Amidst all the excitement surrounding the re-launch of The Dandy, another new comic has slipped almost unnoticed onto the shelves of British newsagents. Star Wars Galaxy is a new 4-weekly title from Titan, published in the same format as their Batman/DC inspired titles.
The first issue, with an eye-catching Darth Vader cover, features three stories that all take place at different points in the Star Wars timeline. Purge: The Hidden Blade features a post-Revenge of the Sith Darth Vader trying hard to keep the Emporer happy and not entire succeeding. In Invasion: Refugees, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo fight off a new evil enemy. And The Old Republic: Threat of Peace takes place thousands of years before Luke Skywalker was born when the Sith were at their peak. There’s also a chance to win an Xbox 360 and a copy of The Force Unleashed II game.
For me this title really does fill a gap in the market and it’s one I’ve been hoping to see from Titan for a long time. I’m a big Star Wars fan but I don’t really want the in-depth analysis of Star Wars Insider. The Star Wars: Clone Wars comic on the other hand is aimed at much younger readers with its larger page size and seemingly-endless flood of free gifts. This is a title older comics fans should be able to buy without feeling embarrassed at the checkout! And I really do feel that Star Wars (like Spiderman) is a big enough franchise to support three regular titles.
I would love to see Titan do a similar thing for Transformers which has a lot of older fans who read the Marvel UK comic in the 1980s.
And I also think it’s time Panini did a Doctor Who comic (just comic strip, no features) in the same format as its Classic Edition titles such as Astonishing Spiderman etc. Doctor Who’s popularity is as high as it’s ever going to be so I think now is the time. True, the IDW titles fill this gap in the market to an extent but they are only available in comic shops and not newsagents. I’d like to see something similar to the old Doctor Who Classic Comics title with a new Matt Smith strip backed up by reprints of classic material.
The Star Wars Galaxy title seemed to be selling well when I popped into WH Smith yesterday with only 2 copies left on the shelves. British comics truely are in a better state than they were ten years ago, thanks to Titan and the other publishers. With Strip Magazine on its way, things are looking up!
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Star Wars
Tags: Star Wars Comic, Titan Magazines
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