Normally December is a month of mid-winter celebrations, but Star Wars comics looks to be anything but joyous and cheerful, as the underworld is in chaos due to Crimson Dawn’s startling return, Vader’s leading a crew to take them down, Aphra and Sana find themselves dealing with an ancient cult (if they’re elves, that would at least be festive), while The High Republic era content doesn’t seem any more uplifting with murder investigations and the deadly Lourna Dee holding a lightsaber. Grab yourself some spiked eggnog, you’re going to need it, before checking out December 2021’s Star Wars comic solicitations!
{These are from the initial solicits from the official site’s preview, so no release dates quite yet nor IDW’s issues. We’ll update as those come in!}
UPDATE 1: Release dates have been added for Marvel’s comics. Still no IDW solicits…yet, but a recent The High Republic Show did confirm a few titles!
UPDATE 2: IDW’s solicits are in below!
MARVEL
The High Republic – Trail of Shadows #3 (On Sale 12/15)
Daniel José Older (Writer), Dave Wachter (Artist)
Cover by David López | Variant Cover by Gerald Parel | Variant Cover by Annie Wu
COLD COMFORT!
- A mysterious attack brings EMERICK and SIAN together at the Starlight to investigate connections to their case.
- Meanwhile, ARATHAB tries to ambush a Nihil ship with deadly results.
- Can Jedi Master Emerick and private eye Sian Holt uncover the clues to solve this case, or are they about to face their deadly demise at the hands of Nihil?
It’s hard to imagine we’ve yet to get the first issue of this miniseries, as the covers drip with so much style I feel like I’ve been enjoying it already. It sounds like it’ll live up to the noir-vibes it so obviously wants to emulate, at least as these solicits keep suggesting month after month, so I’m happy to know we’re only a month out from finally reading the first issue.
The High Republic #12 (on sale 12/15)
Cavan Scott (Writer), Georges Jeanty (Artist)
Cover by Phil Noto | Variant Cover by Mike McKone | Variant Cover by TBA
THE HUNT FOR LOURNA DEE CONTINUES!
- The NIHIL have unleashed a nameless terror against the Jedi. MARSHAL AVAR KRISS is more determined than ever to bring LOURNA DEE to justice, but does STELLAN GIOS and the JEDI COUNCIL agree?
- As KEEVE TRENNIS struggles with what she experienced on the Nihil base, the Jedi prepare for war.
- PLUS, the truth about SSKEER is finally revealed – but what does it mean for his future?
As of this writing, so I’ll update this if it changes, we’re once again dealing with a solicit from the previous issue, but there is one big change besides the stellar Lourna Dee focused cover: the word “nameless.” Is this finally our first confirmation the Leveler Marchion Ro uses against the Jedi in The Rising Storm are the ‘Nameless’ monsters we’ve had Easter Eggs about for awhile. Very cool!! Back to that cover, it has Dee holding a green lightsaber, most commonly held by Keeve Trennis in this series, is a ominous image. While I’m pretty sure issue #11 might be concurrent with Tempest Runner, Dee’s audiobook which was rather quite excellent, I look forward to the new solicit to maybe help clear that up a bit. Either way, knowing January starts the beginning of the end for Phase I of the era, as Wave III’s books drop then, and they are full of ominous titles, I don’t expect much Life Day cheer in this December’s issue!
Crimson Reign #1 (on sale 12/8)
Charles Soule (Writer), Steven Cummings (Artist)
Cover by Leinil Francis Yu | Sabacc Card Variant Cover by David Lopez | Knights of Ren Variant Cover by Rahzzah | Warriors of Dawn Variant Cover by Valerio Giangiordano | Enemies of Dawn Variant Cover by Clayton Crain | Syndicate Variant Cover by Khoi Pham | Connecting Variant Cover by Ario Anindito | Variant Cover by Steven Cummings
AFTER THE DAWN… COMES THE REIGN!
The story that began with WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS continues here, in the second installment of a trilogy that will reshape the history of the Star Wars Galaxy during the Age of Rebellion. Featuring the return of beloved characters, shocking twists, epic feats of the Force and a story that will reach from Star Wars’ darkest underworld all the way to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, Crimson Reign is a Star Wars saga like no other!
Originally announced for November, Crimson Reign has been pushed back to December 1, though it’s not much of a change considering most of November’s comics are still dealing with the fallout to the ending of War of the Bounty Hunters. Since it’s initial announcement, we’re still no closer to knowing much else about Reign, but it did receive a slick new logo (and you can see on the cover above) and we saw the entire connecting variant cover, which reveals that beyond Ren of the Knights of Ren, Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Chanatha Cha, Dr. Aphra, Luke, and Leia, to name a few characters appearing, it looks like Iden Versio and Inferno Squad might make an appearance too! Qi’ra return certainly is being made into a big deal for the comics and I am all here for it. Can’t wait to find out more about her plans, where this series will go, and what the final part of her returning trilogy will be…
Star Wars #20 (on sale 12/29)
Charles Soule (Writer), Marco Castiello (Artist)
Cover by Carlo Pagulayan | Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse |Action Figure Variant Cover by John Tyler Christopher | Variant Cover by Marc Laming
DANGEROUS LESSONS!
- LUKE SKYWALKER has found a key piece of instruction in his journey along the JEDI path – the voice of his teacher, JEDI MASTER YODA.
- But the lesson Luke must learn will not be taught by Yoda, and it will take – and give – more than the young Skywalker could ever have imagined.
Earlier in writer Charles Soule’s run of Star Wars (Vol. 2), Luke’s Jedi journeying went to some exciting places, with the return of two surprising faces that help propel his story forward. Luke’s next Jedi journey is the center of this upcoming arc and he’s receiving teachings from Yoda via a holocron, or well, the solicit seems to suggest might not totally be the case since someone else might be teaching it?!? Who else could that be?! As intrigued as I am, I’ll be curious if we’ll still spend time with Leia, Lando, Chewie, and Lobot or any of Starlight Squadron again.
Doctor Aphra #17 (on sale 12/22)
Alyssa Wong (Writer), Minkyu Jung (Artist)
Cover by Sara Pichelli | Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | Variant Cover by W. Scott Forbes
EVOCATIONS!
- DOCTOR APHRA and SANA STARROS stumble upon a STRANGE RITUAL…
- …And STRANGER ENEMY!
- Will they fall victim to a practitioner of an ANCIENT CULT?
I’m really digging the cover by Sara Pichelli, as it’s both frightening, as things do not look to be going good for Aphra—though when do they?!—and the design of this strange glowing horns, like bull horns but if they were lightsabers, sure promises a return to the strange and weird. And so to does the solicitation, as “STRANGE” looks like a bright, blaring lighthouse of what’s to come, while who doesn’t like ancient cults (hopefully this one doesn’t pull Aphra’s heart out of her chest like Indiana Jones had to deal with once…). Either way, I’m just continuously glad Sana Starros remains around and I want to see what this all means for the two of them and the future.
Bounty Hunters #19 (on sale 12/15)
Ethan Sacks (Writer), Ramon Bachs (Artist)
Cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli | Variant Cover by Leinil Francis Yu | Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse
CHAOS SPREADS THROUGH THE UNDERWORLD!
- As Crimson Reign has ignited the underworld in all-out war, T’ONGA’s team of bounty hunters – including BOSSK, ZUCKUSS and TASU LEECH – are running out of time to save the one young girl who can stop the conflict between syndicates!
- A mysterious bounty hunter is out to assassinate a high ranking Imperial officer in a daring hit on a heavily armed cruiser.
- But was the hunter given the right target?
The thread of T’onga looking for Cadeliah and trying to unite the warring syndicates of the Mourner’s Wail and Unbroken Clan is picking up steam in the War of the Bounty Hunters tie-in issues and I’m glad it gets to become the full focus after the crossover ends. Reign will still have lingering implications for this series, considering it looks like Qi’ra’s mole network is sowing chaos in the underworld, so I’m excited to see that play out as well, while I’ll be interested to learn more about this new mystery regarding the unknown bounty hunter and their potentially incorrect target! Talk about mistaken identity gone wrong!
Darth Vader #19 (on sale 12/22)
Greg Pak (Writer), Guiu Vilanova (Artist)
Cover by Ryan Stegman | Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | Variant Cover by Russell Dauterman
DARK ORDER!
- In the bowels of Bespin, DARTH VADER told his son he wanted to bring order to the galaxy.
- Now Vaders’ promise is put to the test as he leads an unlikely crew of heroes and assassins against the criminal organization known as CRIMSON DAWN.
- What does “order” mean to a DARK LORD OF THE SITH? How far will he go to fight for it as the depth of Crimson Dawns’ infiltration becomes clearer?
- And what fate awaits the heroes who follow him into battle?
While the Star Wars and Doctor Aphra series seem poised to separate themselves a bit from the Crimson Reign storyline, both Vader (Vol. 3) and Bounty Hunters will do the opposite to some extent. Considering Qi’ra went toe to toe with Vader and she’s spread the organization deep within others with moles everywhere, it’s no surprise Vader would be out to quash her resurfaced organization considering it looks to throw not just the Empire for a loop, but all the syndicates already under their thumbs. I love the idea of Vader starting this hunt with a crew of necessity, which means he probably won’t randomly kill them off considering he needs their services, and I’m looking forward to who all gets wrapped up in his latest schemes.
IDW
Star Wars Adventures #13 {Vol. 2} (on sale 12/22)
George Mann, Danny Lore (Writers) Butch Mapa, Simone D’Armini (Artists)
Cover A by Francesco Francavilla | Cover B by Simone D’Armini
First, from author George Mann (Doctor Who), the Millennium Falcon needs some serious repairs after sitting in disrepair on Jakku. So Rey, Chewie, Finn, and BB-8 have to make a pit stop. But it doesn’t quite go as planned (it never does), and the group quickly finds themselves at the wrong end of a bounty hunter’s blaster.
Then, in a bone-chilling tale from author Danny Lore (Transformers: Shattered Glass, King in Black: Captain America), Darth Vader searches a temple for a hidden tome and nothing—nobody—will stop his wrath.
We’ve been blessed for the last few years with George Mann’s excellent writing skills via the myth series of books, from Myths & Fables, Dark Legends, and recently Life Day Treasury, but this is his first proper Star Wars tale. It sounds like a fun little side adventures for our sequel trilogy heroes. As for the backup story, Vader unleashing his wrath, after how many comics have done so before it, doesn’t sound so appealing so here’s hoping this goes somewhat unexpected.
The High Republic Adventures #11 (on sale 12/1)
Daniel José Older (Writer), Harvey Tolibao (Artist)
Cover by Harvey Tolibao | Variant Cover by Jason Loo
The Masters and Padawans take a much-needed break to participate in the Great Jedi Rumble Race! It’s the most important event in the galaxy (probably) and there’s only one rule… THERE ARE NO RULES! But Lula is too stuck in her own head to enjoy the raucous, no-holds-barred tussle to the finish line.
Meanwhile, on Corellia, trouble brews…
Considering January, just one short month after the release of this issue, things will be going down in Phase I, Wave III’s novels, it’s nice to THRA to have a little fun with whatever this ‘Great Jedi Rumble Race’ is! Seriously, what is this and did they still have this in the prequels? Because it sounds like something Anakin Skywalker would murder at. But it won’t be all fun and games this issue, considering Lula’s mindset and whatever is about to go down on Corellia…
The High Republic Adventures Annual 2021 (on sale 12/15)
Charles Soule, Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott (Writer), Sam Beck, Jason Loo, Yael Nathan, Jesse Lonegran, Stefano Simeone (Artist)
Cover by Stefano Simeone | Variant Cover by Jason Loo
Join all five High Republic authors, together in one book for the FIRST TIME EVER, as they each explore different corners of the galaxy during the height of the Galactic Republic. From daring Jedi, to always adventurous Geode, and nefarious Nihil, The High Republic Adventures Annual has it all!
It’s kind of crazy to think this will be the first time all five luminous authors will be in the same project and I am so glad it’s finally happening though because this one sounds like a blast. The recent High Republic Show revealed more details on what all the tales will be, from Vernestra Rwoh and Stellan Gios flashback, Geode and the Vessel crew, more Lourna Dee, and more!
2021 Comic Solicitations: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.