‘Vader’s Castle’ strikes back: Cavan Scott revisits ‘Star Wars’ horror

The 5-issue mini-series will run weekly with art by Francesco Francavilla, Derek Charm, Robert Hack and more

Now an annual Halloween tradition reminiscent of the beloved Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror, IDW’s haunting look at Star Wars returns this September for the fourth year in a row. Get ready for zombie droids, giant Wookies and maybe Jedi ghosts that go bump in the night.

Writer Cavan Scott is back to helm the weekly mini-series Star Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader’s Castle with a murderer’s row of artists. Joining him will be artists Francesco Francavilla, Derek Charm, Megan Levens, Robert Hack, Chris Fenoglio and others, along with editor Heather Antos. Scott’s Star Wars bonafides run deep. He’s the author of the Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space novels and one of the architects of Lucasfilm’s The High Republic publishing initiative.

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What Are You Reading? | ‘Monsters’ is ‘a beautiful reading experience’

The Smash Pages crew talks about ‘Justice League: Last Ride,’ ‘Write It in Blood’ and more.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately — from older stuff like Crying Freeman and the Marvel Swimsuit Special to newer stuff like Justice League: Last Ride and Barry Windsor-Smith’s Monsters.

Let us know what you read this week in the comments or on social media.

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Mail Call | ‘That Texas Blood’ returns with a new story arc in June

Today’s round-up includes announcements and previews from Marvel, DC, Skybound, Image, Dark Horse and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently that we haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

That Texas Blood, the excellent small-town noir series by Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips, returns next month from Image Comics with a new story arc that delves into Ambrose County’s past, “blowing off some of that desert dust and seeing what lurks beneath,” Phillips said.

That Texas Blood #7 will arrive in comic shops on June 30.

“Returning to Ambrose County and these characters is like going home in many ways. They feel like old friends more than old creations and none more so than Sheriff Joe Bob Coates. I’m beyond excited to explore a bit of Joe’s past in this next story arc as we travel back in time to 1981. We’ll see new places, meet new people, and explore ideas we haven’t before. I’ve always believed that the beginning years of any decade are the hangover of the previous one, and I am absolutely thrilled that we are allowed to dissect this over the next six issues with our merry band of Ambrose Countians,” said Condon. “But don’t be fooled, we aren’t viewing the past through rose-colored glasses. I’ve said before that Texas is America’s mystical land, but every fantasy world has a minotaur lurking in the dark or a dragon breathing through smoking nostrils over armor-clad corpses. Our Texas is no different. The shadows there stretch to the horizon, devouring all light. But there are some who see the darkness and strike a match to light the way. I hope that you’ll join us on our trip down Highway 90, into the heart of Ambrose County and into the dark depths of the past. But don’t you fret, we’re not out of matches yet.”

Check out the first issue’s covers:

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Jabba the Hutt gets his own ‘War of the Bounty Hunters’ tie-in comic

Everyone’s favorite giant space slug gets a one-shot courtesy of Justina Ireland and Luca Pizzari.

The most notorious gangster in the Star Wars universe will get his own one-shot as part of Marvel’s upcoming War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event. The comic, which is due out in July, is by Justina Ireland and Luca Pizzari.

“Getting to work on a comic at Marvel, especially a Star Wars comic about one of the most perpetually under-appreciated criminal masterminds in the whole galaxy, has been a trip,” Ireland told StarWars.com. “It’s exciting, a little scary, and really makes me wish I could time travel to tell my twelve-year-old self reading comics in the grocery store self  ‘All of this will pay off one day.’”

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Learn what happened when Boba Fett lost a frozen Han Solo in ‘War of the Bounty Hunters’

The crossover event starts with an “alpha” issue by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven.

Star Wars’ most notorious bounty hunter, Boba Fett, will take the spotlight in a new crossover event launching in May called War of the Bounty Hunters. The story will kick off with an “alpha” issue by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven, as we learn what Boba Fett was up to between the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi films.

It sounds like that infamous cargo he was carrying may have gotten lost somewhere between the two films.

“Boba Fett is in possession of Han Solo at the end of Empire Strikes Back, and at the beginning of War of the Bounty Hunters, he is not,” Soule told StarWars.com. “And he is going to do everything he can to get him back, no matter what. No matter who is standing in his way.”

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‘Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures’ will launch next year

IDW will kick off the all-ages title, set in the heyday of the Jedi Order, in February.

IDW has announced that Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures will launch next February. The comic falls under “The High Republic” umbrella that Lucasfilm announced earlier this year and will include novels, comics and more.

Writer Daniel José Older, author of Star Wars: Last Shot, artist Harvey Tolibao and colorist Rebecca Nalty will team up for a tale of the Republic’s glory days.

“I’m so very excited to be able to tell this epic story of Padawans as the galaxy changes dramatically around them and danger lurks around every corner. Working on The High Republic has been a dream come true and getting to watch this world come to life through the brilliant art of Harvey Tolibao is one of the highlights of my career. I can’t wait for the fans to see what we’re cooking up,” Older said.

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What Are You Reading? | Three Jokers, Young Justice and WARHAUSEN!

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Let us know what you read this week in the comments or on social media.

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What Are You Reading? | ‘Batman,’ ‘X of Swords,’ ‘Skin Horse’ and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our weekly look at what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately — including two recent big events from the big two, and some fun webcomics.

Let us know what you read this week in the comments or on social media.

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What Are You Reading? | Red Goblins, celestial avatars, Klan smashers and Texas blood

See what the Smash Pages crew has checked off their ‘to read’ list lately.

Like I said last week, summertime is the right time for crossovers and comics. This week brought us a taste of Empyre, Marvel’s big crossover event featuring the Avengers, The Fantastic Four, the Kree, the Skrulls, the Blue Area of the Moon, the Swordsman and all that crazy cosmic space action Marvel fans have come to know and love. You can see Carla’s thoughts on it below, along with a list of comics Shane has been buying for his kids and Tom’s thoughts on two politically minded books from DC.

You can tell us what you’ve been reading in the comments below or on social media.

Shane Bailey

Lately my kids have started wanting to read more comics. My little one has always been into them, but now the older kids are as well. So I let them pick out their own comics to read on comiXology Unlimited.

My 9 yr old son picked Amazing Spider-Man: The Red Goblin by Dan Slott and Stuart Immonen, and he loves it. He wouldn’t stop commenting on how crazy scary Norman Osborn is, how it was gross when Carnage bit the head off a rat, and during one issue when the Goblin had a captive and was interrogating him, he wondered aloud over who it was, making guesses and gasping when he found out who it was and that Norman knew who Spider-Man was. It’s great seeing him get excited at things that are old hat for me. It made me appreciate those moments more.

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Mail Call | Clownhunter joins the ‘Joker Wars’

Plus: X of Swords, Star Wars manga, free Scooby comics and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we received from publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.

Marvel is hyping up their next X-Men event with some new promo art for X-Men: X of Swords, which was announced right before the pandemic at C2E2. Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard and Pepe Larraz bring you X-Men: X of Swords: Creation #1 in September.

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May the 4th Be With You: ‘Star Wars: Doctor Aphra’ arrives digitally today

The first issue of the new series by Alyssa Wong and Marika Cresta can be found on comiXology now.

Everyone is celebrating Star Wars today, from Disney+to that purse company my wife likes. Marvel is getting in on the action by releasing the first issue of their new Star Wars: Doctor Aphra series on digital today.

Physical copies won’t arrive in comic shops until May 27, in the first wave of Marvel titles scheduled to hit comic shops since the coronavirus shut down Diamond Comics Distributors.

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Can’t Wait for Tuesday: Going the (social) distance

Check out what’s hitting comic shops this week from DC, BOOM!, Dark Horse and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday Tuesday, our look at the comics and graphic novels hitting stores this week. And what a weird week it is, as we adjust to a new life of “social distance.” Whether your comic shop is actually open probably depends on where you are and your location’s situation. Several counties in California’s Bay Area, including my own, are implementing a “shelter in place” order that begins Tuesday, which is going to be hard on local small businesses like comic shops. There’s a lot of great comic shops in this neck of the woods, and my heart goes out to all of them.

You can see the complete list of this week’s releases over at The Comic List, and I encourage you to share what you’re planning to get in the comments below. My thanks to Tom Bondurant and Shane Bailey for sharing their picks this week.

Update: Per Newsarama, Diamond has given retailers permission to start selling comics on Tuesday this week instead of Wednesday, to try to avoid any potential quarantines or “shelter in place” orders that may be issued this week.

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