A Look at the Post-‘Return of the Jedi’ Comic Book Runs
Image Source: Marvel Comics
The majority of Star Wars comics Marvel has published since acquiring the license back in 2014 have been set either in the years between Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi or during the High Republic. But no longer!
The roughly three decades between Episodes VI and VII are still very much an "undiscovered country" (to quote another “Star” franchise). While books like Claudia Gray's Bloodline or Adam Christopher's Shadow of the Sith have covered some aspects of how and why the First Order could have risen to power or how Palpatine had returned from the dead, much of this period is still a mystery.
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As we advance, it seems that Marvel intends to conquer this "undiscovered country" with the upcoming Star Wars main comic line and Choas Agent, both set post-Return of the Jedi. But even now, there are several series, mini-series, and one-shots set in the era of the New Republic and the Resistance/First Order.
The following titles will be presented in chronological order, as they happened in the Star Wars timeline, but there will be some overlaps and concurrencies.
Shattered Empire
Source: Marvel Comics
Released between September and October 2015 as part of the Journey to The Force Awakens publishing push, the events of this 4-issue mini-series begin during the Battle of Endor and continue as the former rebels begin to trace and hunt down remaining Imperial holdouts throughout the galaxy. The series features Shara Bey, Kes Dameron, and their young son Poe, and first introduces Operation Cinder as part of Palpatine's Contingency Plan.
Battle of Jakku
Source: Marvel Comics
This 12-issue miniseries, split into three story arcs ("Insurgency Rising", "Republic under Siege" and "The Last Stand") was published between October 2024 and January 2025. The series is set directly after the end of ROTJ and covers one year as the New Republic struggles to fight what is left of the Empire. It also shows the infighting between the various factions of the former regime. The series includes characters and events from the mobile game Uprising and from Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy.
The Mandalorian and Ahsoka
Source: Marvel Comics
The first two seasons of The Mandalorian have each been turned into 8-issue mini-series which were released between July 2022 and January 2024, as has the first season of Ahsoka (July 2024 to February 2025). Both series retell the events of the Disney+ shows quite faithfully and add a bit more context here and there.
The Rise of Kylo Ren
Source: Marvel Comics
Set 24 years after the Battle of Endor, this 4-issue mini-series, published between December 2019 and March 2020, shows how Ben Solo fell under the influence of Snoke and earned the trust of the cruel Knights of Ren, ultimately becoming their leader.
Issue #1 depicts the destruction of Luke's Jedi temple and how some other students tried to stop Ben, while later issues give more backstory on the mysterious Snoke (without revealing anything substantial). Flashbacks tell about Ben being trained by Luke and how he always felt that he had to be better than the others due to being a Skywalker.
Poe Dameron
Source: Marvel Comics
This 31-issue series ran between April 2016 to September 2018 and covers the time between 32 and 34 ABY, beginning before The Force Awakens and ending after The Last Jedi.
The story revolves around Poe Dameron and his Black Squadron as they embark on missions for General Leia Organa, often clashing with the First Order. Poe is tasked with finding Lor San Tekka, an explorer who possesses key information about Luke Skywalker's whereabouts. Along the way, he encounters Terex, a ruthless First Order officer with a mysterious past, who becomes his primary antagonist in the early arcs.
The series delves into Poe's leadership skills, his relationships with fellow pilots like Snap Wexley and Jessika Pava, and his rivalry with Terex. It also provides insights into the Resistance’s struggles against the rising threat of the First Order. Later issues explore Poe’s role after The Last Jedi, showing how he grows into a true leader.
In addition, there were two Poe Dameron Star Wars Annuals published in 2017 and 2018.
Halcyon Legacy
Source: Marvel Comics
Disney's failed attempt to set up a Star Wars hotel got its own comic mini-series between February and August 2022. Well, not the hotel itself, but the in-universe starship that the hotel represented.
In the course of the five issues, a service droid on board the Halcyon Legacy tells stories from the 175 years the luxury spaceship has been in operation, with each story taking place in a different era of the Star Wars timeline, from the High Republic all the way to the time of the Resistance. The stories are embedded in a framework plot where a pirate named Crimson Jack (no, not Jod Na Nawood) is looking for a Resistance spy.
Galaxy's Edge
Source: Marvel Comics
The in-universe location of Disney's Star Wars theme park, Black Spire Outpost, got a 5-issue comic series between April and August 2019. Like the Halcyon Legacy, it is an anthology series where the owner of the Den of Antiques, the Ithorian Dok-Ondar, tells the backstories about certain items in his collection. These stories are set in various periods of the Star Wars saga, involving characters like Han Solo and Chewbacca, Greedo, Hondo Ohnaka, and Doctor Aphra.
Age of Resistance
Source: Marvel Comics
This 9-issue series, published between July and September 2019, dedicates each issue to the heroes - Finn, Poe, Rose, and Rey - and the villains - Snoke, Hux, Phasma, and Kylo Ren - of the Resistance era, with each story more or less self-contained. An additional "Special Issue" contains three "short stories" about Maz Kanata, Amilyn Holdo, and BB-8.
Captain Phasma
Source: Marvel Comics
If you ever wondered how Captain Phasa got out of the trash compactor of Starkiller Base, Marvel provided an answer in this 4-issue mini-series that ran between September and October 2017.
Removing her tracks, the mysterious figure in chrome armor hunts a fugitive Lieutenant until she is reunited with her team.
Legacy of Vader
Source: Marvel Comics
This ongoing series, which started in February 2025, is set between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker and deals with Kylo Ren's struggle to take control of the First Order after the death of Snoke. It focuses on his conflict between letting the past die and learning from it. The first two issues had Ren traveling to Mustafar and Tatooine to learn more about his grandfather.
Allegiance
Source: Marvel Comics
The events of this 4-issue mini-series from October 2019 take place shortly before The Rise of Skywalker. While Poe Dameron and Finn are on a mission to acquire weapons and sips for the Resistance, Leia, Rey, Rose Tico, C-3PO, and Chewbacca leave for Dac to ask for support from the Mon Calamari. Poe and Finn soon find themselves in the crosshairs of a group of bounty hunters, and Leia and her group discover a traitor among the Quarren.
The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker
Source: Marvel Comics
Like the six Star Wars films before them, each of the Prequel Trilogy movies received a comic book treatment. The adaptations of Episodes VII and VIII were released only months after their respective films’ premieres. The Rise of Skywalker comic was originally intended to be published starting in June 2020., but when Marvel resumed publication after the COVID-induced hiatus, the series had disappeared from their schedule, and it took until February 2025 for the first of six issues to finally see the light of day.
Like the novelizations, the comics add a few scenes that were not present in the movies. The Last Jedi also got two additional one-shot comics, "The Storms of Crait" and "DJ - Most Wanted" in 2017 and 2018.
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Source: Marvel Comics
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