Joe Books' final Star Wars comic offering is their third Rebels Cinestory comic. Star Wars: Rebels - Maul Cinestory Comic is a massive 384 page book priced at $14.99, containing five memorable episodes from the Rebels animated series:
Twilight of the Apprentice (season 2 episodes 21-22)
The Holocrons of Fate (season 3 episode 3)
Visions and Voices (season 3 episode 11)
Twin Suns (season 3 episode 20)
This fumetti-style comic contains panels that are stills from the episodes and, while the pages are in color, this book suffers from the muddy look that previous Cinestory offerings had. Even so, the price is not bad for the content. We get all the stories from the Rebels animated series that feature the character Maul, introduced and seemingly killed in The Phantom Menace movie and brought back in The Clone Wars animated series. (Interestingly, the idea of reviving Maul was first presented in a comic book, Dark Horse's Star Wars: Visionaries original graphic novel). The final story in the book, Twin Suns, is particularly powerful as it contains the final confrontation between Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the desert of Tatooine.
Star Wars: Rebels - Maul Cinestory Comic a - Joe Books, U.S. (February 2018)
Sadly, there were more Star Wars Cinestory comics solicited but never published due to Joe Books going bankrupt in 2019.
Star Wars: Allegiance is a 4-issue mini-series released in October 2019 by Marvel to tie into The Rise of Skywalker. Walmart had an exclusive version of the first issue which used the same artwork as the standard cover. The standard cover contains a UPC box on the front cover and an ad on the back cover. The ad on the back cover shows Captain America being introduced to the music from the group Joywave by his fellow Avengers. At the end of the ad, he is listening to the group's newest single, Obsession, which is available on vinyl.
Star Wars: Allegiance #1a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 2019)Star Wars: Allegiance #1a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 2019) back cover
The Walmart exclusive does not have the UPC box on the front cover and the white title is outline in black. Additionally the ad on the back cover has been replaced with the comic title and the UPC box on an off-white background.
Star Wars: Allegiance #1e - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 2019 Walmart exclusiveStar Wars: Allegiance #1e - Marvel Comics, U.S. (October 2019 Walmart exclusive back cover
When the Special Edition of A New Hope was released to theaters in January 1997, Dark Horse was ready with an all new adaptation of the movie. They were not the only publisher to take advantage of the release to put out a comic based on the story. MediaWorks in Japan also published an adaptation of A New Hope in 1997, but this version is contained in two volumes using the Japanese manga style of artwork. Artist Hisao Tamaki's interpretation of Star Wars is among his best known work and it has been translated into many languages around the world, including into English for American readers by Dark Horse in 1998. The manga version is based on the updated movie and includes scenes like Han Solo's confrontation with Jabba the Hutt in Mos Eisley.
Unfortunately, the Japanese cover artwork was not used in other countries, most likely due to Dark Horse translating the manga adaptation into a 4-issue mini-series. The cover artwork for volumes #1 and 2 combine to create one piece.
Star Wars: A New Hope Volume #1a - MediaWorks, Japan (1997)Star Wars: A New Hope Volume #2a - MediaWorks, Japan (1997)
In 1998, MediaWorks published adaptations for the other two movies in the trilogy. Artist Toshiki Kudo provides the artwork for the Empire Strikes Back. The cover artwork for volumes #3 and 4 combine to create one piece. Volume #3 below is missing the obi, a removable paper strip found around the bottom of the other books in this set.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Volume #3a - MediaWorks, Japan (1998)Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Volume #4a - MediaWorks, Japan (1998)
The Return of the Jedi manga adaptation has artwork by Shin-Ichi Hiromoto. The cover artwork for volumes #5 and 6 combine to create one piece.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Volume #5a - MediaWorks, Japan (1998)Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Volume #6a - MediaWorks, Japan (1998)
Like A New Hope, Dark Horse published English translations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi manga as 4-issue mini-series.
The cover artwork for these volumes is similar to the artwork found on prose Japanese Star Wars novels. Japanese novels also split the story into two parts and joining the cover artwork on the two parts creates a larger image.
Speech balloons and thought bubbles are more readily found on comic covers from the early 1950s through the early 1960s and the 1970s through the early 1980s. Surprisingly, for a majority of comic books, these unique expressions of the medium are not found on covers. Today, there are many fans of the hobby who buy books for just the cover artwork and not the content. Several hot artists make a living producing these sought after pieces, so it is understandable both the fans and the artists would prefer not to see these covers obscured by speech balloons. An exception to this through all the eras are titles aimed at children, where the art tends to be less detailed and the dialogue is used to convey humor. If you look at the original Star Wars title which came out during one of these periods when speech balloons were found on covers, out of 107 issues, only 21 sport speech balloons and 12 of these covers appear by issue #23.
From May 2007 to February 2008, two of Dark Horse's four ongoing Star Wars titles had a series of covers featuring speech balloons. Over a span of ten glorious months, Dark Horse bucked modern sensibilities and treated Star Wars comic fans to 14 covers that pay homage to a bygone era.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #16 - 24 are 9 of these issues.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #16a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (May 2007)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #17a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (May 2007)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #18a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (July 2007)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #19a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (August 2007)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #20a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (September 2007)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #21a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (October 2007)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #22a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (November 2007)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #23a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (November 2007)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #24a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (December 2007)
The final 5 issues are Star Wars: Rebellion #6 and 8 - 11.
Star Wars: Rebellion #6a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (May 2007)Star Wars: Rebellion #8a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (July 2007)Star Wars: Rebellion #9a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (August 2007)Star Wars: Rebellion #10a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (September 2007)Star Wars: Rebellion #11a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (February 2008)
I am sure most will look at these covers and think they are corny. I appreciate that they represent the content inside, a trait missing from many of today's books. With the exception of Rebellion #11, the dialogue makes me want to read the stories. A few of these could work without the speech balloons, most notably the covers for Rebellion #8 and 9. The cover I feel does the best job of integrating speech balloons into the artwork is on Knights of the Old Republic #21. The image of Jarael and Camper arguing as their spacecraft, The Last Resort, is about to be swallowed by a giant space slug is effective. This cover makes me wish publishers would use all the attributes unique to the medium, rather than rely solely on hot artist to sell books.
The Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down 3-issue mini-series is a reprint of the Loot Crate exclusive original graphic novel. Individual issues of the mini-series sold surprisingly well considering the ample copies of the graphic novel still found on eBay. Star Wars Adventures #15 published in October 2018 sold an estimated 9,709 copies and Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #1 sold a comparable estimated 9,733 copies. Subsequent issues of the mini-series did decline with issue #2 selling an estimated 8,332 copies and issue #3 7,414 estimated copies.[1] These numbers are not bad for a reprint title whose original source is still readily available for $10 or less.
Each issue in this mini-series has a standard cover and one retailer incentive cover initially released at a ratio of 1 for every 10 standard covers. The artwork used for the standard cover of issue #1 is the same used on the graphic novel.
Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #1a - IDW Publishing, U.S. (November 2018)Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #1b - IDW Publishing, U.S. (November 2018)Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #2a - IDW Publishing, U.S. (December 2018)Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #2b - IDW Publishing, U.S. (December 2018)Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #3a - IDW Publishing, U.S. (January 2019)Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down #3b - IDW Publishing, U.S. (January 2019)
References:
Estimated initial sales are taken from Comichron's Monthly Sales Charts.
A comic preview is usually published before the release of a particular series or an upcoming trade paperback that collects individual issues. Sometimes a preview can be released to coincide with an event to draw attention to an older publication that might be peripherally related. None of these appear to be the case for the Star Wars: Dark Empire Preview published by Dark Horse in March 1996. The original 6-issue mini-series started publication in December 1991 and the first edition of the trade paperback was released in May 1993. The preview was also not timed to be released with either of the sequel mini-series. Dark Empire II #1 was released in December 1994 and the trade paperback followed in September 1995. Empire's End #1 was published in October 1995 with the trade paperback appearing in September 1997. Hasbro includes 4 action figures based on the Dark Empire title in their Expanded Universe sub-line but those were not released until 1998. Was the preview published to coincide with the release of the Dark Empire II hardcover the same month?
The entire comic, including the cover, is printed on newsprint. It is priced at $0.99 and has the same cover artwork as Dark Empire #1.
Star Wars: Dark Empire Preview a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (March 1996)
Regardless of why Dark Horse publishing this preview when they did, when it came out, the trade paperback was on it's 2nd edition. The trade paperback was clearly a good seller for Dark Horse and a 3rd edition was released in 2003.
Despite Star Wars being released on May 25th, 1977, May 4th has become known as Star Wars Day because of the catchy "May the Fourth be with you" pun. The phrase was first used on May 4, 1979 in an ad in London's The Evening News celebrating Margaret Thatcher's first day in office. It is now widely celebrated as an unofficial holiday and many retailers and licensees use this day to sell Star Wars related merchandise.
Marvel released a preview comic on May 4th, 2019. This comic contains 3 - 5 page previews of several titles in Marvel's Star Wars line including: Galaxy's Edge, Age of Rebellion - Boba Fett, and TIE Fighter. It also contains many ads for other Star Wars titles and interviews with Ethan Sacks, Greg Pak, Simon Spurrier, and Kieron Gillen. The standard cover uses the same artwork as the Princess Leia - Age of Rebellion #1 variant cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Elia Bonetti.
Star Wars May the 4th Previews a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (May 2019)
Wonderworld Comics also has an exclusive edition they distributed several weeks earlier at Star Wars Celebration 2019 in Chicago, Illinois from April 11 through April 15. The artwork for the exclusive cover is the same used on the Age of Rebellion - Jabba the Hutt #1 variant cover by Gerald Parel.
Star Wars May the 4th Previews b - Marvel Comics, U.S. (May 2019) Wonderworld Comics exclusive
The Empire Strikes Back Weekly #135 contains the last part of The Empire Strikes Back adaptation from Marvel. I love that Luke Skywalker is having an even worse day than was shown in the movie on this British cover. Apparently Darth Vader not only took his hand, but also broke his arm. And to make matters worse, instead of landing on a sturdy weather vane underneath Cloud City, Luke lands on a weather vane that breaks, sending him plummeting towards the surface of Bespin!The Empire Strikes Back Weekly #135a - Marvel Comics, England (September 24, 1980) last third of Star Wars #44
Dark Horse released seven Boba Fett one-shots between December 1995 and April 2006. None are as dark or satisfying as Boba Fett - Agent of Doom published in November 2000.
Written by John Ostrander with art by Cam Kennedy, the story opens with one of the few surviving Gulmarid, Brighteyes, telling Boba Fett how his species from the planet Gulma were forced onto the ship Azgoghk by the Empire a few months before the Battle of Endor. Onboard his people were either killed or forced to work for the Empire under appalling conditions. Their captors, Admiral Mir Tork and doctor Leonis Murthé, are loathsome characters. "Tork was committed to the Emperor's vision of cleansing the galaxy of all but humans." and "Murthé kept his laboratories going day and night, finding new means to make beings die..." The Rebel Alliance save a few Gulmarid when they force the Azgoghk to land, but Tork and Murthé escape. The survivors are dying and want to hire Boba Fett to avenge the genocide of their species. Fett argues the two were just obeying orders, but Brighteyes explains that the two have since retaken the Azgoghk along with slavers and continue to kill non-human species. Brighteyes offers Fett a meager one hundred credits and also explains no other bounty hunter wants the difficult job. Boba Fett's reputation is damaged due to the Sarlaac incident on Tatooine as well as Han Solo escaping him several times so he agrees to take the job to restore his name.
Back on the Azgoghk, Captain Tork and Murthé are seen torturing and killing. Murthé explains he "gave up any pretense at science a long time ago" and does the killings "for simple pleasure." Tork replies: "Doesn't matter to me so long as they wind up dead." The ship is landing on the planet Malicar 3 when Fett shoots it with an Ion Cannon, destroying one of the engines. Fett radios to the ship that he just wants Tork and Murthé and everyone else can leave. He then fights his way aboard, killing many slavers and freeing some prisoners. When Murthé confronts him, Fett lights him on fire and walks away while Murthé begs for Fett to kill him. Fett guns down Tork and is attacked by the still burning Murthé who Fett then dispatches. Outside the ship, Fett tells the escaped prisoners his name is Boba Fett. He then brings the heads of Tork and Murthe to Brighteyes who says he does not need the proof because "after all... you are... Boba Fett... Yes, you are."
Star Wars: Boba Fett - Agent of Doom a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (November 2000)
Boba Fett - Agent of Doom is a Western revenge story. Boba Fett is the lone cowboy and Tork and Murthé are the corrupt sheriffs. Fett telegraphs that he is coming and takes down the bad guys in a climatic shootout.
This is an extremely dark Star Wars tale. The Azgoghk is depicted as a Nazi concentration camp with Mir Tork acting as the commandant and Murthé as the Nazi scientist performing inhumane experiments on his captives. At one point in the story, Brighteyes mentions that Tork would occasionally kill a group of prisoners himself for no apparent reason. Ostrander and Kennedy do such a good job painting Tork and Murthé as despicable villains, you find yourself cheering when Boba Fett kills them towards the end.
In Star Wars #33, Baron Orman Tagge and his brother, Silas Tagge, are heading to a meeting with their younger brother and Imperial officer, Ulric Tagge, when Silas mentions another member of the family:
Silas Tagge:A veritable family reunion, Orman. Pity our dear list sister doesn't have a role in our scheme. Orman Tagge:Silas, your banter is not to extend to her. Ever. Be content that this meeting should spell doom for the Rebel Alliance.
While not mentioned by name, Silas is referring to their sister, Domina Tagge, who would appear two issues later in Star Wars #35.
Star Wars #33a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (March 1980) newsstand 1st mention of Domina TaggeStar Wars #33b - Marvel Comics, U.S. (March 1980) direct 1st mention of Domina Tagge
Star Wars #35 follows the defeat of the House of Tagge's plan to use the Omega Frost weapon to destroy the Rebel Fleet. The story, Dark Lord's Gambit, opens with Darth Vader learning Luke Skywalker's name. He then meets with Ulric Tagge and reveals he has recovered Orman and Silas Tagge unconscious but alive. Ulric is next in line to be Baron and Darth Vader tells him if he cooperates, he will not revive his older brothers. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker is on patrol with Blue Squadron when they come across a ship being attacked by Imperial TIE Fighters. The patrol chases off the TIE Fighters and escort the ship to the Rebel base on Yavin VI. On the ship is Sister Domina, priestess in the Order of the Sacred Circle from the planet Monastery. The Order of the Sacred Circle has a large following throughout the galaxy and she wants the Rebellion to send an envoy to Monastery to present their side before making a decision to side with the Empire or the Rebel Alliance in the galactic conflict. Upon hearing that the Imperial envoy is Darth Vader, Luke insists he is sent on the mission and Domina favors this choice. The Rebel council agrees to send Luke who escorts Sister Domina back to Monastery. On the planet's surface, Luke and Domina are attacked by a Nightshrike which Luke slays as Darth Vader appears. Luke barely controls his anger as Vader taunts him for his inexperience as a diplomat. As Luke questions his being there, Domina assures him "In all the Rebel Alliance, only you can fulfill what must be done here. I know this... as a priestess... as a woman!" Darth Vader's true intentions and Domina's family are revealed on the final page:
Domina Tagge:You used the force to make that Nightshrike attack, Lord Vader... It will impress the more superstitious of our followers. But weren't you afraid young Skywalker would expose it...? My instincts as a priestess tell me he, too, is familiar with the Force. Darth Vader:True. But he is still a novice. Worse yet... he is a romantic. Your overtures to him play on that... It confuses his thoughts and ultimately his abilities. Domina Tagge:Strange. My family placed me in the order so I could maintain my innocence... be free of the Galactic Empire's many intrigues. Yet here I am, deep in an intruge of my own... ready to betray the order. Darth VaderTo avenge the death of two brothers... including the one you loved most. Such desires often overwhelm everything else-- --particularly in a long, proud line like yours. Domina Tagge:Yes. Why else would i have allied myself with the man my brother, Baron Tagge, hated? But for all you did against Orman, you weren't responsible for his death... Luke Skywalker was!
Darth Vader's devious corruption of the youngest Tagge family member shows just how sinister he can be. Orman wanted to keep her innocent, so naturally Darth Vader taints her to get revenge on the House of Tagge for their ambitions to gain the Emperor's favor! Now that is evil!
Domina Tagge is the first of many red haired females Luke would be romantically attracted to.
Star Wars #35a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (May 1980) newsstand 1st appearance of Domina TaggeStar Wars #35b - Marvel Comics, U.S. (May 1980) direct 1st appearance of Domina Tagge
Domina Tagge has her first and only cover appearance in the following issue. The cover depicts the scene from the story where Luke kills a creature which appears to attack Domina. Red Queen Rising! is a fitting title for the story. It shows Domina gain the title of All-High Priestess as she announce the Order of the Sacred Circle will not side with the Rebel Alliance. Instead she proclaims that Darth Vader and Luke will duel in the Crystal Valley at sundown which was not part of Darth Vader's plan. It turns out that she has been scheming to eliminate two House of Tagge rivals, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader!
Star Wars #36a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (June 1980) newsstand 1st cover appearance of Domina TaggeStar Wars #36b - Marvel Comics, U.S. (June 1980) direct 1st cover appearance of Domina Tagge
Domina Tagge only appears in two more issues during the original Marvel run, in Star Wars #37 and #50. She also appears in Star Wars #108 which was published by Marvel in 2019. Set in the legend's continuity, issue #108 is a followup to the story published in Star Wars #50 way back in 1981.
