Celebrating Star Wars #24

We all know that the first Star Wars film changed the face of pop culture forever when it hit theaters 40 years ago today—but it’s not just the movie that’s celebrating that milestone in 2017. Star Wars comics arrived with force in 1977, and hundreds of issues later, they’re more popular now than ever.

To celebrate the 40^th anniversary of Star Wars, we’re looking back at our 40 favorite moments from the history of comics from a galaxy far, far away—one day at a time.

Star Wars (1998) #19

• Published: June 28, 2000
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: April 15, 2015
• Writer: John Ostrander
• Cover Artist: Jan Duursema

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An early scene in “Revenge of the Sith” features Obi-Wan updating his fellow Jedi generals on the latest happenings in the Clone Wars: “Saleucami has fallen, and Master Vos has moved his troops to Boz Pity.” To most, this may seem a forgettable list of names—but to Star Wars comics fans? Many shouted a little “yes!” inside. It marked the official canonization of Jedi Master Quinlan Vos—arguably, the most important Star Wars comics character of the Prequel era.

STAR WARS #17 introduces Vos as a mysterious cloaked figure, but it’s not until issue #19 that he gets his own story. The four-issue “Twilight” arc begins with Vos on Nar Shaddaa—the galaxy’s most wretched hive of scum and villainy—as an amnesiac being chased by unknown assailants when a very sketchy Devaronian named Grahrk insists on helping him. By issue’s end, Vos’ Jedi instincts kick in, and he remembers all. He leaves to find his Padawan—someone named “Aayla”…

From this point forward, the adventures of Quinlan Vos would feature heavily in the mainline Star Wars titles of the day, STAR WARS and STAR WARS: REPUBLIC. Despite his penchant for flirting with the dark side, he would serve the Jedi Order until its final days as one of its most fierce combatants—eventually even appearing on Lucasfilm Animation’s “The Clone Wars”—and would even survive Order 66. His ultimate fate has yet to be told…