Marvel to publish Star Wars comics from 2015

Well it was inevitable really and we all knew it was going to happen it was just a matter of when. Today it was finally announced that the Star Wars franchise we will moving back to Marvel in 2015 after two decades at Dark Horse. I only hope Marvel put some of there top teams on this an don't produce any mediocre sales simply for the dollar. Dark Horse have done an amazing job in producing some of the best extended universe work for the beloved franchise from there Knights of the Old Republic series to Legacy and Dark Times, one of my first comic books was Vaders Quest by Dark Horse. It is exciting to learn that one of my favourite publishers will be taking on some of my all time favourite characters but let's be honest in Dark Horse they have a ver difficult and accomplished act to follow.

                           

Dark Horse founder Mike Richardson responded to the news immediately, sending out this statement about their time with the license.

"All things come to pass. So too, do all licensed deals. I am sad to report that Disney, the new owner of Lucasfilm, has notified us here at Dark Horse of their intention to move the Star Wars publishing license to another of their recent acquisitions, Marvel Comics, beginning in 2015. This will end a partnership that has lasted more than two decades.

"For those who are new to the industry, Dark Horse revolutionized the treatment of comics based on films. After a history of movie properties being poorly handled with little regard for execution and continuity, Dark Horse took a new approach, carefully choosing licenses and approaching them with excitement and creative energy. Our goal was to create sequels and prequels to the films we loved, paying careful attention to quality and detail, essentially treating those films as though they were our own. Star Wars has been the crown jewel of this approach. We began chasing the title as far back as 1989, and with the launch of Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy’s Dark Empire, a new era in comics was born. I’m not ashamed to admit that we were Star Wars geeks, and we have been determined to spare neither effort nor expense in the pursuit of excellence.

"It is ironic that this announcement comes at a time when Dark Horse is experiencing its most successful year ever. For obvious reasons, we have prepared for this eventuality by finding new and exciting projects to place on our schedule for 2015 and beyond. Will they take the place of Star Wars? That’s a tall order, but we will do our best to make that happen. In the meantime, 2014 may be our last year at the helm of the Star Wars comics franchise, but we plan to make it a memorable one. We know that fans of the franchise will expect no less. The Force is with us still."

Well said sir! Since the news broke it has been confirmed that the current high profile titles one from Brian Wood and the other from Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Beckho will end around August. I really enjoyed both these series when they first came out and will most certainly be picking these up in trade format as I had to drop them from my stack.

Thank you Dark Horse for some of the best Star Wars stories I have read in some time!