Darth Vader as a doting dad? Scrapped Google Doodle now a Father's Day book

A concept of "Star Wars" character Darth Vader as a doting dad to son Luke Skywalker that was scrapped as a Google Doodle is now a soon-to-be-released tribute to fathers everywhere.  

 

The comic book by artist-writer Jeffrey Brown will come out in stores soon as "Darth Vader and Son," the Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex blog said.

 

"The book reimagines the Dark Lord of the Sith parenting an adorable four-year-old, his days filled with potty breaks, Lego, bicycle riding and bedtime stories," it said.

 

Both Google and Lucasfilm had given him their blessings for the project, Brown indicated.

 

A separate article on the PC Magazine website said that while Brown did not close a price or a release date, it found the hardcover version of "Darth Vader and Son" on Amazon for $10.06.

 

"It is scheduled to ship next week on April 18, about two months before Father's Day," it said.

 

In an interview with the LA Times' Hero Complex, Brown said the idea was initially pitched to him by Google's Ryan Germick, as a possible Google Doodle of "just Vader doing normal parenting things."

 

He did a series of sketches for them to show, but in the end he said "Google decided to go with a different concept."

 

"But that idea was so much fun. I really don’t want to just let it disappear. So I asked them if I could take the idea and develop it into a full book, and they said, 'Go ahead,'" he said.

 

He said much of the book is based on his dealing with his own son.

 

It was fun to have Darth Vader as a powerful man who is powerless against a four-year-old, he said.

 

"He’s gotta maintain that presence of power in the universe, but when it’s his own son, he has to rein it in a little bit. That tension is what was fun to play with," he said.

 

"Like one of the strips is where Darth Vader makes eggs for breakfast, and Luke isn’t happy with them. My eggs are apparently OK for my son, but there are definitely other things I’ve made where he’s been like, 'I don’t like this.' And you know, just trying to get him to go to bed. There are a lot of those universal touch points that are in there," he added.

 

Lucasfilm

 

Brown said “Star Wars” was the first film he saw in the theater, and half his toys growing up were “Star Wars” toys.

 

Thus, he said the idea of doing something that was official “Star Wars” was appealing.

 

He added Chronicle Books, which is coming out with the "Darth Vader and Son" series, has also done some different “Star Wars” books, and so has an existing working relationship with Lucasfilm.

 

"Their response has been great. Right from the beginning, I think they understood the idea and were not just supportive, but also they really let me have relatively free rein for what working on a licensed property like this," he said.

 

When asked if there was any part of the “Star Wars” universe that Brown was not allowed to touch, he said there was "nothing that I wanted to put in that they didn’t let in."

 

Most of their suggestions were kind of minor tweaks, he added.

 

'Baggage'

 

Brown said he had to deal with the "baggage" that comes with established characters.

 

"When you’re working with any characters like this, there’s so much to them that comes attached. I don’t want to say 'baggage' in a derogatory or negative sense, but they come with so much built in. … It’s the same thing like with when you’re working with superheroes. There’s a certain amount of back story, and the people who are super-fans are going to know all these kind of minute details, but even people who are only vaguely acquainted are going to pick up on certain things really easily," he said.

 

Follow-up

 

Brown said he wants to do a follow-up, this time with Luke's sister Princess Leia. "But I don’t know when I’ll be ready to do that, and I’ll see if Chronicle and Lucasfilm are still interested," he said. — TJD, GMA News