New York Comic-con 2019 Star Wars publishing news!

Posted by James on 10/12/19 at 07:05 AM Category: Comic Books

Anyway, as a lot of you may already know, both of Marvel’s ongoing comic series, Star Wars and Doctor Aphra, will be coming to a conclusion near the end of the year with their 75th and 40th issues respectively to be followed by a one shot called Empire Ascendant. Now we know what comes next: Star Wars will relaunch with issue #1 in January and the series writer will be Charles Soule. I’m very excited about this; I think Soule has been the single best writer for the Star Wars comics since their re-launch. I don’t know why they have to start all over with a new series and not just continue the numbering. Probably because it will be perceived as a jumping on point for new readers and #1’s always sell well. Would anybody deny them the chance to make more money? Not this loyal capitalist! Additionally, we will also be seeing a new Vader series written by current Star Wars scribe Greg Pak. It looks like both series will take place in the immediate aftermath of The Empire Strikes Back as we see both our heroes and Vader deal with the cataclysmic events that take place in that film. It sounds like a great way to tie in to TESB’s 40th anniversary; and maybe, just maybe, we are one step closer to getting some post-ROTJ stories. A flagship title and a Vader series running parallel to each other is how Marvel led off their Star Wars re-acquisition nearly five years ago; and I think going back to that well is a good idea.

In novel news: Timothy Zahn will be starting a new trilogy of Thrawn books. Called The Ascendancy Trilogy, they will explore Thrawn’s time in the Unknown Regions, prior to his appearance in the Empire. So, basically it’s a Thrawn Prequel Trilogy. What could go wrong? I don’t know. I was really hoping our next Thrawn book would be a look at his fate post Rebels. Nevertheless, Zahn’s writing rarely disappoints, so it will probably at least be entertaining. There will also be a follow up to Alphabet Squadron; Alphabet Squadron: Shadow Fall is scheduled for a June 2020 release. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the series debut; I thought it was pretty strong and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next. There will also be an anthology of Clone Wars stories for middle grade readers adapting various episodes and story arcs. I can’t find any details other than a graphic, but it looks like we may be getting a follow up to George Mann and Grant Griffin’s Myths & Fables entitled Star Wars: Dark Legends. There are also some details about the mysterious “Project Luminous”: it will involve Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel Jose Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule; and publishers Disney Lucasfilm Press, Del Rey, IDW, and Marvel. So, it looks like it will be multiple comic and prose stories. The implication is that it will have something to do with the Force.

Things will be slowing down on the movie front after December, but between TV and publishing there will still be plenty of Star Wars content to keep you busy. Busy doing what? You decide! The storyteller makes no choice, soon you will not hear his voice, his job is to shed light and not to master.