Early reports are indicating that Marvel Comics’ upcoming Star Wars #1 will sell over a million copies, becoming the top-selling single-issue comic book of the last twenty years. Star Wars, will also become the first-ever million-selling periodical comic book sold exclusively through direct market channels without the aid of newsstands.
Marvel Comics began a move out of the newsstand market in 2012 and finished it near the end of 2013, according to SVP of Sales David Gabriel, who was quizzed on the issue last year after Barnes and Noble employees in Manhattan revealed that they were removing Marvel from their periodical displays.
The series, which takes place between the events of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back and features all of the major characters from the film, is due in stores January 14, 2015. It is written by Jason Aaron, with artwork by John Cassaday. While Marvel handled the official adaptations of the original Star Wars trilogy and had a successful Star Wars series around the time of their theatrical release, 2015 will be the first time in decades that the publisher has handled the Star Wars license.
For years, that license had been in the hands of Dark Horse Comics, who contributed to the “Expanded Universe” that also included video games and prose novels. The rights reverted to Marvel as a result of Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm. Disney also owns Marvel. Star Wars was one of a number of titles set in the world of the famous science fiction franchise announced at Comic Con International: San Diego this summer, including solo titles for Darth Vader and Princess Leia.
The aforementioned Expanded Universe has been rendered non-canonical in the run-up to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Aaron and Cassaday’s Star Wars will essentially launch a new one altogether, drawing from the seven feature films (the original trilogy, the prequels and the animated Clone Wars movie) as well as Clone Wars and Rebels.
As a franchise, Star Wars is back to breaking records even outside of comics: The teaser trailer for The Force Awakens beat out Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World in first-week downloads.
Marvel has most of the best-selling comics of the 21st Century, including The Amazing Spider-Man #583, which guest-starred then-new President Barack Obama, and The Amazing Spider-Man #1, the extra-sized relaunch that spun out of Superior Spider-Man.
