Category Archives: Comics

An Easy Guide To Getting Started With Marvel’s ‘Star Wars’ Comics

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Via Dailydot.com:

The Star Wars universe is vast, offering plenty of time and space to be explored between movies. And ever since Disney abandoned the previous Expanded Universe of novels and other tie-in material, it is actually possible to catch up with all the supporting canon—even if that’s still quite a bit.

Marvel’s new Star Wars comics began in 2015, mostly following the exploits of major characters like Leia and Darth Vader. After a year and a half, there are enough comics that it can seem a little daunting (not to mention expensive) to try and read all of them, so we’ve put together a reader’s guide to each series.

Star Wars
The main Star Wars comic is a direct continuation from Episode IV, when Luke was still young and untrained as a Jedi apprentice. Rather than exploring a snapshot moment in the life of one or two characters, it launches the kind of epic story that was previously told in the old “Legends” books. It also clarifies why Han and Leia both have solo series, while Luke does not: Luke is the protagonist of Star Wars, with the others as supporting characters with their own subplots.

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Marvel Reveals Star Wars: Han Solo Comic

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Via ew.com:

The toughest battle Han Solo ever fought was against his own self-interest.

In June, Marvel Comics is giving Star Wars fans a new look at his reluctant shift from so-so smuggler to pretty-good good guy with his own miniseries, set between the events of the original 1977 film and The Empire Strikes Back. Four previous limited books have followed other characters.

“This is a Han Solo who doesn’t quite know who he is anymore,” says writer Marjorie Liu, a veteran comic book scribe best known for Astonishing X-Men and Monstress. “He doesn’t think about politics, and suddenly he’s thrust into this life-or-death struggle for beliefs he didn’t even know he cared about — and it has changed him. He doesn’t want to believe 
that change, but he has.”

The five-issue story is illustrated by Mark Brooks (Amazing Spider- Man, Uncanny X-Force) and the cover is by Lee Bermejo.

The story involves a starship race known as the Dragon Void Run. “Han’s been dreaming 
of entering this thing for his entire life,” Liu says. “He finally gets
 the chance, except there’s a catch: Leia thinks there are spies in the Rebellion, and she doesn’t dare send anyone else to retrieve these vital informants who are on various planets in the system.”

As Han and Chewie start sheltering these Rebel contacts aboard the Millennium Falcon, the Corellian pilot fights the pull of his own ego’s tractor beam: If he ditches the mission, maybe he can actually win this thing.

Here’s EW’s exclusive interview with Liu about the new life forms she created for the story, her unlikely ‘80s movie inspiration (it’s not a Star Wars film), and the influence The Force Awakens had on her mid-way through writing the story.

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YN 12 YEAR: Third Set of Winners!

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yn12long

Winner of Giveaway #8 (Gentle Giant Jumbo Biker Scout) is Mike V. from PA

Winners of Giveaway #9, 10, 11 (Kylo Ren Water Bottles from Zak Designs) are Kim F. from PA, Carol H. from OK and Hezikiah A. from DE

Winner of Giveaway #12 ( 2016 Membership Kit to Rancho Obi-Wan) is John D. from UT

Winners of Instagram Exclusive (Marvel Star Wars #1 Toy Fair Edition Comic) are @wes182 and @ohionerd

Winner of Giveaway #13 & 14 (Celebration Anaheim Exclusive “The Inquisitor’s Gift” AP Prints) are  Michael H. from FL and Kevin W. from CA 

Winner of Giveaway #15 (First Order Heavy Gunner Stormtrooper Sixth Scale Figure by Hot Toys)  is Emma N. from CA

Congrats to all the winners and look for the giveaways to keep going in March, we have over 30 items still left to giveaway! Stay Tuned!

How Did C-3PO Get His Red Arm?! STAR WARS SPECIAL: C-3PO #1!

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How Did C-3PO Get His Red Arm?! Your First Look at
STAR WARS SPECIAL: C-3PO #1!

How did C-3PO get his red arm?! Find out this March as the burning question is answered in STAR WARS SPECIAL: C-3PO #1! Today, Marvel is pleased to present your first look inside this highly anticipated special. Reuniting acclaimed & award-winning creators James Robinson and Tony Harris for the first time in nearly two decades, follow everyone’s favorite protocol droid on a solo adventure leading up to his appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens! STAR WARS SPECIAL: C-3PO #1 is the only place to learn the shocking truth behind how C-3PO lost his original arm – and the exciting origin of how he gained a new one. Get the full story and discover the origins of his new appendage when STAR WARS SPECIAL: C-3PO #1 comes to comic shops in March!

STAR WARS SPECIAL: C-3PO #1 (OCT150933)

Written by JAMES ROBINSON

Art & Cover by TONY HARRIS

Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER (OCT150934)

Red Arm Spotlight Variant by TONY HARRIS (JAN168297)

Variant Covers by REILLY BROWN (OCT150935) and TODD NAUCK (OCT150936)

Movie Photo Variant (OCT150938) and Blank Variant Also Available (OCT150937)

FOC – 03/07/16, On-Sale – 03/30/16

Star_Wars_Special_C-3PO_cover

We Finally Know Why Uncle Owen Hated Obi-Wan Kenobi In ‘A New Hope’

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Via Moviepilot.com:

(Warning – the following contains major SPOILERS related to the recently released Star Wars #15. If you haven’t yet read the comic book, but intend to do so, then proceed with whatever level of caution this warning suggests to you is wise…)

Now, for fans of the Star Wars prequels, the idea that anyone (Anakin Skywalker aside) could hate Obi-Wan Kenobi is kind of difficult to comprehend. After all, not only was Kenobi one of the most daring, caring and entertainingly glaring Jedi around, he was also – especially as played by Ewan McGregor – ridiculously cool. Hating him would be a little bit like hating The Fonz, Big Bird or Tom Hanks – you can imagine hypothetically wanting to out of envy, but you’d never actually be able to pull it off.

And yet, back in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Luke’s uncle Owen sure did seem to dislike ‘Old Ben’, describing him as a “crazy old man” in a tone that didn’t suggest a whole lot of fondness.

As it turns out, though, Owen might just have had a damn good reason. Y’see:

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‘Star Wars: Poe Dameron’ Comic Book Debuts In April

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Via USAtoday.com:

Other than being the greatest pilot in the galaxy, you don’t really know Poe yet. But that’s going to change this spring.

Oscar Isaac’s Resistance flyboy from Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets his own Marvel Comics series in April with the ongoing Star Wars: Poe Dameron title, written by Charles Soule (Star Wars: Lando) and drawn by Phil Noto (Star Wars: Chewbacca).

Poe’s one of the breakout characters of the biggest movie of all time “so to see people reacting to him so strongly now just feels like we’re hopefully in a great position,” Soule says.

Adds Noto: “I’ve seen people on Twitter and Instagram looking for Poe Dameron in the comics. Now the pressure’s on us to deliver.”

While the Internet has embraced Poe’s bromance with John Boyega’s Finn in the movie, the new comic debuting in April focuses on the lead-up to the opening scene of The Force Awakens, which saw Poe seeking out mysterious traveler Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow) on the planet Jakku for a key to finding the missing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).

The series will dig into Poe’s status as the top X-wing fighter jockey for General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and leader of a squadron with an important mission. But the evil First Order also has a goal of finding Luke, and a new villain from the organization is introduced as Poe’s chief nemesis.

“Sometimes it can feel like the Star Wars universe is so well trodden and so many stories have already been told,” Soule explains. “But the way the Episode VII galaxy is set up, there are opportunities for new archetypes almost, and the bad guy we’re working with is going to feel fresh and cool.”

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MARVEL’S STAR WARS COMICS

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Via Ign.com:

There’s a scene in Jason Aaron and John Cassaday’s Star Wars comic series where Luke Skywalker crosses paths with Darth Vader for the first time after he blew up the Death Star. Luke is understandably pissed and lets Vader know it: “You killed my father,” he tells him, gripping his ignited lightsaber.

Now, this scene is problematic for multiple reasons — the second issue feels far too soon for Luke to meet Vader, not to mention having Luke meet Vader between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back saps the intense, emotional energy from their epic Cloud City duel.

But once I read the next line from Vader — “I’ve killed very many fathers. You’ll have to be more specific.” — I threw my head back cackling in delight at the surprising yet all-too-perfect response. Not unlike Emperor Palpatine might do. It was then that I knew the license to make Star Wars comics was in good hands at Marvel.

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Could Star Wars Become The Third Biggest Publisher In Comic Book Stores?

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Via Bleedingcool.com:
I’ve been doing some number crunching, courtesy of those ICV2 sales estimates. And while they are just estimates, and only include North American stores (and there hangs a tale) they do provide some consistency.

So, for the top 300 comic book sales of July (and just single comic books here, not collections), Image Comics, the third biggest publisher in the comic book direct market behind Marvel and DC Comics brought in an estimate total of 700,000 comic book sales, spread amongst 45 titles that made the Top 300.

Now, this doesn’t include twenty-odd titles outside the top 300. Or collected sales. Or digital sales. Or bookstore sales. Or convention sales. Or other available outlets.

In comparison, Star Wars, the line of comics based upon the Lucasfilm property owned by Marvel’s parent company Disney and publisher by Marvel, has been running since the beginning of the year. And their titles brought in an estimated total sale of 620,000 comics, split between Star Wars, Darth Vader, Kanan, Land, Princess Leia, and repeated printings of those titles.

However the average Image Comics sale price is $3.50. While the average Star Wars price is $4.20. Bringing in an estimates $2,450,000 for Image and $2,650,000 for Star Wars.

Now when it comes to trade collections, Image Comics dwarfs Star Wars, in that Marvel’s Star Wars line don’t have actually have any yet. And, as we say, Image Comics dominates bookstores with its collections as well. And while Image Comics has eschewed retailer exclusive variant covers, Marvel’s Star Wars has made a business model of it (one which DC’s Dark Knight is currently emulating).

But right now, under these very exacting parameters, it appears that Star Wars’ line might either be, or about to be, the third biggest publisher of single comics in the direct market. As it stands an extra issue of The Walking Dead here or there would reverse that. And Image have plenty of exciting comics to come. But Marvel has the movie…

But for those looking at Marvel dwarfing the marketshare of DC recently, if it wasn’t for Lucasfilm, they may well be closer to level pegging when it comes to superheroes.

And it’s also worth considering that, for all those sales, Star Wars comics writers Kieron Gillen and Jason Aaron should still do better, financially, from their Image Comics titles.

Marvel’s Star Wars To Sell More than 200,000 Copies in Collected Edition

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Via Comicbook.com:
The first collected edition of Marvel Comics’ Star Wars series will sell between 225,000 and 250,000 copies in its first printing, ComicBook.com has learned exclusively.

That’s about five times the average first volume trade collection of Marvel series, which average between 30,000 and 50,000 sales. That also means that Star Wars is retaining roughly the same number of readers from peridocals to trades, with sales of the first trade translating to roughly 20-25% of the sales of the series’ first issue.

When the series launched, Star Wars #1 sold over a million copies, becoming the top-selling single-issue comic book of the last twenty years. Star Wars also became the first-ever million-selling periodical comic book sold exclusively through direct market channels without the aid of newsstands.

Since January, Marvel Comics has confirmed for us that Star Wars comics have moved more than 5 million units in the direct market.

Of course, the trade paperback will be available outside of the direct market, opening up the best-selling series to the bookstore market for the first time.

“When Star Wars #1 was released at the beginning of the year we were thrilled at the reception and the record-setting sales numbers. Once again, Star Wars continues to skyrocket the Marvel name even higher with the anticipated pre-order print-run between 200K and 250K units for Star Wars Vol 1 TPB,” said David Gabriel, SVP Print, Sales and Marketing. “This is an unheard of number, but given the success that we’ve had with Star Wars since January, including the insurmountable 5MM units across all the Star Wars’ series, second prints and overprints, we don’t see any issue in reaching such a number of printed copies of this highly anticipated collected edition.”

The series, which takes place between the events of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back and features all of the major characters from the film, launched in January. It is written by Jason Aaron, with artwork by John Cassaday. While Marvel handled the official adaptations of the original Star Wars trilogy and had a successful Star Wars series around the time of their theatrical release, 2015 will be the first time in decades that the publisher has handled the Star Wars license.

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