Five Below Star Wars: Darth Vader Special Edition #1

At midnight on September 4, 2015, the first mass release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens merchandise took place in an event known as Force Friday.  This worldwide event gave Star Wars fans the ability to purchase a myriad of items over 3 1/2 months before the movie is due to hit theaters.  Participating retailers in the U.S. who opened their doors at midnight include: Target, Toys R Us, and Walmart.

Unfortunately, the first issues of the Marvel mini-series Star Wars: Shattered Empire was not available on September 2 as originally planned, but instead shipped on September 9.  What was available to U.S. east coast fans on Force Friday was 2 Star Wars comics from the discount store Five Below.  Five Below Star Wars Special Edition #1 and Five Below Star Wars: Darth Vader Special Edition #1 reprint the 1st and 2nd issue of each series respectively.

Five Below Star Wars: Darth Vader Special Edition #1a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (September 2015)

The front cover for Five Below Star Wars: Darth Vader Special Edition #1 is the same cover as Darth Vader #1 published in February 2015.  While the cover does not contain the full title, the indicia does use the elongated title and shows a date of October 2010.

Five Below Star Wars: Darth Vader Special Edition #1a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (September 2015)
back

The easiest way to identify this comic is the words "Special Edition" and the cover price of $8.99.  Additionally, the back cover shows an ad for the Princess Leia trade paperback due in November 2015.