Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter: Friday, January 3, 2014

CLICKING ON IMAGES PROVIDES LARGER IMAGES
Like Comics Continuum on Facebook. CLICK HERE.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2014

MARVEL TO PUBLISH STAR WARS IN 2015

The Walt Disney Company's Lucasfilm and Marvel Entertainment are joining forces for new Star Wars comics, with Marvel granted exclusive rights to create and publish Star Wars comics and graphic novels beginning in 2015.

. 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 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.

"Dark Horse Comics published exceptional Star Wars comics for over 20 years, and we will always be grateful for their enormous contributions to the mythos, and the terrific partnership that we had," said Carol Roeder, director of Lucasfilm franchise publishing, Disney Publishing Worldwide.

"We here at Marvel could not be more excited to continue the publication of Star Wars comic books and graphic novels," said Marvel Worldwide Publisher and President, Dan Buckley. "The perennial brand of Star Wars is one of the most iconic in entertainment history and we are honored to have the opportunity to bring our creative talent pool to continue, and expand Star Wars into galaxies far, far away."

Said Dark Horse founder Mike Richardson in a statement:

"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."

DC COMICS FIRST LOOKS

For covers and four- to five-page previews of DC Comics titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, Jan. 8, CLICK HERE.

Titles include Action Comics #27, Stormwatch #27 and The Vampire Diaires #1.

Look for more DC previews soon here in The Continuum.

For previews of Dark Horse Comics titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, Jan. 8, CLICK HERE.

For previews of Valiant Entertainment titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, Jan. 8, CLICK HERE.

For previews of Zenescope Entertainment titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, Jan. 8, CLICK HERE.

ARROW: "BLIND SPOT"

The CW has released a description for "Blind Spot," the episode of Arrow scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 22.

Here's how the episode is described:

"Oliver (Stephen Amell) is conflicted after Laurel (Katie Cassidy) reaches out to the Arrow, asking him to investigate Sebastian Blood (guest star Kevin Alejandro). Oliver is unsure whether to believe her accusations against the man he has publically supported for mayor, but decides to trust Laurel. However, when the pair gets too close to the truth, Sebastian exposes Laurel's drug addiction and has her arrested.

"Meanwhile, Roy (Colton Haynes) reveals his new super-strength to Sin (guest-star Bex Taylor-Klaus) who wants to test out his abilities. Unfortunately, Roy isn't able to contain his rage once unleashed and almost kills a man.

"Back on the island, Oliver is surprised when Sarah (guest-star Caity Lotz) reveals a secret about Laurel."

"Glen Winter directed the episode, written by Wendy Mericle and Beth Schwartz.

BRIEFLY

MARVEL VARIANTS: Marvel Comics has unveiled several upcoming variant covers through Diamond.

Above are variants for Avengers Undercover #1 by Mark Brooks, Avengers Undercover #1 by John Tyler Christopher, Elektra #1 by Paolo Rivera, Guardians of the Galaxy #13 by Dale Keown, New Warriors #1 by Chris Samnee, Savage Wolverine #16 by John Cassaday, Supieror Spider-Man #27.NOW by Jenny Parks, Thor: God of Thunder #19.NOW by Jenny Parks and Wolverine #12 by Adi Granov.

MAGICAL OPENING Marvel has released the opening to "The Magical Place," Tuesday's episode on ABC.

To watch the video, CLICK HERE.

DARKMAN BLU-RAY: SHOUT! Factory has announced a Feb. 18 release for Darkman Collector's Edition Blu-ray, featuring the 1990 film directed by Sam Raimi and starring Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand. All are interviewed for the Blu-ray.

HARLEY VARIANTS: DC Comics has announced that starting next month, Harley Quinn will carry themed variant covers. Harley Quinn #3 will feature a 1:25 steampunk variant cover by Tommy Lee Edwards. Harley Quinn #4 will feature a 1:25 Robot Chicken variant.

VERY BRIEFLY: Episodes on The CW's Vortexx on Saturday include "Natural Selection" of The Spectacular Spider-Man at 9 a.m. and "Kids' Stuff" of Justice League Unlimited at 9:30 a.m.