The Star Wars movies and TV shows have been hugely successful since George Lucas birthed the universe in 1977 with A New Hope. The fantastical worlds featured in these projects are awe-inspiring, but they are also incredibly expensive to produce, making it difficult to provide enough content to keep fans satisfied. Comic books serve as a way of expanding the Star Wars universe beyond the scope of its big-budget shows and movies.

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Disney, Marvel, and Dark Horse Comics have been generous in providing comic book content to Star Wars fans. Because most fans feel quite strongly about the original Star Wars content, these additional series can be polarizing. Some titles have been incredibly popular, while others were huge disappointments when they didn't live up to fan expectations.

10 Adaptations Should Add Something New To The Franchise

Kylo leads the Knights of Ren in Rise of Skywalker comic

Recent Star Wars movies such as Rogue One, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker have all received comic book adaptations. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with these comics, which employ established writers and artists to provide faithful reproductions of the original stories.

Because these adaptations are simply reproductions of the original works though, they provide fans with no new content or insight into the original source material. Fans may have purchased them assuming they would add something new to the films, but unfortunately that was not the case.

9 Boba Fett Gets Eaten By A Sarlacc Again

Jawas scavenge on Tatooine in Star Wars comic

Boba Fett is a fan-favorite character, so it's unsurprising that he appears in a number of Star Wars comics. In Star Wars #81, "Jawas of Doom," by Mary Jo Duffy, Ron Frenz, Tom Palmer, Tom Mandrake, and Glynis Wein, Fett escapes from the Sarlacc pit only to be captured by Jawas who mistake him for a droid. The issue ends with the Jawas driving their sandcrawler into another Sarlacc pit.

Since Disney's acquisition of Star Wars, these comics are no longer canon, leaving the door open for Boba Fett's televised escape from the Sarlacc in The Book of Boba Fett. At the time, such a pointless and embarrassing death for a beloved character was intensely disappointing.

8 Thrawn Is Not As Good As The Original Book

Thrawn and Stormtroopers report to Governor Tarkin in Star Wars comics

In addition to comics, the Star Wars universe has often been expanded through novels. Thrawn is a Grand Admiral of the Empire first introduced by Timothy Zahn in the original Thrawn book trilogy. After Disney reset canon, the blue-skinned tactical genius returned in a new series of novels by Zahn, which incorporated the character into the revised Star Wars universe.

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Due to the character's popularity and the quality of Zahn's novels, fans were understandably excited about the comic book series based on those books. Unfortunately, the series lacked the continuity of its source material and fans were better off sticking with the novels.

7 C-3PO Gets A Heartbreaking New Arm

C-3P0 with a red arm in Star Wars comics

When C-3PO showed up in The Force Awakens sporting an unexplained red arm, fans were confused. A one-shot comic by James Robinson and Tony Harris explained the situation, telling the story of C-3PO and a band of droids traveling across a bleak and dangerous planet to find intel for the Rebellion.

Although the comic answered a question from the movie, its pacing was unbalanced, with the first half consisting mainly of C-3PO talking as the droids walk through a desert-like landscape. Eventually, the droids are killed, as the two protocol droids discuss the ethics of droid servitude until the story reaches a heartbreaking conclusion. The pacing and the dark nature led to mixed feelings among fans.

6 Chewbacca Takes A Back Seat In His Own Comic

Chewbacca and an unknown Star Wars alien

Chewbacca is undoubtedly one of fans' favorite characters in Star Wars. As a result, the launch of a miniseries focused on the Wookie was met with immediate excitement. In the original trilogy, Chewie was largely relegated to a sidekick without an opportunity to delve deeper into his own story.

This miniseries, written by Gerry Duggan, features gorgeous artwork by Phil Noto and a story that entertained fans. Much like the movies, however, the comic books often seemed to relegate the title character to a supporting role. Duggan made the decision not to translate Chewie's speech for the reader, making it difficult to understand his motivations or feelings. The end result was not the Wookie-centric story fans were hoping for.

5 Skippy The Droid Is A Jedi

Skippy the jedi droid serves drinks in a Star Wars cantina

The comic book series Star Wars Tales told short stories from the Star Wars universe that expanded on the original movie content. As with most collections of short stories, some resonated with fans while others did not. One of those latter stories was "Skippy the Jedi Droid," written by Peter David.

Skippy's story reveals that the red droid from the start of A New Hope is actually Force-sensitive. Thanks to his abilities, Skippy has a vision: unless Owen buys R2-D2, the Rebellion will fail. Skippy sabotages his own machinery to ensure R2's purchase. Fans had a hard time with the idea that droids could use the Force, and the ridiculous name "Skippy" only made the story that much harder to take seriously.

4 Darth Maul Has Seen Better Days

Darth Maul, Cad Bane, and Aurra Sing in Star Wars comics

Darth Maul has appeared in a number of comic book series over the years. Although the Star Wars villain only originally appeared in one movie, the character captured fans' imagination, resulting in his appearance in video games and TV shows.

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Early comics featuring Darth Maul, from before Disney's acquisition, were generally well-received by fans. As a result, the latest miniseries written by Cullen Bunn and drawn by Luke Ross was naturally compared to those earlier offerings. The story was enjoyable and the art capable, but it ultimately fell short and felt too safe compared to some Dark Horse Maul stories.

3 The Cassian & K-2SO Special Only Scratches The Surface

Andor Cassian and K2-SO droid in comic book are side by side with x-wings in the background
Andor Cassian and K2-SO droid in comic book are side by side with x-wings in the background.

Fans of Star Wars: Rogue One may have wondered how a reprogrammed Imperial droid came to be best friends with a Rebellion officer. Fortunately, the story of this unlikely duo was offered to fans in the form of a one-shot comic.

The comic, by Duane Swierczynski, Fernando Blanco, and Marcelo Maiolo, told the story of Cassian and K-2SO's first meeting. Fans were left wanting more after the single issue barely scratched the surface of the story, and mostly lacked the signature humor of the reformed Imperial droid. The lack of depth probably resulted from the production of the upcoming Andor TV show which delves further into Cassian's background.

2 Not A Lot Happens In Shattered Empire

Han, Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando, and C3PO on Endor

Before the release of The Force Awakens, Marvel published a number of titles leading up to the premiere in order to promote the film and expand the Star Wars universe in ways related to the new work. One of those titles was a four-issue miniseries titled Shattered Empire, which filled the gaps between Return of the Jedi and Force Awakens.

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Star Wars fans are always eager for new content, and therefore excitement was high for these new stories. Although the miniseries, written by Greg Rucka and penciled by Marco Checchetto, was met with generally positive reviews, not much happened in it, leaving fans craving more.

1 Princess Leia Applies For A Bank Loan

Princess Leia shoots Darth Vader in 1970s Marvel Star Wars comics

The original Star Wars comic series is generally well regarded, but there are some notable exceptions. Issue #48, "The Third Law" by Larry Hama, Carmine Infantino, Carlos Garzon, and Glynis Wein, is widely considered to be the worst Star Wars comic of all time. Leia and her finance minister must travel to a banking planet to secure a loan for the Rebellion.

"The Third Law" was released before the Star Wars prequels, and served as a bit of a teaser of the Trade Federation shenanigans that would later ensue. Fans who read the comics expecting lightsaber-wielding action and thoughtful conversations of the Force were understandably let down by a comic book about space banking.

NEXT: 10 Star Wars Comics To Read After Obi-Wan