Star Wars Splash Page

We've dimmed the lights, opened a bottle of the good stuff and found the comfortable chair for this episode that sees us tackle Star Wars comics published by Dark Horse.

It's only fitting we start at the beginning of Dark Horse's long run of publishing Star Wars stories, turning our attention to the six-issue mini-series Dark Empire. We compare and contrast the series' parallels with the new canon and a certain film from December 2019.

New Star Wars comics originally scheduled for April 22:
_ Star Wars #5
_ Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars -- Battle Tales #4

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Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

The man in the Mandalorian armor has long been a draw for Star Wars comics since that appearance in the Star Wars Holiday Special. While we would have been talking Boba Fett in today's release of Star Wars -- Bounty Hunters #3, not to mention Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars -- Battle Tales #2, the lack of new comics didn't deter us.

Despite his limited screen time in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Boba Fett holds a special place for lots of fans. His appeal is enduring and it's the focus of a key new story created by Matt Harding (@Stilltsinc) and Josef Sison (@JosefSison), a pair of comics creatives, whose fan-produced Boba Fett sports some familiar faces and places in a uniquely crafted story with a twist ending. (You can download the book at https://bit.ly/39QO37U)

We talked about the book with Harding and Sison at length for this episode. It was a great conversation and one you're sure to enjoy.

You can check out Sison's work at www.mutantink.com and facebook.com/JSisonArt/ and peruse Harding's work at www.matthardingart.com.

New Star Wars comics that were supposed to be released April 15, include:
_ Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars -- Battle Tales #3
_ Darth Vader #3
_ Darth Vader #2 (2nd Printing)
_ Bounty Hunters #1 (2nd Printing)
_ The Rise of Kylo Ren #4 (2nd Printing)

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Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

There's no new Star Wars comics this week, which has us -- and you -- bummed, given we were very much looking forward to sharing our thoughts about the debut of Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) #1 and Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars -- Battle Tales #1.

So what could we do but talk about the six-page preview of Doctor Aphra that was released last week, as well as the three pages that were revealed last month!

Besides the truncated discussion about those issues, there's discussion about the coronavirus pandemic-related disruption to comic shops, publishers and of course Diamond, which distributes those comics.

We also lay out our plans for the show during this odd time, including variations of the podcast examining key Dark Horse Comics titles, key runs during Marvel's 1977-86 run of Star Wars, as well as the U.K. comics, newspaper strips, Ewoks and Droids.

New Star Wars comics (that were supposed to be) out April 8:
_ Star Wars -- Bounty Hunters #3

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Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

It's an odd week for comics, given the effects of the coronavirus pandemic that's caused a lot of comic shops to close amid orders from local and state governments, but that's not stopping us from talking about this week's Star Wars -- Bounty Hunters #2, a fast-paced and energetic book that's quickly become must-read when it comes to Star Wars comics.

We also dive into what Diamond's decision to halt all new comics shipments for the immediate future and ponder whether Marvel and IDW, along with other publishers, will continue to release their comics digitally until everything returns to normal.

New Star Wars comics out April 1 (if they're released digitally) include:
_ Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) #1
_ Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars -- Battle Tales #1

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Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

We're breaking down Star Wars #4, a pivotal issue in the first arc of Vol. 3 of this series, with Luke, Leia and Lando learning not just about each other, but themselves, too, in a story that pitches this arc forward into what may be a lifechanging moment for each of them.

As for news, we take a look at the February sales statistics, talk about how the spread of the coronavirus is affecting comic shops and what it may mean for comics in general, too.

New Star Wars comics out March 25 include:
_ Bounty Hunters #2
_ Legends Epic Collection: The Clone Wars, Vol. 3 (Star Wars: Republic #68-73, Gen. Grievous #1-4, the Star Wars Free Comic Book Day issue, Obsession #1-5, material from Star Wars Visionaries & Star Wars Tales #17)

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Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

Ben is dead. Long live Kylo Ren.

Padme is dead. Long live ... Padme?

Valance isn't dead, but with company that includes Bossk and Boba Fett he may be shortly.

This episode is ripping at the seems with Star Wars comics stories that see readers follow Ben Solo's collapse into Kylo Ren in that mini-series final issue. In the pages of Darth Vader #2, echoes are stirred of a love that left both in ruins. Bounty Hunters #1 begins with a bang and never lets up, casting a gritty pall over the Star Wars underworld that you won't be able to wash off, even if you're using bleach.

In short, March 11 is a day that will be long remembered by Star Wars comics readers for all the right reasons.

New Star Wars comics out March 18, include:
_ Star Wars #4
_ Star Wars Adventures #31
_ The Rise of Kylo Ren #2 (3rd Printing)
_ The Rise of Kylo Ren #3 (2nd Printing)

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Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

With no new comics this week, we took advantage of the momentary lull to talk with the team behind Star Wars Audio Comics, a group of like-minded Star Wars fans who are transforming Marvel's Star Wars titles, along with other stories, too, into aural journeys. Don't call these motion comics. Rather, think of them as a multimedia way of reading comics.

Joining us for this wide-ranging talk about the channel are Daniel Plumb, channel founder; Rob Angelli, channel manager; and Gilbert Santillanes, the channel's social-media manager.

Check out Star Wars Audio Comics on:
_ YouTube (https://bit.ly/2IvoBtr)
_ Sister channel Fulcrum Entertainment (https://bit.ly/3av0vLh)
_ Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thecomicexperience).

We've also got the latest news and more.

Star Wars comics out March 11, include:

_ Bounty Hunters #1
_ The Rise of Kylo Ren #4 (Final Issue)
_ Darth Vader #2
_ Darth Vader #1 (2nd Printing)

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Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

Star Wars #3 and Project Luminous are our main topics in this week's episode with both offering up page-turning storytelling along with cliffhangars galore.

In news, Project Luminous was finally revealed and chief among the ambitious new project is pair of comics -- one each from Marvel (written by Cavan Scott) and IDW Publishing (written by Daniel Jose Older) -- that will be part of the event, which begins Aug. 25 with a novel by Charles Soule who, coincidentally, writes Marvel's ongoing Star Wars flagship title.

Star Wars comics out March 4, including:
_ The Rise of Kylo Ren #1 (3rd Printing)
_ Star Wars #2 (2nd Printing)

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Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

An absence of official Star Wars comics is no reason not to podcast, not when we have the chance to talk with Aaron Russell, the writer of Jace Wars, a stirring and heartwarming comic that frames family, awareness and kindness using Star Wars as a lens for hope.

Russell's work, along with artist Shane Kirshenblatt and layout editor Robert Goldie, is unlike any other we've read because it proffers an enriching tale about never giving up, no matter the odds, and always looking to the future for fun and adventure.

You can find Jace Wars at https://bit.ly/3bTmpJI

As for news, we break down the strong showing by Star Wars #1 in January's sales charts, Star Wars #2's decline and the continued demand for The Rise of Kylo Ren mini series, which is poised to become only the second Marvel Star Wars mini series where every issue goes to multiple printing.

Finally, what is the provenance of the yellow lightsaber Luke Skywalker is gripping on the cover of May's Star Wars #6? Jeff and Matt have some theories as to where it may have come from and whether or not it's telescoping.

New Star Wars comics out Feb. 26, including:
_ Star Wars (Vol. 3) #3

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Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.

We examine the penultimate issue in The Rise of Kylo Ren mini-series -- written by Charles Soule, illustrated by Will Sliney, colored by GURU-eFX and lettered by Travis J. Lanham -- as Ben Solo takes his first significant steps toward the Dark Side and into the sinister embrace of the Knights of Ren.

It's a profoundly unsettling issue, but in all the right ways, as Soule and Sliney craft a compelling narrative of a young man enveloped by turmoil, regret, doubt, fear and determination.

In news, we discuss planned second printings of Darth Vader #1 and Star Wars #2, while we weigh in on the win by "Parasite" for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Star Wars comics out Feb. 19 include:
_ None whatsoever.

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Star Wars Splash Page is a weekly podcast dedicated solely to contemporary Star Wars comics published by Marvel, Dark Horse and previously IDW, featuring views about the current week's comics, interviews with the writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors who create them, as well as the latest details on publishing schedules, upcoming series and mini-series, so that you, the listener have more detail and context about the comics that are a vital part of Star Wars canon, lore and legends.