Out this week: Scourge and a heap of comics

Have you heard about Jeff Grubb’s Scourge yet? Because it comes out Tuesday and I swear I have an entire EUbits worth of links for it. At least someone is excited… Roqoo Depot even has a reader’s guide.

Last week, Grubb chatted about the book on Facebook. (For the impatient, TFN has a recap.) He also chatted with the Fictional Frontiers podcast, EUCantina, Rooqoo Depot and Suvudu.

The reviews have been pretty positive, at least so far: Read up at EU Cantina, Lightsaber Rattling, Knights Archive, NJOE and Roqoo Depot. Or you can try a 50-page excerpt to see if it’s to your tastes.

Meanwhile, it’s a good week for comic fans, with three comics and a trade collection coming to stores on Wednesday. Two of the books – Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost #6 and Dark Times: Out of the Wilderness #5 – close out their storylines, while another begins with Blood Ties: Boba Fett is Dead #1. And for the final offering, the third volume of Invasion, Revelations, is collected.

NYCC: More info revealed about new Star Wars comics

Earlier we announced that Dark Horse Comics had unveiled several new Star Wars titles for 2012 at New York Comic-Con. Now that the official press releases have gone out, here’s some more info about each new story.

  • Knights of the Old Republic: War – Zayne Carrick has been drafted in war between Revan and the Republic against the Mandalorians. Starting in January, this story written by John Jackson Miller will continue the adventures from his Knights of the Old Republic series, but Dark Horse assures us that it is also a great entry point into Star Wars comics. Rebelscum.com has a sample page.
  • Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison – Haden Blackman returns to write this five issue story about Darth Vader, starting in May. As Vader gets used to his role in serving the Emperor, there’s an assassination plot afoot! Blackman talked with Newsarama about the story involving the Dark Lord of the Sith and Moff Trachta, as well as getting into Vader’s head.
  • Blood Ties: Boba Fett is DeadTom Taylor describes this new Blood Ties story (coming in April) with: “Boba Fett is dead. The most infamous hunter in the galaxy has been hunted. He’s lying, broken, on the desert floor. He’s more blaster-holes than man. It’s the ultimate ending. However, this is just the start of our story. With the fall of Fett broadcast across the galaxy, someone rises to avenge him. But who would care about the death of a man like Fett? Bounty hunters aren’t exactly known for their enduring, close friendships but even a man like Boba Fett has family… and now a Blood Tie demands blood.”
  • Dawn of the Jedi – John Ostrander and Jan Duursema delve into the origins of the Jedi in this brand new series, set 25,000 years before the movies. We’ve already heard a bit about it from interviews, but here’s the official blurb. Issue #0 and Issue #1 (Starting the Force Storm arc) both come out in February.
  • Knight Errant: EscapeThe next story arc in the adventures of Kerra Holt, one-woman Jedi wrecking crew in Sith space starts up in June for a five-issue run. Although with a title like Escape, I wonder if John Jackson Miller will have Kerra fighting for her life more than fighting to liberate worlds from the Sith warlords.

Looks like we are going to have a very cool 2012 for Star Wars comics!

New Ostrander series deals with origin of the Jedi

Dawn Of The Jedi “will start at the beginning of the Star Wars timeline with the very beginning of the Jedi Knights, in a time before light sabres when they only fought with swords,” Bleeding Cool reports.

There are more details, including an interview with Ostrander and Jan Duursema, on Comic Book Resources.

Also coming are a new Knights of the Old Republic series, War! starring Zayne Carrick and written by John Jackson Miller. There’s also a Darth Vader mini and something called “Boba Fett Is Dead.” I expect we’ll hear more about all this as NYCC continues.

Out this week: Clone Wars S2, TFUII, Invasion

It’s a good week for releases – or a very bad week for your wallet, depending on your foci.

With plenty of folks being bored with what we’ve seen of S3 so far, it’s a good time to pick up The Clone Wars Season 2 on DVD and Blu-Ray. (StarWars.com has a bonus feature and virtual trading cards.) If you’re looking for a less passive experience, there’s also The Force Unleashed II – the actual game – sailing into stores today.

As for books, Death Troopers is now out in paperback.

Comic fans won’t go home empty-handed on Wednesday, either. Both Blood Ties #3 and Invasion: Rescues #5 – as well as the latest Star Wars Insider – should be in comic shops.

Out this week: Blood Ties

Only one Star Wars comic is rolling into stores come Wednesday: The first issue of Tom Taylor’s Jango and Boba miniseries, Blood Ties.

The rest of us can console ourselves with last week’s release of Year by Year OR (jumping fandoms for a second) are chopping at the bit for the final novel in Suzanne Collin’s Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay, in bookstores tomorrow.