I focus a lot on Star Wars’ comics on the Manor, especially thanks to it introducing my favorite character Doctor Aphra, and now more than ever it’s hard not to think about their future. We’ve been in the six months period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi for three years now and are currently in the middle of its fourth crossover event, so a little fatigue has set in, minus for series set outside said era. The announcement of the Star Wars: Visions one-shots was a fresh injection, as is the news we’ll get more backstory for “The Duel,” but where’s a similar freshness for the main stories? Enter 2023’s Revelations one-shot, which looks to tease what’s ahead for 2024’s comics, featuring everyone from Keeve Trennis of the High Republic era, Mace Windu, Princess Leia, and…Grand Admiral Thrawn?! Head below for the intriguing new cover and look at the newest Visions project!
In 2022, the very first Star Wars: Revelations #1 was released, and I’ve come to reference more and more in recent issues of the main comics, as it teased much of what’s happening in the Dark Droids crossover. I’m still not the biggest fan of how the issue played out, art and storywise, but the concept has grown on me in the meantime, and the announcement of another one has me excited. And interestingly enough, this announcement comes on the eve of “The Book of Ajax” backup story in Dark Droids: D-Squad #1, which promises to show how the first Revelations and other stories are all connected. As for Revelations #1 (2023), which I’ll never understand why they didn’t just call it #2 for simplicity’s sake (but I understand the number conventions behind the choice), which is out December 20, the cover alone (by Rod Reis) tells us this might be a different approach than last year’s. Add in the fact we have multiple writers this time around, with Marc Guggenheim, Charles Soule, Greg Pak, Marc Bernardin, Alyssa Wong, Ethan Sacks, and Cavan Scott, joined by artists like Salvador Larroca, Will Sliney, Marika Cresta, Ibraim Roberson, and more, and there’s no way they aren’t taking a much different approach this time around. Will it be a series of stories, loosely connected by Jabba the Hutt since he takes center stage, simply to tease big events in the coming stories, both new and familiar? Will they somehow all connect in another crossover event in 2024? Having it include The High Republic this time around is an interesting surprise, as is Grand Admiral Thrawn since he’s set to make his live action debut any week now (maybe even in tonight’s Ahsoka episode), but so too is Mace Windu and the mysterious stranger at the bottom. The reveal mentions new characters will make their debut here too, so there’s plenty to look forward to! My biggest hope is this teases the comics finally moving beyond Return of the Jedi, as while I’ve enjoyed the story here, it feels like it’s time for a change, and I’m curious to see what that would mean for the comics overall. Does the inclusion of Thrawn promise a new series about him, maybe in the new galaxy, filling in some of his time away, maybe it’s filling in some of what he’ll be up to once he’s back in this galaxy, or maybe, sadly, it’s only an adaptation? And Mace, does this mean we’ll go to the prequels in some new comics? Plus, with The High Republic’s final Phase kicking off in October, does Keeve on the cover mean we’ll see more about what’s going to happen with her, beyond even Scott’s recent reveal in the Yoda comic? Considering the list of writing and art talent, as well as the character teases so far, Revelations #1 (2023) looks like it might be that something fresh for everyone.
Even fresher still, Takashi Okazaki returns to the world of the Visions short “The Duel” for one of the upcoming entries in the new series of Visions one-shots, which starts with a Peach Momoko original in November. Okazaki’s return happens in January 2024, where he goes even further into Ronin’s past than his previous comic, exploring the character’s Sith origins! Between the previous comic and the mind-blowingly good Ronin: A Visions Novel, “The Duel” has made for quite the opening salvo in a new and exciting take on Star Wars. I hope we’ll see a good combination of new, original stories and building off previous shorts as the Visions one-shot series continues.
Expect a bigger glimpse at December’s comics later this week, when solicitations will likely go live, so check back at the Manor for those!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.
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