“I love that green rabbit.” - Cavan Scott in an interview with The Living Force
nly the strongest, most legendary of characters had a hope of bridging the space between Canon and Legends. Grand Admiral Thrawn, for example. More recently, Durge from Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars survived the purge and made his Canon debut in Marvel’s War of the Bounty Hunters.
Ultimately, it takes tremendous staying power for a character to make such a comeback. And a creator who truly believes. Such is the case with Jaxxon the rabbit Lepi.
Perhaps the most memorable and yet divisive original character in the original Marvel Star Wars comics, Jaxxon made his debut in issue #8, “Eight for Aduba-3,” a comical tribute to Kirosawa’s Seven Samurai.
Originally conceived of by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin, the creation of the pilot of the Rabbit’s Foot was one of the very first original Expanded Universe characters to originate outside of the films themselves! Perhaps he was too similar to a certain wascally wabbit of Warner Brothers’ fame.
Even his homeworld, Coachelle Prime, is a nod to a 1953 Buggs Bunny story! But for much of the Expanded Universe’s history, Jaxxon was simply the stuff of legends.
He never reappeared in Legends continuity after 1994, and even then his last Legends appearance was in an article in Gamer Magazine. But that was far from the end of the story for our lovable, long-eared Lepi.
When Star Wars comics made their return to Marvel at long last in 2015, Jaxxon received a head-nod in the form of not one but two variant covers for Star Wars #1 from artists John Tyler Christopher and Phil Noto, what seemed like certainly nothing more than Easter Eggs at the time. . . or were they?
The wannabe scoundrel even made his journey from a joke to the three-dimensional world, receiving his own Hasbro Black Series action figure, coming soon to the shelves near you!
But he didn’t get shelvable status all on his own—far from it, in fact. Star Wars Adventures writer Cavan Scott (lauded winner of Youtini’s Social Butterfly award in 2020) started spotlighting the smuggler in 2018, starting with Star Wars Adventures Annual’s backup story! “The Lost Eggs of Livorno” at first appeared to be a joke—with Lucasfilm Publishing’s Creative Director debuting the news on April Fool’s Day!
With Jaxxon, the legend looms large; perhaps even derided by George Lucas himself.
From his original reintegration into Canon with the Adventures Annual, the IDW annual has become since made it a yearly tradition to feature a Jaxxon tale—“The Lost Eggs of Livorno” was followed by “Hare Brained Heist” in 2019 and “Rabbit Hunt” in 2020.
In true Easter fashion, Jaxxon made his return to the land of the living in an animated short as part of an episode of Jedi Temple Challenge, even though his corpse can be seen in the aftermath of a crashed cruiser in the 2012 The Clone Wars episode "A Sunny Day in the Void.”
With Jaxxon, one thing’s for sure: although his past is dicey, his future looms large! Recently receiving his most substantial story yet, with Cavan’s Scott’s story, “Fake it Till You Make It,” in From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back.
Scott has gone on record with our very own podcast, The Living Force, in saying that with Jaxxon, the metanarrative is part of the appeal—he’s a beacon of the unlovable, neglected characters struggling to find their place in the galaxy.
What’s next, you might ask? While he says Jaxxon is about 200+ years too young to appear in the High Republic, Scott says he’d love to write “Old Man Jaxxon,” in which a crusty, weathered friend of Lando’s helps out Rey, Poe, and Finn. We agree! In the meantime, here’s an eclectic assortment of Jaxxon-centric stories to tide you over, starting all the way back in 1977.
Coming Soon
Our team is hard at work building out this collection. Stay tuned!
Books in this Collection
Star Wars (1977) #08: Eight for Aduba-3
Star Wars (1977) #09: Showdown on a Wasteland World!
Star Wars (1977) #10: Behemoth from the World Below
Star Wars (1977) #16: The Hunter
Star Wars (1977) #108: Forever Crimson
Star Wars Adventures Annual 2018 - Mind Your Manners
Star Wars Adventures Annual 2020 - Rabbit Hunt
Star Wars Adventures Annual 2019 - Hare-Brained Heist
Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle (Trade Paperback)
Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle
Is a canon trade paperback that collects the five-part comic book series of the Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader's Castle Series
Join Lina, Milo Graf, and Crater for one last adventure to Vader's Castle! Perfect for middle-grade readers, these fun, but eerie and horror-packed tales, take you through the creepy side of the Star Wars galaxy.
The ghosts of Vader's Castle are haunting everybody's dreams! First, Milo has been having nightmares about zombie droids, with a special appearance by Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, and Jar Jar Binks. Then, Lina runs into Jaxxon, who reveals that he, too, has been having troubling dreams of vicious Wookies [sic] bigger than mountains! Plus, catch up with Hudd and Skritt as Hudd deals with dreams concerning the Spirit of the Swamp, a gilled monster that terrorizes Dagobah! But Lina isn't immune to the nightmares either, as her dreams are visited by the galaxy's most threatening villain!
In the finale, Lina, Hudd, Skritt, and Jaxxon race to Mustafar to save Milo and Crater. Will the group be able to fight the ghosts that still haunt the castle, or will the galaxy forever be bound to suffer from the wrath of the Ghosts of Vader's Castle?!
Ghosts of Vader's Castle finishes the saga started in Tales of Vader's Castle and Return to Vader's Castle!
From A Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back
Hyperspace Stories Annual: Jaxxon 2023
From starwars.com
he Star Wars Celebration Europe exclusive cover by comic legend and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola: Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories Annual—Jaxxon 2023. The new comic from Dark Horse Direct and Lucasfilm Publishing lands the Lepi smack in the middle of an Ewok civil war on Endor, with interior art by Nick Brokenshire, colors by David Kennedy, and lettering by Comicraft.
"The title of this story gives you everything you need to know about our adventure, expertly drawn by the great Nick Brokenshire: War of the Ewoks,” Scott says. “Jaxxon is heading to Endor with the god of the murder bears in tow, a certain protocol droid entrusted to Captain Jaxxon Tumperakki of the New Republic to help solve a crisis on the Sanctuary Moon. Expect intrigue, conflict, calamity, and Duloks!"
It's an intriguing set up that spoke to Brokenshire’s love of those vintage comic strips. “For me, Jaxxon symbolizes the wild, fun, madness of the old Star Wars comics and strips from the ‘70s and ‘80s,” Brokenshire says. “Brightly colored, kinetic, and a little bit bonkers! Perfect! He’s the best type of hero — capable but relying very heavily on (what he believes to be) charm and a star-hauler's load of luck.” And with Ewoks in the mix just in time for the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Brokenshire makes one more promise: “There will be spears involved.”
Scott never dreamed he’d get the chance to continue Jaxxon’s story when he first helped bring the character into the modern era. "Little did I know that fans would take Jaxxon back into our hearts leading to multiple return visits, a short story, a mini-series and even an action figure! Now Jax is back again, thanks to Dark Horse who are continuing the tradition of an annual Jaxxon event. All hail the long-eared, high-kicking hero!”
Beyond the Celebration exclusive cover, Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories Annual–Jaxxon 2023 will arrive later this year with three other variant covers by various artists. Read the official description for yourself below…
Holy Hutch! Jaxxon’s back!
Taking a break from his stellar career as a New Republic fighter ace, the galaxy’s greatest green rabbit is sent on a top-secret diplomatic mission to Endor, only to end up in the middle of a full-blown Ewok Civil War! Things get dicey, and our long eared Lepi might have to choose between saving the day, and saving his own skin!
Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories Annual–Jaxxon 2023 comic will be available at select events as well as the Dark Horse Direct website, starting with the Mignola exclusive cover at Star Wars Celebration Europe, April 7-10, 2023, at ExCeL London in England.
