Comic(s) Relief: Marvel’s Star Wars #1 Gets A Gorgeous Alex Ross Cover

A long time ago...er, this January...

By David Wharton | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

Star-WarsDark Horse held the Star Wars comics license for almost 25 years, giving fans countless stories of George Lucas‘ galaxy far, far away, including Dark Empire and Legacy. In the aftermath of the Disney/Lucasfilm buyout, however, it’s a whole new era for the franchise. With the Disney-owned Marvel launching multiple new Star Wars comics series beginning next year, all part of the new and more closely policed Expanded Universe. But this won’t be unfamiliar territory for Marvel — they published a line of popular Star Wars comics back in the late ’70s and ’80s. The first issue of Marvel’s new Star Wars ongoing will be embracing that legacy with a gorgeous photorealistic cover by artist Alex Ross, seen above.

Revealed by EW, the cover for Marvel’s Star Wars #1 is a tribute to the cover of Marvel’s first Star Wars comic, published way back in April 1977. Here’s that original cover by artist Howard Chaykin for comparison.

SWOriginal

It’s a very cool way for Marvel to tip its hat to the past while forging into the future. Star Wars #1 will be written by Jason Aaron (Scalped), with art by John Cassady (Planetary), and will spin stories about the trilogy’s core trio of Han, Luke, and Leia. It will hit shelves in January 2015, with more Star Wars titles to follow, including another ongoing series focused on Darth Vader and a five-issue miniseries shining the spotlight on Princess Leia.

This Week’s New Sci-Fi Comics

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