In April 2021, after 6 plus years of success, amazing new characters, and exciting/spellbinding tales, Marvel and IDW will bring their partnership with Lucasfilm to a close and end Star Wars comics for good. So head below to check out the final month of glorious comics below! APRIL FOOLS’! Sorry, I don’t ever pull April Fools’ jokes because I like not to lose people’s trust but I couldn’t help myself to a little joke, especially when this would be terrible obvious. Anyways, check out what’s ahead thanks to April’s solicitations, where we’ll see Darth Vader make it to Exegol, more Doctor Aphra and Sana Starros adventures, Count Dooku with another nefarious plan, and so much more!
MARVEL
The High Republic #4 (on sale 4/7)
Cavan Scott (Writer), Ario Anindito (Artist)
Cover by Phil Noto | Variant Cover by Leinil Francis Yu | Variant Cover by Natacha Bustos
THE JEDI TURNED AGAINST EACH OTHER?!
- AVAR KRISS and her band of brave JEDI helpless in the clutches of a traitor in their midst.
- STARLIGHT BEACON under attack from an insidious foe. Danger from an age-old enemy.
- Who is really pulling the strings on the distant planet of SEDRI?
- Plus: The secret history of the terrifying DRENGIR revealed.
The entire The High Republic initiative has been firing on all cylinders, especially in the opening two novels, while the first issue of Marvel’s The High Republic delighted, introducing us to Keeve Trennis, who immediately became my favorite Jedi of the era thanks in no small part to all her swearing. The (mostly) hopeful ending to the opening issue of the comic seems so far away due to the solicitations for April’s issue #4, as it seems things are going to ramp up quickly! The Drengir will be introduced in February’s Into the Dark novel by Claudia Gray, and having it read it I can say they shall be quite the opponents, while I look forward to learning their backstory in this issue. And if there’s any doubt something happens with Sskeer, this cover is a dead giveaway, but how and why remains to be seen.
Bounty Hunters #11 (on sale 4/14)
Ethan Sacks (Writer), Paolo Villanelli (Artist)
Cover by Mattia De Lulis | Empire Strikes Back Variant Cover by Chris Spouse
THE GREAT HUNT OF MALASTARE!
- BOSSK awakens to find himself as the hunted instead of the hunter on the forest planet of MALASTARE.
- But who is the mysterious figure behind the hunting party stalking the infamous TRANDOSHAN?
- A special solo adventure starring the most savage bounty hunter of all!
It’s well documented my feelings on the Bounty Hunter series, though this solo adventure for Bossk does peak my interest again…however, it’ll have a lot to live up to after the surprisingly deep and excellent Bossk story in From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, full of twists and turns for the character, especially the Chainbreaker! Also, it would be neat if the series just straight up switched to a different bounty hunter now…
Doctor Aphra #9 (on sale 4/21)
Alyssa Wong (Writer), Minkyu Jung (Artist)
Cover by Joshua “SWAY” Swaby | Variant Cover by Ray-Anthony Height
LOST TECH! CRIME SYNDICATES! ASSASSINS!
- DOCTOR APHRA and SANA STARROS’ search for the NIHIL HYPERDRIVE gets deadlier as GENERAL VUKORAH and THE UNBROKEN CLAN enter the race for possession!
- What powerful secrets of the HIGH REPUBLIC era could the lost technology hide?
- Meanwhile, JUST LUCKY and an old flame are forced to work together — and walk straight into an ambush!
More Doctor Aphra? More Sana Starros? More of those two together? More The High Republic tie-in goodness? Check to all the above, which means I’m anxious for this issue, especially since it seems the series will get back to monthly releases! According to Ray-Anthony, his variant cover seems to be an unfinished version at the moment, so I’ll be curious to see what is altered in the final product as it’s likely a spoiler…and it’s likely going to be a different item in Aphra’s hand (which happened when they first revealed the series’ relaunch last year). Want more joyous April news for Aphra fans? The audiobook’s script releases in hardcover! If you want to learn more about the Nihil and their Path engine, which Aphra and Sana are after, I highly suggest reading the excellent The High Republic – Light of the Jedi novel.
Darth Vader #11 (on sale 4/28)
Greg Pak (Writer), Raffaele Ienco (Artist)
Cover by Aaron Kuder | Empire Strikes Back Variant Cover by Chris Spouse
EXEGOL UNLEASHED!
- As punishment for his rebellion, DARTH VADER was broken by THE EMPEROR, his limbs shattered, forbidden to use THE FORCE.
- But after surviving OCHI OF BESTOON, THE EYE OF WEBBISH BOGG and the horrors of THE RED NEBULA, Vader stands on the verge of uncovering the Emperor’s greatest secrets.
- But will the revelations on EXEGOL empower Vader — or his master? And what new doom awaits LUKE SKYWALKER as a result?
I’ve been theorizing (since issue #8) about how this arc will go, like what Vader will learn about Palpatine’s ultimate plans on Exegol because it seems likely knowing Palpatine basically has a plan to live forever could turn Vader into the subservient lap dog seen in Return of the Jedi, no longer eager to ask Luke to join him/rejecting Luke’s calls to join him. After such an outcome, I’m not sure where this series can go from here/if it will need another arc afterwards, which isn’t a bad thing, but this arc has had A LOT going on and it feels like it’s jamming everything it can into this limited timeframe, hence why I feel like it could be over after this. But that cover teases quite an action packed issue, at least!
The Empire Strikes Back — The 40th Anniversary Covers by Chris Sprouse #1 (on sale 4/28)
Penciled by Chris Sprouse | Covers by Chris Sprouse & Noriyoshi Ohari
You’ve never seen Empire quite like this! To celebrate the 40th anniversary of one of the all-time great cinematic sequels, Marvel asked enthusiastic artist Chris Sprouse (BLACK PANTHER, THORS) to retell The Empire Strikes Back in a stunning series of variant covers! Month by month, across multiple Star Wars series, the film’s unforgettable moments played out through Sprouse’s exquisite artwork. Now the whole story of the resurgent Empire targeting the Rebel Alliance’s icy base on Hoth — and every momentous event that follows — is collected in a single celebratory issue! Bounty hunters target Han Solo! Luke Skywalker seeks out Jedi Master Yoda! Feelings run high between Han and Leia! And as the battle begins for Skywalker’s soul, will his fear lead to anger, hate and the Dark Side?
Starting last year but delayed, like all things, due to the pandemic, The Empire Strikes Back 40th anniversary covers are still rolling out as of this writing, but they’ll finally be finished and collected in April with this release.
IDW
The release dates aren’t yet clear for IDW’s newest solicited issues, but the one originally out in March is now moved to April.
The High Republic Adventures #3 (on sale 4/7)
Daniel Jose Older (Writer), Harvey Tolibao (Artist/Cover Artist)
Variant Cover by Yael Nathan
In the glory days of the Republic, the Jedi stand as guardians of galactic peace—until a powerful new adversary called the Nihil arrives. Zeen accompanies the Jedi to the Starlight Beacon, a glowing symbol of the Jedi and Republic where she learns what it means to be a Padawan. Meanwhile, Krix and the Nihil fight their way through a Republic blockade to safety, and Krix begins to winder who this strange man who helped him really is.
Older’s piece of The High Republic’s story increasingly sounds more interesting, as it seems the childhood friends of Zeen and Krix are split up! From what we know of them, they belong to a group which believes no-one should use the Force, so that Zeen joins the Jedi and Krix goes with the Nihil says a lot about how they feel about their beliefs after the hyperspace disaster comes to their front door. I’ll be especially curious to learn who the strange Nihil man is that helped Krix…is it Marchion Ro? One of the Tempests? Or a new character we have yet to meet?
Star Wars Adventures #7 {Vol. 2} (on sale 4/14) (Moved from March)
Sam Maggs, Landry Quinn Walker (Writers), Liana Kangas, Nick Brokenshire (Artists)
Cover A by Francesco Francavilla | Cover B by Nick Brokenshire (pictured)
The Empire has been defeated, but that doesn’t mean that the adventures are over for Luke and Leia, who find themselves in a tricky situation that they have to work together to get out of! Plus, the Crimson Corsair and his band of pirates make their Star Wars Adventures debut!
Sam Maggs’ main story sounds like we’ll get more Luke and Leia just after Return of the Jedi, so I’m looking forward to seeing the two siblings working together now that they know they are related; We definitely have not gotten enough of that content in canon yet! As for the backup “Tales of Villainy” story, we have Landry Quinn Walker returning to write more Crimson Corsair!! He had quite the cerebral journey in one of the Tales from a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens stories Walker put together in 2015, so I’ll be curious to see if this takes place after those events or prior.
Star Wars Adventures #8 {Vol. 2} (on sale 5/5)
Sam Maggs, Danny Lore (Writers), Liana Kangas, Arianna Florean (Artists)
Cover A by Francesco Francavilla | Cover B by Arianna Florean
The Empire has been defeated, but that doesn’t mean that the adventures are over for Luke and Leia, who find themselves in a tricky situation that they have to work together to get out of! Plus, Count Dooku has sinister plans for a clone trooper!
Sam Magg’s story of Luke and Leia hanging out post-Endor, knowing full well they are related, seems to continue (and likely conclude) with this issue. I’m really eager for as much sibling content as we can get at this point so I can’t wait for whatever this tale brings in its two issues. As for the Tale of Villainy backup story, more Count Dooku is also always on my list, so this overall sounds like a real good issue for me! Arianna Florean’s work has always delighted in the past so I’ll be curious to see what she’ll bring to the villainous table. UPDATE: Seems this one is actually set to release in May, per Previewsworld, but I’ll keep it here until May’s full solicits arrive (because if you look back at the February and March below, you’ll see how chaotic all the release date changes for IDW have been.
2021 Comic Solicitations: January | February | March
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.