Star Wars coming to iTunes

Don't assume that George Lucas has suddenly found a heart and has decided to release Star Wars on iTunes. If he did, it would cost $1,000,000 for the trailer, and then when you get the movie it will be radically altered from what you remember. The good thing about iTunes though is that it also bears comics, so a Star Wars comic on iTunes is much more likely. And now a reality thanks to Dark Horse. Pairing up with THQ Wireless, Dark Horse will be bringing a series of Star Wars comics to iTunes, and Dark Horse President Mike Richardson is happy with the program. “Lucasfilm has been a proud and longstanding partner of ours, and I’m equally excited to be working with the wonderful people at THQ Wireless on this program. The stories of The Clone Wars, Legacy, and Empire embody some of the best comics in the Star Wars universe that Dark Horse has ever released. I think it’s wonderful that these key tales will be available to fans everywhere in a new and accessible way.” The three books available will be Star Wars: Empire Vol. 1, Star Wars: Legacy Vol. 1 and Star Wars: The Clone Wars Vol. 1. Empire is set just before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and follows a group of Imperial Officers not happy with Emperor Palpatine and want to overthrow the empire. Boba Fett of course stands in the way, along with Darth Vader. The issue is written by Scott Allie and drawn by Brian Horton. Legacy is more than a century after Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi and is all about a fifth-generation Skywalker, Cade. Cade is a rogue JEdi and bounty hunter who lives life on his own terms. This one is written by John Ostrander and drawn by Jan Duursema. Finally, The Clone Wars is all about the struggle that Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Padawan Ahsoka Tano face to maintain order in the galaxy. The issue is written by Henry Gilroy, and drawn by the Fillbach Brothers. No word on an official release date, so stay tuned. Full press release below. STAR WARS™ COMICS ARRIVE ON iTUNES! LUCASFLIM, THQ WIRELESS AND DARK HORSE COMICS PARTNER TO BRING STAR WARS™ TO THE iPHONE MILWAUKIE, OR – AUGUST 27, 2009 -- In a partnership that will echo through the cosmos, Lucasfilm, THQ Wireless, and Dark Horse Comics will release Star Wars™ comics to the iPhone mobile platform for the first time ever! The selection of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Vol. 1 – Shipyards of Doom, Star Wars: Empire Vol. 1 – Betrayal and Star Wars: Legacy Vol. 1 – Broken represents three of the most important time periods in the history of the Star Wars galaxy. The three collections will span the time between the Clone Wars era, the Classic era and the distant future. Star Wars: Empire Vol. 1 – Betrayal is set just weeks before the events of the original film, Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, and follows a faction of disgruntled Imperial Officers attempting to overthrow Emperor Palpatine. But the plot is complicated by the emergence of the bounty hunter Boba Fett and by the loyalty of Darth Vader to his dark master. Betrayal will be released in four chapters, written by Scott Allie and drawn by Brian Horton. Star Wars: Legacy Vol. 1 – Broken takes place more than a century after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi and focuses on a fifth-generation Skywalker named Cade, a rogue Jedi and bounty hunter who travels the galaxy living by his own code. Broken will be released in two parts, written by John Ostrander and drawn by Jan Duursema. Star Wars: The Clone Wars Vol. 1 – Shipyard of Doom is based on the wildly popular animated series from Lucasfilm Animation and highlights events from the epic time period when Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Padawan Ahsoka Tano struggled to maintain order and peace in a war-torn galaxy. Shipyards of Doom will be release in its entirety, written by Henry Gilroy, and drawn by the Fillbach Brothers. Working together with Lucasfilm and THQ Wireless, Dark Horse Senior Editor Randy Stradley and Senior Web Designer Mike Denning carefully reformatted each panel and page to maximize the visual grandeur while staying true to the original comic books. All parties involved ensured that the material would transition to the new medium in the best format possible, delicately considering every word balloon and background image. Dark Horse President Mike Richardson is delighted with the new program, stating, “Lucasfilm has been a proud and longstanding partner of ours, and I’m equally excited to be working with the wonderful people at THQ Wireless on this program. The stories of The Clone Wars, Legacy, and Empire embody some of the best comics in the Star Wars universe that Dark Horse has ever released. I think it’s wonderful that these key tales will be available to fans everywhere in a new and accessible way.” Adam Comiskey, Vice President THQ Wireless commented, “Bringing a selection of some of the finest comic books to the iPhone mobile platform is an exciting chapter in our relationship with Lucasfilm. Our partnership with Dark Horse means that for the first time, Star Wars Fans will be able to use their iPhone to view a fantastic line up of comics.” About Dark Horse Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as The Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, their highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the third largest comic-book publisher in the U.S. and is recognized as one of the world's leading publisher of licensed comics material. About THQ Wireless THQ Wireless Inc., a subsidiary of THQ Inc., is a global leader in mobile entertainment, offering a wide range of wireless products, including games, personalization products, information services and messaging based on top brands such as the WWE, Star Wars and popular Nickelodeon properties. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, THQ Wireless has offices worldwide, in addition to distribution agreements through wireless carriers across the globe. Further information can be found at www.thqwireless.com. THQ Wireless is a registered trademark of THQ Wireless Inc LucasArts and the LucasArts logo are registered trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd. © 2008 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. & ® or ™ as indicated. All rights reserved. Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. Lucasfilm, STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

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