Ever since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, Star Wars fans have been wondering how their beloved franchise would change. Then in 2014, it was announced that previous Expanded Universe stories would fall into the Legends banner and not be included in the official canon. This was a major change to the Star Wars universe as we knew it (Emperor Thrawn? Mara Jade?). But, as we’ve learned this year, they have a lot planned for the franchise aside from the new movie, Episode VII Force Awakens. With a new cartoon series, numerous new books, many new movies planned (Anthology Series) and many new comics, the new canon has been streamlined and put together in a cohesive way that was never done before.
As the Princess Leia mini-series of 5 comics came to an end a few weeks back, a new 5-part mini-series appears and we learn more about fan favorite Lando Calrissian in the new Lando Marvel series. From Episode V and VI, we know that Lando was the previous owner of the Millennium Falcon before Han Solo and the Baron Administator of Cloud City. But how does he get to where he is? How does he obtain the Millennium Falcon? Will we even get to those questions in this comic series? Well, in this first issue we learn that he smuggles something big…and maybe out of his league.
To learn more about the new Star Wars canon I would also recommend the new Marvel Star Wars series based in the canon between Episodes 3 and 4, the new Darth Vader series which interweaves the new Star Wars comic series in Vader’s point of view, and also the Kanan series where we learn more about the backstory from one of the protagonists from the new Star Wars Rebels cartoon series.
It’s been fun ride for Star Wars fans, but we’ve quickly come to learn that the Force is strong this calendar year. Can’t wait for the movie in December.
Daredevil debuts on Netflix in just a handful of days and we’re getting ready for it with this Daredevil sale featuring the issues helmed by brianmichaelbendis with alexmaleev and more on art.
If you’ve spent even a modicum of time on the #comics tag in Tumblr, it’s likely that you have seen brianmichaelbendis show up on your dash once or twice, posting some of the best pages in all of comicdom and laying down some serious knowledge.
The world of comics can be a confusing place, and just like the man himself, we are here to help make it a little clearer for all of you. So if you’ve been looking for some suggestions on what Bendis books to read but have been too afraid to ask, take a look at our
comiXology Guide to Brian Michael Bendis
Arguably, the comic that Bendis is best known for is the reboot of Spider-Man’s universe with 2000’s Ultimate Spider-Man, which not only brought Peter Parker’s origins into the modern age, but also kicked off the now-beloved Ultimate Universe. Bendis, along with veteran artist Mark Bagely, took Spidey’s original 11-page origin story and turned it into a seven issue story arc, and continued on for over 100 more issues to become Marvel’s longest running consistent creative duo on a single title.
Bendis continues to helm the Ultimate Spider-Man series with sarapichelli on art and starring fan-favorite Miles Morales.
Bendis and Michael Avon oeming’s long running creator-owned series Powers combines the superhero and police procedural genres, and is now in production at FX to get it’s own TV series. Powers pits the wiles of two detectives against a world filled with superhumans. The series went on to become an Eisner award winner and still continues to come out in the ongoing Powers: Bureau.
In 2001, Bendis took up the task of writing Daredevil with Alex Maleev on art. The series would go on to become one of the most lauded and character defining runs in the characters storied history. The Bendis run introduced a new love interest into Matt Murdock’s life and saw the reemergence of Kingpin.
Following up Kurt Busiek’s run, Bendis rebooted the Avenger’s series with Avengers Disassembled, which heavily featured the Scarlet Witch and lead directly into the events of the now-beloved House of M event.
An instant classic! Beast travels through time to bring the original X-Men into the present, imploring past-Cyclops to stop his future self from committing genocide on the mutants. Currently at 27 issues, this series is a regular best-seller and is sure to go down as one of the all-time greatest X-Men series.
As if all that wasn’t enough, this weekend (5/10-5/12), we have a sale on a bunch of great creator-owned comics by Bendis including Brilliant, Scarlet, and Jinx. Make sure not to miss out on the limited-time Bendis Bundle to get 5 Bendis collections for 59% off!
Scarlet is the story of a woman pushed to the edge by all that is wrong with the world. A woman who decides to stand up and fight back. A woman who will not back down. A woman who discovers within herself the power to start a modern American revolution!! In the vein of Alias, Powers, and Jinx, Scarlet debuts a fascinating new comics character that, with every issue, reveals new things about herself against a completely original backdrop of intrigue and drama.
