Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
With Force Friday out of the way, we’ve got a whole load of comics coming our way on Wednesday, September 6. The big game in town is Phasma #1, which begins the tale of how she got out of the trash compactor and survived The Force Awakens. Marvel also brings us Darth Vader #5 and Rogue One #6, the final issue of the movie adaptation.
Continue reading “Out this week: Phasma comic, Star Wars Adventures”
Marvel is doing a second Darth Vader ongoing series. Written by Charles Soule with art Giuseppe Camuncoli, it begins just after Revenge of the Sith. It will feature Vader building his red lightsaber and hunting down surviving Jedi. Soule told StarWars.com he considers the series to be “Vader: Year One.”
The previous Vader series was written by Kieron Gillen and ran for 25 issues. It was set in the gap between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Gillen is currently helming the Doctor Aphra ongoing, which spun off the first series.
Marvel has consistently only been running three Star Wars ongoings t time – right now that’s Star Wars, Doctor Aphra and Poe Dameron. It’s possible they might begin winding down Poe – which Soule also writes – for this new Vader.
The new Darth Vader #1 will be out in June.
There’s one new comic and two Vader-themed reprints up on the slate for Wednesday. The comic is Doctor Aphra #4, while the first reprint is the second hardcover volume of Marvel’s Darth Vader. The third item is the third Empire-oriented Legends collection.
Tuesday is a big day for Ahsoka Tano fans, as E.K. Johnston’s Ahsoka hits the shelves. The book fills in at least some of the gaps between her last appearance in The Clone Wars and her first in Rebels. The audiobook version, also out Tuesday, is read by Ashley Eckstein. You can check out a sample on Soundcloud.
Comic fans have a big Wednesday ahead as well, with Darth Vader #25, the final issue of the ongoing series. In true Marvel fashion, it has several variant covers. And StarWars.com has a two-part interview with writer Kieron Gillen for the occasion.
If that doesn’t do it for you, there’s also Han Solo #4 and The Force Awakens #5.
Also coming up in October we have Pablo Hidalgo’s Star Wars Propaganda on the 25th. Our next novel is Catalyst by James Luceno, which will give us some background on Rogue One, out on November 15. Check out our book release schedule for the rest of 2016.
Kieron Gillen’s Darth Vader ongoing may be ending with #25, but he’s on board for the replacement – which has been solicited as simply Star Wars: Classified. He’ll be joined by artist Kev Walker, who’s not quite new to Star Wars – he did a cover for Dark Horse’s Republic #55 back in 2003. The new comic, which will also be an ongoing title, will be launched with a number of variant covers in December.
Meanwhile, the flagship Star Wars comic will feature a Yoda story (via Obi-Wan’s journal) in issue #26. Writer Jason Aaron discusses it with StarWars.com’s Dan Brooks.
→ Ashley Eckstein is narrating the audiobook for E.K. Johnston’s Ahsoka, which is out next month. (via)
→ The Force Awakens novelization in paperback will contain two short stories: Alan Dean Foster’s ‘Bait’ (from Star Wars Insider #162) and Delilah Dawson’s ‘The Perfect Weapon,’ which was released as an eBook.
→ Tosche Station’s Thrawncast has officially begun with the discussion of Heir to the Empire’s first four chapters.
In comic stores on Wednesday is Darth Vader #24, the comic’s second-to-last issue. If you’re still catching up, the series third trade collection will be out as well, collecting issues #16-19 as well as the series’ annual #1.
We may still be recovering from Celebration, but it’s a big week for comics with two brand-new issues, one trade, and a reprint. Head to your favorite comic outlet for Star Wars #21, Darth Vader #23, the Obi-Wan & Anakin trade and a reprint of Poe Dameron #3.
In comic shops this Wednesday we’ll have Poe Dameron #4, Han Solo #2, and a hardcover Darth Vader, collecting #1-12 of the soon-to-end series.
And coming up next week is Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath: Life Debt.
Tuesday brings Alexander Freed’s Battlefront: Twilight Company in paperback. Back when the hardcover came out, James called it “a good, solid novel for the military sci-fi reader” in his review. The paperback also contains the short story ‘Inbrief’ by Janine K. Spendlove, which originally appeared in the Star Wars Insider.
Comic fans have Darth Vader #22 to look forward to on Wednesday.
In the comic shops this week will be Poe Dameron #3 and Darth Vader #21. Only 4 issues left of Vader, which will wrap up with #25.
If it’s Legends you’re out for, Timothy Zahn’s Specter of the Past has been on sale for $1.99 in Kindle for the past few days, though Visions of the Future is still regular price. The Hand of Thrawn duology, which wrapped up the Bantam era of publishing back in the late ’90s, is a Club Jade favorite. (If you’re new, I do have some Legends recommendations over at my sadly neglected personal site.)
Our next new novel is still just over a month away. Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath: Life Debt is dropping July 12 in hardcover and eBook. Del Rey gave a look at the book’s dedication last week. (And the first book in that series is also still on sale at Amazon.)