Raist’s Collection Part 1: Star Wars Comics

Welcome everyone to the first part of Raist’s Collection! If you missed my Back……from the grave……. post (or avoided it because of the weird title) let me explain to you what this new feature is all about. As someone who has way too many hobbies to count, I also love to collect things, especially from franchises that I am really enthusiastic about. Through these posts I will give you a small glimpse into some of those collections by showing you some pictures, as well as provide you with some background on it. And what better way to start things off by talking about one of the most beloved science fiction epics ever made. I am of course referring to Star Wars. Ever since I saw the first movie all those years ago, the Force became strong in me. I have been a Star Wars fan for almost thirty years now (okay there is one noteworthy exception to that rule, but I don’t wish to talk about that), and over the years I have collected a lot of memorabilia. Books, games, toys, and many other things have become a part of my Star Wars collection. But there is one particular aspect of this collection that has grown a little bit out of control: comics.

A (short) history….

Yep…that’s what 307 comics look like. Oh, don’t mind the guy in the background: he’s rebel scum!

Star Wars comics have a pretty long history, dating back as far as 1977. I’m not going to go into full history lesson mode here, because for one thing that would be pretty boring, and for another that would mean this post would become way too long. Suffice it to say that the license of the comics is now back into the hands of the publisher of the original comics run: Marvel comics. Yes, this is THE Marvel responsible for all those famous superheroes and who are currently dominating the cinemas. With the release of The Force Awakens Marvel started publishing new comics, with stories set in different time periods of the beloved galaxy, far, far away. The interesting thing is that all the events that happen in these comics are considered as official canon. I started collecting the comics ever since Marvel took over the reins again. But I did not expect that after four years, the number of comics they have brought out has reached a whopping 307 issues….and counting. Just in case you are wondering, yes I have every single one of those issues. Hey I told you that this aspect of my collection has grown way out of control, and now you know I wasn’t joking!

Stories

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away……..

With such a huge amount of comics, it’s very hard to know where to start. Especially if you have become curious after reading my post, and maybe want to try some of these out. I’m also going to be honest and say that not all of the comics have the same level of quality when it comes to the storylines, and art contained within their pages. So I thought I would help you out by showcasing some of my three personal favorite series.

Star Wars

Issues number 2 and 64 of the Star Wars series.

Simply titled Star Wars this is the main comics line, and also has released the biggest number of issues to date. (Issue 67 was just released last month). It focusses on a young Luke, Han and Leia just after the destruction of the first Death Star. It features plenty of action, but also doesn’t forget the character development of our beloved heroes. Luke is trying to master the Force, Han and Leia are in the early stages of their romance (meaning plenty of bickering), but we also see how the Rebellion is still struggling against the might of the Empire. With plenty of guest appearances from other familiar faces such as Darth Vader, Boba Fett and many more, as well as introducing plenty of new (and very interesting) characters, this series is well worth checking out.

Darth Vader

Don’t these covers look amazing?

It will probably not be a very big surprise to find out that the biggest villain from Star Wars had it’s own comic book series. Two series in fact, both of them ran for 25 issues. We follow Vader during different times of his life, and the comic runs covered some very cool background stories for the Dark Lord of the Sith. Have you ever wondered how Vader’s fortress was built? Or how he came to know that his own son was responsible for the destruction of the Death Star? The answers to these questions can be found within the pages of these comics. Both series have amazing art, and to date have been my absolute number one favorite Star Wars comics.

Doctor Aphra

Girlpower….and then some!!

Now this will probably be an unfamiliar name for most of you. Doctor Aphra is a new character that was first introduced in the Darth Vader comic book series. She is a criminal archeologist with very questionable morals. Despite that fact she became a very popular character, so popular in fact that she is now starring in her own comic book series that has currently reached issue number 33. The comic contains some great dark humor often provided by her robotic sidekicks Triple Zero and BT-1. These last two can best be described as an evil version of C-3PO and R2-D2. It’s a really fun series, with a lot of action and adventure.

The Future

Just a few more covers, because I can’t get enough of these!

Now these three series are just the tip of the iceberg, as there are many other Star Wars comics that are just as much fun to read as the ones I just described. A question that I do wonder about though is how long will Marvel continue with these comics. I honestly admit that I did not expect to find myself the owner of over 300 comics after just four short years. With Star Wars not going anywhere anytime soon, and there is no sign yet of  Marvel slowing down it’s release schedule I don’t know if I will continue to buy every single issue. Yes, with a few noteworthy exceptions most of these comics are a blast, and I have enjoyed reading them very much. But at the same time they take up a lot of space, and of course these comics aren’t free. As Yoda says, always in motion the future is, so only time will tell. I’m going to leave you with a slide show of some art from a few of the comics. This brings part 1 of Raist’s Collection to a close. I hope you enjoyed it! Hopefully you will join me again for part 2 where I will be talking about my Sword Art Online collection. Let me know your thoughts on this new feature in the comments section! Thanks for reading, see you next time!

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