a desktop or larger tablet as opposed to a phone as the narrow phone screen does not let the art breathe. On top of rediscovering my love for comics (albeit in digital form), the live action and animated offerings continue to be top notch. Titans season 2 and Harley season 2 have been so much better than season one. I’m also very excited about the premiere of Stargirl. Episode 1 was very good and I can’t wait for the rest of the season. In all transparency, I’ve yet to delve into the Marvel app as my love for that brand was starting to wane when I gave up the printed books. —LV
June 2, 2020 • Art
Department Weekly
7
