Marvel Will Exclusively Publish "Star Wars" Comics Starting In 2015

See how this will affect the future of Dark Horse Comics.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

Ever since Disney bought Lucasfilm in October of 2012, comic books fans have been wondering when the Star Wars universe would be integrated into the company’s other big subsidiary, Marvel Entertainment. Well the answer is here as Marvel has announced that in 2015, the company will begin publishing exclusive Star Wars comic books and graphic novels. Here is a snippet from the press release sent out today:

The agreement marks a homecoming for the Star Wars comic books. Marvel Comics published the first Star Wars comic book, Star Wars #1, in March 1977, which went on to sell more than 1 million copies. Marvel Comics published its Star Wars series for nine years. In 1991, Dark Horse Comics took over the license, publishing fan-favorite titles like Dark Empire and Star Wars: Legacy. Last year, Dark Horse released The Star Wars #1, an adaptation of George Lucas’ original rough-draft screenplay for the film, garnering rave reviews and national media attention and ranking among the top-selling Star Wars comics of all time.

While this is great news for new fans, it could spell trouble ahead for Dark Horse Comics, which is the current publisher for Star Wars comics. This shift to Marvel was inevitable after Disney purchased Lucasfilm, but the Star Wars license is a big part of Dark Horse’s current success. In response to this news, Dark Horse founder, Mike Richardson, had this to say:

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.

The consistent money brought in from the Star Wars license helped Dark Horse experiment with more niche books over the years that wouldn’t have been possible without the money from Lucasfilm, such as Hellboy, The Massive, and Mind MGMT. With the licensing deal now gone, Dark Horse has a huge gap in its comic book line that won’t be easy to fill.

Marvel, on the other hand, is now in charge of one of the most profitable franchises in the comic book industry. No new books have been announced yet, but you can imagine that creators will be flocking to Marvel for a chance to work on anything related to Star Wars, especially with a new movie trilogy about to hit theaters. While it's great to see Star Wars in good hands, let’s just hope this loss doesn’t hurt Dark Horse’s future too much.

[via Marvel, Dark Horse Comics]

Latest in Pop Culture