Star Wars comics

[Captain Untouchable]

Anyone been reading any of these?

If not, I would definitely recommend them, if you're the kind of person who likes comic books. Star Wars and Darth Vader are a really nice pair of series that run in parallel. One follows Vader as he tries to make up for his "failure" at the Death Star, and discover the identity of the mystery pilot who destroyed it. It's a lot of Vader being an absolute badass, and being 100% done with the Empire's shit. The other follows Luke as he fumbles around in the dark trying to work out what being a Jedi means, and also follows Leia/Han/Chewie/Threepio on their ongoing Rebel adventures. I especially like how much these comics (and others) shore up the part that Leia actually plays in the Rebellion. There's also some fun/cool moments, like starting to find out why Chewie is so inexplicably fond/protective of 3PO. Also, the Darth Vader comic has R2 and 3PO's evil murder-bot twins, who are pretty funny.

There's the Journey to The Force Awakens miniseries, which is a four-part adventure that happens immediately after Endor, and focuses on Poe Dameron's parents, who are awesome. There are some cool little "this is how the Empire reacted to Endor" tidbits as well, and some other stuff (ominous spoiler avoidance vagueness) that feels like it might end up being relevant in the future. I am especially fond of Poe's mother, who has much better taste in fighters than her son does (she's an A-Wing pilot). Hopefully Poe will see the error of his ways, and start flying around in his mother's vastly superior fighter in Episode VIII.

If you're a fan of Star Wars Rebels, there's Kanan - The Last Padawan which charts how Kanan survived the Clone Wars and became the kind of person he is. I've only read the first five issues so far (after that, the series seems to have shortened it's name to just "Kanan"), but it's awesomely bittersweet, and it makes a fantastic companion to Season 2. There's a lot more to Kanan's feelings towards clones and the Rebellion and change and such than the show has touched on.

And lastly (of the ones I've read so far), there's Obi-Wan & Anakin, which literally only started in the last day or so. It's set before Episode II, so Obi Wan is still his sassy younger self, but Anakin hasn't become an emotional teenager yet. Only one issue so far, but it seems promising.

For all of the above though, I've got to say: the story, and the artwork, are fantastic. They're the perfect kind of gap-filling story - it doesn't matter that you didn't know this stuff already, but it adds a lot once you do. Little tidbits like explaining why the Emperor waited twenty years to dissolve the Senate, why Vader gets along with bounty hunters so well, and all of that stuff is really cool; and the art captures the characters really well, and even has panels that deliberately echo moments from the movies.

If you are still riding high on your Star Wars hype, and you want to spend some of your money on something other than cinema tickets (or ships for the X-Wing miniatures game ), I would definitely recommend checking some of these out.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I read and enjoyed the Shattered Empire four-parter.
Got the first issue of Vader on sale, but otherwise waiting for some more discounts before I leap in.

[Alis'ans'amey]

I can't afford them but will probably try when they're collected in a series

[Dasquian Belargic]

Yeah, comics isn't a cheap hobby. I'm more inclined towards picking up actual books instead of them, just for the amount of time you get from them vs your money.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Yeah, we picked up the Darth Vader book and Journey to The Force Awakens at Halloween (got a discount since I was in costume and they were knocking the prices down for folks who dressed up). The Vader one is great.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

They all feel like Star Wars comics, which is a good thing. Vader is really good and Star Wars is pretty interesting too. I haven't read Chewie yet.

The "Vader Down" crossover they're doing is really good.

I still want a Boba Fett comic...and an X-Wing one.

[Captain Untouchable]

A Boba Fett comic would be great, although we're already getting a pretty solid amount of him in Star Wars and Darth Vader, which is cool. I really like that they're giving Vader a history of relying on bounty hunters, and that there's a really interesting/plausible reason for him doing so. It wasn't a random assortment of bounty hunters he had on the bridge of the Executor - it was a very specific group of ones he's worked with before. Really like that vibe.

Vader Down is absolutely superb. It reminds me of the tutorial level from Force Unleashed, where you're marching through the wookiee village as Vader and you're utterly unstoppable. They captured a little of that vibe in Star Wars Rebels too, back at the start of Season 2 when Kanan and Ezra encounter Vader for the first time. He's devastatingly badass, and seemingly unkillable. Everyone's fear of him seems deserved.

[Zeven Ekkel]

Alternatively, the comics show up on Marvel Unlimited 6 months after release to read on your phone/tablet/computer. Marvel Unlimited works like Netflix for comics for ten bucks a month. It's worth it if you read a lot of comics and don't care to own a physical copy. But the art on these is really nice so owning them is much more fun.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

I can't afford them but will probably try when they're collected in a series

First trades of Vader and Star Wars already collected.
Second trades come out later this month.

[Captain Untouchable]

Just picked up the new Han Solo series, which is set during the same time period as Star Wars and Darth Vader. Only one issue so far, but the initial premise (Han has gone undercover in a space race to rescue Rebel spies along the way) is pretty cool, and it's got the same awesome artwork as the rest of the Marvel comics.

I've been reading the Poe Dameron comic as well (issue #3 just came out) and it is FANTASTIC. It's a direct prequel to The Force Awakens, following Poe on his hunt for the map fragment, with a supporting cast of Resistance pilots including Snap Wexley and Jess Pava. There's also L'ulo, who is a Duros who (correctly) believes that A-Wings are way more awesome than X-Wings, and thus is my favourite character. It's written by the same guy who did the also awesome Lando miniseries, and it's been really cool thus far.

Also, since I haven't already, I should sing the praises of the Leia and Lando miniseries. They're only five issues a piece (I really like the way Marvel is doing these little mini adventures as well as other stuff), and they're really satisfying mouthfuls of story. The Leia series is a really cool "Leia steps up in the wake of Alderaan" story that shows an awesome cross section of Alderaani culture; and the Lando series unexpectedly involves some of Palpatine's dark secrets, and has some unexpected sadness involved.

Gotta say... I'm enjoying the Star Wars comics most out of everything I'm reading right now. It's really high quality stuff, and does a whole heap of world-building that's really satisfying.