During the Cup O' Joe panel at Comic Con, Marvel Comics announced that they will be releasing three Star Wars comics in early 2015: Star Wars, Star Wars: Darth Vader, and Star Wars: Princess Leia. All three will take place after the events of Episode IV: A New Hope.

Star Wars #1 cover by John Cassaday

Star Wars: Darth Vader #1 by Adi Granov

Star Wars: Princess Leia #1 by Terry Dodson

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Star Wars is the flagship title and will star Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo. As part of the Rebel Alliance, they will try and capitalize on their victory at the Battle of Yavin, but of course Darth Vader won't let that happen. It will be written by Jason Aaron (Original Sin, Thor: God of Thunder) and drawn by John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men) and is slated for release in January 2015.Star Wars: Darth Vader, out February 2015, will be written by Kieron Gillen (Young Avengers, Uncanny X-Men) with interior art by Salvador Larroca (X-Men) and covers by Adi Granov (X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man). With the Empire suffering a crushing defeat that resulted in the loss of the Death Star, Vader has a lot to make up for. He needs to restore his reputation as the most feared man in the galaxy, as well as prove to the Emperor that he's still got what it takes. The title is billed as the story of the epic battle for the galaxy, only this time told from the dark side.Lastly, Star Wars: Princess Leia will be written by Mark Waid (Daredevil, Kingdom Come) and drawn by Terry Dodson (Wonder Woman, Uncanny X-Men) and will release in March 2015. While the other two newly announced comics are an ongoing series, Leia will only receive a five-part mini-series. The story involved Leia stepping up to lead the Rebellion while also dealing with the loss of her home-world.For those interested in a little history lesson, the license to make Star Wars comics originally belonged to Marvel, then it went to Dark Horse Comics. With Disney purchasing the rights to Star Wars, Star Wars comics are now back at Marvel.It's of note that Dark Horse launched a comic called Star Wars in 2013 that also took place after Episode IV, featured the main trio, saw Vader trying to restore his reputation, and showed Leia coping with the loss of her planet. While the time around the Star Wars Rebels TV show (between Episodes III and IV) and after the original trilogy (preceding the upcoming Episode VII movie) would appear to be ripe for exploration given fan interest in those times, it appears Marvel has decided to play it safe and go for the most popular characters for their initial launch. But really, we're getting new Star Wars comics, so it's hard to complain.Marvel has already released a preview of Aaron and Cassaday's Star Wars #1 on starwars.com . Check out Cassaday's awesome Harrison Ford likeness below:What do you think of Marvel's first slate of Star Wars comics? Let us know in the comments!

Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Game of Thrones, Spider-Man, or Super Smash Bros. are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter and IGN