Marvel Star Wars Returns!

Marvel Comics Creates Star Wars Comic Books

After months of anticipation following the news Dark Horse’s relinquishing of the Star Wars license at the end of this year, the first three titles announced for Marvel’s new line of Star Wars comics have been unveiled just in time for the San Diego Comic Con. Two ongoing series and one limited series have been announced for early 2015, with plenty of juicy details after the jump…

 

Just to get this out of the way – all three titles take place during the Galactic Civil War Era. This is presumably to help introduce several iconic characters from the Original Trilogy to the younger generation of fans that grew up on The Clone Wars, and to appeal to older fans of the franchise. This is probably also done deliberately to set up plot threads for the Sequel Trilogy. Nonetheless, it’s surprising to me that none of the titles announced are related to Star Wars Rebels, which will be a good way into Season One by the time these stories come out. Instead, all of these stories will take place with the immediate aftermath of A New Hope. Anyway, I’ve teased you long enough. Now onto the titles themselves!

 
Star Wars Ongoing Comic Series - Jason Aaron, John Cassaday

The first one on the list is simply named Star Wars, written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by John Cassaday, is an ongoing series set to hit shelves in January 2015. Set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back (at least for now – I’m guessing the title will go forward later on, possibly jumping back-and-forth on the timeline once the Sequel Trilogy hits), the title will put a spotlight on a variety of characters as the Galactic Civil War grows substantially. A few pages of line art from the comic can be viewed at the Star Wars website.

 

Star Wars Darth Vader Comic

The second ongoing series announced at Comic Con has been confirmed to be Star Wars: Darth Vader, written by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by Salvador Larroca, is slated to begin in February 2015. Following his sudden defeat above the Death Star, Darth Vader sets out on a quest to destroy the growing Rebel Alliance and regain his prestige – both as the Supreme Commander of the Empire, and as the Dark Lord of the Sith. During this time, Emperor Palpatine will be probably left wondering what an Aluminum Falcon is, and why a bunch of teenagers blew up his prized space station.

 

Star Wars Leia ComicThe third and final comic – which is the only limited series announced so far – is Star Wars: Princess Leia, written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Terry Dodson, and is set to hit shelves in March 2015 to run for five issues. The story is set to delve into Leia Organa’s backstory like never before, showing her humble origins as the Princess of Alderaan, her role in the Imperial Senate, and eventually a Rebel leader that seeks to free the Galaxy from an oppressive government. The story is also going to show how she came to terms with the destruction of her homeworld, which should be interesting to read about given that A New Hope only glossed over that plot point.

 
More Comic Con news as it breaks!

+ posts

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

20 thoughts on “Marvel Star Wars Returns!

  • July 27, 2014 at 6:02 am
    Permalink

    So these are canon?

    • July 27, 2014 at 6:20 am
      Permalink

      Yup. They’re all canon.

      The only canon comic that won’t be published by Marvel will be Dark Horse’s Darth Maul: Son Of Dathomir miniseries, which they’re wrapping up in a few weeks.

  • July 27, 2014 at 6:45 am
    Permalink

    I’m looking forward to this. Apart from Shadows of the Empire and a handful of the Jedi Apprentice books, I’ve never delved into the EU stories.

    Knowing that these new ones are canon, will give me a good place to start with EU stuff.

  • July 27, 2014 at 6:48 am
    Permalink

    Yes it’s here twice but I hate leaving comments anonymously as I did above by mistake. ***

    I’m looking forward to this. Apart from Shadows of the Empire and a handful of the Jedi Apprentice books, I’ve never delved into the EU stories.

    Knowing that these new ones are canon, will give me a good place to start with EU stuff.

    • July 27, 2014 at 6:23 pm
      Permalink

      Until one day when it’s not. I’ll just judge the quality and the titles seem pretty uninspiring.

  • July 27, 2014 at 7:34 am
    Permalink

    RIP Darkhorse Comics. Long live Star Wars

    • July 27, 2014 at 6:24 pm
      Permalink

      Ugh, Dark Horse did an amazing job you know.

      • July 31, 2014 at 5:31 pm
        Permalink

        sad sad sad… DHC made a fantastic job with SW …gladly i have almost everything published by them…

  • July 27, 2014 at 7:50 am
    Permalink

    Star Wars gets overshadowed by Marvel. I’m not exactly sure what to think about this.

    • July 27, 2014 at 5:13 pm
      Permalink

      I’m ok with Marvel getting it back. Star Wars comics started there, and they, if anything, know how to make good comics.
      Dark Horse had a wonderful 20+ year run with the title, but Disney owns Star Wars. Disney also owns the #1 Comic Publisher.
      Makes perfect sense.

  • July 27, 2014 at 8:30 am
    Permalink

    To say I was incredibly psyched that a Princess Leia title was coming is a severe understatement. That said – who is that in the picture? That looks nothing like Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) whatsoever. WTH.

  • July 27, 2014 at 9:36 am
    Permalink

    Probably this comics will be interesting but i’m the only one who finds the titles very simple, cheesy, and no original at all?
    C’mon, Star Wars, Darth Vader and Princess Leia. WOW! What a brain storm!

    • July 27, 2014 at 10:44 am
      Permalink

      You’re missing the point – as the article outlines, this is a good way to introduce/re-introduce newer fans to the classic world of STAR WARS, while at the same time shedding new light on established continuity.

      After a perhaps too convoluted Dark Horse continuity – often marred by some really terrible artwork ( of which I wasn’t a fan of ), I am really looking forward to seeing how these new STAR WARS comics develop.

      Oh, and I’ll definitely be purchasing the hardback reprint of the original Marvel SW collection.

      • July 27, 2014 at 3:47 pm
        Permalink

        Yeah, new fans.
        Those who need all done, without using some kind of thinking or imagination.

        • July 27, 2014 at 7:45 pm
          Permalink

          I don’t think it’s any different than calling your series “Spider-Man” or “Wonder Woman” or whatever.

  • July 27, 2014 at 10:39 am
    Permalink

    Okay, this is great.
    They’re getting top notch people working on these projects, both in terms of writing and art. So definitely worth picking up.

    Wonder if they’ll ever delve back into the pool of Marvel-SW continuity they created decades ago? I’d love to see some ‘easter eggs’ if not an outright acknowledgement of some of those characters/worlds from back in the day.

    • July 27, 2014 at 11:11 am
      Permalink

      In general, I’m thinking that bringing back planets and alien species from the old EU will probably be easier for the new works to do than specific characters. The Tarkin novel has been rumored to do just that, I believe.

  • July 27, 2014 at 10:54 am
    Permalink

    Dont mind a bit of leia leg, though 3po looks like an asian on ecstacy!

    • July 27, 2014 at 7:55 pm
      Permalink

      Man, that looks great!

Comments are closed.

LATEST POSTS ON MOVIE NEWS NET