Star Wars comics’ September 2023 is going to be quite an interesting month, because if you’re not that interested in another crossover from Marvel, your only other options are adaptations of TV shows, including a newly announced one for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Dark Horse offers what is sure to be some good frights, as well as the return of Quinlan Vos to comics, so exploring their output will give you a little more variety, otherwise saddle up for Dark Droids, the unexpected reformation of D-Squad, tons of Scourged droids, more Lando and Lobot drama, and…General Grievous?! Head below to see what’s all in store for September 2023 Star Wars comics!
MARVEL
Dark Droids #2 (on sale 09/06)
Charles Soule (Writer), Luke Ross (Artist)
Cover by Leinil Francis Yu | Variant Cover by E.M. Gist | Action Figure Variant Cover By John Tyler Christopher | Scourged/Scourged Virgin Variant Cover By Rachael Stott | Droids Connecting Variant Cover By Josemaria Casanovas
- The horror continues as THE SCOURGE begins to execute its grand plan, orchestrating its droid minions across the galaxy.
- It learns more with every passing moment, grows stronger…and is selecting the next targets on its path to total dominion over all mechanical intelligence!
- Standing in its way, only the warrior-priest droid AJAX SIGMA and the sentient droids of the SECOND REVELATION.
The crossover isn’t even out yet and we’re already learning some intriguing new details from these solicitations. Case in point, it wasn’t quite clear how Ajax Sigma would be involved with the story, and given his Revelations one-shot appearance last year, it did at least seem in a villainous role…but according to this solicit, that might not be the case! Described as a “warrior-priest droid,” it seems Ajax is standing against this Scourge, which we’ve also learned here seems to be some type of sentient program. Just because Ajax will stand against the Scourge doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a good droid, but he seems better than the Scourge, at least! Also, curious to meet the droids of this “Second Revelation.” I’ve had my reservations for this crossover but this month it’s in true full-swing and this solicit and those which follow below for tie-in issues has me a little more optimistic.
Star Wars #38 (on sale 9/6)
Charles Soule (Writer), Madibek Musabekov (Artist)
Cover by Stephen Segovia | Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | The Clone Wars 15th Anniversary Cody Variant Cover by E.M. Gist | Action Figure Variant Cover by John Tyler Christopher | Droids Connecting Variant Cover by Josemaria Casanovas
TATOOINE TREASON! – A DARK DROIDS TIE-IN!
- As the SCOURGE OF THE DROIDS makes its way through the palace of JABBA THE HUTT on Tatooine, LANDO CALRISSIAN is faced with a dire situation as he attempts to save the life of his old friend LOBOT.
- Their salvation is hidden deep within the palace……but will they live long enough to find it?
Charles, Lando and Lobot have been through enough!!! Stop this right now!!! Have you no compassion???? All jokes aside, I do feel for these two, especially since we still don’t know the ultimate outcome of Lando’s efforts to save Lobot, as all this in-between can feel a tad mean at times, but do we eat it up when Soule delivers. I’m curious if this will help explain Lando’s little undercover role at the Palace during their efforts to save Han.
Darth Vader #38 (on sale 9/13)
Greg Pak (Writer), Raffaele Ienco (Artist)
Cover by Leinil Francis Yu | Variant Cover by Bjorn Barends | Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | The Clone Wars 15th Anniversary Padmé Variant Cover by E.M. Gist | Droids Connecting Variant Cover by Josemaria Casanovas
THE SCOURGE COMES FOR THE EXECUTOR! – A DARK DROIDS TIE-IN!
- As DARTH VADER’S Super Star Destroyer flagship faces its deadliest threat ever, the DARK LORD fights the war on two fronts — against a horde of SCOURGED DROIDS…and against the forces of THE EMPIRE itself!
- Featuring a rare glimpse into the true character of ADMIRAL PIETT!
Why is Vader fighting both the Scourged droids and the Empire? I…actually don’t have a good guess other than someone must believe or has been lead to believe he’s responsible for the killer droid incursion onboard the Executor. As much as one can like an Imperial Officer, I always kind of liked Piett, as he didn’t seem like a total jerk, so I’ll be interested to see his “true character” this issue.
Dark Droids: D-Squad #1 (on sale 9/20)
Marc Guggenheim (Writer), Salva Espín & David Messina (Artist)
Cover by Aaron Kuder | Action Figure Variant Cover by John Tyler Christopher | Droids Connecting Variant Cover by Josemaria Casanovas | Variant Cover by Tom Reilly | Variant Cover by Mike McKone
THE UNSUNG HEROES OF THE CLONE WARS RETURN!
- A terrible scourge is corrupting the galaxy’s droids! To fight this menace, ARTOO-DETOO has to assemble a team of droid heroes: THE D-SQUAD!
- Filled with guest stars from across the galaxy, including a special appearance (and showdown!) by CHOPPER from STAR WARS REBELS.
- PLUS: THE BOOK OF AJAX provides the missing pieces linking REVELATIONS, DARK DROIDS and HAN SOLO & CHEWBACCA – read to see how IT’S ALL CONNECTED.
Helping build my optimism for the crossover, the return of D-Squad! Announced earlier this month, Artoo is a big time droid, putting together a crew…to save all droid-kind! He’ll be joined by Triple-Zero, Bee Tee, IG-88, 4-LOM, and WAC-47, the pit droid from the original arc in The Clone Wars in what will be a team-up for the ages. The initial announcement wasn’t too clear on Chopper’s involvement, but it seems he’s special appearing for some type of showdown?! With who and why?! Can’t wait to find out. Also, clearing up some of Ajax’s story with the special back-up story “The Book of Ajax” will be helpful for the whole experience, I imagine.
Bounty Hunters #38 (on sale 9/20)
Ethan Sacks (Writer), Davide Tinto (Artist)
Cover by Marco Checchetto | General Grievous Variant Cover by Björn Barends | Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | The Clone Wars 15th Anniversary Cad Bane Variant Cover by E.M. Gist | Droids Connecting Variant Cover by Josemaria Casanovas
GRIEVOUS ATTACKS! – A DARK DROIDS TIE-IN!
- ZUCKUSS, 4-LOM and their fellow bounty hunters face a deadly droid ambush!
- VALANCE’s life hangs in the balance!
- What role has GENERAL GRIEVOUS played in the chaos roiling the galaxy?
Is….is this a flashback? Or somehow…General Grievous has returned (insert Poe Dameron from The Rise of Skywalker meme here)?! I kind of would like it to be Grievous, as I imagine the mainly machine warrior could have some type of memory back-up, somewhere, waiting for a body to climb back into, but I also like the idea of finding ways to show the Scourge is something that’s been swimming around the galaxy for a while now before it finally struck. With the recently released 35th issue, now is a great time to get into this series if Grievous has caught your attention!
Doctor Aphra #36 (on sale 9/27)
Alyssa Wong (Writer), Minkyu Jung (Artist)
Cover by Derrick Chew | Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary Variant Cover by Chris Sprouse | Star Wars: Clone Wars 15th Anniversary Ahsoka Variant/Virgin Variant Cover by E.M. Gist | Droids Connecting Variant Cover by Josemaria Casanovas | Variant Cover by Luciano Vecchio
AMBUSHED! – A DARK DROIDS TIE-IN!
- Trapped in a warehouse full of DEADLY BATTLE DROIDS, DOCTOR APHRA fights for her life!
- But she’s about to come face-to-face with THE ONE ENEMY she never expected to see again!
Her investigation on behalf of Domina Tagge is NOT going well if she’s fighting for her life, and against Clone Wars-era battle droids to boot! But who could the enemy she never expected to see again be? Is it Dr. Evazan, who thoroughly messed with her in the past? Is it Eneb Ray, who she and the others thought they left behind on Sunspot Prison? Some droid she built in the past? Herself? I’ll be very curious to learn who it is since most of the ones I can think of right now have ended up dead, though often not by her hands. Regardless, I am going to REALLY REALLY need Luciano Vecchio’s variant cover!!!
Obi-Wan Kenobi #1 (on sale 6/13)
Jody Houser (Writer), Salvador Larroca (Artist)
Cover by Phil Noto | Variant Cover by Lee Garbett | Variant/Virgin Variant Cover by Taurin Clarke | Obi-Wan Kenobi Photo Variant Cover Also Available
THE HIT DISNEY+ SERIES OBI-WAN KENOBI HAS ARRIVED!
- When agents of the Empire pose a new threat, OBI-WAN KENOBI emerges after years of hiding.
- Taking place after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan Kenobi is tasked with keeping both of the SKYWALKER children safe from a distance…until young LEIA ORGANA finds herself held in a ransom plot.
- Introducing REVA, THE THIRD SISTER OF THE INQUISITORS!
Revealed earlier this week, Marvel does what Marvel does…making an adaptation. Are sales of The Mandalorian comic going that well or do they just assume it’ll be a safe sell? And if the sales are so good, don’t you think Lucasfilm would prefer and prioritize Blu-ray/physical media releases? Regardless, Houser did a good job with adaptations like Thrawn and Rogue One, so Reva, Obi-Wan, and young Leia’s story should be just as enjoyable as it was on-screen. I am not a fan of Larocca as he traces far too much and it just looks tacky, but I guess at least it’s for a comic where he’ll just be doing so from the Disney+ series, so at least each issue will essentially be a screenshot collection. I’ll be checking out the first issue to see how it goes, but I likely won’t be reviewing it as I’ve already covered the show.
The Mandalorian Season 2 #4 (on sale 9/27)
Rodney Barnes (Writer), Steven Cummigs (Artist)
Cover by Steven Cummings |Variant Cover by Daniel Warren Johnson | Variant Cover by Ryan Brown | Concept Art Cover Also Available
THE SIEGE!
- THE MANDALORIAN rejoins old allies for a new mission.
- Featuring the DARK TROOPERS!
Now there are two of them! The second season adaptation finds itself at a thrilling episode, “The Siege.”
DARK HORSE
Tales from the Death Star (on sale 9/26)
Cavan Scott (Writer), Eric Powell, Soo Lee, Vincenzo Riccardi, Ingo Romling, & Juan Samu (Artists)
“That’s no moon…”
Even scattered and destroyed, the ruins of the Death Star are a sinister place.
From the destruction of Alderaan to the shadow of the Forest Moon, alien creatures, phantom starships, deadly artifacts, and vengeful spirits all stalk the halls of the infamous space station, as writer Cavan Scott (Tales from the Rancor Pit, Star Wars: The High Republic) and an all-star team of artists (Eric Powell, Soo Lee, Vincenzo Riccardi, Ingo Romling, & Juan Samu) reveal the hidden evils that lurked within charred remains of the ultimate firepower in the universe.
Almost forgot this one was coming out later this year! The yearly blast of horror fun from Cavan Scott and all-star artists has survived the journey to Dark Horse and after dipping into the Rancor Pit, it’s heading to the Death Star! According to Dark Horse’s panel at Celebration Europe 2023, there will be stories featuring Grand Moff Tarkin, of course, ghost Vectors from The High Republic era, and the dianoga named Omi!
Hyperspace Stories #9 (on sale 9/27)
Michael Moreci (Writer), Nick Brokenshire (Artist)
Cover by Fico Ossio | Variant Cover by Cory Nord
Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos arrives on the crime ridden world of Bevana, on a mission that could be the key to ending the Clone Wars. But it turns out the defector he’s tracking has more than Dooku’s secrets, he’s also made off with a sizeable amount of the count’s fortune! Now Vos finds himself in a lethal race against time with the deadliest bounty hunter in the Galaxy, Cad Bane!
We got our first look at the cover for this thanks to the Dark Horse comics panel at Celebration Europe 2023! I love the idea of Quinlan Vos, who was a big part of Dark Horse’s original run of Star Wars comics, comes back home (even if I didn’t read those)! And more Cad Bane, especially after his disappointing death in The Book of Boba Fett, is always welcomed because there’s certainly more story to tell about him…same with Quinlan too! Regardless, the way there are three issues of this series scheduled for release for May, I’ll be curious if this sticks to a July landing, as it would be nice! This September date seems more reasonable, so we’ll see!
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.