Doctor Aphra’s Solo Star Wars Debut Previewed by Marvel Comics

Doctor Aphra #1 will make history for Marvel Comics and Star Wars when it is released in December. The series will be the first in-canon comic starring a character created in comics, an expansion of the line that hasn’t been seen yet. The incredibly popular character was introduced in the pages of Darth Vader, and now moves into her own ongoing series after (apparently, at least) convincingly faking her death to the Sith Lord.

Now, her co-creator Kieron Gillen teams with Kev Walker for Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, and she’s not alone. Other popular creations in that series like Triple Zero and BeeTee, the “evil Threepio and Artoo,” plus the Wookiee bounty hunter Black Krrsantan are all confirmed along for the ride.

“With the droids 0-0-0 and BT-1 in tow, she’s off in search of rare artifacts from the galactic center to the Outer Rim and everywhere in between,” a press release reads. “Aphra’s got debts to pay after all. Just as long as she can stay one step ahead of the Empire, some Bounty Hunters and just about everyone else in the galaxy!”

Ahead of the December 7, 2016 release, Marvel has distributed a sneak peek at some of the covers and interior art for the series. Kamome Shirahama provides the main cover, with Elsa Charretier, Jamie McKelvie, John Tyler Christopher, Salvador Larroca (Aphra’s co-creator), and Rod Reis all providing variant covers.

Aphra surviving her time with Darth Vader was a pleasant surprise to many fans – and was also a surprise to Gillen.

“For quite awhile, I thought it was just going to be Vader throwing her into space. I had literally the whole thing played exactly the same until the after-credits reveal. That was how I thought it was going to end,” he revealed in an interview with StarWars.com. The writer said support for the character was “straight from the outset,” and her sense of “fun” and the fact that she’s an “Indiana Jones archetype” helped boost her popularity.

Check out the full preview in the gallery below, and tell your local comic shop that you want the issue. Now, when will fans get to see Doctor Aphra come to life on the big screen, or at least in animation?