Welcome back to another new comic book day, EveryWookiee!! Every week I take a look at the Star Wars comic releases and analyze for first appearances and key events that may be worth collecting or keeping an eye on for future development.
First appearances and keys from these weekly articles get added to or sister site and Star Wars comics first appearance and key issue database, Wookywiki.com!
This week was a little light, but we still got two really enjoyable reads and I also got a chance to check out the first Mandalorian Manga, Big Gangan 6!
Darth Vader #23
The blatant golden boy of the Star Wars comic releases this week was one of the last Sprouse Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary variants for Darth Vader #23, containing the first traditional comic cover appearance of the Bad Batch, Crosshair, Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech! Now, I’m not sure this is a first for Echo. I find it hard to believe he hasn’t appeared on a comic cover before so I’ll reserve judgment on that until I actually look into it.
Sabe somehow convinces Vader that not only can liberating a band of former Tatooine slaves from Crimson Dawn oppression further his own machinations, but also he can somehow prove to the late Padme that there is good in him. Woof. Heavy!
Two of those former slaves are Kitster Banai and Wald. You might remember them ribbing Anakin about his Podracing skills in Episode I: the Phantom Menace.
This is their first canon appearance in a traditional comic book. Of course, they popped up back in Legends comics. Kitster and Wald both first appeared in the Dark Horse Episode I Anakin Skywalker One-Shot from 5/19/1999.
Kitster appeared in the recent IDW Prequel Trilogy Graphic Novel Adaptation from 2021:
Bounty Hunters #23
First, we get a little background on just why Dengar hates Han Solo so much. Nothing spec-worthy with this, just some glorious Han being Han.
Next up, Dengar holds a meeting with Lord Khamdek, leader of the Mourner’s Wail Syndicate. Khamdek made his first appearance in Bounty Hunters #2, but don’t get too attached to him. Wink.
Dengar’s getaway driver is the love of his life, Manaroo! Manaroo first appears in the 1996 Kevin J. Anderson novel, Tales of the Bounty Hunters. She made her first comic cameo in Bounty Hunters #14. She has some dialogue here, so I’ll go ahead and just call this her first full appearance!
That’s it for now! More later!
-DrunkWooky
