On This Day: August 4, 1992

By Ciaran Duggan,

Dark Horse published the first issue of the Classic Star Wars comic series on this day in 1992. 

This particular Classic series was reformatted and colored reprints of the Star Wars daily newspaper strip by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson from the early 1980s.

The events in this first edition take place between Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back and each of the issues was jam-packed with action.

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On This Day: August 2, 1994

By Ciaran Duggan

Dark Horse Comics published the first issue in the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising series of comics. 

The 24-page comic book is one of two issues, which were later adapted into audio form, which follows the stories of two Jedi Knights called Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider in the Old Republic era.

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On This Day: June 21, 2000

By Ciaran Duggan,

Dark Horse Comics publish the first issue of the Legends comic series entitled Jedi Council: Acts of War on this day back in 2000.

Jedi Council: Acts of War was a four-part series of comics published by Dark Horse Comics from June 21, 2000 to September 20, 2000.

The first issue explores the roles and responsibilities of the Jedi Order as they are forced to tackle the Yinchorri Uprising, this is prior to Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

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On This Day: June 8, 2011

By Ciaran Duggan,

The seventh issue of the monthly Dark Horse comic series, Star Wars: The Old Republic, was published on this day back in 2011.

The Old Republic: The Lost Suns is the third story arc in the The Old Republic comic series and a tie-in to the Star Wars: The Old Republic multiplayer online role-playing game. 

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Marvel Announces Two New 'Star Wars Legends' Epic Collections

By: Dominic Jones

As of January 1st the Star Wars comics license became Marvel's and the first new comic of this new era of Star Wars comics hits 'Star Wars #1' shelves next Wednesday on January 14th.  But that doesn't mean Marvel is forgetting the over 20 years of Star Wars comics that Dark Horse published.  StarWars.com announced two new 'Star Wars Legends' Epic Collections of comics published by Dark Horse that will be released later this year.  

The first, hitting shelves in May, is 'The New Republic Epic Collection Vol.1' and it contains STAR WARS: MARA JADE — BY THE EMPEROR’S HAND #0-6, STAR WARS: SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE — EVOLUTION #1-5, STAR WARS: THE JABBA TAPE, STAR WARS: BOBA FETT — TWIN ENGINES OF DESTRUCTION, and material from STAR WARS TALES #1, #3-5, #10, #14-15, #20 and #22.

The second, hitting shelves in July, is 'The Old Republic Epic Collection Vol. 1' and it contains STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC #1-18 & MATERIAL FROM STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC/REBELLION #0

It's nice to Marvel paying their respects to the fantastic work that Dark Horse did in their run of Star Wars comics by re-releasing them so fans that want to read still can.

Source: StarWars.com
 

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Dark Horse Is Having a Farewell Sale on all Digital Star Wars comics

By: Dominic Jones

2015 is just around the corner and with it comes the return of Star Wars comics to Marvel.  But before the first book in this new era hits shelves on January 14th, it's worth taking sometime to celebrate the twenty year legacy that Dark Horse Comics left on Star Wars.  Dark Horse is currently holding a Farewell Star Wars sale, where all digital comics are 50% off and you can buy the entire run of comics for just $300.  That's twenty years of comics covering from 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace to 130 years after Return of the Jedi!

You can purchase the Star Wars Farewell Bundle here.

As excited as I am about the fresh start to Star Wars comics and everything Marvel has to offer, I can't help but feel sad about the end of a great era.  And Dark Horse is going out with big final gesture to the fans that is representational of their entire run on Star Wars. 

Source: Dark Horse

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'Star Wars Legends Epic Collection' Announced

The official cover art.

By: Benjamin Hart

Marvel is set to begin producing new Star Wars comics next year, but in the meantime their focusing on highlighting the classic comics of the past. Last month it was announced that they would be re-releasing the original Star Wars comic series by Marvel. Today StarWars.com revealed that they will be releasing a plethora of Dark Horse comics from Rise of the Empire era titled Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire Vol. 1. Check out an excerpt from the official press release below:

"Let the dark times begin! Marvel welcomes Star Wars to the Epic Collection program, with this first volume of a series focusing on the years that follow Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith! After the end of the Clone Wars, the Republic has fallen and Palpatine exerts his ruthless grip on his new Galactic Empire. Now, the few Jedi that remain must decide whether to hold true to their faith, or abandon it completely in the face of a brutal purge — one carried out by the new Dark Lord of the Sith. Rise, Darth Vader!

“We’re thrilled to be bringing our innovative Epic Collections to a galaxy far, far away,” says Marvel SVP sales & marketing David Gabriel. “We’ll be bouncing around to different periods of Star Wars history with each Epic Collection, constructing one huge tapestry, collecting full unbroken runs of all the greatest Star Wars comics from the past 35 years.”

Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire Vol. 1 TPBwill offer a new way for fans to collect and read iconic Star Wars stories across the past 35 years of published titles. These oversized, self-contained color collections will bring the adventures of the Rebellion, the Galactic Empire and more to the masses with exciting new Epic Collections."

You can read the full announcement on StarWars.com.

Not only is this exciting, but it sounds like more collections like this are on the way! What other eras would you like to see featuring in Marvel's Epic Collections line? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: StarWars.com

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'Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir' Issue #2 Coming June 18th

By: Dominic Jones

We have learned from the Dark Horse Solicitations for June 2014 (via: Newsarama) that the second issue in the upcoming comic miniseries Star Wars: Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir will be released on June 18th.

The series is based on scripts for the sixth season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars that were never produced and will continue the storyline of Darth Maull following the events of Season 5's "The Lawless".  The first issue hits shelves on May 21st.

Source: Newsarama

You can follow Dominic on Twitter: @DominicJ25 

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'Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir' Issue #1 Coming May 21st

 By: Dominic Jones

The highly anticipated Star Wars: The Clone Wars follow up comic Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir will be hitting shelves on May 21st, according to the Dark Horse Solicitations for May 2014.  The four issue miniseries picks up after the events of season 5 of The Clone Wars and will continue the Darth Maul story arc.  The series is based off of scripts for the sixth season of The Clone Wars that weren't produce due to the series "winding down"/cancellation (you can catch the stories from Season 6 that were finished starting March 7th on Netflix). 

Below is the Dark Horse Solicitation for Issue #1,

Uncover the Truth of Darth Maul's Return.

Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir #1 (of 4)
Jeremy Barlow (W), Juan Frigeri (P), Mauro Vargas (I), Wes Dzioba (C), and Chris Scalf (Cover)
On sale May 21
FC, 40 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
Getting cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi and being rejected by his former Sith master Darth Sidious isn't going to defeat Darth Maul. In fact, it only makes him mad enough to take on the galaxy—with an army of Mandalorians!
A part of The Clone Wars season 6 you never saw!
• Based on unaired episodes of The Clone Wars television series!

Source: Comic Book Resources

You can follow Dominic on Twitter: @DominicJ25

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Newsarama: Cancelled 'Clone Wars' Series Finale Will Be Adapted Into Comics

By Chris Seekell

The established comic book news website Newsarama has just published an exclusive interview with Lucasfilm announcing the release of a Dark Horse comic book series based on cancelled episodes of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series. The article states the following information:

"Lucasfilm has told us the finale to Star Wars: The Clone Wars is being told as a comic launching this May. This doesn’t preclude the fully produced episodes from still airing somehow, but does let fans jump right to the ending and the unproduced final arc.

In this last year of Lucasfilm’s epic decades-long partnership with Dark Horse Comics, the Oregon-based publisher will be releasing a four-part limited series titled Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir that will adapt the screenplays for what would have been the series finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series. Written by seasoned Star Wars comics scribe (and former editor) Jeremy Barlow with an artist to be announced, Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir sees the full-scale return of Darth Maul to the Star Wars universe and into a head-to-head battle with his former master Darth Sidious – aka, the Emperor. Barlow promises to fully delve into the world of Dathomir, as well as some of its inhabitants like Nightbrothers and even a new character called Brother Viscus. Barlow spoke exclusively to Newsarama in our “Galaxy Far Away” Star Wars column."

The article goes on to interview comic writer Jeremy Barlow. You can read it here.

Ever since the announcement that the Clone Wars series would conclude with several Season 6 arcs to be released as "Bonus Content", fans have speculated about whether we would ever see the rumored finale arc that would allegedly tie the series into Revenge of the Sith. Now, it seems we have our answer.

UPDATE: Since the release of the article, multiple LFL employees have stated on Twitter that the comics will only adapt the finale of the Darth Maul storyline, and not the series finale. Newsarama is expected to change the wording of their story.

The Maul comic is very cool, but it *wasn't* the series finale. It was a 4-part arc that fell beyond what was already in production.
— Pablo Hidalgo (@infinata) January 8, 2014

If there's still confusion: the new Dark Horse miniseries only deals with a Darth Maul arc from near end of the series. Not a series finale!
— Jennifer Heddle (@jenheddle) January 8, 2014

@ericgeller @amy_geek I'm trying to get the headline changed, we'll see.
— Jennifer Heddle (@jenheddle) January 8, 2014

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'Star Wars: Rebel Heist' Mini Series Announced

By: Dominic Jones

It's two days after Christmas and Star Wars is still giving us new presents.  Dark Horse Comics announced today a new mini series called Star Wars: Rebel Heist written by Matt Kindt.  The series is set in the original trilogy era and will feature Han Solo.  The announcement came from Comic Book Resources, who also had an exclusive interview with Kindt where he discussed some of the challenges of writing a Star Wars series,

Yeah, that was why it was kind of easy for me to be like, "No, I'm too busy." It's a combination of all the worst things I hate about properties that I don't own. [Laughs] A rabid fanbase, huge amounts of continuity, all this history. As much as I love it, I'm not steeped in Star Wars mythology. Since I was a kid, I was like, "If it didn't happen in the movies, it didn't happen." Other than the movies, that's what I draw from. This was definitely intimidating, and if this idea hadn't literally dropped in my lap, I wouldn't have done it.

Honestly, the idea came from my reverence for those characters. I guess I was inspired by the intimidation factor of those characters. I thought, "How great would it be to do a series where you get to see Han Solo from a regular dude's point of view?" Which is basically my point of view! What if I got to tag along with Han Solo, and we had to do some mission for the rebellion? What would that be like? I thought something like that would be awesome.

So that was the springboard. It would be cool to have four core characters, and each issue would play with that idea -- Princess Leia and a spy character who she teams up with, but it's all from the point of view of the character Princess Leia teams up with. Viewing Princess Leia, viewing Han Solo, viewing Chewbacca, viewing Luke through the guise of a normal dude. Han Solo is like the coolest character ever, so it was fun to write that, where this guy's sort of starstruck by him -- just like I would be. Then they've got this mission to do, and doing a real mission where everything's on the line, and your life is in danger -- by the end of that issue, Han Solo's not so cool anymore. This guy's scared out of his mind. Han Solo's kind of reckless.

That was my way in, almost viewing those characters in a childlike way, like I did when I was a kid, and you look up to Han Solo as the coolest. It was easy to write after that.
 
You can read the entire interview with Kindt here. 

They also revealed the opening splash page from the first issue:

Source: Comic Book Resources

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Dark Horse to Adapt Geore Lucas' Original Star Wars Script

By: Dominic Jones

This one's not an April Fools Day joke, folks.  Dark Horse announced during their Wonder Con panel that they will be releasing an 8-issue comic adaption of George Lucas' original 1974 script for Star Wars.  The series, titled The Star Wars, will feature Anikin Starkiller as the hero, as well as an aged General Luke Skywalker, a helmet-less Darth Vader and an alien Han Solo.  For the look of the series, artist Mike Mayhew drew upon classic Ralph McQuarrie concept art from the production of the original film.  The series is being written by Jonathan Rinzler, the author of the Making Of Series of books, which chronicle the behind the scenes work that went into the Original Trilogy.  The Star Wars is expected to debut in September.

The series promises to be an intriguing look into what our favorite franchise could have been and where some of the beloved and iconic moments, characters, and items came from.  With the main focus of Lucasfilm currently being primarily on moving forward, it's great to see Dark Horse step up and take us back to a time before Star Wars was what it is today.  Check out page 1 from the series above.

Check out some concept art from the series over at Bleeding Cool.

Check out the official Press Release below:


LUCASFILM AND DARK HORSE ANNOUNCE
THE BIGGEST EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF
STAR WARS COMICS!

George Lucas’s original-draft screenplay for The Star Wars to be adapted by J. W. Rinzler and Mike Mayhew!

APRIL 1, MILWAUKIE, OR–It’s no April Fools’ prank! Dark Horse is honored to announce a dream project: working with J.W. Rinzler, executive editor at LucasBooks, and artist Mike Mayhew (Avengers) to adapt the rough-draft original screenplay which spawned the biggest franchise in film history!

Three years before his 1977 film, George Lucas put down on paper his first story set in a galaxy far, far away—a tale of fantastic adventures, daring escapes, “lazer swords,” romance, and monsters. A story of Jedi Annikin Starkiller and General Luke Skywalker, an alien named Han Solo, and evil Sith Knights. The screenplay was titled The Star Wars!

“I’m not sure where I first read about The Star Wars—it was years and years ago—but the idea of Luke Skywalker being an older Jedi General, and Han Solo being a six-foot-tall lizard, turned my Star Wars fan brain on its side,” said longtime Star Wars editor Randy Stradley. “I always assumed this would be one of those stories that would be ‘lost to history,’ so getting to work on bringing it to life is kinda like a dream come true.”

“While researching in the Lucasfilm Archives I’ve found many treasures—but one which truly astounded me was George’s rough draft for The Star Wars. His first complete imaginings were hallucinating to read—mind blowing,” said writer J.W. Rinzler. “While working with George on another book project, I once asked if we could adapt his rough draft. He was hesitant. Years later, with Dark Horse’s invaluable help, we showed him a few drawn and colored pages of what it might look like. He gave us the okay.”

Originally conceived in 1974, The Star Wars has been the subject of rumor and legend in the fan community throughout the history of the galaxy far, far away. Now, Lucas has seen fit to grant Dark Horse the right to adapt this fabled story into an eight-issue comic series launching in September!  

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