Comic Review: Star Wars #1 – We are SO back!
Enter a new era of Star Wars comics! It all starts here from Alex Segura and Phil Noto.
By
May 7, 2025
Marvel Comics/Youtini Illustration
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Writer: Alex Segura
Artist: Phil Noto
Publisher summary:
AN EPIC NEW ADVENTURE BEGINS FOR LUKE, LEIA AND HAN IN THE WAKE OF RETURN OF THE JEDI! New York Times best-selling author ALEX SEGURA launches the bold next era of STAR WARS. LUKE SKYWALKER must defend the NEW REPUBLIC from a bloodthirsty gang of mercenaries! HAN SOLO investigates a deadly underworld mystery — and saves a surprising ally! LEIA ORGANA must grapple with a new alliance opposed to the goals of the New Republic!
Marvel Comics
Why it matters: Marvel finally has its first ongoing STAR WARS comic set after Return of the Jedi! This unexplored area of Canon is finally ready to hit the page.
Key moments:
The Big Three: Moving past ROTJ means Han Solo is no longer trapped in carbonite. Having Luke, Leia, and Han in one comic together is like being home again.
Familiar threats, new faces: With the characters hunting down the remaining bits of the Imperial forces, the story naturally feels very “Star Wars” right away. However, the post-war Imperials have a new look to them. Notable here is the return of the Nagai, a species that dates back to the 1977 Marvel comic run, in our new mystery villain.
Superstar art: Phil Noto is one of the defining modern Star Wars artists. He’s drawn countless covers and done design work for the High Republic initiative, but his return to interior art is long past due. The widescreen action and perfect character designs once again prove why he’s one of the best artists around.
Marvel Comics
The big picture:
This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Don’t get me wrong - it’s fun to see new stories that take place in between the Original Trilogy films, in the heat of the Galactic Civil War. But there’s something special about the post-Jedi time period. It was a staple of Legends content, so it’s about time that we get to explore these years in Canon.
The story follows from Segura’s Battle of Jakku maxiseries, but doesn’t require the reader to know its details (nor the events of the handful of 4 ABY novels, such as the Aftermath series). Everything you need is right here as long as you’re familiar with Luke, Han, and Leia. And that’s what really feels so great about this book: the characters we fell in love with decades ago are having adventures together in the end.
While the Big Three - along with Bounty Hunters star Beilert Valance, who deserves a mention - are each having their own missions to help secure the nascent New Republic, things really heat up as you see their storylines converge. The quick pacing of the final pages, bouncing between the three seemingly-separate stories, builds anticipation to a climax that promises an exciting story to come.
Our rating: Incredible
What’s next: Star Wars continues with issue #2 on June 11, 2025.
For a deeper discussion of this issue, be sure to check out this week’s episode of The Cosmic Force podcast!
Oz Davis is a Content Creator at Youtini and co-host of The Cosmic Force. He's kept up with every Canon release since 2014 and has a particular soft spot for lesser-known books like "Servants of the Empire." As part of Youtini's "Dad Batch," he's also developed an affinity for the multitude of Star Wars children's books, and he's always looking to expand his collection.
