Don’t mind me, over here in the corner, breathing painfully into a brown paper bag, worrying about what these November 2019 Star Wars comics solicitations are pointing towards: the potential end of the Doctor Aphra series?!!!!!??? But let’s not focus on endings and look forward to…wait, now the Star Wars mainline series is ending (for now)?! I’ll be in the corner again, so you go ahead and check out the solicits below…I’ll be fine. Probably.
MARVEL
Doctor Aphra #38 (on sale 11/6)
Si Spurrier (Writer), Caspar Wijngaard (Artist)
Cover by Ashley Witter | Star Wars Greatest Moments Variant Cover by Tommy Lee Edwards
A ROGUE’S END Part 2: THE DARK LORD FALTERS…
- DOCTOR APHRA’s reunion with her FATHER would’ve be a happy affair – if he wasn’t a pompous blowhard set to take her job as the Empire’s chief archaeologist.
- Of course, her dear old dad will have to survive Imperial Interrogation first, and which pair of charming psycho-droids do you suppose DARTH VADER has hired for the job?
- And what happens when the ancient stones of a long-lost Jedi Temple cast their ghostly influence upon the Dark Lord of the Sith himself…?
Doctor Aphra #39 (on sale 11/27)
Si Spurrier (Writer), Caspar Wijngaard (Artist)
Cover by Ashley Witter | Star Wars Greatest Moments Variant Cover by Tommy Lee Edwards
A ROGUE’S END Part 3: SOME LIKE IT HOTH…
- DOCTOR APHRA has so far failed to seize the secret location of the new rebel base… but that hasn’t stopped the rebels seizing HER…
- After all the bad blood and countless betrayals, does any love linger between Aphra and her new captor, Rebel Captain MAGNA TOLVAN?
- But with DARTH VADER himself keeping tabs on her progress, will Aphra see in Tolvan one last, seducible opportunity to sell-out the future of the galaxy, and save her own skin?
As a big Doctor Aphra fan, I’m honestly flabbergasted by these solicits for multiple reasons. The biggest is the impending end-of-the-series vibes I’m getting from these story beats, as they all feel like it’s leading to one big moment that’ll determine the character’s future, for better or worse. And then each story beat itself is leaving me floored: Aphra’s dad, Korin coming back into the picture, of course getting in her way again by trying to take her job this time; the murderbots Triple-Zero and Beetee return to the series on torture duty; Aphra’s under Vader’s careful watch, lending some credence to my theory she’ll thwart Voor’s usurping plans to get off his instant kill list to kill later list, but can she worm her way out of his grasps this time?; especially if Vader is under the influence of some ancient stones?; and the bubbling romance between Tolvan and Aphra, on good terms at this moment in issue #35, is directly in the middle of Aphra’s choice between life and death! It’s almost too much for me to comprehend, making me almost want to avoid reading December’s solicitations when they drop, as it’ll have details on the final issue of the “A Rogue’s End” arc…and could come with series finale news as well!?! I hope not, and while I wasn’t worried when this latest arc was first announced, now I’m damn terrified. Though if it has to end, it better not end with Aphra’s death, as that’d be truly devastating (to many fans, not just me), while also robbing Star Wars of one of its best new characters and all the great potential her character has for novels, TV shows, movies, etc. I’ll begin praying to the Force now…
UPDATE (11/7): Since this posting, we’ve been on a roller coaster ride: first, the Aphra series was coming to an end, then we learned Marvel would relaunch in 2020 and Aphra would somehow be involved, and finally we got the greatest news of all that Aphra will be back in April 2020. So I can breathe easy….and you can enjoy this review of issue #38!
Star Wars #74 (on sale 11/6)
Greg Pak (Writer), Phil Noto (Artist/Cover Artist)
Action Figure Variant Cover by John Tyler Christopher | Star Wars Greatest Moments Variant Cover by Pauline Voß
WOOKIEE VS. SITH!
- Our three stories converge as the rebels’ plan to destroy the Empire’s fleet come to a head! But can LUKE really trust the grifter WARBA CALIP?
- Can HAN, LEIA, and DAR CHAMPION survive a head-on battle with a STAR DESTROYER?
- And what happens when CHEWBACCA takes on LORD VADER himself in hand-to-hand combat?
- And the Rebellion’s search for a new home…a base safe from the reach of the Empire…begins.
Star Wars #75 (on sale 11/20)
Greg Pak (Writer), Phil Noto (Artist/Cover Artist)
Action Figure Variant Cover by John Tyler Christopher | Star Wars Greatest Moments Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | Variant Cover by Greg Land
FINAL ISSUE! IT’S A TRAP!
- The epic REBELS AND ROGUES storyline reaches its explosive end! Can THREEPIO save the rock people of K43?
- Is WARBA the master or the student? Which Champion falls?
- And how much of LUKE’S desperate plan has DARTH VADER foreseen from the beginning?
- The search for a new rebel base continues!
While I’m not getting the same series ending vibes here, the big “FINAL ISSUE” certainly does make one wonder if it means the “Rebels & Rogues” arc or the series itself. With The Empire Strikes Back so close, it wouldn’t be a surprise the series could come to an end, but I’d also not be surprised if it went to a new era, potentially filling in the one year between ESB and Return of the Jedi; going there could give us a better take on a Shadows of the Empire-esque story (aka showing what they learned, as this excellent essay talks about regarding the EU). UPDATE: While writing this, confirmation has come in that the series will be ending with issue #75, though the fine folks over at Comics With Kenobi have heard it from someone in the know that the series will be restarted, much like how we got a second Darth Vader series. Well, if this is the end for the first era of the Star Wars mainline series, so far they couldn’t have asked for a better way to go with Greg Pak and Phil Noto’s refreshing work. Really excited to see how this arc wraps up and where the series goes next! Here are more of my thoughts on the series ending and plans for our reviews for the series’ finale.
Jedi: Fallen Order – Dark Temple #4 (on sale 11/13)
Matthew Rosenberg (Writer), Paolo Villanelli (Artist)
Cover by Will Sliney | Variant Cover by TBA
ONE AGAINST A WORLD
- Jedi Knight ENO CORDOVA must risk his life to uncover the secrets of the Dark Temple on Ontotho…while the fearsome Ontothon army approaches!
- Can Padawan CERE JUNDA alone stop them from taking the temple for themselves?
- And who are the deadly TEMPLE GUARDIANS and what are they protecting?
This issue comes out days before the release of the video game, Jedi: Fallen Order, so I’ll be curious to see how/if the game’s story potentially spoils the finale to this miniseries tie-in or not. At the very least, this solicit looks to go against my thoughts Cere’s Master will turn evil/will be an antagonist in the game as he looks to be making the ultimate Jedi-like sacrifice to uncover secrets, but if the cover artist for issue #1 confirmed he drew Eno to resemble actor Tony Amendola on purpose, maybe we’ll still Eno in some shape or form in the game, like flashbacks?
Target Vader #5 (on sale 11/13)
Robbie Thompson (Writer), Stefano Landini (Artist)
Cover by Nic Klein
THE GREAT ESCAPE!
- VALANCE has been betrayed, captured, and now stands alone.
- But nothing will stop THE HUNTER from finishing his prey… DARTH VADER, who is closing in on his own target, THE HIDDEN HAND, a mysterious syndicate working with scum, villainy… and the REBELLION?
- Can Valance use his training as a former Imperial to escape… or will he find out he has more in common with the Dark Lord than he could ever have imagined?!
The most interesting aspect to this series is seeing if it deals with Valance’s story as well as both the original Marvel years did and the recent one-off Legends continuation that wrapped up his story. I’ll have a review of the whole miniseries once it ends in December, but for now you can check out my review of the first issue.
IDW
Star Wars Adventures #28
John Barber, Michael Moreci (Writers), Derek Charm, Tony Fleecs (Artists)
Cover by Derek Charm | Variant Cover by Tony Fleecs
In this second installment of a three-part story, the mighty Wookiees of Kashyyyk must defend their home against the armies of the evil First Order. Plus, R2-D2, C-3PO, and BB-8 team up on a top-secret spy adventure for the Resistance.
• The journey to The Rise of Skywalker continues here!
Very curious to see how this all plays out in IDW’s Adventures, that’s for sure!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
2019 SOLICITATIONS: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | December
CURRENT SERIES COMIC REVIEWS:
Doctor Aphra
Worst Among Equals (#26-31) | Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon (#32-37) | Annual: #2
Age of Rebellion (miniseries) | Age of Resistance (miniseries)
Star Wars
Kieron Gillen Retrospective (#38-67) | Greg Pak – Rebels and Rogues (#68-73)
TIE Fighter (miniseries)
Galaxy’s Edge (miniseries)