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Star Wars New Canon - New Comics

As I continue to read Star Wars: The Old Republic novels for my comprehensive Legends read-through, I have been reading some comics from the new Star Wars canon, including two miniseries and two arcs of the two main ongoing series.  Specifically:
Cover of Star Wars #1, featuring the main cast.  Image from Wookieepedia.

Story:

The main Star Wars series follows the original trilogy's main protagonists: Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and the droids.  It is a short while after the destruction of the Death Star, and they are continuing their strikes against the Empire.  Meanwhile, Luke is also trying to learn more about what it is to be a Jedi, by searching for Jedi relics and finding the journal of Obi-Wan Kenobi.  We also meet new characters like Han Solo's alleged wife Sana, Hutt collector of Jedi artifacts Grakkus, and Rebel spy Eneb Ray.

The Darth Vader ongoing series takes place at the same time as Star Wars.  While Vader is the main character, he has a supporting cast including the rogue archaeologist Dr. Aphra, the Wookiee bounty hunter Black Krrsantan, and assassin droids Triple-Zero and BT-1.  In this series, Vader is solidifying his power base against threats from the Emperor's other servants, while searching for the boy who destroyed the Death Star, whom he learns is named Skywalker.

Cover of Darth Vader #3, featuring supporting characters Dr. Aphra, BT-1, and Triple-Zero.  Image from Wookieepedia.


The first Star Wars miniseries Marvel published was Princess Leia, in which the titular character searched for surviving citizens of Alderaan and defending them against extermination.  Once that concluded, Marvel ran the Lando series, in which Lando Calrissian, Lobot, and other partners perform a heist on a yacht that turns out to belong to the Emperor and is filled with corrupting Sith artifacts.  

Thoughts:

The Princess Leia and Lando miniseries will be to people's tastes, as will I assume all Star Wars miniseries (there are also minis focussing on Han Solo, Chewbacca, Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, and Captain Phasma).  People may like them if they like the characters and the setting.  I enjoyed both of these two titles.  Lando's heist story was compelling and had a very emotion-filled ending, while Princess Leia helped identify why people found Leia to be such an inspiration.

Cover of Princess Leia #4.  Image from Wookieepedia.

Cover of Lando #2.  Image from Wookieepedia.
Star Wars has been a delightful journey following the hero characters from the original movies.  They will continue to get into bad situations and find solutions as they fight for the Galaxy's freedom.  The new characters are interesting, and they help make the setting feel real and diverse.  The interspersed one-shot stories from the journal of Obi-Wan Kenobi are interesting and give insight into how the former Jedi Master lived during his 19-year exile on Tatooine.

Cover of Star Wars #7, the first Obi-Wan Kenobi story.  Image from Wookieepedia.


Darth Vader has been by far the best comic series published in the new canon.  Vader is my favourite Star Wars character, but beyond that it has a compelling story and wonderful supporting cast.  Dr. Aphra is pragmatic and cynical, doing what she can to get by and not end up on the receiving end of Vader's lightsaber.  The droids make for fantastic dark comedy.  The classified activities being conducted by Vader's team of misfits add a layer of complexity to an otherwise fairly straightforward character.

I will continue to read these Star Wars comics when I can.  The individual arcs of the ongoing series and the miniseries are quick to read.  A crossover between Star Wars and Darth Vader, called Vader Down, is the next item on the new canon comic reading list.


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