2019 isn’t quite here yet, but the solicitations for Marvel and IDW’s comics for January 2019 are! On Marvel’s side, the Age of Republic gets three exciting issues including a jam-packed special, some favorites return to star in Doctor Aphra, some not-so-favorites return to star in Star Wars, and more! As for IDW, they have the end to The Flight of Falcon multi-media series with Hondo Ohnaka hijinks, plus Padmé and Jar Jar on an adventure…what more could you ask for?! Head below for all the details!
MARVEL
Before we get into the solicits, the mired in controversy Shadow of Vader miniseries, announced at NYCC one week and it’s writer, Chuck Wendig, fired the next, is auspiciously missing from the January solicits. According to Star Wars‘ official blog about the NYCC announcement of the mini, it was supposed to be released in November so part of me is wondering if it’s simply not on here because it’s finished before January, but there are a great deal of people who reference the series as starting in January, thus making its disappearance from the solicits even more interesting because Wendig has said Marvel was likely keeping his scripts from the first 3 of 5 issues. Whatever the case, the series is in limbo until they can find someone to finish it…like maybe Wendig, considering they only fired him because they bowed to pressure from the alt-right Nazi sect of Twitter who felt hurt by Wendig’s truths against them, even though I’ll be the first to admit he was a bit too vulgar about it. It seriously sounded like a great miniseries, but Mark Paniccia’s cowardly choice to fire Wendig makes even its potential survival forever tainted. UPDATE: It has unsurprisingly been cancelled. Anyways, let’s cover some more exciting/less saddening news, shall we?
Star Wars: Age of Republic – Obi-Wan Kenobi #1 (on sale 01/02/19)
Jody Houser (Writer), Cory Smith (Artist)
Cover By Paolo Rivera | Variant Cover By Rahzzah | Concept Design Variant Cover By Iain Mccaig | Heroes Variant Cover By Leinil Francis Yu | Puzzle Piece Variant Cover By Mike McKone (3 of 27) | Movie Variant Cover Also Available
“THE EARLY DAYS OF OBI-WAN KENOBI, JEDI KNIGHT!
• Following the wishes of his master, OBI-WAN has taken on ANAKIN SKYWALKER as an apprentice.
• Will his mission alongside his young Padawan bring them closer together, or sow the seeds that will drive them apart?
• And who else is after the ancient holocron that they seek?”
This month’s Age of Republic comics start with an Obi-Wan and Anakin adventure set between The Phantom Menace and Attack of Clones, an era I’m always excited to see explored because it’s barely been touched by Legends or Canon. However, Charles Soule released a miniseries back in 2016, Obi-Wan & Anakin, covering such an era and looking at the pair’s complicated relationship, so I’ll be interested to see what Houser can bring to the table to expand/complement what’s already been touched on. Also, ancient holocrons? You had me at Obi-Wan already, but now you’ve got me hook, line, and sinker. UPDATE: Review!
Star Wars: Age of Republic — Jango Fett #1 (on sale 01/09/19)
Jody Houser (Writer), Luke Ross (Artist)
Cover by Paolo Rivera | Variant Cover By In-Hyuk Lee | Concept Design Variant Cover by TBA | Villains Variant Cover By Leinil Francis Yu | Puzzle Piece Variant Cover By Mike McKone (4 of 27) | Movie Variant Cover Also Available
THE MOST FEARED BOUNTY HUNTER IN THE GALAXY!
• JANGO FETT’S reputation precedes him as joins a crew for what seems like a simple job.
• Wait, is that a KID with him?!
• Will his fellow bounty hunters be foolish enough to betray Jango and his son, BOBA FETT?
Whoa, TWO stories set between Ep. I and Ep. II in the same month? While I’m most interested in learning what crew of notorious beings Jango gets tangled up with, having him bring Boba along, at such a young age, is something I’m dying to see! How is Jango as a parent to what is basically himself? What does the galaxy’s best bounty hunter teach his son? More Jango is always appreciated, but father and son Fett stories are finite and I’ll take each and every one they can offer. Bonus points if this issues ties into, in any way, The Mandalorian, the upcoming live-action TV show! Update: Review!
Star Wars: Age of Republic Special #1 (on sale 01/16/19)
Ethan Sacks, Jody Houser, Marc Guggenheim & Chip Zdarsky (Writers), Carlos Gomez, Paolo Villanelli, Caspar Wijngaard and more! (Artists)
Cover by Rod Reis | Variant Cover By Khoi Pham | Greatest Hits Variant Cover By Mike Deodato | Puzzle Piece Variant Cover By Mike McKone (5 OF 27)
“THE GREATEST HEROES OF THE REPUBLIC, THE DEADLIEST VILLAINS – AND EVERYONE IN BETWEEN!
Four creative teams! Four stories featuring your favorite Star Wars characters!
• The baddest Jedi in the galaxy has a score to settle — MACE WINDU returns in an action-packed adventure from Old Man Hawkeye’s Ethan Sacks!
• You can run, but can you hide from the twin lightsabers of Sith assassin ASAJJ VENTRESS? Feel her fury in a tale expertly woven by veteran STAR WARS comic scribe Jody Houser (Thrawn, The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows).
•And is JAR JAR BINKS’ role in the Star Wars story over? NOT BY A LONG SHOT! Because Chip Zdarsky (Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man and Marvel Two-In-One) has a rancor bone to pick with the galaxy’s most notorious Gungan.
• You can take the clone out of the war but you can never take the war out of the clone — CAPTAIN REX dusts off his blaster and enters the fray in a story by X-Men: Goldauthor Marc Guggenheim.”
Please give me a second while I go run down the halls of the Manor, trying to find my jaw after it fell off in shock reading that solicit. Let’s unpack these by character, because damn, this is going to be a special issue alright!
Mace Windu: After the disappointment that was Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu, this sounds like Samuel L. Jackson’s Jedi Master can find comics redemption, as a Windu on the edge of darkness is far more intriguing than whatever was attempted in his last mini. Settling a score doesn’t sounds like Jedi Master stuff to me, instead much closer to the excellent Shatterpoint from Legends, and that’s why I have faith this’ll treat the character right.
New Asajj Ventress content in the year of our overlord, 2019?!!? After her unfortunate, disappointing death in Dark Disciple (sorry, spoiler warning), the character who had so much potential gets a chance to shine once more! You’ll be forever missed, Ventress, especially since Quinlan Vos’ survival thanks to her sacrifice hasn’t paid off yet.
Jar Jar Binks got a rather decent, fitting epilogue in Aftermath: Empire’s End, while The Clone Wars made him and the Gungans into better characters, so what will Zdarsky bring to Binks’ storied history? Bonus points if he meets a Gungan like the one in this year’s excellent Last Shot. UPDATE: Turns out the solicitations was incorrect, and Binks stars in the Rex story, resulting in an awesome, crazy image I’ll never forget!
Knowing Rex survived all the way until and past Return of the Jedi was a pretty awesome development from Star Wars Rebels’ final season, but this is the Age of Republic, so I doubt this story will go that far into the timeline. Instead, judging by the solicit, it looks like it could be at least set after Revenge of the Sith? We’ll find out soon enough but color me intrigued! UPDATE: It takes place during the Clone Wars and stars…Jar Jar Binks as well…see the link above in the Jar Jar section!
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #28 (on sale 01/30/19)
Si Spurrier (Writer), Emilio Laiso (Artist)
Cover by Ashley Witter | Greatest Hits Variant Cover By Greg Land
“WORST AMONG EQUALS” PART THREE!
• With a huge price on their heads, rogue archaeologist DOCTOR APHRA and her murder-droid companion TRIPLE-ZERO are hunted wherever they run.
• Of all their pursuers, you might think the deadliest danger comes from the EMPIRE-backed cops…or the deranged undead bounty hunter…or the relentless monster trappers — right?
• Nope. Because the entire population has tuned in to watch the chase through Triple-Zero’s eyes, and EVERYONE has a shot at that reward…”
WINLOSS AND NOKK ARE BACK!!! WINLOSS AND NOKK ARE BACK!!! Stand out characters from the excellent Doctor Aphra Annual #2, the fairly odd, totally in love, married couple are characters I’ve been dying to see again, and after being teased to return by series writer Simon Spurrier, the cover/solicit for this issue reveals they shall! Also of interest…the undead bounty hunter? Is that Tam Posla, meaning he likely gets possessed by the hookspores at the end of next week’s Aphra #25? Either way, this awesome sounding arc got even more exciting thanks to the return of Winloss and Nokk and the simple fact it’s another issue about everyone’s favorite (especially mine) rogue archaeologist.
Star Wars #59 (on sale 01/09/19)
Kieron Gillen (Writer), Angel Unzueta (Artist)
Cover by Jamal Campbell | Action Figure Variant Cover by John Tyler Christopher | Greatest Hits Variant Cover By Leinil Francis Yu
“THE ESCAPE” PART FOUR!
• LUKE, LEIA and HAN remain stranded on the isolated moon of Hubin and out of the fight against the Empire.
• Who says they even WANT to leave?
• But their hideaway may not be so secret…especially for old foes hot on the rebels’ trail.
Star Wars #60 (on sale 01/23/19)
Kieron Gillen (Writer), Angel Unzueta (Artist)
Cover by Jamal Campbell | Action Figure Variant Cover by John Tyler Christopher
“THE ESCAPE” PART FIVE!
• You can escape the horror of the galaxy.
• But only for a while.
• The return of SCAR SQUADRON.
Star Wars’ “The Escape” arc looks to be loads of fun, but these issues tease the return of Scar Squadron and I’m not quite sure how to feel. By the end of Jason Aaron’s run, Scar Squad bumbled from failure to failure without making any real impact against our heroes, and even after a final issue where the Squad goes off and decimates some rebels, it still was only against nameless/faceless ones. I want Scar to be a worthy opponent to our heroes/for this series and one of the ways I’ve figured it could be was introducing a bigger cast of characters than just our Big Three. This arc promises that, from whomever the Big Three stumbles into living with while stranded on Hubin to Luke’s potential girlfriend named Tula, as revealed by December’s solicitations. However, if Gillen decides to make Scar more deadly by adding to Luke’s girlfriend death toll, I will not be pleased in the slightest. It’ll make them a better threat than they have been before, but at the cost of fridging another woman…that I can’t abide by, so I really, really, really hope that’s not the outcome here. UPDATE: The solicitations for this arc incorrectly stated these two issues as parts three and four, and I’ve changed them to correct numbers, four and five respectively.
Star Wars: Han Solo – Imperial Cadet #3 (on sale 01/02/19)
Robbie Thompson (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Artist)
Cover by David Nakayama | Variant Cover By Todd Nauck
“CASINO ROYALE!
• HAN SOLO gets demoted for insubordination – dragging his fellow cadets down with him. They go from flying TIE fighters to flying a giant cargo ship.
• Han’s expert flying cuts their cargo ship’s flight time in half, allowing them to stop at a casino for some hard-earned R&R.
• But Han’s fellow cadets quickly learn this little “vacation” was NOT authorized by the Empire and, thanks to Han, they’re all considered AWOL!”
The more I learn about this miniseries, the first issue of which drops in November, the more I wish this became a movie! I enjoyed Solo: A Star Wars Story, flaws and all, and more of Alden Ehrenreich’s young Solo would always be a plus in my book. Plus, referencing one of my favorite Bond films? Whoever writes theses solicits, you deserve a star.
Solo: A Star Wars Story Adaptation #4 (on sale 01/30/19)
Robbie Thompson (Writer), Will Sliney (Artist)
Cover by Phil Noto | Variant Cover By Yasmine Putri
“THE KESSEL RUN!
• HAN, CHEWBACCA and QI’RA have one chance to keep DRYDEN VOS from killing them…
• …teaming up with LANDO and L3 to pull off the impossible KESSEL RUN heist!
• But if they succeed, will ENFYS NEST once again take their stolen goods?”
I checked out the first issue, and won’t review this adaptation until it wraps up, but already the art’s great and the pace was much better than the last few adaptations, thanks to Solo’s inflated 7-issue size!
IDW
Star Wars Adventures: Flight of the Falcon
Michael Moreci (Writer), Arianna Florean (Artist & Cover)
“The Flight of the Falcon ends here! We’ve followed Bazine Netal’s quest for the legendary starship the Millennium Falcon, but here’s one final tale yet to be told, featuring famous pirate captain, Hondo Ohnaka!”
Announced back at SDCC, The Flight of the Falcon is a series of stories across mediums that, as the solicit mentions, follows Bazine’s quest for the Falcon. Bazine made a brief screen appearance in The Force Awakens and starred in the fun little short spy story, The Perfect Weapon. And Hondo Ohnaka needs no introduction! Or at least that’s how he’d feel.
Star Wars Adventures #18
Delilah S. Dawson, Michael Moreci (Writers), Derek Charm, Arianna Florean (Artists)
Covers by Derek Charm, Nicoletta Baldari, and Arianna Florean
“Padmé Amidala joins Jar Jar Binks on a quest to recover a legendary Gungan artifact. Uh oh! This one is going to be very messy! Plus, Gannis Ducain details his time with the Millennium Falcon!”
Padmé and MORE Jar Jar content in January of 2019???!!! Blessed is 2019. Hunting down a legendary Gungan artifact? Makes me wonder if it’ll be the one Palpatine later has on board his personal yacht, as seen in 2015’s Lando miniseries! As for the Ducain story, I’m excited to see that considering he was named by Han Solo in The Force Awakens one of the potential owners of the Falcon after he “lost” it.
Star Wars Adventures – Destroyer Down #3 of 3
“Swallowed by the shifting sands of Jakku, the Imperial Star Destroyer Spectral has been lost for two decades, giving rise to rumors of hauntings and buried treasure. But an epic sandstorm has revealed the ruins of the starship, and renowned scavenger Rey now leads the race to claim whatever lies within!
Three-issue mini-series set during the days before The Force Awakens!
Includes a backup story depicting the Battle of Jakku, revealing how the Star Destroyer Spectral met its fate during the last days of the Empire!”
The solicitation for this 3-part miniseries hasn’t changed since the announcement, but in January it finally comes to an end.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
2019 SOLICITATIONS: February | March | April | May
CURRENT MARVEL COMIC REVIEWS:
Doctor Aphra
Aphra (#1-6) | And the Enormous Profit (#9-13) | Remastered (#14-19) | The Catastrophe Con (#20-25) | Annual: #2
Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith
The Chosen One (#1-6) | The Dying Light (#7-12) | The Rule of Five (#11-12) | Burning Seas (#13-18) | Fortress Vader (#19-25) | Annual: #2
Poe Dameron
Black Squadron (#1-3) | Lockdown (#4-6) | The Gathering Storm (#7-13) | Legend Lost (#14 – 16) | War Stories (#17-19) | Legend Found(#20-25) | The Awakening (#26-31) | Annual: #2
Star Wars
Ashes of Jedha (#38-43) | Mutiny at Mon Cala (#44-49) | Hope Dies (#50-55) | Annual: #4
Lando – Double or Nothing (comic miniseries) | Beckett (one-shot) | Thrawn (adaptation)