The Star Wars Canon Dispatch
December 2016
Welcome to The Star Wars Canon Dispatch, an unofficial monthly contextual look at the recent and upcoming releases in Star Wars storytelling.
Recent Releases (November 15 – December 15)
Catalyst: A Rogue One Story
James Luceno
Novel by Del Rey
November 15, 2016
Time Frame: Covering a span of time between Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and Episode IV: A New Hope. To be more specific, the story spans the time about a year after the beginning of the clone war and ends just prior to the novel Tarken.
Canon Influence: This novel serves as a foundation for the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While the movie itself focuses on Jyn Erso, this Catalyst focuses on her father and his relationship with Orson Krennic.
Companion Stories: Tarken actually makes a good read after this novel. Revising the latter seasons of The Clone Wars can also prove useful in the references found within this book. The Onderon Arc is a strong companion to anything Rogue One.
Star Wars, Issue #025
Jason Aaron, writer / Jorge Molina, artist
Comic Book by Marvel Comics
November 23, 2016
Time Frame: Between Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, immediately following the story of Star Wars, Issue #024.
Canon Influence: This current story arc continues to explore facets of the Empire that we do not see in other mediums, such as the SCAR squad. The dynamics of Luke, Leia, and Han are seen in full force throughout this story.
Companion Stories: This is the last issue in an arc that goes back to Issue #021. To fully grasp the story, you should read at least from Issue #021 through #024. If you want some interesting backstory on the leader of SCAR squad, you can revisit Star Wars Issues #008-012.
Star Wars: Han Solo, Issue #005
Marjorie Liu, writer / Mark Brooks, artist
Comic Book by Marvel Comics
November 23, 2016
Time Frame: Between Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, immediately following the story of Star Wars: Han Solo, Issue #004.
Canon Influence: This series continues to stand on its own, but provides a depth to Han’s character that really helps us understand his transformation from the Han we see in Mos Eisley Cantina to the Han that we find on Cloud City.
Companion Stories: At this point, just reading the entire mini-series is all that is needed to fully appreciate this story.
Star Wars Annual, Issue #002
Kelly Thompson, writer / Emilio Laiso, artist
Comic Book by Marvel Comics
November 30, 2016
Time Frame: Between Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
Canon Influence: This issue really fleshes out who Leia is, giving us a deeper understanding of her ideology and why she fights for the Rebellion.
Companion Stories: While there is nothing really dependent upon other stories, the Princess Leia mini-series from Marvel has a bit of ties to this issue in its approach to Leia and her philosophy fighting for what she believes in.
Princess Leia and the Great Island Escape
Jason Fry
Children’s 8X8 by Lucasfilm Press
December 6, 2016
Time Frame: Between Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Canon Influence: I generally don’t include books of this reading level, but I find that this is an interesting piece, because it is a fully illustrated adaptation of Moving Target: A Princess Leia Story. We rarely see adaptations of non-film material, so I find this quite fascinating.
Star Wars: Dr. Aphra, Issue #001
Kieron Gillen, writer / Kev Walker, artist
Comic Book by Marvel Comics
December 7, 2016
Time Frame: Between Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
Canon Influence: While the canon has generated many new characters for us to explore, this marks a turning point for the comics, as a supporting character gets a comic series of her own.
Companion Stories: This is a great way to get in to this character, and we a provided with some more backstory as well, but to fully understand how we got to this point, you need to read the entirety of the Darth Vader series, and Star Wars, Issues #013-014, and #016-#019.
Star Wars: Poe Dameron, Issue #009
Charles Soule, writer / Phil Noto, artist
Comic Book by Marvel Comics
December 14, 2016
Time Frame: Between Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
Canon Influence: In this issue we get to see the combination of Poe Dameron and C-3P0. We know from the C-3P0 One Shot that the two do have some history together, but this is the first time we have seen them together.
Companion Stories: This current arc started with in the previous issue with #008, but the entire series from #001 link together, especially understanding Poe’s nemesis, Agent Terex.
Upcoming Releases (December 16 – January 15)
“Voices of the Empire”
Merle Lafferty
Short Story in Star Wars Insider #170
December 20, 2016
Know Before You Read: This short story ties into elements of both Catalyst and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Though it will likely read well on its own, some familiarity with both those stories will enhance your reading experience. We get a perspective from Orson Krennic through the eyes of a reporter. Should be fun to explore after watching the film.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Alexander Freed, author
Novel by Del Ray
December 20, 2016
Know Before You Read: This perhaps goes without saying, but this is the novelization of the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. These types of novelizations sometimes reveal cut scenes, or clarify elements of the film. It’s worth a look if really want to dive into this story.
Rebels Magazine #8
Original Star Wars Rebels Shorts
Comic Stories by Titan Comics
December 20, 2016
Know Before You Read: These comics are generally standalone stories but are taking place between the episodes of Star Wars Rebels. Should be no need to know any more before diving into these when they come out. They are quite enjoyable but in no way critical reading except for the completionist or diehard Rebels fan.
Star Wars: Dr. Aphra, Issue #002
Kieren Gillen, writer / Kev Walker, artist
Comic Book by Marvel Comics
December 21, 2016
Know Before You Read: The second issue in this highly anticipated series. Following after the splash that Issue #001 made, Issue #002 continues to tell the story of this original character that was born out of the pages of Darth Vader.
Star Wars, Issue #026
Jason Aaron, writer / Salvador Larroca, artist
Comic Book by Marvel Comics
December 28, 2016
Know Before You Read: This is another entry in the “Journals of Ben Kenobi Series.” The story should stand on it’s on as it is supposed to take place prior to Episode I: The Phantom Menace and focus on Yoda. This will be a fun issue to finally dig into the pre-Episode I era, as we have yet to do so in canon.
Adventures in Wild Space #1: The Snare (Pre-order here)
Cavan Scott, author
Adventures in Wild Space #2: The Nest (Pre-order here)
Tom Huddleston, author
January 3, 2017
Know Before You Read: Originally released in the UK, this is the first two entries in a set of four children’s chapter books. They are simply a fun read but they lead up to some interesting connections with set of canon stories.
Star Wars: Poe Dameron, Issue #010
Charles Soule, writer / Phil Noto, artist
Comic Book by Marvel Comics
January 11, 2017
Know Before You Read: Continuing the story from Issue #009, this issue should close out the current arc. The Poe Dameron series is a fun read and highly recommended. There is not much screen time for him in the film, but he has become quite beloved and this is the only place we are getting a lot of information about him at the moment.
On The Horizon
In case you missed any news, here are the Star Wars canon titles we are expecting beyond January 16, 2017 (dates subject to change):
2/21/17 – Aftermath: Empire’s End (Novel – Del Rey) (Pre-order here)
4/11/17 – Thrawn (Novel – Del Rey) (Pre-order here)
Star Wars, ongoing (Comic – Marvel)
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, ongoing (Comic – Marvel)
Star Wars: Poe Dameron, ongoing (Comic – Marvel)
Star Wars: Darth Maul, mini-series (Comic – Marvel)
“Blade Squadron: Jakku” [Insider TBD] (Short Story –Titan Magazine)
Let me know your thoughts by posting in the comments below. You can find my coverage of #starwarscanon stories at my YouTube channel Star Wars: The Canon Explained. I can be found on Twitter (@starwarstce) and Instagram (@starwarstce), and you can also reach me at jbrame@coffeewithkenobi.com.
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