It’s been 6 months since the announcement Dark Horse would return to publish Star Wars comics and now we have the first details on their non-The High Republic content! Dark Horse is focusing on all-ages comics, like IDW did from 2017-2021, with two series: 1) Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories, essentially their take on IDW’s Star Wars Adventures line, as it’s an anthology series set in all different eras on the timeline. 2) Tales from the Rancor Pit, a new take on the horror anthology goodness IDW cooked up with their Vader’s Castle series. These two join the already announced The High Republic – Quest of the Jedi, though while that’s not out until October or later, these should be out in the summer! Head below for more details and a look at the first covers.
Hyperspace Stories brings back the anthology, all-ages fun with writers like Cecil Castelluci, Michael Moreci (whom we’ve interview before!), and Amanda Deibert to start, with the first issue written by Deibert, art from Lucas Marangon (Star Wars Tales, DH’s previous anthology series), and set during the Clone Wars, which feels a bit overused but sounds interesting nonetheless: “When members of a Republic mission led by Senator Padmé Amidala are abducted by the ruthless Separatist General Grievous, Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi leap to the rescue. But the operation quickly goes awry…” Dark Horse says this will be a 12-issue maxiseries, with the first issue out August 10! Moreci took to Twitter to say his first issue is the 4th and speaks of himself, Castelluci, and Deibert as a writers room on the series, which makes me VERY pleased as this is a visible jump in female creatives thanks to Dark Horse (Claudia Gray will write Quest of the Jedi), something Marvel has been having a hard time with lately.
Cavan Scott offers his delightfully devious mind to Tales from the Rancor Pit, the spiritual successor to Vader’s Castle (which he also wrote), alongside artists Nick Brokenshire, Juan Samu, Rafael Pérez, and Andy Duggan (so it’s not all a representation win with the creatives). A trio of spooky tales awaits readers: “Set amid a backdrop of a dark and stormy night on Tatooine in the dungeon of Jabba the Hutt, the creepy offering includes clanking droid ghosts, the chilling wampa caves of Hoth, and a monster hunt with Saber-For-Hire Ty Yorrick.” Ty Yorrick from The High Republic has been sorely missed since her appearances in The Rising Storm and The Monster of Temple Peak (also by Scott!) so having her here, even for a brief little tale in some Halloween-time fun, is a blessing, and her monster hunting lifestyle is more than fitting for something scary!
More details are expected at next week’s Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022!
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.