Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Heritage Sponsored, Marvel Comics, Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: darth vader, heritage, rafael alberquerque, sponsored, star wars

Rafael Albuquerque Embraces the Dark Side With Darth Vader #1 Sketch

Published Mon, 26 Apr 2021 07:32:13 -0500

by Theo Dwyer

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Heritage Auctions Sponsored Post

Anyone else miss conventions? It has been a wild time for con-goers, and some of the most exciting things that someone who is missing out on Comic-Con fun can do is bring some of the action home. Personally, one thing I love to do is find sketch covers with original artwork by some of the comics industry's top talent. For example, check out this Star Wars: Darth Vader #1 cover with an original sketch by American Vampire artist Rafael Albuquerque. Rafael Albuquerque's sketch depicts the iconic form of the villain so well that you can almost hear his belabored breath. And no, we're not talking Tony Soprano here (though, that would be sick); we're talking Vader himself.

Rafael Albuquerque sketch cover. Credit: Heritage Auctions

Rafael Albuquerque Darth Vader #1 Sketch Cover – Signature Series Sketch Original Art (Marvel, 2015) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages.

Rafael Albuquerque provided art for the variant cover to issue #4 of this Darth Vader series and crafted the sketch for this variant. The image is created in marker with an image area of 6" x 7". Partial blank cover. Salvador Larroca art. CGC notes, "Signed and sketch by Rafael Albuquerque on 7/20/19". Overstreet 2020 NM- 9.2 value = $5. CGC census for Universal grades 4/21: 18 in 9.8, none higher; for Signature Series 4/21: 215 in 9.8, none higher.

Bring Comic-Con home with this slabbed, graded copy of Star Wars: Darth Vader #1 with an original sketch by Rafael Albuquerque. Notably, this issue is written by The Wicked + the Divine writer Kieron Gillen, one of the industry's most celebrated creators. You can own a piece of Star Wars, Kieron Gillen, Rafael Albuquerque, and Marvel history here by heading over to Heritage Auctions and staking your claim for this unique and special item. Best of luck to those bidding for this original sketch cover. Do I get points for not saying, "May the you-know-what be with you-know-who"? I think I should.