"Star Wars" Collected Edition Expected to Sell More Than 225,000 in Initial Orders

[CBR News]

The trade paperback of Jason Aaron and John Cassaday's "Star Wars" is a major hit in the direct market, according to sales numbers from Marvel.


Full article here.

[wwise03]

Good for Marvel and the future of high quality Star Wars books. They put a top notch artistic team who put a lot of thought into what they were going to do with the franchise. As a result, the books are high quality and they are selling exceedingly well.

[toddx77]

I am really surprised how well Marvels Star Wars comics have done. I haven't read this series yet but what makes it so good? The older Star Wars comics set further in the time line with much more freedom never sold this well so it is surprising that a comic set in between the 4th and 5th movie with less freedom is doing so well.

[RobinFan4880]

I am really surprised how well Marvels Star Wars comics have done. I haven't read this series yet but what makes it so good? The older Star Wars comics set further in the time line with much more freedom never sold this well so it is surprising that a comic set in between the 4th and 5th movie with less freedom is doing so well.

Dark Horse's best selling comic in the last few years was a comic starring the classic characters set between 4 and 5.

Put Marvel's power behind that as well as a lot of excitment generated by the newfilms and you get high sales.

[Samurai Jack]

I already own all six single issues, but I'll get this just for the first printing of the trade. I wonder how many issues Star Wars and Darth Vader will run for. Maybe they'll end up being Marvel's longest running comic series that don't get renumbered back to #1 every 3-5 years.

[RobinFan4880]

I already own all six single issues, but I'll get this just for the first printing of the trade. I wonder how many issues Star Wars and Darth Vader will run for. Maybe they'll end up being Marvel's longest running comic series that don't get renumbered back to #1 every 3-5 years.

All of the star wars titles will get a season 2 with a brand new #1. Probably after the crossover event coming this winter.

[Samurai Jack]

All of the star wars titles will get a season 2 with a brand new #1. Probably after the crossover event coming this winter.

I hope not. I really want to use Marvel's 12-month Subscription, especially since it has free shipping and every issue is 40-44% off cover price. I think keeping track of subscriptions would be complicated if very few of their ongoing comics last more than 12 issues before restarting back to #1.

[MrStatham]

Only in comics could numbers between 200K-250K be considered great. I'm not commenting on the quality of the books at all - I'm really enjoying Vader - but.. Seriously.

[MarvelMaster616]

While I've been enjoying the Darth Vader solo more, I can see why this series has become the main gateway into Marvel's new Star Wars universe. It effectively picked up right where A New Hope left off. It had top quality writing and top quality artwork. It's one of those rare comics that deserves to be a top seller. But I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg. I think Marvel has plans to expand its Star Wars comic, but it's going to wait until after Episode VII comes out this Christmas to do so. But at the very least, this first series shows that Marvel knows how to do Star Wars.

[John Aston]

If the orders of the trades are between 225,000 to 250,000, I can't believe that's solely comic shops. If it is, expect to see that trade in discount bins in a year or two.

[RobinFan4880]

If the orders of the trades are between 225,000 to 250,000, I can't believe that's solely comic shops. If it is, expect to see that trade in discount bins in a year or two.

With how well this series has been selling, it makes sense. My local shop orders a ton of Star Wars comics and wind up with very few remaining.

[Wonderllama]

Marvel should have gotten back the rights to Star Wars comics a long time ago!

I hope their eventual Episode VII comic kicks ass too.

[RobinFan4880]

Marvel should have gotten back the rights to Star Wars comics a long time ago!

I hope their eventual Episode VII comic kicks ass too.

Marvel would have just been another licensor up until Disney bought Lucasfilm. Thus their publishing efforts would not have done much better than Dark Horses, nor would their work have survived the transition to the new cannon.

Plus, Dark Horses comics are still vastly stronger and more original than what Marvel is publishing right now, which is sticking far too closely to the core characters and the core time period (i.e. Marvel is playing it safe). We will have to wait for the first comic set after the trilogy to see how well Marvel will compare to Dark Horse.

[resipsaloquitur]

For those interested, I've been finding Dark Horse's Star Wars trades on substantial clearance at places like Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. I got all four "Darth Vader and the..." hardcovers at something like 25% of cover price, and three of the Brian Wood series' volumes for pretty cheap too. Wish I'd found more of the Omnbius series at that price, since they're compact and fit on a shelf better. (Yeah, Marvel appears to be slowly reprinting all the Dark Horse stuff, but I figure better to get it now on the cheap.)

[cyberhubbs]

Only in comics could numbers between 200K-250K be considered great. I'm not commenting on the quality of the books at all - I'm really enjoying Vader - but.. Seriously.

That's for the initial orders of the trades, so that is pretty darn good in a niche market. Who knows what it'll sell in a year or more.