This is a Big One, so I'm going to get the details out of the way here at the start. I'm talking about Darth Vader, the first Volume of a now three volume (& still continuing) series about the adventures of Darth Vader and surrounding cast during different eras of the Star Wars continuity. Volume 1 is written by (acclaimed author) Kieron Gillen, pencils & ink by Salvador Larroca, letters by Joe Caramagna, color by Edgar Delgado. Editing by Jordan D. White and Heather Antos.
When people talk about Star Wars comics, they're usually talking about Darth Vader. Or at least, they were for a surprisingly long time. I don't think it's an overexaggeration to say that the 2015 run of Darth Vader reinvigorated a movement of "hey the Star Wars comics are actually kinda good?" conversations.
Because the thing is, Darth Vader (2015) is actually pretty dang good. The accolades are deserved.
Set right after the end of Episode IV, it starts incredibly strong by reminding the reader that Darth Vader kind of royally shit the bed at the end of Ep 4. Palpatine doesn't trust Vader, and effectively punishes him by removing his status as commander of the Imperial Military. It's a great maneuver to flesh out the canon and also makes Vader into a much more interesting protagonist for a comic series - still a feared paladin but now devoid of his official command.
It's a notable series both for its incredibly deft understanding of Vader as a character but also for the introductions of some of the most notable members of the Star Wars B-cast characters. Most notably, Doctor Aphra makes her first appearance in this series, but also other faves have prominent roles: BT-1, 0-0-0, Black Krrsantan, even Boba Fett.
It's an impressive series, not just for what it's able to do but how great of an IP-building effort it is, fleshing out an entire era that saw Vader go from the loser of the Battle of Yavin to the feared general he is in Empire Strikes Back.
There's a lot that I could talk about in this series (there's 25 issues so it has some distinct Arcs) but suffice to say that there's a reason this comic set the Star Wars world on fire.
You can see Anakin becoming Vader in this series. Vader is petulant. He's cocky. He's an asshole. He'll double-cross any of his allies if he needs to. He's smart. He's calculating. He still has some good in him. He's furious. He's evil. He's a monster. He's human.
Read this if you want to read some of the best Star Wars fiction in the current canon. It's worth it.
