As if 2019 wasn’t going to be a monster year for Star Wars already…. Of course Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters in December. Before that we return to The Clone Wars for season 7. Plus, we’ll get to see Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian. Not to be outdone by their visual media counterparts, Marvel and Lucasfilm Publishing have their own excitement in store. They’ll kick off their efforts this spring with a new TIE Fighter comic series, which will tie in to Alexander Freed’s latest Star Wars novel, Alphabet Squadron.

According to StarWars.com, “in the last days of the Galactic Civil War, an elite squadron of TIE fighter pilots, known as Shadow Wing, is assembled to protect Imperial interests.” They will be the focus of Marvel’s new series, Star Wars: TIE Fighter. The first issue, the cover art for which you can see above, will be available beginning in April. The series, set in the time period following Return of the Jedi, will directly tie to Freed’s new novel.

Tie Fighter and Alphabet Squadron

TIE Fighter
Cover Art for Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron. (Image: Del Rey)

Alphabet Squadron will be the first book of a new trilogy conversely focusing on the Rebel’s perspective of the “brutal fallout during the fall of the Empire.” They will, certainly, battle the TIE Fighter pilots of Shadow Squadron.  Alexander Freed, for those unfamiliar, penned 2015’s Battlefront: Twilight Company.

Twilight Company was the first, and in my opinion one of the best forays into the other, non-hero-centric side of Star Wars. Instead of highlighting The Skywalkers and the Force, Freed showcases the soldiers and the grittiness of the Galactic Civil War (As did Rogue One).TIE Fighter and Alphabet Squadron will hopefully follow in that vein.

TIE Fighter
Image: Del Rey

Jody Hauser will author TIE Fighter following her exceptional work with both the Thrawn and Rogue One comic adaptations. Joining her will be artist Rogê Antônio and cover artists Giuseppe Camuncoli and Elia Bonetti.         

Stay tuned here for more information on the TIE Fighter series, Alphabet Squadron release date, and other information!

Source: StarWars.com