New Reader Guide: Marvel’s Star Wars

Welcome to the Austin Books & Comics New Reader Guide! We’re here to introduce some of our favorite books that you may not already know about, and maybe even help you find your next favorite comic series!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Starting in 2015, Marvel has been releasing all-new, in-canon comics, written and drawn by some of the top names in comics today. Primarily taking place just after A New Hope, these books are accessible, exciting, and most importantly have that classic Star Wars feel.

In this guide you’ll find all of the new Star Wars titles to date that Marvel has published.

All titles are available at the store, and if not we will be happy to special order them for you!

Ongoing Series

Star Wars

The main ongoing series, Star Wars picks up immediately after A New Hope. The series centers around the main cast of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO in their continuing fight against the Empire. This series absolutely captures the feel of the original film, both in visual style and characterization. In addition to the main characters, the occasional issue features a story “From The Journals of Old Ben Kenobi,” centering around Obi-Wan Kenobi during his time in exile on Tatooine, as well as tales of Yoda during his time in the Jedi Order.

Written by: Jason Aaron

Art by: John Cassaday, Stuart Immonen, Mike Deodato, Jr., Mike Mayhew, Leinil Yu

Number of volumes (to date): 6

Darth Vader (2017)

The new Darth Vader series picks up exactly at the end of Revenge of the Sith, and finds the newly-armored Darth Vader seeking to fully embrace the Dark Side of the Force and take his place at the Emperor’s side. Part of his quest includes seeking to complete with distinct red lightsaber, and hunting down the few remaining Jedi Knights that escaped Order 66.

Written by: Charles Soule

Art by: Giuseppe Camuncoli

Number of volumes (to date): 1

Poe Dameron

Poe Dameron takes place before The Force Awakens, and centers around the fan-favorite pilot and his elite Black Squadron as they struggle against the forces of the First Order. The series also features backup stories about BB-8 and the droid’s adventures with the Resistance.

Written by: Charles Soule

Art by: Phil Noto

Number of volumes (to date): 3

Doctor Aphra

Spinning out of the concluded Darth Vader series, Doctor Aphra follows the amoral archaeologist adventurer along with her assassin droids BT-1 and 000 and Wookiee bounty hunter Black Krrsantan as she seeks wealth and riches amongst the scum and villainy of the galaxy.

Written by: Kieron Gillen

Art by: Kev Walker

Number of volumes (to date): 1

Limited Series and One-Shots

C-3PO

A special one-shot issue, C-3PO depicts the droid returning from a mission with several Imperial intelligence droids. Taking place shortly before The Force Awakens, this surprisingly poignant issue explores themes of the nature of war and the people on opposing sides, and explains the droid’s randomly red arm in the film.

Written by: James Robinson

Art by: Tony Harris

Captain Phasma

Bridging the gap between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, this miniseries follows the chrome-clad stormtrooper captain as she escapes the destruction of Starkiller Base with the help of a TIE Fighter pilot, and their subsequent pursuit of an officer she blames for allowing the Resistance to exploit a weakness in the base’s defense.

Written by: Kelly Thompson

Art by: Marco Checchetto

Cassian and K-2SO

This one-shot depicts the first encounter of Rebel intelligence operative Cassian Andor and Imperial enforcer droid K-2SO, and the mission that ultimately lead to the droid’s capture and reprogramming to fight for the Rebel Alliance.

Written by: Duane Swierczynski

Art by: Fernando Blanco

Chewbacca

Taking place after A New Hope, the Chewbacca miniseries centers around everyone’s favorite Wookiee co-pilot as he goes on a solo mission. Along the way, he crash lands on a mining colony run by a corrupt gang boss. He befriends a young girl named Zarro, and sets out to help her free her people from their overlords and the Imperial seeking to rule the planet.

Written by: Gerry Duggan

Art by: Phil Noto

Darth Maul

Depicting the fan-favorite Sith in the time just before The Phantom Menace as he prepares for his first encounter with the hated Jedi.

Written by: Cullen Bunn

Art by: Luke Ross

Darth Vader

Concluding at issue #25, Darth Vader was the second major ongoing series, and centers around the titular Dark Lord of the Sith as he seeks to rebuild his standing with the Emperor after the destruction of the Death Star. Taking place concurrently with Star Wars, there are occasionally scenes that will be in both books but from different perspectives. This series depicts Vader as an almost sympathetic protagonist, exploring his relationships with the Emperor, Imperial command, and fan-favorite Doctor Aphra.

Written by: Kieron Gillen

Art by: Salvador Larroca, Leinil Yu

Number of volumes: 4

Han Solo

The Han Solo miniseries takes place shortly after A New Hope, and features everyone’s favorite scoundrel and Wookiee co-pilot as they take on a secret mission for the Rebel Alliance, under the guise of entering a famous and extremely dangerous starship race.

Written by: Marjorie Liu

Art by: Mark Brooks

Kanan: The Last Padawan

Spinning out of the Rebels TV series, the Kanan ongoing series centers primarily around “Cowboy Jedi” Kanan Jarrus, and his formative years evading Imperial forces and surviving the seedy underworld of the galaxy following the fall of the Jedi Order and rise of the Empire.

Written by: Greg Weisman

Art by: Pepe Larraz

Lando

Starring the smoothest cat in the galaxy, the Lando miniseries centers around infamous smuggler/gambler Lando Calrissian, his loyal friend Lobot, and a crew of miscreants and scoundrels as they seek to steal an exceedingly expensive ship and the cargo stored within. Things take a turn when they discover the true nature of the ship and its cargo.

Written by: Charles Soule

Art by: Alex Maleev

Mace Windu, Jedi of the Republic

Centered around the baddest Jedi Knight in the Order, this miniseries takes place at the beginning of the Clone Wars as the Jedi Knights are forced to the front lines as generals with squads of clone soldiers. The legendary Jedi is forced to make peace with his new role as a military leader without succumbing to the increasingly brutal violence around him.

Written by: Matt Owens

Art by: Jesus Saiz

Obi-Wan & Anakin

The Obi-Wan and Anakin miniseries centers around a little-seen era of the Star Wars saga, taking place in between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. This series features a younger, brash Anakin butting heads with his more traditional master as they try to find their way across a treacherous planet wracked by war.

Written by: Charles Soule

Art by: Marco Checchetto

Princess Leia

The first miniseries released, this series focuses on Princess Leia immediately after A New Hope as she and a fellow Alderaanian X-Wing pilot travel the galaxy in secret to find the remaining survivors of Alderaan in order to preserve their destroyed world’s culture and history.

Written by: Mark Waid

Art by: Terry Dodson

Rogue One

Adapting the thrilling new stand-alone film, this miniseries depicts the daring Rebel mission to steal the Death Star plans and save the galaxy, and expands on the ragtag crew of misfits and unlikely heroes.

Written by: Jody Houser

Art by: Phil Noto

The Screaming Citadel

In this crossover Luke Skywalker reluctantly teams up with antihero archaeologist Doctor Aphra as the venture into the titular Screaming Citadel in search of a powerful artifact, but run afoul of the Citadel Queen and her followers. This story kicked off with the Screaming Citadel #1 one-shot, and takes place in Star Wars #31-32 and Doctor Aphra #7-8

Written by: Kieron Gillen, Jason Aaron

Art by: Marco Checchetto, Salvador Larocca, Andrea Broccardo

Shattered Empire

Picking up at the end of the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi, this miniseries centers around Rebel A-Wing pilot Shara Bey and her husband, commando Sergeant Kes Dameron (that is, Poe Dameron’s parents), and the Rebel Alliance’s ongoing war against the Empire following the death of the Emperor and destruction of the second Death Star.

Written by: Greg Rucka

Art by: Marco Checchetto

The Force Awakens

Adapting the latest epic entry into the Star Wars saga, The Force Awakens comic expands on the events of the movie and provides more insight into the characters.

Written by: Chuck Wendig

Art by: Luke Ross

Vader Down

Marvel’s first major Star Wars crossover event starts with this special one-shot issue, which opens with Darth Vader crash landing on a planet following a battle against a Rebel fighter squadron. Seeing it as an opportunity to strike a major blow against the Empire, Rebel forces move to capture Vader before the Imperials show up to rescue him.

The Vader Down crossover consists of Vader Down (one-shot), Darth Vader #13, Star Wars #13, Darth Vader #14, Star Wars #14, and concludes with Darth Vader #15. The crossover is collected in the Vader Down TPB, available at the store.

Written by: Jason Aaron

Art by: Mike Deodato, jr.

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