Marvel Star Wars Comics January 14th Anniversary Date

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For those who love all things related to Star Wars, the most important day of the year is May 4 (as in "May the Fourth be with you"). However, fans have a new notable date to look forward to.

On Jan. 14, 2026, will be the 11th anniversary of Star Wars #1, which is the first issue of what was then a new comic book series set in George Lucas' galaxy far, far away.

The comic book issue's release was an especially important moment in the celebrated sci-fi franchise's history because it was the first Star Wars comic published under Marvel since June 1986. The franchise's move back to the publishing giant occurred after The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm in 2012.

In 2015's Star Wars #1, written by Jason Aaron with art by John Cassaday, the story picks up where the original 1977 blockbuster (retroactively titled Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope) left off. While the Death Star may have been destroyed, the Galactic Empire still has yet to be defeated. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa and more are still working hard to see that peace will prevail in the galaxy.

This new era for the beloved saga in graphic novel form, unsurprisingly, proved to be a massive success for Marvel and Lucasfilm. However, much like quite a few modern developments to the Star Wars lexicon, it was also met with a somewhat divisive reception for a single, relatively justifiable reason.

Marvel's Star Wars Comic Book Saw A Timeline Reset

Star Wars #1 did more than simply expand on the lore associated with the eponymous franchise. It created a new timeline of stories set between the events of the original trilogy that were presented as not just a new canon, but the official canon.

That would mean that all Star Wars comics published before this Jan. 2015 release were to only be accepted as the stuff of legend. Indeed, "Legends" is the word that would be officially adopted to describe stories from the expanded universe that were no longer considered canon, including from the many years that Dark Horse Comics was the franchise's graphic home.

In 1991, Dark Horse, which is also known for adapting other popular cinematic franchises like Alien and Predator into comic book gold, became the official publisher for Star Wars comics, and remained such until 2014. It released multiple series and miniseries inspired by George Lucas' creation, including graphic novelizations of the original trilogy and rereleases of some of the stories originally put out by Marvel.

The last comic book issue associated with the saga that was released by Marvel before the Dark Horse transition was Star Wars #107, which was written by Mary Jo Duffy, with artwork by Cynthia Martin, in 1986. In May 2019, the publisher would opt to continue honoring that era of Legends by releasing Star Wars #108, which sees the return of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Leia Organa to fight a new threat following the dismantling of the Galactic Empire.

Even though some devoted fans may have seen Marvel's new canon of Star Wars comic books as a blasphemous sin against the beloved tales of the Expanded Universe, admirers would admit that it did mark the beginning of a, thankfully, more focused and streamlined approach to telling stories in graphic novel form that would honor the official narrative as seen on the big screen. How critics and audiences judged the approach to the narrative of the franchise in its cinematic form at that point in its run is a different story.

Marvel's Star Wars can be read wherever comics are sold.