On the 8th of April Marvel released the Star Wars Legends epic collection volume 1. Many people say any Star Wars comics that come under legends are not canon, but people also say that any new Star Wars comic is canon. I've also heard some of the expanded universe is canon, is this the comic book of what is canon in the legends comics?
2 Answers
The answer is a resounding "no". These are old comics that have been collected, rebranded and are now being re-released. As such they're part of the "Legends" canon, as clearly evidenced by the "legends" banner on the cover.
As to the status of new material, According to the writer of the Darth Vader comics serial; Kieron Gillian, the answer is that all new Star Wars comics are part of the main canon, at the same level as the theatrical films and the 'Star Wars: Clone Wars' and 'Star Wars: Rebels' TV shows.
So all of those things came together and it was like, "Yes! This is great! I get to do the story of Darth Vader from the end of the first "Star Wars" film to the start of " The Empire Strikes Back!" It's a big story too. It's not just that I want to write Darth Vader. It's that I get to write this story of Darth Vader and it's all in canon. As far as Lucasfilm is concerned, this is what happened.
-
1
-
1
-
-
1
As the title implies, The Empire is part of the Legends continuity, which is confirmed as non-canon.
According to Wookieepedia, this is a collection of old EU comics:
- Star Wars: Republic #78–80, first released from October to December 2005
- Star Wars: Purge, released December 2005
- Star Wars: Purge: Seconds to Die, released November 2009
- Star Wars: Purge: The Hidden Blade, released April 2010
- Star Wars: Purge: The Tyrant's Fist #1–2, released December 2012/January 2013
- Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command #1–5, released January-May 2011
- Star Wars: Dark Times #1–5, released from October 2006 to October 2007
Although technically this is a new release, it's a re-packaging of old material; the canonicity of each work is unchanged.
A statement by Marvel Comics SVP David Gabriel confirms that the Epic Collection is going to be a collection of old comics from the history of the Expanded Universe, which means this title is firmly Legends (emphasis mine):
"We're thrilled to be bringing our innovative Epic Collections to a galaxy far, far away. We'll be bouncing around to different periods of Star Wars history with each Epic Collection, constructing one huge tapestry, collecting full unbroken runs of all the greatest Star Wars comics from the past 35 years."
It's always possible that details from these comic stories will be incorporated into canon at some future date; in the answer I link to above, Richard quotes LucasFilm Senior Editor Jennifer Heddle, who says in response to a question:
Mike (@Hooperswan): does this mean everything post Return of the Jedi is no longer cannon [sic], but everything before is canon or is it all non-canon now?
Jennifer Heddle (@jenheddle): It's all non-canon, but it all exists as a resource that could be used down the line.
But if that happens, these comic stories will still be non-canon unless LucasFilm explicitly says otherwise.
-
On the back of the book it has the Lucas Film Logo and the Disney logo. This makes it seem like it's canon and it also says it is 'a series focusing on the years that follow "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith"! After the end of the Clone Wars, the Republic has fallen and Palpatine exerts his ruthless grip on his new Galactic Empire. Now, the few Jedi that remain must decide whether to hold true to their faith, or abandon it completely in the face of a brutal purge — one carried out by the new Dark Lord of the Sith. Rise, Darth Vader!'– user44179Apr 10, 2015 at 22:30
-
@EthanBrodie Disney owns the Star Wars trademark, so anything they release is going to have their logo on it regardless of its canonicity. See some of the links I've added; the old Star Wars EU covers huge swathes of history between the films Apr 10, 2015 at 22:32
-
@EthanBrodie - "Legends" canon is a canon of sorts, but not true canon to the series. It can be overwritten by the films in a way that the new comic serials cannot.– ValorumApr 10, 2015 at 22:32
-
@EthanBrodie It's an official publication, but the content is all very old. Every comic, book and game (except for official novelizations) created prior to april of last year has been put into the "legends" canon. Apr 10, 2015 at 22:32
-