The Latest from Charles Soule (it's... been a big month

#1

I still can't believe I get to type these words: I am a New York Times #1 Bestselling Author.

My new novel LIGHT OF THE JEDI, released on January 5, debuted at #1, and has remained on the list since then - three weeks and counting. You're damn right I made sure to get a hard copy - this is going up on my wall, as soon as I get around to framing it (which might mean never - but I'll try!) 

Reviews have been fantastic, which makes me feel good, but even more than that, it's been the reaction on social media. This story about space wizards with laser swords truly seems to be connecting with people, which wasn't something I was sure would happen. LIGHT OF THE JEDI is not a cynical book. It's got darkness and conflict, sure, but it's ultimately a story about hope and heroes and the light pushing back against the dark. It's about what we can all do when we set aside our differences and each contribute our skills toward the common good as best as we can.

I was hoping it would work, but you never really know. Regardless, I'm very happy to have put this particular kind of story into the world at this particular time. I know it's the story I needed to write, and if the reception is any indication, it seems like it's the story many of you needed and wanted to read.

More LIGHT OF THE JEDI fun... the entire Project Luminous brain trust, the five writers who created the High Republic era for Star Wars, was featured in the seventh episode of the Disney+ series "Disney Insider." That's me, Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel Jose Older and Cavan Scott. Look! We're TV stars now! (Not really. We're writers who got to pretend we were fancy people one day - but it was a blast.) Watch the trailer here.

If you already have LIGHT OF THE JEDI, but you're interested in checking out my other two prose novels released to date, both are on sale, with some fabulous deals in all formats. You can get my most recent novel ANYONE here - it's about the invention of a technology that lets people shift into other bodies, and what happens when that becomes as commonplace as smartphones.

My first novel, THE ORACLE YEAR, about a person who learns one hundred and eight future events large and small, all due to happen over the course of the next year, and what they choose to do with that knowledge - is also on sale! You can get it here, in all formats.

While neither of these books have lightsabers, if you like the fast-paced, can't-put-it-down nature people seem to be enjoying in LIGHT OF THE JEDI, you'll find the same thing here. I hope you'll check them out.

Finally, if you want a more frequent update on everything High Republic related, I was a guest on the first ever episode of the official High Republic show hosted by the wonderful Krystina Arielle!

DAREDEVIL: BACK IN BLACK... IS BACK

It's been a while since I mentioned Daredevil in a newsletter, as my run on the title ended in late 2018, but I am excited to announce that the entire run is getting an omnibus collection from Marvel later this year. I haven't seen the cover yet, but these are always premium packages, so I'm sure it'll be lovely. This will include every issue I wrote for the title, with art from masters like Ron Garney, Phil Noto, Goran Sudzuka and more. It'll have the landmark Daredevil #600, the "Death of Daredevil" story, the introduction of new characters like Blindspot and Muse, and even the reintroduction of Matt Murdock's rascal brother Mike to Marvel canon, for the first time since the 60s.

I'm very proud of this run, especially because I'm an attorney. Getting to do a long run on Daredevil was a lifelong comics writing goal, and I'm thrilled I was able to achieve it. This particular title has had incredible creative teams aboard since the very start, and being able to shelve my own omnibus next to volumes from Frank Miller, Brian Bendis, Stan Lee, Mark Waid, Ed Brubaker, Ann Nocenti and all the rest will feel prettttty damn good.

In another tidbit of news about the Man Without Fear - Marvel is soon going to release Volume 15 of their Marvel Masterworks ongoing collection of Daredevil, which will bring them up to the Frank Miller era on the title. They asked me to write the intro, which was a super fun exercise, not least because it gave me a chance to read all those comics again. I can confirm: no one did it like Miller.

SPEAKING OF OMNIBUSSES, ER, OMNIBI... ER...

I am very happy to say that the Curse Words Omnibus - THE HOLE DAMNED THING - has finally SHIPPED to folks who bought it as part of the Kickstarter run by Ryan Browne and myself last summer. If you missed it, I do have a few extra copies available for sale on my website, which you can buy here! Very very, few, though - like ten, I think. More fast if you want one! Once these are gone, they're probably gone - we didn't overprint by much.

UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY

We took the month of January off for UC, but we're back to finish the second arc, UNITY, off strong on February 10 with the oversized Issue 12. Following that, the collected edition of the UNITY arc (issues 6-12) lands March 24th. If you haven't read Undiscovered Country before, the perfect way to start is getting a signed copy from me by clicking this link for the standard edition and/or this link for the special B&N edition!

That's all for this installment! As always, if you want to send me something to sign, email my assistant at souleassistant@gmail.com. He can help you out! I plan to have bookplates available in the near future for just about every book I've ever worked on. But if you can't wait until then or don't like bookplates, he's got you covered - you can send in whatever you need signed, and we'll get it handled and sent right back out to you.

See you next month! Stay warm and stay safe!