io9 gets the scoop on a new Star Wars comic, simply titled Star Wars that requires no knowledge of the greater continuity other than A New Hope. GONK throws in his thoughts.
First off, go over and read the exclusive io9 interview with editor Randy Stradley about this new comic, which will be written by Brian Wood, art by Carlos D’Anda, and covers by Alex Ross.
Here’s the details for those who hate clicking links:
- New comic set after A New Hope, focusing on the characters of the original trilogy: Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, Darth Vader
- Back to basics approach – all you need to know is A New Hope
“We’re trying very had to keep everything fresh — as if Episode IV had just come out in theaters. This is the Star Wars series for everyone who has loved the films, but has never delved into any of the comics or novels”
- Character focus:
“Don’t get me wrong, this series has plenty of action, but all of it is informed by, or springs out of, the characters’ reactions to events in A New Hope. Remember, Luke is, quite literally, a farm boy thrust into the front lines of a galactic war. He may be the guy who blew up the Death Star, but that doesn’t immediately prepare him for his new situation. And Leia, well, she’s been so busy running the Rebellion, has she even had a moment to grieve for the loss of her family or her homeworld? And what does holding in all that emotion do to a person? Brian is using those emotions to propel his story, which makes reading this series a more satisfying experience than simply dogfights in space.”
- Don’t worry – it’s not a reboot!
“As with every Star Wars project we do, there are editors and continuity experts at Lucasfilm who vet the scripts and art to make sure we’re not contradicting established continuity or characterizations…. And Brian has been a quick study. It helps that he’s more concerned about telling good stories than with putting his fingerprints all over the franchise.”
- Did I mention covers by Alex Ross?
- Coming out in January!
My thoughts – this seems tailored to be the easiest starting-off point into the Expanded Universe ever, basically as if we’ve traveled back in time, and we are getting this comic instead of the Marvel series of yore. Character focus is an interesting direction for this time period, as we are more used to the big action plots, but I think a new start and keeping the heroes young will help draw in new readers. There is a huge amount of existing continuity in this timeframe, from the Marvel comics to Splinter of the Mind’s Eye to Vader’s Quest and tons of young readers books, so being able to tell new stories without seeming to pave over existing timeframe will be a challenge. As for trying to cram all those stories into one continuity, I tend to take the approach that there are multiple tales of our heroes, they may not all line up, but all of them are true.
Dark Horse has tried recently to get more readers into their existing series by doing re-launches, like with the Knights of the Old Republic – War story to both continue Zayne Carrick’s adventures and make it more self-contained for those who hadn’t read the entire run of KOTOR previous to that. But apparently, that’s not enough – or they noticed the large hole left in the eras, with no ongoing series in the original trilogy timeframe after Empire / Rebellion ended a few years ago. While many of the ongoing series were good, it got tricky for them to keep a constant schedule and maintain the good storytelling, and so they’ve shifted to the more recent model of just doing story arcs and then taking a break. This has allowed for more eras and stories to get coverage, and I’ve enjoyed the tales they’ve been telling.
And from the sample art: rebel pilot costume for Leia!
I’m sure we’ll get more details at Comic-Con!