April 11, 2018 - DARTH VADER #14

Well, that was one hell of a week. THE ORACLE YEAR could not have come into the world more strongly, and a lot of that’s down to you guys – everyone who talked it up, posted photos on Instagram and Twitter, and everything else you did to get the word out. Sales and reviews are very strong as we move into the second week of the book being out in the world, which is fantastic. If you read it and liked it, please consider leaving a review at Amazon (even just a star-rating helps a bunch, or a few sentences.) Here’s the link for that – it’s very easy: https://www.amazon.com/Oracle-Year-Novel-Charles-Soule/dp/0062686631

In many ways, the book’s journey is just beginning – keeping the buzz going is a big part of the job now, and anything you’re willing to do to help would be huge.

But let’s talk about the book that’s out this week! It’s DARTH VADER #14, part two of “The Burning Seas,” the huge story set on Mon Cala. Interior art from Giuseppe Camuncoli and Daniele Orlandini, colors by David Curiel, letters by Joe Caramagna, and the truly incredible cover’s by Cammo and Elia Bonetti:

If you haven’t already put it together, this story is half of something like a loose crossover with the “Mutiny at Mon Cala” arc running in the STAR WARS series written by Kieron Gillen. I’m looking at Mon Cala before the Rebellion formed, just after the Empire took power, and he’s taking a look at it a few decades later. You’ll see character arcs revisited and in some places completed, and other connectivity between the stories. This happened sort of organically, but once we both realized we wanted to tell a story set on the water world, we started talking about how we could link the stories up. That said, my arc and Kieron’s are distinct and satisfying in and of themselves – but why not read both, right? The more good Star Wars the better.

Vader #14 is the second chapter of my five-part tale, which means this is the spot where I start complicating and intensifying the threads laid down in #13. We meet the mysterious Jedi we saw n the last page of last issue and learn more about him, and we see King Lee-Char and his Mon Calamari and Quarren allies take their first big steps toward their larger destinies in the great galactic conflicts that will last for many decades to come. Oh, and Ackbar’s in it.

Personally, I feel like the Mon Calamari’s story is one of the great non-Jedi-related sagas of this part of the Star Wars timeline – it’s hugely dramatic, if you don’t know how it all works out – and getting to explore it is incredibly fun. If you read it, let me know what you think!

Next week = huge. We’ve got Poe Dameron #26, which begins the “Awakenings” arc set in part after The Last Jedi, we’ve got Daredevil #601 which begins the truly epic “Mayor Murdock” story, and best of all, we’ve got CURSE WORDS #13, part three of “The Hole Damned World,” our series third arc. You guys… IT’S ALL HAPPENING!! See you then!