SDCC is the bastion of news and reveals for all things geekery and there’s always some fun Star Wars comic and book related info for us fans. At SDCC 2019, Charles Soule was revealed to be writing The Rise of Kylo Ren comic miniseries (!!), we got more details on IDW’s Return to Vader’s Castle miniseries and Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker plans, Dooku: Jedi Lost hardcover edition was announced, and more, so check out the latest reveals below!
COMICS
The big reveal this year was the return of Charles Soule to write quite the comic, The Rise of Kylo Ren! Soule teased on Twitter, “You know the one story everyone’s dying to see, about Kylo and the Knights of Ren? That’s this. You’re not ready (hell, I barely am).” Previously writing the exceptional deep dive into the early years of Vader, Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith, Soule’s return is easily the best part of the news, as this tale could’ve been the origin story of Jar Jar’s banishment and he’d probably make it more than worth a read. If he brings even an ounce of the nuance he brought to his portrayal of Vader and the well-handled large cast of his Poe Dameron series for all the Knights of Ren, The Rise of Kylo Ren will exceed any expectations you can set for it. No artist was announced, so I’ll be extremely curious who they’ll have for it, though Soule’s teammates on either previous series would be more than welcomed. Look for this one to arrive to your eager eyes in December, prior to The Rise of Skywalker‘s release, though no word on how often it’ll be released afterwards.
Marvel’s Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Allegiance received covers and a grand connecting variant (see above via The Beat), though no further details for its story beyond its original reveal, which told us Leia will be visiting the Mon Cala for help rebuilding the Resistance’s fleet in the wake of The Last Jedi. Considering how much the Mon Cala have given up for the cause of fighting injustice in the galaxy, from Raddus at Scarif, the Rebellion’s interference as seen in the Star Wars comic’s “Mutiny at Mon Cala” arc, to Ackbar’s decent demise, and the First Order’s dominance, might they be a little less willing to join the fray? We’ll see in October, when the entire series releases, and we might get a few more details in the October solicitations releasing sometime this week. The covers are from Marco Checchetto, it’ll be written by Ethan Sacks (Galaxy’s Edge), with art from Luke Ross (Age of Republic) and colors by Lee Loughridge.
Previously announced, Return to Vader’s Castle, the spiritual sequel to IDW’s spooky, yet fun Tales from Vader’s Castle, had first story details revealed, as well as a glimpse at some of the eerily themed covers.
#1: Darth Maul, illustrated by Megan Levens: “Maul is the counterpoint and nemesis of my favorite character from the saga, Obi-Wan Kenobi, so getting to tell a part of his story (and draw those fabulous tattoos) was something I didn’t hesitate to sign up for!”
#2: Grand Moff Tarkin, illustrated by Kelley Jones: “Although I rooted against him, I always had a sneaking admiration for Tarkin, as he was – in all honesty – the real evil of the Empire: cold, calculating, and all too human!”
#3: Asajj Ventress, illustrated by Nick Brokenshire: “I can’t wait to show you the super-creepy shenanigans we’re getting up to in the Star Wars universe!”
#4: Jabba the Hutt, illustrated by Nicoletta Baldari: “These are the comics you’re looking for!”
#5: Darth Vader, illustrated by Charles Paul Wilson III: “I told IDW that I’d draw the Kessel Run in less than 14 parsecs if they could get me on this book again, and they told me I could do it… but only if it was in under 12.”
The miniseries will once again be written by Cavan Scott, while Francesco Francavilla not returns to provide his unique, horror-ific covers but he’ll working on interiors for the series’ framing story! I love the blend of characters for this one, with characters like Maul, Ventress, Tarkin, and Vader himself already having quite a spooky vibe, so it’ll be interesting to see if this one is even scarier than the first. I’m also really enjoying this list of artists, as it makes Marvel’s lack of female hires especially glaring time and time again.
Actually announced a few days before SDCC, IDW’s Journey to The Rise of Skywalker three-parter begins in issue #27, which will be, “featuring the mighty Wookiees. With the New Republic devastated, the First Order launches an attack on the planet Kashyyyk, and Chewbacca takes up arms to defend his people!” We still don’t know the time jump from TLJ to TROS, but as the First Order expands unhindered, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing plenty of stories like this, though the fact IDW gets to tell the FO’s attack on Kashyyyk, I’m wondering how epic this tale will get, because Supreme Leader Kylo Ren coming after Uncle Chewie, aka his dad’s best pal ever, is rife for dramatic context! Maybe we’ll see this story in other mediums, or Kylo sends an order for the attack but never goes himself, but regardless I think it’ll be quite the story! The main tale about Chewie will be written by John Barber, with art by Derek Charm. The back-up story concerns BB-8, R2-D2, and C-3PO going on a desperate recruiting mission, written by Michael Moreci, with art by Tony Fleecs. The first issue arrives in October.
NOVELS
Beyond some interiors to a few upcoming books, like Delilah S. Dawson’s The Skywalker Saga or the Ultimate Pop-Up Galaxy, and some minor details about others, there wasn’t a lot of novel related news this year, and zero updates on the mysterious Project Luminous teased back at Celebration Chicago this year. But we did get new details on Journey to The Rise of Skywalker: Force Collector, from how it’ll connect to theme park Galaxy’s Edge in some way, how the main character has the ability to see an object’s history through the Force, much like Quinlan Voss’ ability, to how it’s, .”…set on a world with fewer resources in terms of historical knowledge, which propels the story’s protagonist on his adventure.” Force Collector arrives to shelves November
For those who didn’t get a chance to enjoy Dooku: Jedi Lost due to it being audiobook only, the script is heading to print and ebooks in October! I wasn’t into audiobooks at all and I found myself enjoying Jedi Lost regardless, though the things that held it back to me were audiobook-related issues, so I’ll be curious if reading the script will help with that at all. That’s right, this is the script in print form, like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, with writer Cavan Scott’s stage directions included (which I guess he needed to clean up a bit!), which honestly should still make this a great experience. Also, it’ll be really nice to finally see the giant variety of names/creature names Scott added to the Star Wars lexicon in print finally! I’ll be picking this up and updating my review regarding if I feel any different about the story afterwards.
My only disappointment from this panel, as I figured Project Luminous wouldn’t really be touched on until after December’s The Rise of Skywalker, is that there’s been nothing announced tie-in wise for November’s The Mandalorian.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
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