Han Solo to Get A Solo Comic

han-solo-comic-cover-ew

Harrison Ford’s smuggling days in the GFFA may be done, but Disney has made it clear that Han Solo will live on in a myriad of formats. Why wouldn’t he? He’s an immensely popular character, one that many a young child pretends to be in their own adventures. In addition to getting a young Han Solo standalone film down the road, Marvel has announced via Entertaint Weekly that everyone’s favorite rogue will be getting his own comic mini-series. Read on after the jump for more …

Much like the other mini-series that Marvel has produced since taking the Star Wars comic book reigns, this one will have a 5 issue arc that takes place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. The limited series is set to debut in June and will feature Han and Chewie in a starship race. No, it’s not the Kessel Run, of course. That’s a smuggler’s route after all. The race is called the Dragon Void Run and apparently Han’s wanted to participate in it for a long time.

The story is said to highlight the confusion Han feels during his transition from being a me-first smuggler to perhaps becoming a full-fledged member of the Rebellion. Han’s involvement in the race is both personal and business, as Leia believes there are potential Rebel informants located on different planets along the race’s route. As they pick up these spies, Han ends up at odds with himself, trying to balance the desire to win with the mission at hand.

Disney is really mining the period between Episodes 4 and 5 for all it’s worth. While, the stories have been enjoyable, one has to wonder when the comic book storytelling will shift focus from this time period to another and how many stories can happen during this window. The stories post Return of the Jedi will probably come out in more frequency once the whole ST has been released.

The mini-series will be penned by Marjorie Liu of Astonishing X-Men fame. Here’s a brief snippet from EW’s exclusive interview with Liu:

Any particular inspirations that led you to the race idea?
I started thinking about this old movie from the ‘80s that I really enjoyed, which is Cannonball Run. I thought, okay, what if this is sort of like Han Solo in Cannonball Run in space? So, I played with that and it finally came together in the story where there’s this infamous starship race. It’s the pilot dream race. Everyone wants to be in it, everyone dreams of winning it. The race is sort of a cover that will allow him to go on this mission for [Leia], but at the same time, even though the race isn’t a priority, it’s a real struggle for him because he knows he needs to focus, but he’s on the race of a lifetime.

It’s kinda cool to be getting a Star Wars story focusing on a race. Star Wars is space fantasy at its core, yet we’ve seen different genres incorporated into the storytelling, including pirate stories and western elements (though that’s nothing new to the SW universe).

You can read EW’s full article, including the interview and a first look at some panels from the upcoming comic  here.

What do you think about this mini-series? Are you enjoying Marvel’s comics on the whole so far? Do you like the stories being told between Episodes 4 and 5? Sound off in the comments below.

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50 thoughts on “Han Solo to Get A Solo Comic

  • March 5, 2016 at 12:22 am
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    So if it is a standalone issue just about Han, would it be the Solo solo solo?

    • March 5, 2016 at 12:24 am
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      Well they said “mini-series”, so probably more like a Solo solo sojourn.

      • March 5, 2016 at 12:49 am
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        I see what ya did there. I like the cut of your jib, mister – We shall watch your career with great interest…

  • March 5, 2016 at 12:27 am
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    WTF? THAT is not Han Solo on the cover o.O

    • March 5, 2016 at 4:48 am
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      Bets LFL has ruled it off limits in order to reserve that for a certain, mostly unwanted, film upcoming project?

    • March 5, 2016 at 4:59 am
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      “I’ve made a few special modifications myself…like these pretty pink tassels.”

  • March 5, 2016 at 12:57 am
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    So, Han is Burt Reynolds and Chewie is Dom DeLuise? I’m in.

    • March 5, 2016 at 1:31 am
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      i appreciate that image, let the movie be something like that. 🙂

  • March 5, 2016 at 1:04 am
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    I love the new comics, but i hope they start focusing on an other time period soon, but I cant wait too get my hands on this 🙂

  • March 5, 2016 at 1:30 am
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    was kinda hoping this would tie into the film, but i guess we’ll have to wait for that.

  • March 5, 2016 at 3:46 am
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    GFFA?

    • March 5, 2016 at 4:06 am
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      Galaxy Far Far Away 🙂

      • March 5, 2016 at 4:51 am
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        Thanks, now GTFO.
        .
        .
        COME ON, TAKE A JOKE!

  • March 5, 2016 at 3:47 am
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    Yeah, everyone else has said it too, but, DDDDDAAAAAA-YUM that is some ugly painting! That’s not Han, that’s not Chewie, and Leia’s only okay because that was traced from a still. Just…ugh.

  • March 5, 2016 at 4:26 am
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    I’m honestly looking forward to it, Marvel has had more hits than misses thus far, the only truly disappointing series being the Leia series and the Chewbacca series. I agree with others though, I’m getting a bit tired of the constrained time period. Not that there shouldn’t be plenty of stories told between the films, but if they mixed things up a bit more between mini series with others set in different time frames it would feel much fresher whenever they decide to revisit the OT time period.

  • March 5, 2016 at 4:54 am
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    Oh god. A horrible thought just occurred to me. What if that’s NOT a shit-tastic painting of Han, but an attempt to push the character’s image closer to whichever of those little turds LFL has finally decided on for the stand alone film? Quick, teeny-boppers all look the same to me – does that look like any of the names that have been floated?

    • March 5, 2016 at 4:55 am
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      Looks a bit like Anthony Ingruber.

      • March 5, 2016 at 4:55 am
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        First rule of Han Club – WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT ANTHONY INGRUBER.

    • March 5, 2016 at 5:39 am
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      Ugh, I doubt that’s the case, seeing as how this Han Solo actually looks older than Harrison Ford did in the OT. No worries, just bad artwork, as long as the same artist isn’t doing the interior art we should be OK.

  • March 5, 2016 at 5:05 am
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    Wow…looks terrible! They need to move out of this period. They’re going to end up screwing up the past SW.

    Unless, they do Vader …full blown jedi hunting, with none of the silly inquisitors. Or have him kill this retarded looking chewy and Han in this cover.

  • March 5, 2016 at 5:23 am
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    I really like the comics so far, but I’d like to see some of them take place between ESB and ROTJ. That would be super interesting to me.

    • March 5, 2016 at 12:46 pm
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      I think they’ll wait until the main series “star wars” and “Darth Vader” will cover the gap between ANH and ESB

    • March 5, 2016 at 12:51 pm
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      Call me crazy, but it’s never made sense to me that anything other than everybody flying to Tatooine happened between those movies.

  • March 5, 2016 at 1:33 pm
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    The cover art of Han So, looks a bit off. He looks like Dennis Quaid straight out of rehab.

    • March 6, 2016 at 11:36 am
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      Just glad he looks better than Randy.

  • March 5, 2016 at 3:16 pm
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    meh

  • March 5, 2016 at 4:21 pm
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    I am very excited to read this though I am getting a little tired of the time period. Only so many stories can really happen. I am hoping we finally hear about that story of Han running into Boba Fett on Or Mandel that he mentioned in ESB.

    If there is a pie in the sky comic I would really want is a Kylo Ren ongoing.

  • March 5, 2016 at 9:13 pm
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    Cool. I think they really need to move on from this time period. It’s getting old. We get it. Let’s see stuff between empire and Jedi and post Jedi. Way cooler stories can be made. Luke being a Jedi, bounty hunters, Vaders death, end of the empire and a new generation. Seriously Disney your missing the greater story.

    • March 5, 2016 at 10:32 pm
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      100% agreed. I’m tired of the post-Yavin pre-Hoth era, I don’t need any more comics about it.

      • March 6, 2016 at 8:39 pm
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        Agree.
        One thing is for sure: we know what era Disney is most interested in concerning comics/spin off films/ video games. I may be asking for too much, but I would love to see something (ANYTHING) set in the Old Republic, at least before TPM.

        • March 6, 2016 at 11:59 pm
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          Isn’t going to happen for a while.

    • March 6, 2016 at 11:35 am
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      This is the same company that gave us cheqpquels to nearly every animated film they ever made for 80 years and have nearly done the same for Pixar, I can easily see Episode 4.5 next.

      • March 6, 2016 at 11:58 pm
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        If it’s negative. You can see it. It’s your mutant power.

        Sadly Professor X or Magneto don’t have any interest in recruiting you for it.

    • March 6, 2016 at 11:57 pm
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      They’re not ready to commit to the greater story because they don’t entirely know what it is yet.

      Expect that content come around or after VIII once the sequel trilogy has been expanded to a believable setting. VII gave very little detail as to what the galaxy looked like, it’s going to take them a while to come up with a comprehensive picture of it, and they won’t start creating it until the films have finished so they have a frame work to utilize that won’t contradict anything they make outside of the film.

  • March 6, 2016 at 11:33 am
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    Eh. Kind of overkill with the film coming up and the Chewbacca series. Are they going to do another book trilogy too? Every single main OT character now has their own comic series which is just gratitous. I’d like to see ore TFA era titles and the new KOTOR era instead.

    • March 6, 2016 at 7:39 pm
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      You mentioned a movie that might have a huge issue: han solo looking different, and a comic series I’ve heard nothing good of.

      • March 7, 2016 at 1:28 pm
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        If they were going to go this route then they should have waited till the film was out since the writers probably had strict guidelines on what not to cover that it’s either going to look as dated as the 80’s Marvel books or be as pedantic as Aftermath was. It’s a no-win scenario,

    • March 6, 2016 at 11:55 pm
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      Why is it gratuitous? The EU did the same thing. Comics about the main heroes, books about the main heroes. Han had 2.5 trilogies to himself in novel form. They bought the license to make product to make money. This isn’t a surprise in the least. If you don’t want to read it, don’t read it.

      You won’t see many TFA titles until after they have a firmer grasp of what that era even looks like. Probably after VIII, or nearer to VIII when they feel comfortable with filling in details they’ve fleshed out with the script for that movie.

      Plus, since what is written is canon, they’re probably trying to decide how they can put out stories at a pace that is conducive to sales and interest and still allowing time for the projects to be thoroughly reviewed by the story group.

      You know. So we don’t end up with the crap most of the EU was by the end of it.

      I wouldn’t worry about them expanding KOTOR until the new trilogy is finished or near done. They appear to be making product that matches with what they’re filming.

      • March 7, 2016 at 3:23 am
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        And that was one of the major weaknesses with the EU, that so much of the material focused on the main characters. For years I hoped to see EU material that had little to do with our central core group. The galaxy is a huge place, and I really wanted to see stories about other facets of the Alliance whose fight with the Empire didn’t intersect with the movie-established events.

    • March 7, 2016 at 3:24 am
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      I was NO fan of the Dark Horse comics continuity, but Marvel is doing exactly what I hoped they wouldn’t do. I guess they didn’t learn much about market over saturation when Terry Stewart cranked down the thumbscrews on his Marvel writers and artists and caused them to jump ship and found Image.

      • March 7, 2016 at 1:25 pm
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        Guess we should have known better with Disney at the reins but I figure they would at least wait till the trilogy was over to go balls out to this degree. I mean at least in DH they had titles with original characters or focused on background ones rather than just the principals.

        • March 7, 2016 at 2:19 pm
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          I don’t think it has much to do with Disney, at least not with Disney doing things other companies wouldn’t have done. Had any other company called the shots, I’m pretty sure we’d have seen the exact same thing.

          I did appreciate the focus on other facets of the SW universe that Dark Horse explored, but I couldn’t get past how corny most of their stuff was.

          • March 7, 2016 at 2:26 pm
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            Well WB hasn’t done much of a bang up job with DC lately either so you may be right.

          • March 7, 2016 at 7:07 pm
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            I really don’t follow the DC universe at all, but I’d be surprised if we didn’t see something pretty similar. I’m not sure if that’s just the nature of marketed entertainment properties now, or if that’s the way’s it’s always been- just that these days the machine to produce and distribute material is so much larger, computerized, wired, and efficient. That’s getting into a much broader topic, however.

          • March 8, 2016 at 9:57 am
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            The larger audience too. Telling a good story becomes secondary to filling in boxes of “X demographic” to maximize profits. Nothing wrong with bringing new fans in but it’s the pandering that rubs people the wrong way like myself. In Iron Man 3 they whitewashed The Mandarin for the cover of story reasons but it was really not to alienate the massive Chinese audiences or rather their totalitarian Government. The character started out as a Communist Fu Manchu stereotype but he’s gone through many evolutions over the years always been one of my favorite villains in that like Palpatine he later became a very dignified long term planning one that there was no reason to turn him from Asian descent into a generic white hipster other for financial and political reasons.

  • March 6, 2016 at 3:26 pm
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    Is the Kessel Run still a smugglers route in the canon?

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