The Star Wars/Marvel Conundrum

Due to the recent news about Star Wars and its future publications in term of sequential art, I began to think quite a lot about the possible implications, good or bad, about the whole deal.

Star Wars, like a lot of franchises, is something that is held dearly for many. With a rich history in multiple medias, the beloved saga found a place in many fans heart with its mix of fantasy and science fiction and its general approach to storytelling. Jedi’s, Sith’s, the force and many more terms such as these are now commonly known by a very large percentage of the general population on the planet, something that many franchises could very well be jealous of.

However, with such an impressive following comes many things, such as much more difficult to please fans and the much more fanatic. Much like Marvel, DC and other such continuities, there are always some subjects that are hard to talk about when speaking about (don’t ever say the word midi-chlorian to a fan, seriously).

A subject that has been kind of moot, though, is if Dark Horse did a good job with the franchise or not. While they did produce some stinkers once in a while, like any company, they did give fans plenty of excellent material, like John Ostrander’s Star Wars Legacy or John Jackson Miller’s Star Wars: Knights of the old republic. Giving plenty of different material taking the lore to exciting new places, Dark Horse did quite a lot with the franchise in the 22 years it had it in its possession.

However, it seems that the company’s time with the franchise is over. With the recent purchase from Disney of everything Star Wars related, it only made sense that they would eventually try to reach for not just movies but comics as well in their new handle on the franchise. In 2015, Marvel, a company also owned by Disney, will publish Star Wars comics instead.

While this may seem like a tragedy for aficionados of Dark Horse and their general handle on this franchise, not everything is all that bad, nor is it that good either. Sure, the fact that Marvel will publish those comics can lead to rather exaggerated fears, such as a crossover between Star Wars and the X-Men (something close to that did happen, though) or Boba Fett appearing in a Deadpool title. While such ideas may appear silly and simply too stupid to ever be thought-of, there is always the slight possibility that Marvel could go for utter silliness and milk everything for what it’s worth.

However, while seeking negativity is fun, some really positive things could very well happen. Imagine if Marvel actually handled things very seriously with the franchise, considering they will receive the rights just when the movie is about to be released. Big names like Kieron Gillen, Jonathan Hickman or Jason Aaron could write Star Wars comics, with possible artists like Dustin Weaver, Esad Ribic or Jerome Opena. I don’t know about you all, but I’d buy a Star Wars of comics with any combination of any of those writers and artists.

Sure, everyone can speculate about this thing for a good amount of time. Until Marvel actually release more information about their plans for Star Wars and everything connected to it, there isn’t anything solid to really latch onto to cause hope or despair for whatever might happen. While Disney did do wonders for Marvel with their cinematic enterprise, it is no assurance of success for what is another thing entirely. Super heroes and Jedi’s aren’t exactly the same thing and should not be managed in the same ways.

What is there to do then? What can fans actually do with such a lack of information beside the inevitable switch between companies? The first thing, as done previously, is to speculate and theorize. The second is, of course, to remember that Dark Horse still has the rights to this fascinating universe this very year. With Brian Wood’s Star Wars, Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Sara Bechko’s Star Wars Legacy and many others done by talented people. Those comics are still running and can still very well satisfy fans and newcomers alike.

Whatever happens next, we’ll just have to wait.