Poe Dameron is getting his own comic series come April, and Marvel is looking to make its release a day for celebration.
Retailers opting into Marvel's Star Wars: Poe Dameron #1 celebration will receive a number of exclusive items that fans will want, including exclusive variant covers. In addition to two variant covers, one by David Nakayama and another party-exclusive cover, retailers who participate in the launch party will also receive invitational postcards, promotional pins and BB-8 lithographs drawn by artist Joe Quinones.
Indeed, Marvel is hoping to use the runaway popularity of the X-Wing pilot extraordinaire from The Force Awakens to make the first ongoing comic series taking place after the events of Return of the Jedi a major success. Given the amount of talent on the book, that shouldn't be too hard. Writer Charles Soule has already proven he understands the Star Wars universe, having penned both the excellent Lando miniseries and the Obi-Wan and Anakin miniseries. Combine Soule's writing with artwork from Phil Noto, and you have a recipe for success. So, what's the comic going to be about?
Here is the official plot synopsis, straight from Marvel:
"Set before the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, be there for Poe's daring adventures as they take him to the edge of the galaxy and back. Hand-picked for the Resistance by legendary General Leia Organa, follow Poe, BB-8 and a squadron of X-Wing pilots on a top-secret mission that could hold the key to saving the galaxy. But with the First Order on their tail, will the operation be short lived?"
Considering that we know Poe does, in fact, live to fight another day in The Force Awakens, we're going to assume the operation is a success. However, the opening arc will be just the beginning for the series. As it's an ongoing book and not a miniseries, Soule recently said in an interview that they have big plans for the character in the story arcs ahead.
"The first story is straight-up weird, ‘70s sci-fi, but there's plenty more to come — a prison story, an espionage tale — lots of great stuff," Soule tells Comic Book Resources.
Soule also shined more light on the comic's new villain, a First Order intelligence officer described as "Evil Lando."
"The main villain is a new character, an intelligence officer in the First Order with some ties to the old Empire," he says. "He's a scary guy, a little older, which I think gives him a cool gravitas in much the same way Peter Cushing delivered as Grand Moff Tarkin in A New Hope."
If that doesn't get you excited for Poe Dameron #1, we don't know what will. The issue hits comic stores on April 6.
