Star Wars jumping on point 1 1

[universal soldier]

Hey all,

Interested in starting to read some Star Wars books and wondering a good way to start without being lost. Seen all the movies and still ahve my Marvel books from the 70's/80's and a few random Dark Horse. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[srezvan]

Tough question. There are tons of different series at this point. Someone recently finished the original Marvel books and posted a blurb about it in Comics General 1000 book thread. 

Are you interested in Disney/canon, Legends, or both? From Legends, Crimson Empire 1 was great. Canon, Darth Vader by Charles Soule was wonderful. Dr Aphra had some low points in the middle but was strong overall.

There are mini series, one shots, and long runs. You may need to rephrase your question. Are you looking for cool stories or do you want to read everything in chronological order?

[Tnexus]

For Dark Horse, I'd suggest:

Dark Times, KOTOR, Tag and Bink, Tales (the 64 pagers), Tales of the Jedi arcs. I'd skip the core character series' stuff as it just makes canon now weird. Though Dark Empire and Heir to the Empire series are great too.

[awakeintheashes]

On 3/8/2023 at 5:45 PM, srezvan said:

Are you interested in Disney/canon, Legends, or both? From Legends, Crimson Empire 1 was great. Canon, Darth Vader by Charles Soule was wonderful. Dr Aphra had some low points in the middle but was strong overall.

This is a good point. The legends stuff is interesting and some of it is good, but it’s not canon. Some characters have crossed over but the events that occurred in legends, for the most part, never happened. There have been a few storylines from the DH days that carried over to canon, but very few  

You may also want to watch Clone Wars and Rebels as some of those characters have appeared in the comics and in some cases driven the story. 

The comics have been good, and the movies hit or miss (sequels and TPM), but the animation is probably peak Star Wars storytelling. 

Edited March 9, 2023 by awakeintheashes

[universal soldier]

Thanks, I think probably canon mostly. I've been enjoying the Disney + series and though Andor was fantastic. The whole Luke/Leia/Vader schtick had run it's course for me and the new stuff is a breath of fresh air. Hoping to find something that is part of the larger universe but not the same old same old.

For now I would likely start with recent series and eventually work back with some of the better Dark Horse runs. Not really a one-shot fan but mini's are cool if the story is good. 

[D2]

I tried reading Dark Empire because 

a) people were recommending it in spades… on top lists… must haves etc

b) it looks totally badass

c) it was pitched as the in between of empire and return which felt very much like a gap between the two

and…

it sucked. I struggled. I could not get into it. I feel like this was one of those reads that would have been great at launch, but did not age well in respect to its style 

[Tnexus]

On 3/12/2023 at 2:49 PM, D2 said:

I tried reading Dark Empire because 

a) people were recommending it in spades… on top lists… must haves etc

b) it looks totally badass

c) it was pitched as the in between of empire and return which felt very much like a gap between the two

and…

it sucked. I struggled. I could not get into it. I feel like this was one of those reads that would have been great at launch, but did not age well in respect to its style 

Dark Empire is definitely a relic of the 90s, but I love it. It's what got me into Star Wars really. You have to read it for what it meant back in the mid-90s versus 2023 though. It's like reading Silver/Bronze Age stories of Captain America nowadays.

Edited March 14, 2023 by Tnexus

[mtracy64]

I grew up on the original trilogy films. The Dark Horse anthology title Star Wars Tales is what got me into comics, and I enjoyed almost all of the Dark Horse stuff. Favorites include the Tales of The Jedi books (thousands of years before the movies) and the main Star Wars series which was renamed Star Wars Republic after 45 issues (prequel era - and yes, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed that era in comics and novels - they served to flesh things out quite nicely). The Darth Vader stuff is great, and I'd also recommend Knights of the Old Republic, Empire, Dark Times and Legacy.

I don't concern myself with what is canon much, as canon contradicts itself in some cases. I view most of the comics (and novels) as "What If?" stories. Marvel's Darth Vader stuff is really good, and I've enjoyed their main Star Wars title too. Doctor Aphra, as mentioned above, is a bit uneven at times but still worth reading.

I wholeheartedly agree with the recommendation above to check out the animated Clone Wars and Rebels shows. Both start off a bit slow but hit their stride pretty quickly. At their best, they are the best Star Wars there is in my opinion (and that includes the original trilogy films).

[D2]

On 3/14/2023 at 3:53 PM, Tnexus said:

Dark Empire is definitely a relic of the 90s, but I love it. It's what got me into Star Wars really. You have to read it for what it meant back in the mid-90s versus 2023 though. It's like reading Silver/Bronze Age stories of Captain America nowadays.

That is very true and a valid perspective. 
I guess I just had expectations that it was more of a timeless piece, based on how celebrated the story is.