Qui Gon Jin and Obi Wan prepare for battle.
(20th Century Studios)

The 13 Best ‘Star Wars’ Comics of All Time, Ranked

Nine main movies. A boatload of spinoffs. TV series. Videogames. Board games. Toys. Books. Haven’t you had enough Star Wars? Of course you haven’t; it’s Star Wars. It’s the gift that just keeps on giving from the 1970s to now. And these 13 comics? They give alright. Oh, they give.

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13. Star Wars: Dr. Aphra

Cover art for "Star Wars- Dr. Aphra" featuring Dr. Aphra and some droids
(Marvel)

Star Wars: Dr. Aphra follows the good doctor during her time in Darth Vader’s clutches and beyond! After making her escape, Dr. Aphra is gonna go back to doing what she does best: taking stuff. There’s a Galaxy full of artifacts to uncover, and you can be sure she’s gonna Indiana Jones her way through them. Dr. Ahpra is one of the best side characters in Star Wars history, and her story does not disappoint.

12. Star Wars: Han Solo

Han Solo gets his own solo adventure! And yes, it is better than the movie. Star Wars: Han Solo follows Solo’s adventures through the Galaxy on an undercover mission for the Rebellion. Trouble is, he’s not really interested in the Rebellion, not when his cover is to be part of the most awesome spaceship racing tournament the Galaxy has ever seen. Solo needs to get his priorities straight; let’s hope he does it by the end of the comic.

11. Star Wars: Yoda’s Secret War

Cover art for "Star Wars- Yoda's Secret War" featuring Yoda frowning
(Marvel)

Star Wars: Yoda’s Secret War follows Master Yoda doing decidedly non-peaceful resistance to the Empire’s influence. And it’s awesome. Yoda might talk about wisdom and restraint, but this comic proves that he’s willing to get his green little hands dirty with the rest of the Rebellion. You wanna see super secret agent Yoda? You got it. This comic is unmissable.

10. Star Wars: Darth Maul

Cover art for "Star Wars: Darth Maul" featuring Darth Maul wielding a lightsaber
(Marvel)

Star Wars: Darth Maul centers around one of the best (if not the best) secondary antagonists in the whole Star Wars shebang. While Darth Maul didn’t get much character development in the prequels (he got cut in half pretty quickly), this comic focuses on fleshing out his character to glorious effect. Were you a fan of Darth Maul’s plotlines in Rebels? You’ll love this.

9. Star Wars: Poe Dameron: Black Squadron

Cover art for "Poe Dameron: Black Squadron" featuring Poe in his flightsuit
(Lucasfilm)

Though Poe might only be our second favorite spaceship pilot behind Han Solo, Star Wars: Poe Dameron: Black Squadron is proof that Solo needs to step up his comics game. Poe’s job in this comic? Lead a squadron of the Galaxy’s best starfighter pilots in covert missions against the First Order. Hell yeah.

8. Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Shattered Empire

Cover art for "Journey to Star Wars The Force Awakens Shattered Empire" featuring a clone helmet and an exploding planet
(Marvel)

What happened after Episode VI? Now you know. In case the title didn’t clue you in, Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Shattered Empire is the story of the fall of the Empire and the slow and steady rise of the First Order. It’s the perfect story for anyone who wants to flesh out their knowledge of the Star Wars timeline and see the circumstances that created Kylo Ren.

7. Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir

Cover art for "Darth Maul- Son of Dathomir" featuring Maul holding a lightsaber
(Marvel)

What in the Lord of the Rings? Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir sounds more like something Tolkien would write than a Star Wars story. I’m into it. It’s about our fav secondary antagonist Darth Maul, and all of the bad stuff that he’s ready and willing to do to bring about the rise of the Empire—and of course, take personal revenge against the Jedi who defeated him.

6. Star Wars: Lando

Oh Lando, you’re our favorite anti-hero. Or anti-villain. Or morally neutral force of chaos. We still can’t get a read on you. Whatever you are, you’re entertaining. The Lando comic only proves this point. Before this intergalactic con man of mystery was kingpin of Cloud City, he was running all sorts of low-rent schemes. In this comic, he’s trying to pull off a grand theft spaceship, but he might wanna be more careful about who he rips off.

5. Star Wars: Kanan

Kanan and a comrade face off against an army of clones in "Kanan: Star Wars"
(Marvel)

Star Wars: Kanan is subtitled The Last Padawan. If there’s anything that Avatar: The Last Airbender proved it’s that when you make your protagonist “the last” of anything you can be sure that the story is gonna be a winner. After Order 66, a young padawan named Kanan must struggle to survive, thrive, and stick it to the Empire. It’s a tall order for one of the last members of a fallen space knight cult, but he makes it work.

4. Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes

Cover art for "Star Wars- Skywalker Strikes" featuring Luke and friends
(Marvel)

Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes focuses on Luke and the gang fresh off their “blowing up the Death Star” dunk on the Empire. The Imperial groove has been seriously thrown off, but they recover their footing quickly and make things hell for the Rebels. After a Rebellion mission goes belly up, Luke and friends have to escape the clutches of Darth Vader once more! It’s the fast-paced, run-and-gun Rebel shenanigans that we know and love!

3. Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith

Cover art for "Darth Vader- Dark Lord of the Sith" featuring Vader holding a red lightsaber
(Marvel)

The top three slots of this article are dedicated to not only the greatest Star Wars character, but arguably the greatest character in cinema history. Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith was bound to be good when you have Lord Vader himself as the focus. Vader-centric stories are like spaceship crashes: tragic and terrifying, but you can’t look a way. Dark Lord of the Sith is no exception to the Rule of Two.

2. Vader Down

Cover art for ""Star Wars: Vader Down" featuring heros and villains from "Star Wars"
(Marvel)

Vader Down? I’m down too. Vader Down tells the story of Darthy V himself, who is sent spiraling to a faraway planet after he’s shot out of space by a Rebel squadron. The wounded Vader has to struggle to survive on the new planet, while the Rebels attempt to kick him while he’s down and put him out for good. Will they succeed? No, or else there would be no Episode V. Will the story be awesome regardless? Yes. Yes it will.

1. Star Wars: Darth Vader

Cover art for Star Wars- Darth Vader featuring Vader wielding a ligthsaber
(Marvel)

Star Wars: Darth Vader is the best Star Wars comic on the market, hands down. Taking place after Vader’s defeat in A New Hope, ol’ Darthy struggles to get back on his feet. He needs some assistance marshaling a new army and sticking it to the Rebels that blew up his Death Star. Who can help? Maybe Jaba the Hutt and Boba Fett? Unlikely, but they’re gonna make an appearance anyway! He’s also got foes to face, including Battle Droids and Dr. Aphra! How does he claw his way back to the top to get ready to face the Rebels in Episode V? Like this. Exactly like this.


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Sarah Fimm
Sarah Fimm (they/them) is actually nine choirs of biblically accurate angels crammed into one pair of $10 overalls. They have been writing articles for nerds on the internet for less than a year now. They really like anime. Like... REALLY like it. Like you know those annoying little kids that will only eat hotdogs and chicken fingers? They're like that... but with anime. It's starting to get sad.