Comic(s) Relief: Wait, Marvel’s Star Wars #1 Has Already Sold How Many Copies?
The Force is strong with this one.
This article is more than 2 years old
With new movies in the works and the internet still ga-ga over the Force Awakens trailer, Star Wars is bigger than ever. We’ve still got a long year to wait before we see the franchise return to the big screen, but thankfully there’s still plenty of material to keep us entertained until then. We’ve got the Star Wars Rebels animated series, and we’ve got new Star Wars novels like A New Dawn and Tarkin. Next month a new era of Star Wars kicks off at Marvel Comics, with several series scheduled to premiere in 2015. And it’s gonna be a big one: Marvel has confirmed that Star Wars #1 has already sold one million copies.
That’s a big number, but how significant is it? Well, it makes Star Wars #1 the best-selling single issue of the past 20 years. As a further bit of context, that timeframe very nearly encompasses the entire time Dark Horse was publishing Star Wars comics (they held the license from 1991 – 2014). Now the license has returned to Marvel and it’s riding the crest of renewed Star Wars fervor leading up to the release of The Force Awakens. It’s probably inevitable that the subsequent sales of the series will drop off a bit, but you never know. With the comics now officially unfolding as part of the same canon as the films — a first — fans may be inspired to stick with the Star Wars comics for the long haul.
Star Wars #1 releases on January 14, 2015, telling new stories of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa, all set between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Jason Aaron is writing the series, and John Cassady is providing the artwork.
This Week’s New Comics
Bitch Planet #1 (Image Comics)
2014 Best Writer Eisner Award nominee KELLY SUE DeCONNICK (PRETTY DEADLY, Captain Marvel) and VALENTINE DE LANDRO (X-Factor) team up for the very third time to bring you the premiere issue of BITCH PLANET, their highly-anticipated women-in-prison sci-fi exploitation riff. Think Margaret Atwood meets Inglourious Basterds.
Deep State #2 (Boom! Studios)
Harrow and Branch’s investigation of the long-lost Soviet lander’s crash site leads them to a small town in rural Pennsylvania. Before the mysterious force is able to take control of the townspeople and enact its full plan, the Agents of Control must isolate the town from the world and eliminate the menace.
Eternal #1 (Boom! Studios)
In a world of clones, the Human Liberation Army wants to free people from New Life’s grasp. Their leader Gail will take the most drastic, personal measures yet to do so. Rathmann, a former homicide detective turned New Life enforcer, is on the case, and is asking tough questions. Violet, a young girl and one of the few non-cloned humans (Pures, they’re called) left, is longing to enter the real world. But she has no idea the danger she is stepping into.
Federal Bureau of Physics #16 (Vertigo)
With the secrets of his father’s final work laid bare will Adam sign up to save the world? New series artist Alberto Ponticelli makes his debut in this issue that kicks off a new story arc in world where physics has gone mad!
Flash Gordon #7 (Dynamite Entertainment)
We can’t tell you what happens in this issue. Sorry. We’ll say that Jeff Parker (Aquaman! Batman ’66!) wrote it, Evan Shaner (Adventures of Superman!) drew it, Jordie Bellaire (Moon Knight!) colored it… and Flash Gordon is involved. But trust us… you don’t want us to spoil what happens. (Note: It is 95 trillion pounds of awesome in a ten-pound space bag!)
The Fuse #8 (Image Comics)
‘GRIDLOCK,’ Part Two Turns out the gridlocker’s death was no accident, and Klem for one is shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you, to discover this is a murder case. But it won’t stop her going over The Wall, or even down into Smacktown, to find the killer!
Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1 (Marvel Comics)
Most days in space aren’t exactly what you’d call normal, but everything seemed to be status quo today. That is until a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier showed up out of nowhere…IN SPACE. Sometimes you have to go outside your jurisdiction to take care of business, but this might be stretching it a bit.
John Carter: Warlord of Mars #2 (Dynamite Entertainment)
Warlord of Mars continues with a second round of adventure! In issue #2, we’ll see Tarkas confront his rival, Tars — only one of them is walking away from the encounter. As for John Carter, he’s still prospecting for gold in the Arizona wilderness. But his life is about to take a very unexpected turn!
Prometheus: Fire and Stone #4 (Dark Horse)
Casualties rise as the Prometheus’s recovery team find themselves trapped between an unrelenting alien horde, a ruthless Engineer, and a vengeful victim of the mysterious accelerant!
Rocket Raccoon #6 (Marvel Comics)
Rocket and Groot are the two best friends that anybody ever had. And they’re also amazing at killing really big alien things/saving the Galaxy!
Rogue Trooper Classics #8 (IDW Publishing)
The adventures of the only surviving Genetic Infantryman continue! In this issue, the epic ‘All Hell on the Dix-I Front’ reaches its conclusion, and then Rogue goes on an ‘Assassination Run’ in this final issue!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #41 (IDW Publishing)
‘Attack on Technodrome’ begins! Time is short as Krang accelerates his plan to terraform the Earth… which will kill all who live on it! A surprise alliance results in a daring plan — and the stakes have never been higher!
Transformers #36 (IDW Publishing)
DAYS OF DECEPTION! All-out war erupts on the streets of Tokyo when PROWL finally gets his hand on the one human he wants to get revenge on… and when PROWL gets revenge, it’s never pretty.
The Walking Dead #135 (Image Comics)
Face to face.
Winterworld #6 (IDW Publishing)
Snowblind! Scully is sightless and must rely on Wynn to survive in a world that seeks to kill them at every turn. Their stolen vehicle is carjacked in turn by even more dangerous lowlifes. And their oldest enemy, Skitters, has stalked them across two frozen oceans and two icy continents and is now within striking distance. It’s a cruel world populated by crueler people where each day, each moment, might be your last.
