With July 2023’s Star Wars comics solicitations, fans witness the relative calm before the incoming Dark Droids crossover storm (advanced solicited below). Boba Fett deals with a death mark from Black Sun with some new friends, Aphra and Luke deal with the very strange and intriguing Starweird (and Shaak Ti has something to do with it!), Poe Dameron’s parents are protecting who from an assassination attempt (!!?), and more! Head below to see what the July 2023 solicitations have in store for Star Wars comics!
MARVEL
Star Wars #36 (on sale 7/5)
Charles Soule (Writer), Andrea Di Vito (Artist)
Cover by Stephen Segovia | Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | Classic Trade Dress Variant Cover by Jerry Ordway | Action Figure Variant Cover by John Tyler Christopher | Variant Cover by Lee Garbett
DISASTER LOOMS FOR THE REBEL ALLIANCE!
- With the discovery that the Empire is building a second DEATH STAR, the Rebels are on the verge of despair.
- But LEIA ORGANA has devised an impossible mission to remind both the Rebels and the galaxy how to hope.
- It’s the FALCON’s time to shine, as the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy flies into the belly of the beast!
This issue was described as Top Gun but with the Millennium Falcon, so I’ll be curious what sort of mission this is that Leia thinks will give the Rebels and the galaxy some hope. But more importantly, I look forward to seeing the art for this one, as Mark Brooks’ work in the Han Solo miniseries really made the Falcon’s race scenes fun and inventive.
Yoda #9 (on sale 7/5)
Marc Guggenheim (Writer), Alessandro Miracolo (Artist)
Cover by Phil Noto | Variant Cover by Lee Garbett | Variant Cover by Salvador Larroca
WELL, HELLO THERE…
- The MEGADROID is on the march! And only Jedi Master YODA and ANAKIN SKYWALKER can stop it.
- But what is the lesson Yoda is trying to impart on young Skywalker?
- Guest-starring: OBI-WAN KENOBI!
At the Celebration Europe 2023 Marvel panel, they did say this issue would reveal who the Force Ghost pestering Yoda was, with my only two guesses being Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon, and now this solicit removes the guess work: it’s Obi-Wan. Which…isn’t surprising, at all, considering we know they have talked on Dagobah other times. Regardless, I’m still interested in hearing about these megadroids…
Bounty Hunters #36 (on sale 7/12)
Ethan Sacks (Writer), Lan Medina (Artist)
Cover by Marco Checchetto | Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | Classic Trade Dress Variant Cover by Jerry Ordway | Boba Fett & Death Stick Variant Cover by Salvador Larroca
BOBA FETT: MARKED FOR DEATH!
- THE BLACK SUN SYNDICATE wants BOBA FETT’S HEAD!
- But the new team of BOUNTY HUNTERS has something to say about that!
- Featuring DURGE, BOSSK, 4-LOM, ZUCKUSS, DEATHSTICK, VALANCE, KHEL, and T’ONGA!
Considering earlier in this era’s story we finally got mention of Xizor, will we finally see him if the Black Sun is after Boba Fett? I like the potential with Black Sun but also in the variety of this new group of hunters, as they are certainly a surprising list of allies for Boba at this point.
Darth Vader #36 (on sale 7/12)
Greg Pak (Writer), Raffaele Ienco (Artist)
Cover by Leinil Francis Yu | Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | Classic Trade Dress Variant Cover by Jerry Ordway | Variant Cover by Luciano Vecchio
DEATH BY DROID!
- With his Force powers still out of control, Darth Vader’s more powerful and vulnerable than ever before…
- Which makes this the perfect time for him to be BETRAYED by one of his most trusted associates (and astoundingly, it’s not APHRA or OCHI)!
- Featuring the return of TRIPLE-ZERO and BEE TEE – and the deadliest team up of droids Vader has ever faced!
Aphra’s little crossover with the Vader series doesn’t end with her betraying him for once?! I’ll be interested to see who it is, if it’s Sabé getting the murderbots and other various droids against him, or it’s just a droid itself overseeing this betrayal. Either way, it’s neat that not only will Aphra be in the series, but the murderbots too, bringing the group from the original 2015 series back together again!
Doctor Aphra #34 (on sale 7/19)
Alyssa Wong (Writer), Minkyu Jung (Artist)
Cover by Junggeun Yoon | Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | Classic Trade Dress Variant Cover by Jerry Ordway | Variant Cover by Kyle Hotz
ENTER THE STARWEIRD!
- Long ago, Jedi Masters SHAAK TI and AAYLA SECURA sealed away a GREAT AND TERRIBLE POWER…
- …a horrifying, ancient creature that RESONATES WITH THE FORCE…
- …and DOCTOR APHRA and LUKE SKYWALKER have just released it!
It seemed like Shaak Ti was destined to be still alive somehow after her being on a variant cover for this issue and the comic panel at Celebration seemed to suggest we’d actually see her, though a flashback seems to make more sense. But mayhaps it won’t be the only way we see her?! Either way, these Starweird, a Legends creature, sound incredibly interesting and look so damn spooky, so I am very excited to see what trouble it brings to Luke and Aphra!
Return of the Jedi – The Rebellion #1 (on sale 7/19)
Alex Segura (Writer), Matt Horak (Artist)
Cover/Virgin Variant Cover by Ryan Brown | Connecting Variant Cover by Lee Garbett | Variant Cover by Rod Reis | Variant Cover by Terry Dodson
MON MOTHMA MUST DIE!
- ADMIRAL ACKBAR is the only one with the knowledge of THE EMPIRE’s plans to kill Mon Mothma.
- Enter POE DAMERON’s parents, SHARA BEY and KES DAMERON, to thwart the threat!
- But do they have what it takes to take down the unknown assassin in time?
Two issues in, this series of one-shots celebrating Return of the Jedi’s 40th Anniversary have been pretty great so far, as it opened rather well with Jabba’s Palace but then really went somewhere special with Ewoks. I was curious what this issue would be about and I was not only surprised, but instantly intrigued! More time with Shara Bey and Kes Dameron?! Yes please! Them attempting to foil an assassination plot?! Okay! And the target is Mon Mothma?! Sign me up! Writer Alex Segura has some familiarity with the Dameron family, having authored Poe Dameron: Free Fall, which added in The Rise of Skywalker’s backstory to Poe’s life.
Darth Vader – Black, White & Red #4 (on sale 7/26)
Jason Aaron, Steve Orlando, Frank Tieri (Writers), Leonard Kirk, Paul Davidson, Danny Earls (Artists)
Cover by Taurin Clarke | Variant Cover by Tony Daniel | Variant Cover by Kevin Eastman
TRAPPED ON THE FROZEN PLANET HOTH!
- FRANK TIERI sends VADER to HOTH.
- STEVE ORLANDO goes cerebral with THE CORRUPTION OF DARTH VADER’S MIND!
- PLUS: The Final Chapter of JASON AARON & LEONARD KIRK’s dark tales!
We’re set to get the first issue of this the week after I write this article, so we’ll have a better idea how these little tales will all pan out. I’m still a little skeptical about the whole thing, but I do quite enjoy some of what I’m seeing in the newly released lettered preview of the first issue. Return to the Manor on or after April 26 for our review.
The Mandalorian Season 2 #2 (on sale 7/26)
Rodney Barnes (Writer), Steven Cummings (Artist)
Cover by Dike Ruan | Variant Cover by Caspar Wijngaard | Variant Cover by Jerry Ordway | Concept Art Variant Cover Also Available
THE PASSENGER!
- The Mandalorian must ferry a passenger with precious cargo on a dangerous journey.
- STEVEN CUMMINGS (CRIMSON REIGN, HIDDEN EMPIRE) joins RODNEY BARNES for issue #2 of this galaxy-spanning series!
You can check out my review of “Chapter 10 – The Passenger,” where we first meet the adorable Frog Lady! I do really like the cover by Caspar Wijngaard!
Dark Droids #1 (on sale August 2)
Charles Soule (Writer), Luke Ross (Artist)
Cover by Leinil Francis Yu | Variant Cover by Jim Cheung | Action Figure Variant Cover by John Tyler Christopher | Scourged Variant Cover by Rachael Stott | Foil Variant Cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli
“SCOURGE OF THE DROIDS!” A STAR WARS EPIC LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE!
- Who or what is THE SCOURGE, and why is no droid safe?
- As a corruption spreads from one droid to the next THE REBELLION and THE EMPIRE face chaos!
- What role does AJAX SIGMA play in all of this? And whose side is he on?
- Find out when horror comes to a galaxy far, far away!
Charles Soule continues his legendary run on STAR WARS with the most ambitious event in STAR WARS comics history! Joined by his WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS collaborator Luke Ross, the superstar teams carves a new path for the future!
This is an advanced solicitation for the upcoming horror-themed crossover event, Dark Droids! This still feels like the wrong time to have this story come out, after having three big events already, but the information in the Marvel panel at Celebration 2023 made this sound more personal for the characters in their own stories instead of a galaxy-wide focus, but we’ll see. Also…didn’t they say the War of the Bounty Hunters was the most ambitious event? I appreciate the attempts to hype this up, I am intrigued after all, but we’ll see how this all shakes out once it kicks off in August. And if it sticks to a monthly release, it might all wrap up before 2024, which is when I was suspecting Star Wars comics might finally jump from this era and into a new one. We shall see!
DARK HORSE
Look for Hyperspace Stories #6 on 7/5!
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.