It goes without saying, doesn’t it? The biggest, most eagerly anticipated film of the year is only three months away.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh episode in the famed series of your youth will be released in North America on December 18 (a few days earlier in some countries across the globe) and the hype machine is in full swing. Toys based on the movie were highlighted last week, sending fandom into a tizzy and they’re have been a plethora of talks, symposiums and interviews during the summer comic book convention season. And Marvel Comics, subsidiary of Walt Disney, are in on the game.
What happened directly after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi?
Follow me after the jump and I’ll tell you all about Star Wars: Shattered Empire, the comic book mini series that aims to answer that all-important question!
Star Wars: Shattered Empire #1
Written by: Greg Rucka
Illustrated by: Marco Checchetto
Published by: Marvel Comics
So, the second Death Star is destroyed, the Emperor is dead, the Empire is defeated, and the Ewoks throw an awesome party, right?
Well, that’s only the groundwork for what comes next. I mean, you didn’t think evil would go down that easy, did you?
Star Wars: Shattered Empire or, perhaps better recognized as its mouthful, complete title, Star Wars: Journey To The Force Awakens – Shattered Empire (“The Force Awakens” being the title of the upcoming sequel Star Wars film, as if you didn’t know) is a four-issue mini series written by the absolutely amazing Greg Rucka (Lazarus, Gotham Central) and brilliantly illustrated by Marco Checchetto (Avengers World, Punisher) and fills in the gap between the new film and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
What happened to the Empire after their most major defeat? What happened to Luke, Han and Leia? And what about midiclorians? (I jest! I jest!)
Seriously. What happened next?
It’s an all-consuming question for fans of the Star Wars universe who, up until now, have had comics, novels, video games and fan-fic that never officially tied into Star Wars canon – as good as some of them may have been. (Other than the Lucasfilm cartoons, can any fans out there confirm or deny that statement?)
But this series is FOR REAL. It’s part of canon – a phrase of legitimacy that every SW fan wants to hear. This comic book mini series was developed in partnership with Lucasfilm and intends to set the stage for Star Wars: The Force Awakens this December.
Maybe we’ll learn how Supreme Leader Snoke positions himself in his rise to power. Or maybe we’ll learn the origin of Kylo Ren. And there’s the whole question of the First Order, the political/military organization that looks to have climbed from the ashes of the Empire we have known.
And of course, there’s our favourite three: Luke, Han and Leia. What have they been up to? This is the beginning of the journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Use the force, I know it’s string with you, and make the run to your local comic book shop and pick up Star Wars: Shattered Empire #1 today!
