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Both Marvel Comics and Dark Horse have had their respective footrace with theStar Warsfranchise for many years at this full point . Marvel kick things off in the former days before the license was given to Dark Horse , but that all changed when Disney acquired the franchise and give way the property to its subordinate .
Now that things have come full lap , it ’s a great time to analyze the intensity of both the Marvel and Dark HorseStar Warscomics and what both land to the overall franchise . Neither side was perfect , but both merit recognition .
Marvel Was First
It ’s hard to abnegate the impingement that other MarvelStar Warscomics had on the franchise . For nearly ten year , Marvel waved the franchise flag with an impressive 107 publication that not only keptStar Warsalive in the hearts and minds of the populace after the movies had terminate , but may have stave in off its own failure .
Indeed , thing were going moody for Marvel at the time , and the injectant of sales fromStar Warscomics help oneself the company find solid footing again . How ironic that the two would be inextricably pair via Disney in the days to come .
Dark Horse Re-Energized The Comics
Although Marvel had done an impressive Book of Job withStar Wars , the lack of source material meant that story were starting to get dusty . When the torch was passed to Dark Horse in 1991 , they immediately knock it out of the park with the post - ROTJstoryDark Empire . From there , Dark Horse take to sour alongside raw canonise ( at the clip ) source material from theStar Warsnovels which quick grow in popularity .
Dark Horse adapted several of those stories in comic book form which turned out to be a bonus for fan of the series . In pith , Dark Horse ’s claim on the franchise came at on the nose the proper time inStar Warshistory when fans were clamour for Modern material that expanded on a extragalactic nebula far , far away .
Marvel’s S-Canon Stories
Early MarvelStar Warscomics explored cloth that is now considered to be S - Canon , which is a reference to " Secondary Canon . " This division of canon was n’t in particular interested in maintaining continuity ( as many workings of the late 70s / early 80s can attest ) which meant that writer had comparatively free reign to do as they pleased .
As such , the original Marvel comics are by and large disregard as official canon , peculiarly in the Wake Island ofGeorge Lucas’scontroversialStar WarsSpecial Editions , not to mention the prequels . That being said , it was an exciting clip for fans who had ( literally ) nothing else to go on for over a ten .
Dark Horse Adopted C-Canon Stories
By contrast , Dark Horse focused more on C - Canon stories , which are generally look at to be more faithful to the franchise bible ( though not all ) . Much of their study consisted of adapting novels by notable authors Timothy Zahn , Alan Dean Foster , and Kevin J. Anderson .
At the time , these were all considered official canyon by LucasFilm , and therefore lawful to form . sure elements such as major planet names like Coruscant would even make it into the celluloid as 100 % established . Dark Horse enjoyed the fruits of theStar Warsexpanded universebefore Disney retconned them back into fable condition with the acquisition of the enfranchisement .
Marvel’s Artwork Is Superior
Dark Horse and Marvel both had some badly gifted creative person sketching their dialog box , but Marvel ’s is in a league totally its own . This is especially true in the new eld ofStar Warscanonized funnies that pursue Disney ’s creative direction . It ’s hard to find aStar Warscomic derive out of Marvel that is n’t striking to behold .
Stories with notably amazing art include theDarth Vaderseries which continue to be a monolithic smasher . Dark Horse is no slouch either , specially their adaption of George Lucas ’s original 1974 screenplayThe Star Wars , but Marvel has them beat by a slight edge .
Dark Horse Had Better Stories
New MarvelStar Warscomics are play within a relatively narrow theatre in compare to the unfounded westward of 1990s canon . As such , its stories are n’t as interesting overall when compared to the Dark Horse political campaign . Once again , it ’s important to note that Dark Horse was adapting new reference material literally hot from the press while injecting its own creative stories into the commixture .
By contrast , Marvel has had to represent largely outdoors of Expanded Universe ( ie : Legends ) material in favour of a rather rigid bible . Many of its report are expend trying to retcon glare superintendence from the feature of speech moving picture , while fight to break up out with imaginative fresh fabric .
Marvel Had Better Vader Stories
While not perfect , Marvel ’s treatment ofDarth Vaderhas been relatively striking from the start . Vader is such an iconic anatomy forStar Warsfans , and there ’s plenty of room to secern interesting floor about his post - ROTSbirth and rise to prominence as a Dark Lord of the Sith .
Multiple stories have inflate on Vader ’s awful powers and power which now run alongside textile from TV shows , video recording game , and pursue - up motion-picture show likeRogue One . The only major trip ( and they are big ) affect any plot threads having to deal with character inconsistency ( ie : Vader recognise C-3PO ) .
Dark Horse Had Better Maul Stories
Dark Horse set the saloon when it come to stories about Darth Maul , and buff took bill very quickly . TheSon of Dathomirseries is consider to be the pinnacle of storytelling regarding the character and bring back all the factor command for an excellentStar Warsstory .
Other works such asDeath Sentencewould drop down at the right prison term , running parallel with events taking property on theClone Warsanimated serial . Marvel would pick up the character of Maul when the rights were transferred , but Dark Horse kicked the eccentric off in a big fashion , which in all probability had a lot to do with his longevity throughout bothThe Clone Warsand theRebelsanimated adopt - up series .
Love it or hate it , MarvelStar Warsfollows prescribed canon for the first time , and it ’s heavy to imagine the license transfer to another company any time presently . With Disney own bothStar Warsand Marvel , the society can keep things in - house when it comes to churning out strip .
There are signs of trouble , however , particularly if the recent rumors regarding an ideologic division between LucasFilm alum Kathleen Kennedy andMandalorianshowrunner Jon Favreau bear witness to be unfeigned . Fans have not taken kindly to the former , while Favreau latterly come out and said that he stands behind traditional fans who find disenfranchised with Disney ’s initial handling ofStar Wars . How that affects the comic remains to be seen , but one affair is for sure - Marvel will work mitt - in - hand with the top brass instrument for the foreseeable future .
Dark Horse Focused On Legends Canon
Disney ’s accomplishment ofStar Warshasn’t foregather with the near of results , and that ’s putting it gently . The decision to exorcise Expanded Universe textile from canon induce a major tumultuousness among decades - longStar Warsfans who matt-up the material was far good and more easy adaptable into a serial of feature films . Disney has succeeded with cinema likeRogue Oneand TV show likeThe Mandalorian , but the bankruptcy of the mainstream sequel trilogy has Disney on edge .
Dark Horse focused heavily on accommodate Legends stuff for their comic strip , and fan bosom it wholesale . It ’s not toilsome to see why , especially when one canvas the strength of story likeHeir to the Empire , theJedi Academytrilogy , and more . Many elements and character from these story ( such as Grand Admiral Thrawn ) have been adapted into Disney ’s prescribed canyon , but Dark Horse really brought it to the forefront . Much of the material is now out of escort , but it vibrate just as strongly with fans .
NEXT : Star Wars : 10 affair Duel Of The Fates Did Better Than Rise of Skywalker
