Marvel has revealed a new comic book called Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Shattered Empire. As that mouthful of a title suggests, the series is aimed at exploring the period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
No specifics were revealed as far as story direction or creative team, though Marvel did debut this teaser image from artist Phil Noto:
A few details can be inferred from the title and teaser image. Shattered Empire looks to pick up where RotJ left off, with the Empire in disarray after the destruction of the second Death Star and the Rebel Alliance celebrating their hard-won victory on Endor. Presumably this series will focus on Luke, Han, Leia and the rest of the gang as they press their advantage and battle the fractured remnants of Palpatine's Empire.
If the various Expanded Universe books are any indication, that may be easier said than done. Many stories have chronicled the battles between the fragile New Republic and various Imperial warlords like Grand Admiral Thrawn and Admiral Isard. In the case of the Dark Empire comics, they even squared off with clones of Palpatine himself. These Expanded Universe stories now fall under the out-of-continuity "Legends" banner, but it remains to be seen how much inspiration Disney-approved projects like Shattered Empire will draw from them.
As announced by Lucasfilm and Disney Worldwide Publishing earlier this week, there will be at least 20 books and comics released this fall that will explore the 30-year period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Along with Shattered Empire, Marvel is planning an untitled series that will explore the post-RotJ period from C-3PO's point of view.The Road to Star Wars: the Force Awakens - Shattered Empire #1 will be released in September 2015. Stay tuned to IGN for more updates on Disney's ambitious Star Wars plans for this year and beyond.