Star Wars Adventures (2017)

Star Wars Adventures is a series of comic book anthologies that exists within Star Wars canon. Published by IDW Publishing, the series presents stories spanning the entire Star Wars saga and is designed to appeal to readers of all ages. Its digital debut occurred on July 12, 2017 via StarWars.com. Subsequently, a physical copy was released as a special offering during San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), with the official series launch following on September 6. Additionally, on January 3, 2018, IDW expanded the universe with a weekly spinoff miniseries inspired by the Forces of Destiny animated shorts. The German comics from Panini Verlag titled Weapon of a Jedi were collected and released as a trade paperback under the title Star Wars Adventures: The Weapon of a Jedi.

Development

Lucasfilm received a proposal from IDW Publishing in early 2016 for a comic book series tailored to a younger demographic. IDW commissioned artwork from artists such as Derek Charm and George Caltsoudas to support their pitch.

The official announcement of the series took place on April 14, 2017 at Celebration Orlando during a publishing panel, revealing it as a new ongoing IDW comic book series set to explore narratives from across the Star Wars universe.

IDW Publishing's chief creative officer, Chris Ryall, provided more details about the series in an interview with The Star Wars Show a day later. He mentioned that the comic would feature rotating creative teams and that each issue would include a main story focusing on well-known characters from the films, along with supplementary stories featuring lesser-known or popular characters, even those from the TV series, with Maz Kanata initially considered as the narrator, although other characters like C-3PO were also considered. Ryall also indicated that some of the back-up stories might not adhere strictly to canon.

Ryall discussed the series further in an interview with the Comics with Kenobi podcast on June 6, 2017. He noted that the announcement generated significant interest, with many individuals expressing their lifelong desire to work on such a project. This influx of talent allowed Ryall to build a substantial creative pool for future use. He clarified that while Marvel Comics held the primary Star Wars comics license, they lacked books specifically aimed at beginner readers, creating an opportunity for Star Wars Adventures. Ryall also hinted that the initial plan to use Maz Kanata as the narrator for the back-up stories might have been reconsidered.

IDW unveiled their upcoming comics catalogue on June 14, 2017, which included release details for the first and second issues of the series, excluding the SDCC Ashcan. The main stories in both issues would center on Rey's experiences on Jakku before the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with Unkar Plutt playing a prominent role in issue 2. Issue 1's back-up story was described as a "comical tale of clone catastrophe," ultimately focusing on Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Around this time, Chad Thomas created several character designs as try-outs, including Han Solo, Chewbacca, Yoda, and Kylo Ren, with the hope of contributing to the series. It was later announced that he would provide the artwork for the back-up story in Star Wars Adventures (2017) 6.

Eventually, the character of Maz Kanata as the storyteller for the comic's back-up features was replaced by Emil Graf, an adventurer created specifically for the series. These stories were titled Tales from Wild Space, drawing inspiration from Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space, a novel series by Cavan Scott featuring the characters Milo Graf and Lina Graf.

The initial plan was to release the first volume as part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi publishing initiative. However, this idea was later abandoned.

Media

Sources

  • Inside Star Wars Adventures, IDW's Charming New Comic on StarWars.com (backup link)
  • " Launchpad " — Star Wars Insider 174
  • NYCC 2018: Alphabet Squadron Revealed and More from the Lucasfilm Publishing Panel on StarWars.com (backup link)
  • 16 of Our Favorite Star Wars Books for Children and Young Readers on StarWars.com (backup link)
  • Fan Favorites From Classic Star Wars Stories Come to Hasbro's Black Series – Exclusive on StarWars.com (backup link)
  • Make the Jump Into Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories With the New Dark Horse Comic – Exclusive on StarWars.com (backup link)

Notes and references

External links

Appearances