{"id":549747,"date":"2026-04-25T08:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T08:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/549747\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T08:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T08:55:14","slug":"star-wars-july-2026-comics-preview-the-state-of-star-wars-comics-shadow-of-maul-finale-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/549747\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Star Wars\u2019 July 2026 Comics Preview: The State of ‘Star Wars’ Comics, ‘Shadow of Maul’ Finale, and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

July comic solicitations are here, and you won\u2019t believe it. It\u2019s another quiet month for Star Wars. That being said, it should still be a good one. The Shadow of Maul finale puts the final pieces in place before the events of Maul: Shadow Lord take shape. Elsewhere, a new Saw Gerrera story and Han and Chewbacca find themselves in another mess, caused by Hondo Ohnaka? Lastly, The High Republic: Pathfinders rolls on as its mystery unfolds.<\/p>\n

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On a grander scale, come July, you\u2019ll notice that the Shadow of Maul and Echoes of the Empire miniseries are both on the way out. Thus, it\u2019s time to wonder once more about Marvel and the state of Star Wars comics. For many months now, we\u2019ve been wondering when the next major Star Wars title will be announced in the absence of a mainline anchor point.<\/p>\n

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The more cynical crowd will say, \u201cStar Wars is dead. Of course, Marvel doesn\u2019t want to invest. They don\u2019t sell.\u201d Of course, on the surface, that is absolutely correct. Marvel isn\u2019t seeing high enough sales numbers to make it worth investing in another 25-50 issue series. But as I\u2019ve said before<\/a>, the problem is much deeper. I\u2019d argue that Marvel has that same mindset for 90% of its titles. Unless your name is Spider-Man, X-Men, the Avengers, Wolverine, or a select few others, you are getting a miniseries or at most, 10 issues. That is Marvel\u2019s modus operandi, and this pattern of a lack of creator investment is starting to have a ripple effect. In a previous era, flooding the market with issue #1\u2019s would\u2019ve boosted sales tenfold. Instead, Marvel\u2019s readership appears to be catching on and no longer giving them the benefit of the doubt.<\/p>\n

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The latest direct market share numbers from ICv2<\/a> tell the story. In Q1 2026, DC held a 34.7% share compared to Marvel\u2019s 29.4%. It wasn\u2019t until Q4 2025 that DC supplanted Marvel, but looking at Marvel\u2019s 37.5% and DC\u2019s 25.5% in Q1 of last year<\/a>, a concerning trend emerges. Going back further to 2024, before Marvel\u2019s new strategy became palpable, their market share was around 39% compared to DC\u2019s 20%, which dipped as low as 17.8% in Q2<\/a>. The tables have turned: fast.<\/p>\n

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Below is a very rough outline of how things have gone the past two or so years for the big two. Third place Image Comics has also been included for comparison.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Comic Store Direct Market Shares. Data courtesy: ComicHub via ICv2<\/p>\n

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TL;DR, there\u2019s a problem at Marvel right now, and Star Wars comics are a victim in the firefight. Will longer series solve it? Maybe, maybe not. The numbers we just discussed don\u2019t account for digital sales, which is a big part of Marvel\u2019s and the larger Disney model as it continues to invest<\/a> in webcomics. (I still think something big is coming with Webtoon as we await news on this new app that may end up replacing Marvel Unlimited<\/a> as we know it.) Parking that aside for the time being, the company needs a different way of doing things if it means to buck the current trend in physical stores, and that\u2019s above my pay grade to figure out.<\/p>\n

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As far as when we can expect the next major Star Wars comics announcement, it can come at any time. I am currently sticking a flag at a high-profile Lucasfilm Publishing panel at San Diego Comic-Con, pointing to a fall launch of what\u2019s next. Whether that\u2019s a continuation of the New Republic story<\/a> started by Alex Segura, whatever Charles Soule is cooking up with Kylo Ren<\/a>, or something else entirely, we\u2019ll have to wait and see. Whatever it is, keep your expectations in check. The convention takes place in July \u2014 how\u2019s that for synergy with this July preview?<\/p>\n

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Before we go any further, here are a couple of other recent things in the galaxy of Star Wars comics you may have missed:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this writer\u2019s favorite day on the comic calendar: Free Comic Book Day 2026 is right around the corner, and this is your final reminder to mark your calendar. This May 2, celebrate comics by heading to your local comic book shop, check out some free titles, and, this year, participate in what might be one of the weirdest years yet with the introduction of Comics Giveaway Day. We\u2019ve mentioned before<\/a> in this space the logistics of how this split event came to be, and we\u2019ll be having a special time putting together our third annual \u201cTales from Free Comic Book Day\u201d<\/a> column. No free Star Wars titles? No problem. As the comics industry continues to morph, this year is too important to miss.Sike. There\u2019s nothing else, but if you read the above diatribe on Marvel and feel energized, please take that energy and participate in Free Comic Book Day\/Comics Giveaway Day, and don\u2019t just pick up free comics. Buy something. It doesn\u2019t have to be Star Wars. This is all about physical stores, and supporting your local comic book shop is the least you or I can do to keep this whole thing humming.<\/p>\n

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Now, looking ahead to July 2026, check with your local comic book shop about what pre-order options they have available (or you can be boring and choose digital). You can visit here<\/a> for a refresher on what else is coming from Star Wars comics. As a reminder, the very nature of comic solicitations is spoiler-filled, so be aware before going forward.<\/p>\n

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Rogue One: Saw Gerrera One-Shot (available July 1)<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>MARC BERNARDIN (W) \u2022 GABRIEL GUZMAN (A) \u2022 Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ<\/p>\n

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WITNESS THE ACT OF REVOLUTION THAT WAS TOO MUCH FOR THE REBELLION!
\u2022 After proving himself in the CLONE WARS, SAW GERRERA was a soldier for the cause of freedom and was willing to do anything to secure it \u2013 including leading a mission deep into IMPERIAL territory.
\u2022 At stake: information that would provide a tactical advantage that could shift the balance of power in the REBELS\u2019 favor!
\u2022 But is the price to be paid for that information too high?<\/p>\n

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Shadow of Maul #5 (available July 8)<\/p>\n

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BENJAMIN PERCY (W) MADIBEK MUSABEKOV (A) Cover by DERRICK CHEW<\/p>\n

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Headshot Variant Cover by AKA<\/p>\n

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DANGER LURKS EVER CLOSER ON JANIX!
\u2022 CAPTAIN LAWSON and TWO-BOOTS unravel the treachery inside their department!
\u2022 What will happen if they collide with MAUL as he launches his campaign of terror?
\u2022 Will JANIX fall to the darkness of corruption and crime?<\/p>\n

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Galaxy\u2019s Edge: Echoes of the Empire #4 (available July 15)<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>ETHAN SACKS (W) JETHRO MORALES & ROI MERCADO (A) Cover by PHIL NOTO<\/p>\n

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HAN SOLO & CHEWIE IN THE CROSSHAIRS!
Returning to BATUU to help deliver the relic that PRINCESS LEIA escaped with years earlier, HAN SOLO and his faithful co-pilot CHEWIE find themselves betrayed by HONDO OHNAKA and stalked by the fearsome bounty hunter HARKOS! The new story behind the Disney Parks attraction land its shocking climax courtesy of writer Ethan Sacks and artists Jethro Morales and Roi Mercado.<\/p>\n

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The High Republic Adventures: Pathfinders #4 (available July 29)<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>(W) George Mann (A) Caio Filipe (CA) Jake Bartok<\/p>\n

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Mysterious happenings in the Outer Rim have led Jedi Master Temesh, Padawan Anula, and the rest of the Pathfinder team to a seemingly abandoned listening station. Yet to their horror the station\u2019s twisting corridors are all but empty, bristling with hazardous traps and stalked by killer droids. Someone, or something, has been waiting for the Pathfinders . . .<\/p>\n

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Source: AIPT<\/a> & DarkHorse.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\"\" <\/a><\/p>\n

Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he’s not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading or pretending he isn’t washed at video games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"July comic solicitations are here, and you won\u2019t believe it. It\u2019s another quiet month for Star Wars. That…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[43844,96,5396,2839,49919,189186,2591,159036,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-549747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-dark-horse","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-marvel","11":"tag-movies","12":"tag-rogue-one","13":"tag-shadow-of-maul","14":"tag-star-wars","15":"tag-star-wars-comics","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}