Lit Legends reading order between ANH and ESB

Well, there is @Sinrebirth's One Canon.

 

I can't speak for all of Star Wars, but I've managed to sketch out (in blood, on the walls of my padded cell) an all-encompassing timeline for a reading order of the first six months after Yavin, which I will post soon. In this version, 3-D #1 and 2 happen before the Star Wood series sometime during the latter part of the second month after Yavin. Previously I had assumed that any "first" Yavin evac story had to be the Imperial Soy storyline, but ultimately I actually found that easier to reconcile with Classic Star Wars (and Force Commander, as it turns out) than the complete 3-D #2 evacuation, which I never took at face value until I realized that it could help accomodate Star Wood's weirdly early evacuation and other plot points from that series.

I'm assuming that the Rebels return briefly to Yavin after Star Wood for the few remaining Yavin based stories that can't happen before Star Wood (Luke and Vader meeting, anything with Rogue Squadron, etc) before finally evacuating as seen in Classic Star Wars. They also returned to Dantooine around the same time according to Star Wars Galaxies, so one could infer a temporary strategy of reoccupying old bases.

I've given up on the Lusankya theory because, as was pointed out, the earlier placement of Allegiance requires the Executor to be active before Star Wood anyway. I found it easier to split up Classic Star Wars, which ultimately helped other plotlines tie in with each other as well, like the (Infinities) Coruscant unveiling of Executor in Perfect Evil and references to a meeting on Mon Calamari in Rebel Force #4.

 

This sounds gloriously epic! Looking forward to it.

Indeed. But I expect OneCanoning Yavin to Hoth will be that much less impossible with TalonCard's timeline. Just like how HEDGESMFG made it possible to have TCW fit with the Clone Wars multimedia project.

 

I tend to do it as Marvel issues (Carmine, Goodwin etc) up to the Tagge incident on Monastery, and then the newspaper stips, Ord Mantell to Fondor, Aridus and son on. Rebel Force slots in at various points on timeline, with book six concluding before Luke sets off to Aridus, some four months or so post Yavin.
With the Star Wood comics, I just tend to ignore much of it occurring two to three months post Yavin, and see most of it as ten months plus in setting. Rogue Squadron also grows from an informal name for a Flight to maybe a full squadron, too?

 

@TalonCard I've been thinking about this some more, and was trying to piece it out. Doesn't Imperial Spy have to be the first evac, as Q-7N is still alive but dies in Missions 20? And doesn't at least the second half of 3-D #2, when they visit Hoth, have to come after Luke crashes on Hoth in Classic Star Wars?

 

Right on both counts. I'm splitting up the Classic Star Wars and Star Wars Missions storylines to accommodate both story points. The Imperial Spy storyline is grouped in with evacuation activities closer to the final evacuation. (In this sequence of events, Dodonna remains behind on Yavin, but Luke and co. return to the base briefly for the final Star Wars Missions.)

So there's the first full "on screen" evacuation in Star Wars 3-D. The Rebels return to the base sometime after Star Wood. The "second" evacuation is extended to accommodate various stories including Imperial Spy and the last four Star Wars Missions.

 

So something like this:

- SW Kids: Rebel Thief
...

First Evac
- Star Wars 3-D #1
- "A Most Dangerous Foe" (frame story)
- Star Wars 3-D #2 (first 7 pp.)

...
[Blockade commences]
- Force Commander (Imps tangle with skeleton crew left on Yavin 4, Veers recovered)
...
- Star Wood
...
- Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike (Defection on Dantooine, Defence of Ralltiir, Extraction from Ralltiir - Tycho Celchu joins the Rebels)
...


Second Evac
- Classic Star Wars (The Return of Ben Kenobi, The Power Gem, Ice World, Revenge of the Jedi/It's a Trap, Doom Mission)
- SW Kids: Imperial Spy (evac underway, stalls to flush our Rogor, Q-7N alive) (all but last six panels)
- Missions #17-20 (Vader meets up with Palps in person on Coruscant for second time since DSI*, Tycho flies with the Rogues, Q-7N dies)
- Classic Star Wars: Race for Survival (April 18th-27th, 1983)
[Portrayals of Evac in various Galactic Battlegrounds and Battlefront games]
- Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike (Revenge of the Empire - Luke battles TIEs, escorts Dodonna to the last transport, thinks he sees him get on)
- Classic Star Wars: Race for Survival (April 28th-May 4th, 1983 - Dodonna slipped off, seems to sacrifice himself to take out TIEs)
- Star Wars 3-D #2 (pp. 8-10 - Han brings up relocating to Hoth)
- SW Kids: Death Star Pirates (also in Tales #8 - getting ready to jump from Yavin system, planning to meet at Hoth)
- Classic Star Wars: Race for Survival (May 5th-July 10th, 1983 - evading Imp fleet and solar flares to finally jump)
- SW Kids: Imperial Spy (last six panels - Falcon and Rebel fleet in hyperspace, Vader confronts Rogor on Yavin 4)
- Star Wars 3-D #2 (pp11-end - Han and Luke encounter trouble on scouting trip to Hoth)

*So Vader's Quest is thus Vader's first in-person audience with Sheev since ANH, and "Tarkin's pet toy" is a DSI reference, not an allusion to the Malagarr device.

 

I can agree with most of that, but with Star Woods, a big issue is that not only is the Executor already launched, I think, but the Death Star 2 is already significantly constructed. Hence why it is tempting for me to place it closer to one year after Yavin - in my view, anyway.

 

I agree that the Executor/Death Star II situation isn't ideal (though at this point I'm well used to having my preconceptions about Death Star construction timetables retconned) but the two elements that really make me want to stick close to the two month date are 1. the fact that Luke is convinced that the Empire doesn't know who he is, which is pretty unlikely if it follows Vader's Quest #2-4 and the Monestary arc of the Marvel series, and 2. the founding of Rogue Squadron, which is a pretty big deal. Combine that with the need for multiple Yavin evacuations anyway, and it just reads better if it's left close to the point on the timeline that it claims to be.

 

@QuinlanSolo , I think the posts to come should answer some of your questions, let me know if they don't once I've got the first three months up. It's a little more convoluted than what you mentioned, lol.

Okay, so the full six month timeline/reading order is going to take a little longer than I thought, lol. I’ve got the first three months done, but I’m going to break it up into individual posts. This is the first month after the Battle of Yavin. A few notes:

Spoiler: Way More Than A Few Notes

-First off, thanks to everyone who participated in this thread and the many, many others I’ve spoken to about this over the years. It’s great to be able to learn from and share with other folks who are just as obsessed with this period of time as I am.

-My chief goal here is to create a reading list that puts the events from all of these often contradictory stories into an order that is as consistent as possible.

-The order of stories and the amount of time in which they are supposed to take place has changed drastically over the years, right up until the very last year of the EU. I don’t think this would have been possible to do until the continuity was finally “locked” under the Legends banner.

-In addition to the usual novels/comics/YA material, I tried to incorporate as many sources as possible that featured the main characters from the films active in the wider galaxy, specifically Luke, Leia, Han, Vader, Lando and the bounty hunters from TESB. Tangential stories (like the Ewoks and some of the really minor RPG stuff) have been left out for now. (I’ll leave the Legends Ewok timeline as a project for next year, lol.)

-I’ve given the most weight in placing sources to references within the sources themselves; if one source depicts the founding of Rogue Squadron, for instance, I’m going to take that at face value. Since continuity between sources is so rare in this era, I give extra weight to one source referencing another source.

-Second most weight goes to internal references to time having passed since the Battle of Yavin. (I place this after since it doesn’t make much sense to have Luke’s identity widely known in one source that claims only “weeks” have passed, while another has it being a closely guarded secret a few “months” after Yavin, for example.

-Third comes the source placements provided in sourcebooks and other out-of-universe sources. (Because the story order was so often revised by works released after the sourcebooks came out, they’re useful, but not always definitive.

-Fourth is any information on placement from official blogs, twitter, personal correspondence with other timeliners, etc. (For example, I’m not going to force a timeline placement because of something Leland Chee wrote in 2012 to accommodate future stories when Legends in this period is now dormant.)

-I’ve tried desperately not to put sections of stories out of order, even though it is sometimes convenient to do so. There are two exceptions (Missions #17 and 18 and Marvel #37), but by and large I’ve tried to just split sources up to accommodate other stories when necessary. (I’m taking the lead of Scoundrels, a novel that inserts an entire three week long romp into a single issue of Marvel Star Wars.)

-I’m working on the assumption that Vader learns Luke’s name about two months after Yavin, and that the final evacuation of Yavin was in the sixth month after Yavin. This seemed to be the official assumption as of the end of the Legends era, and it helps break up the period into digestible chunks.

-That being said, this also definitely does not work if you take the time to count out references to days and weeks and months within each source and add them up, so one really has to assume that there are lots of different months, weeks, days, and time zones at play as our heroes go hopping from planet to planet. I'm not too hung up on what took place place in what month, just the order in which the stories go.

-I wanted this reading order to be as inclusive as possible, but I’m aware that not everyone is going to be willing or able to track down all the obscurities. The entries in bold are the main comics, novels, and young adult books. Entries in regular font are the harder to find comics (those not available on Marvel Unlimited), game books, video games, etc. Entries in italics were considered Infinities under the old canon system.

-There were two main ongoing comic series called Star Wars set in this time period: the very first Marvel series (1977-1986) and the more recent series written by Brian Wood. It's obvious enough which is which based on issue titles and placement that I'm listing them by their official, identical series title in the timeline. In the notes these will be referred to as "Marvel #X" and "Star Wood #X" for clarity.

-The Classic Star Wars comic series was a 1990s colorization and re-edit of most of the Star Wars newspaper comic storylines from the 1970s and 80s. I'm using the issue numbers from the CSW release because it's more efficient on a timeline, but I'm referring back to the original strips whenever possible as there are some details that were lost in the transition to comic book form. Fortunately most of the arcs that weren’t adapted for CSW don’t require a page-by-page breakdown.

-Notes on placement follow most entries under spoilers tags. All comic page numbers are from Marvel Unlimited where possible.

Spoiler: First Month Following the Battle of Yavin

SWW #97-99: THE DAY AFTER THE DEATH STAR

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Literally the day after the Battle of Yavin, as per the title. Luke crashes the X-Wing he flew in ANH into a swamp on Yavin.

STAR WARS MISSIONS #1: ASSAULT ON YAVIN

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The introduction places this story on the day after the battle of Yavin. Luke’s X-Wing seems intact here, but this can’t take place before SWW #97-99 since the Missions story runs continuously over the next several days. They’ve either fished it out of the swamp or just assigned Luke a new one.

EMPIRE #14: THE SAVAGE HEART (Pages 18-23)
REBEL FORCE #1: TARGET (Pages 1-9)

Spoiler: Continuity Notes

-Vader reports to the Empire (unseen) en route to Coruscant, presumably on the shuttle he appropriated from the Vaal Outpost.

DARKSABER (Pages 34-38)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Bevel was hiding on Hefi for a short time before being summoned to Coruscant, as per Galaxy Guide 5.

STAR WARS MISSIONS #2: ESCAPE FROM THYFERRA
STAR WARS MISSIONS #3: ATTACK ON DELRAKKIN
STAR WARS MISSIONS #4: DESTROY THE LIQUIDATOR

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Conclusion of the first Missions arc. Tix and Termo are left adrift in an escape pod for now.

EMPIRE #14: THE SAVAGE HEART (Page 24)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader arrives on Coruscant to meet with Palpatine. Vader: The Ultimate Guide explains that Palpatine does not see him as expected at the end of Savage Heart, but rather Vader is sent back to Vaal by Sate Pestage to retrieve the prototype TIE fighter he left behind. (A retcon to accommodate both Scoundrel's Luck and Star Wars Missions, below.) This begins a loose arc of Vader being continually scorned by the Emperor for his failure at Yavin.

STAR WARS #0: KEEPER’S WORLD

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Keeper's World is the first story published that follows up on A New Hope, predating even the Aduba arc of the Marvel comic. Since Artoo is suffering from inadequate repairs made from the Battle of Yavin, and Leia is in a hurry to contact other Rebel bases, it makes sense to keep it as the first post-Missions story.

PIZZAZZ #10-16 (SWW#57-60): THE KINGDOM OF ICE
STAR WARS WEEKLY #60: WAR ON ICE

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Continuation of the story beginning in Keeper's World.

STAR WARS KIDS #1-5: THE REBEL THIEF

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-As this story opens, the Rebels are aware that a counterattack by the Empire could come sometime in the next few weeks. This places it before the meeting in Rebel Force #1, below. They assume Vader (here referred to as the "Pilot of that TIE prototype", though he is known to the Rebels as Vader during this time according to Luke's Journal) is still missing.
-Han has returned an amount equivalent to the cost of "four flights of X-Wings" to the Alliance. X-Wings cost 150,000 credits and are four fighters to a flight according to the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, which would bring this amount to 2,400,000. (It’s more than likely that Han was exaggerating here.)
-There have been a lot of convoluted theories and misunderstandings about Han's reward, since there are multiple sources explaining its value and what happened to it after ANH, of which this is just the first. (Chronologically. On this timeline.)
-Marvel assumes that Luke’s “more wealth than you can imagine” line proves to be true, while the ANH radio drama assumes, more logically, that the Rebels were pretty much broke and had to dip into their supplies of valuable metals in order to pay Han off.
-Even so, rather than try to explain how Han lost and regained his reward money multiple times, I propose that Han's reward was simply large enough to cover all scenarios, as per Marvel #7, where Han states that even after paying back Jabba, he and Chewie have enough to buy “a small planet”. Thus, Han has only returned part of the reward here.
-Perhaps, in the aftermath of the Death Star’s destruction and the ramp-up to complete the Death Star II and Executor, the value of the precious metals Han received from the Rebels doubled, and the amount he returned to the Rebels represents the “original investment”. Or something.
- Han takes the treasure from Missions #1 and leaves Yavin, partially to get the Rebels some credits, partially to pay Jabba off. (And if some of the treasure made it into the cases left empty when Han returned part of his reward to the Rebels, well, that wouldn't be too surprising.)
-Han receives 500,000 for the treasure from Sprool the Trader, the Dok-Ondar of Legends. He returns to Yavin to give these credits to the alliance to put towards X-Wings. He sends an unknown amount of credits to Jabba via Sprool, but Jabba refuses to call off the bounty. Presumably Han will need to return and pay back the gangster personally, with his own money.
-Fett is still on Tatooine in Jabba’s service here; presumably he hasn’t left the planet since ANH.

EMPIRE #7: SACRIFICE

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Begins “shortly after the Battle of Yavin”, according to the Boba Fett Omnibus.
-Placed after Rebel Thief due to Fett’s appearance in that comic.

EMPIRE #16-18: TO THE LAST MAN

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-”Shortly after the Battle of Yavin”, according to Empire #16.

REBEL FORCE #1: TARGET (Pages 10-36)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-According to Rebel Force #1, Luke has been at the Rebel base with Han Solo for "nearly two weeks". Even with Luke and Han's occasional departures for Missions books and comics, this still leaves some time for Luke to hang around the base and be teased by Han, as intended. This does seem to be nearly two weeks after the Battle of Yavin, as Rebel Force #2 is said to be three weeks after the destruction of Alderaan.
-The Rebels learn that the Empire knows about Yavin base, but have no plans to attack it directly, placing this after Rebel Thief. Instead, the Empire will target known Alliance leaders such as Princess Leia. (This will become a plot point in future stories.) Luke's identity will be a closely guarded secret for now, as it will be in some form in the Marvel comics.

STAR WARS #7: NEW PLANETS, NEW PERILS (pages 1-7)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han leaves Yavin as promised to pay Jabba off, and has his fortune stolen by Crimson Jack.
-Crimson Jack's raiders are described as being the Falcon's first passengers since Luke, Ben, and company, so this particular part of the comic has to take place as soon after ANH as possible.
-In a slight deviation from the events as presented in the original Marvel comics, in order to fit in the Rebel Force books, I assume that Han is contacted by General Dodonna to take Leia to Delaya after the hijacking and before he goes into hiding. Rebel Force implies that Han never left Yavin, but other than that, this works fairly well as Han states his intention to leave in one scene and then reappears unexpectedly a day later.
-This break in the story was already necessary thanks to the novel Scoundrels, I'm just inserting more stories into the break.
- Han's reward is gone without explanation in the remainder of the Rebel Force series. Scoundrels will establish that Han tried to keep the loss of his reward from Leia for a time.

REBEL FORCE #1: TARGET (Pages 36-186)
REBEL FORCE #2: HOSTAGE (Pages 1-186)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Three weeks have passed since Alderaan was destroyed. The Essential Readers Companion places Scoundrels (below) before the Rebel Force series, but this doesn't seem to make sense as Scoundrels takes place over the course of several weeks, and at the end of that story Han's debt is much higher than it is in Rebel Force #3, below.
-Vader is said to be heading to the Alderaan system to take Leia into custody, but our heroes leave before he arrives. Presumably he doesn't make it out of the Gordian Reach before ending up comatose in his damaged TIE Fighter as per Scoundrel's Luck, below.
-X7 receives orders to kill Luke Skywalker when the opportunity arises. I assume that this attempt was delayed by nearly a month when Luke and Leia are sent to scout for a new base site in Classic Star Wars #1 and then to search for Darth Vader before Scoundrel's Luck, below.

GALAXIES: AN EMPIRE DIVIDED

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Galaxies takes place over the course of several years in universe, with most of the storylines occurring in 1 ABY, but Seji-X Arrogantus can be encountered, suggesting that the earliest moment of the original version of the game, an encounter with one of Vader's Star Destroyers, takes place before Serji is killed in the Marvel Aduba arc, below. This is the earliest point on the timeline where this scenario is possible.

STAR WARS TALES #16: THE LONG, BAD DAY (Pages 22-59)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This comedic take on Vader’s activities after the Battle of Yavin was never meant to be taken seriously, but it does end with Vader’s wingless TIE being picked up by a Star Destroyer, which can work with Scoundrel’s Luck. (Consider it Vader’s dreams about the Battle of Yavin while comatose.)

CLASSIC STAR WARS #1: THE BOUNTY HUNTER OF ORD MANTELL
CLASSIC STAR WARS #2: TBHOOM/DARTH VADER STRIKES (Pages 1-17)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Placed here since this seems to be Luke and Leia's first trip to Ord Mantell, or at least their first with Han Solo. The trio will return to the planet in Scoundrel's Luck, below.
-The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons has Drub McKumb attempt to warn Han about the bounty on his head offscreen during this story. Han first mentioned the incident in Children of the Jedi, though his recollection of the timing there may be off. (Han remembers this occurring just before the Battle of Hoth, while the Guide places this story just after Yavin.)

SCIENCE ADVENTURES #1: EMERGENCY IN ESCAPE POD FOUR

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Luke, Leia, and Han are back on Yavin for a brief scene, and the droids are sent on a new mission. The rest of Science Adventure #1 overlaps with the hunt for Vader, arc below.
-Luke, Han, and Leia are sent on a month-long mission to locate the missing Darth Vader, as per Scoundrel's Luck. (Given the crowded nature of the timeline, this is likely less than exactly a month.) I assume X7 is left on Yavin, hoping that Skywalker will return, and feeding Rebel secrets to the Empire through Soresh in the meantime.

SCIENCE ADVENTURES #2: JOURNEY ACROSS PLANET X

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Threepio contacts Leia about a spy on Yavin. Leia's location is not stated, I assume she is on the Falcon hunting for Vader. The series ends on a cliffhanger, so the spy plot was never followed up on. I like to assume the spy is X7.
-The month-long mission to hunt Vader is a good time to accommodate the undocumented science adventures of the droids, since they aren’t necessarily part of the Falcon’s crew during this time.

End of "Month 1". "Month 2" to follow.

 

Spoiler: Second Month Following the Battle of Yavin

REBEL FORCE #2: HOSTAGE (Pages 186-188)
REBEL FORCE #3: RENEGADE

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-I assume that the Falcon crew have finally returned to Yavin after a long search for Vader, giving X7 the opening he needs to go after Luke in the closing chapters of Rebel Force #2.
-Leia instructs Luke not to tell his friends on Tatooine what he's been up to "for the past few months", and none of his friends learn that he's with the rebellion. Given that the last time he saw them was during the deleted Anchorhead scenes in ANH, this is the first reference to more than one month having passed since ANH, even though the previous book took place just three weeks after Yavin. The missing time sort of justifies the added Scoundrel’s Luck Vader hunt time jump. I’m assuming that we’re still not quite at the two month mark yet, but close enough for Leia’s statement to make sense.
-Han is offered a job that pays 40,000 credits, which is enough to cover his debt to Jabba, a new exhaust port for the Falcon, and 8,000 credits to Avrik Lore. This puts the story before the actual events of Scoundrel's Luck, when the bounty is much higher. Boba Fett will later state in The Bounty Hunter that the dispute between Han and Jabba was over a matter of 30,000 credits.
-This is explicitly Luke's first return to Mos Eisley since ANH, (he returns of his own volition to honor Biggs) putting it ahead of all the other return-to-Tatooine stories. Camie and Fixer are engaged but not yet married, as they will be in later Marvel comics. This creates some serious continuity issues in their Marvel interactions with Luke (see below) but it can't be helped.
-Luke becomes targeted by Bossk, who has no idea who he is, but is after Han. Luke fights him to a standstill after an encounter that endangers all of his friends. Bossk returns to Jabba, who throws him into the rancor pit to see if he survives, and vows to hire Boba Fett.
-Indeed, Boba Fett attempts to capture Han in his next appearance, Scoundrels. Both Boba Fett and Bossk will then be seen hunting Han in the "Star Wood" series.
-Presumably having endangered his friends here is the reason Luke at first refuses to return to Tatooine when ordered in Tatooine Sojourn, below.
-In order to maintain continuity with Scoundrels and Scoundrel's Luck, I assume that after this mission, the Rebels return the droids to Yavin and are assigned to make a drop on Ord Mantell. Here, Han learns about an upcoming high-paying job on Wukkar. (Scoundrels) Han proposes that they remain on Ord Mantell in the meantime to take a brief vacation (Scoundrel's Luck).

SCOUNDREL’S LUCK

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Here Han's debt to Jabba has increased to 225,000 credits. Han attempts to raise the money by gambling, using his 25,000 credit reward for rescuing Princess Leia as a stake. Wookieepedia seems to think that these were Alliance, rather than Imperial credits, which are only worth 25% of Imperial credits. I can confirm the credit exchange rate in the WEG Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, but not that Han received that amount in Alliance credits. (Scoundrel's Luck does not specify.) It would be a handy fix, though: In this case Han may only be trying to raise 56,250 from 850, and we can assume that the Alliance just tossed some of their credits in with the precious metals, and that Crimson Jack either overlooked or didn't bother with such a small amount during his raid. Either way, Han's debt is higher here than in any story so far.
-Luke is assigned to scout new base worlds with his wing before the story begins, leaving Han and Leia on Ord Mantell.
-This choose-your-own adventure style story has an optional path where the reader can encounter the Super Star Destroyer Executor, Captain Piett, and Admiral Ozzel. In spite of so many timeline revisions, this combination of elements remains problematic. It is easiest to assume that this is an alternate series of events where the reader's choices started a butterfly effect that resulted in the Executor being launched from Fondor early, with Ozzel and Piett promoted to command.
-Vader and his TIE Fighter are returned to the Empire following this story.

STAR WARS MISSIONS #17: DARTH VADER’S RETURN (Pages 1-4)
STAR WARS MANGA - BLACK: PERFECT EVIL, PART 1 (Pages 33-36)
STAR WARS MISSIONS #17: DARTH VADER’S RETURN (Pages 4-11)
STAR WARS MANGA - BLACK: PERFECT EVIL, PART 1 (Pages 37-52)
STAR WARS MANGA- SILVER: PERFECT EVIL, PART 2 (Pages 1-5)
STAR WARS MISSIONS #17: DARTH VADER’S RETURN (Pages 12-70)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Both of these stories show Vader returning to Coruscant in his TIE Fighter after the Battle of Yavin, but they can work together if you squint hard enough. Perfect Evil wasn't technically Legends Canon, but I'm including it for completeness sake.
-This begins a pattern of the Emperor meeting with Vader as though it were the first time they've spoken since the Battle of Yavin, blaming him for the station's destruction, then appearing to calm down and assigning him a new mission. This is an inconsistency simply because so many authors tried to write the same scene in different stories, but it is in line with Palpatine's characterization in the Darth Maul Journal: act cool about an apprentice's failures, then hide dinkos in their bedroom weeks later as punishment. Vader is not off the hook yet…

STAR WARS MISSIONS #18: ROGUE SQUADRON TO THE RESCUE (Pages 1-7, 73-74)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This is the most drastic sequence-rearrangement in this timeline. I'm decoupling the Vader mission from the Rogue Squadron storyline in both books to delay Q-7N's involvement and because Rogue Squadron and Tycho Celchu aren't in play yet. This is a definite alteration to the intended sequence of events, but since most sources ignore the Missions books, it's the best option to smooth out the continuity issues. There’s the absolute thinnest justification in the books themselves: Frap Radicon, Imperial scientist, will later state in Missions #19 that he spent “weeks” waiting for Vader to scout a new location for the Imperial gravity well project, but that gap in time isn’t otherwise apparent in Vader’s activities during Missions #17-20.
-Vader leaves Coruscant in his TIE Fighter for the starship yards of Fondor on the orders of the Emperor, in a setup for his Classic Star Wars appearance, below.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #2: TBHOOM/DARTH VADER STRIKES (Pages 18-22)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader runs a test using a Falcon drone duplicate and meets with Imperial admirals at Jovan station on his way to Fondor, insinuating that the delayed strike on the Rebels will only resume when the Executor is finished. According to the Geonisis and the Outer Rim Sourcebook, this will be the headquarters for the sector blockade that keeps the Rebels around Yavin.
-A bit of a cheat here, as the Falcon returns Luke, Leia, and Han to the droids after Ord Mantell. I'm assuming that Han and Leia picked Luke up after his scouting mission, and that they are being reunited for the first time since they left for Ord Mantell prior to Scoundrel's Luck, rather than the intended earlier encounter with Skorr.
-Several weeks will pass between these events and the rest of the Classic Star Wars Fondor arc, as made clear in the original daily strip version of the story.

SCOUNDRELS

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-One of the last major Legends sources released in this era, Scoundrels inserts itself in the period between Han losing his reward to pirates in Marvel #7 and Leia finding out about it in Marvel #11.
-Han is offered a share of 163,000,000 credits if he participates in the heist. He thinks that even a small slice of this would pay off Jabba a dozen times over. Han is set to bring in “almost” 15,000,000 from the heist. This could suggest that his debt is as much as 1,500,000 at this point, but it’s accurate no matter the amount.
-I'm assuming that the "Ord Mantell drop" referred to at the beginning of this story is part of the Scoundrel's Luck backstory, above. This is partially to consolidate events in this crowded time period, and partially because Han Solo's debt balloons to 500,000 credits at the end of the story, the highest it’s been so far.
-Han and Chewie end up with 163,000 credits at the end of the story. He offers to pay out 111,000 to the others to be able to keep a set of encoded blackmail cards, which would leave them with 52,000 credits. This is said to be enough to pay off the debt to Jabba before he finds out that the debt has been raised to 500,000. (This is close to being consistent with Scoundrel's Luck if we assume that story refers to Alliance credits.)

THE MAVERICK MOON

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This storybook, featuring Luke attending the "New Academy for Space Pilots", is tricky to place but might fit best here, concurrent with Han’s three week long Scoundrels heist. Luke has yet to be sent on a solo mission, and could use some training. His identity as the destroyer of the Death Star is not yet known to the wider galaxy. Finally, his feeling that his Force abilities and connection to Ben are being forgotten is a story thread that runs through Rebel Force and the Classic Star Wars comics during this time. Scoundrels also gives Luke time to at least audit a few classes.
-Luke does make contact with Ben here; a rarity in this part of the timeline.

STAR WARS #7: NEW PLANETS, NEW PERILS (Pages 8-18)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-We finally return to the main Marvel storyline after the long break necessitated by Scoundrels. The comic's storyline is continuous from here through #15.
-It’s not directly depicted in any source, but both editions of the Essential Chronology state that around this time, the heavy equipment has been evacuated from Yavin IV, but the evacuation is interrupted by a flotilla of Interdictor Cruisers that appear in-system and prevent larger ships from leaving or entering the system. Eventually this blockade will extend to the entire sector.

STAR WARS #8: EIGHT FOR ADUBA-3
STAR WARS #9: SHOWDOWN ON A WASTELAND WORLD
STAR WARS #10: BEHEMOTH FROM THE WORLD BELOW
STAR WARS #11: STAR SEARCH

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Leia learns directly about Crimson Jack's theft of Han's reward while Han is present, putting this run of comics after Scoundrels.

STAR WARS #12: DOOMWORLD
STAR WARS #13: DAY OF THE DRAGON LORDS
STAR WARS #14: THE SOUND OF ARMAGEDDON
STAR WARS #15: STAR DUEL!

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This story doesn't lead directly into any other adventure.

STAR WARS #24: SILENT DRIFTING

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This double-flashback issue has a framing story that takes place after Star Wars #15, according to the editor's notes

STAR WARS #70: THE STENAX SHUFFLE (Pages 6-23)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-According to Luke in the comic, this flashback occurred sometime "just after Han and I joined the Rebellion." As it's not tied to Vader or any of the other usual post-ANH era makers, placing it in this gap between Marvel arcs makes sense to give space for the personal life of Jimm Starkiller (see below.)

STAR WARS #16: THE HUNTER

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Star Wars #16 assumes that there is a major time jump between the end of #10 and this issue; Jimm the Starkiller kid is now married to Merri, the woman who became interested in him in #10 and they are expecting their first child.
-Unfortunately, while I would love to slot in more adventures between these two issues, there simply aren't that many that fit the requirements: Han's debt has to be at or over 500,000 credits, Luke can't know that Vader is alive, and Vader can't have discovered Skywalker's name yet. And since all the Yavin based stories are limited to six months ABY or less, there's not a lot of time for a break for Jimm's major life events, period.
-We just have to assume that the courtship, marriage, conception, and detection of the pregnancy all took place in a very short amount of time--not what the comic writers intended, but not totally implausible either.

STAR WARS #17: CRUCIBLE

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Another flashback issue, this brief framing story takes place during a trip with at least Luke and Han on the Falcon.

STAR WARS #18: THE EMPIRE STRIKES!
STAR WARS #19: THE ULTIMATE GAMBLE
STAR WARS #20: DEATHGAME
STAR WARS #21: SHADOW OF A DARK LORD

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-I assume that Vader has left his assignment at Fondor to raid the Rebel outpost on Ultaar in search of information on the pilot who destroyed the Death Star. He finds Valence has gotten there ahead of him.
-The spirit of Ben Kenobi appears to help Luke after he fell into a coma while meditating. This is somewhat at odds with Rebel Force #4 and 5, where Ben's spirit is actively avoiding Luke and Luke is just beginning to meditate with the Force, but this small discontinuity is necessary because Vader hasn't yet learned Luke's name here, but has in Rebel Force #5.
-Luke is able to tell Han and Leia that, as they suspected (probably from their close call at Delaya, presumably Han hasn't told them about the incident with Sodarra), Vader survived the Battle of Yavin and is hunting for them.

STAR WARS #22: TO THE LAST GLADIATOR
STAR WARS #23: FLIGHT INTO FURY
STAR WARS #28: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JABBA THE HUT? (Pages 5-7)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han and Chewie escape the Wheel to an old hideout on Orleon, only to be cornered by Jabba the Hut Jabba the Hutt’s accountant Mosep. Mosep can’t get into their cavern hideaway, but Han can’t escape until repairs are complete. Mosep decides to bide his time in order to capture the Falcon.

STAR WARS #25: SIEGE AT YAVIN

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-At Centares, Luke and Leia find that the Empire has blockaded the entire sector surrounding Yavin.

STAR WARS #26: DOOM MISSION

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Luke has not yet heard Leia's story about how she was trained in the use of weapons, so the Star Wars Weekly story Weapons Master has not yet occurred.
-Luke is not yet a flight commander, which is why Dodonna sends him on the mission against the Tagge station. Dodonna will later (attempt to) promote Luke to Commander in Classic Star Wars #16.

STAR WARS #27: RETURN OF THE HUNTER

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Luke and Threepio are on a mission to probe the extent of the Yavin blockade, and obtain repair parts for Artoo, who was damaged in the last issue.
-It's suggested here that Valence has been on Junction for five weeks, putting this story at least five weeks after #18. If we're counting days, we would be well past two months after Yavin at this point--this is where the whole "six months after Yavin" limitation starts to break down if you look at it too closely.
-Luke says that Junction has the "first real city I've had a chance to see. That time we stopped on Centares we were too busy fleeing Darth Vader to play tourist!" One has to assume that he was too busy for sightseeing on Muunilust and Delaya as well, since those visits occurred within weeks of ANH.

THE EARLY ADVENTURES #4: TATOOINE SOJOURN

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The starwars.com feature "Time Capsule: Obi-Wan Kenobi 1979" places this story after the incident at the Wheel. Since Luke clearly returns to the Mos Eisley cantina for the first time since ANH in this story, we can infer that it takes place before Star Wars #31, in which he also returns to the establishment for what is only implied to be his first time since ANH. (A trip to the cantina was handily avoided in Rebel Force #3.)
-Luke is also targeted by one of Jabba's bounty hunters in a manner that actually is consistent with Rebel Force #3 having occurred before this story. (!)
-This is the only break in Luke's Marvel storyline that allows this placement. Luke is on a recon mission at the beginning of this story; he was also on a recon mission to probe the extent of the Empire's blockade at the beginning of Marvel #27. It seems Luke returned to Yavin, had Artoo repaired, then headed out on the same mission in a different ship.
-Luke will apparently end up heading right back to Tatooine for Marvel #31 once he drops Anduvil off at Yavin, his stated destination at the end of the original comic strip version of this story.

STAR WARS #28: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JABBA THE HUT? (Pages 1-5, 7-18)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-After ending the siege and saving Jabba Jabba’s accountant’s life, Han finally has his debt cancelled and the bounty lifted, and even gets a bonus out of the deal. But Mosep vows revenge; and Han isn’t out of trouble yet...

STAR WARS #29: DARK ENCOUNTER

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader fails to discover Luke's identity again, this time on Centares thanks to Valence's interference.

STAR WARS #30: A PRINCESS ALONE!
STAR WARS #31: RETURN TO TATOOINE!

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Dodonna has sent Luke back to Tatooine to keep him busy recruiting pilots to run the Imperial blockade while Leia is on her solo mission (not that Solo!) in #30.
-Rebel Force #3 ignored Marvel #31 entirely, which causes some difficulty in reconciling the two. A key point is that Camie and Fixer are married in #31, but only engaged in Rebel Force #3. I’m going to roll with this. (On the other hand, Luke states that he hasn’t heard the nickname “Wormie” since ANH, but it was tossed around pretty freely in Rebel Force. *shrug*)
-Luke visits the Lars homestead, but instead of finding it abandoned as he did in Rebel Force #3, he discovers that Fixer and Camie are making it operational for the new owners, TaggeCo.
-Fixer explains that everyone assumed Luke had died along with the Larses “when the Tusken Raiders hit the place.” This is a piece of Imperial misinformation Luke doesn’t correct. Strangely, Rebel Force #3 doesn’t address the raid on the homestead at all, even though that book was set over a month after ANH too.
-One could assume that the Empire kept the deaths of Owen and Beru a secret for well over a month, until the Tagges needed a cover story to take over the Lars homestead, explaining why Fixer and Camie are surprised to find Luke alive here. (On the other hand, Fixer is surprised by Luke’s skill with a lightsaber, when in Rebel Force #3 he saw Luke take out Bossk with it. *sob*)
-After Luke is outed as the Rebel who destroyed the Death Star, the Mos Eisley authorities will change the story again (probably also influenced by the Empire), stating that Luke was the one who killed his aunt and uncle. (As per the Movie Trilogy Sourcebook.)
-In any case, Fixer says that Luke’s return could foul TaggeCo’s claim to the Lars farm, and Luke is clearly disturbed to find an Imperial-friendly corporation in control of his uncle’s land. He’ll later return to Tatooine to find a more suitable owner in 3-D #2.
-Tatooine Sojourn is another story that takes place around this time, featuring Luke’s apparent first return to Tatooine (though it’s easier to reconcile with this issue than Rebel Force #3 is, and vice versa.) The two stories take place so close together that either one could come first; I ended up placing Tatooine Sojourn before this issue mostly because Luke seems like he hasn’t been in the cantina since ANH there, and because he argues against being sent back to his homeworld, whereas here he’s sent almost as an afterthought.
-Han Solo and Chewie are still on Tatooine, having delivered Jabba safely home brought Mosep back to Jabba, and randomly run into Luke again at the cantina.

STAR WARS #32: JAWA EXPRESS
STAR WARS #33: SABER CLASH

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han notes that Luke’s skill with the lightsaber is improving. He’s skilled enough to beat Baron Tagge in a lightsaber duel in the dark; Luke’s first successful lightsaber battle.

STAR WARS #34: THUNDER IN THE STARS

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-It’s not stated, but this seems to be the earliest post-Yavin source showing an assembled Alliance fleet.
-After a continuous run from Star Wars #18, the Marvel storyline has a break here.

STAR WARS #50: RAGE IN THE RED NEBULA (Pages 13-30)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The Imperial blockade established in Star Wars #25 is in effect, and Han is looking to get back into spice smuggling, suggesting that this takes place after Star Wars #34 but before Classic Star Wars The Early Adventures #6.
-As the flashback story begins, Han and Chewie are dropping off Rebel spies as a favor to Luke and Leia, who are absent from this story. I’ve slotted in two stories below to give Luke and Leia something to do while Han and Chewie are beyond the edge of the galaxy.

STAR WARS COMIC #7.12: LEIA'S TRUST

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-I haven't been able to find a copy of this story to check it's placement; all I know is that it's a Leia story and that Dodonna is involved. Until I can get a hold of it, I'm using the placement from Joe Bongiorno’s Star Wars timeline.

JEDI’S HONOR

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Running concurrently with the previous two stories, this Choose-Your-Own adventure style gamebook has Luke investigating the Sil’Lume asteroid field as a possible Rebel base site.
-This is a companion book to Scoundrel's Luck, but picks up at least a month afterwards, as the Battle of Yavin is stated to be “a few” months ago. (In Scoundrel’s Luck, Luke and his wing were sent on a scouting mission for a new base, which is referenced here.) General Dodonna is alive and on Yavin, putting this before the final Yavin evacuation.
-Another timeline hint: this story is explicitly the first time Luke sees Vader after the Battle of Yavin. (His earlier detection of Vader’s presence in Marvel #18 is unmentioned; of course.)
-An optional subplot involves a Calamarian aide to Mon Mothma named Oro being discovered by Luke. This is tangential to the main, successful storyline, and probably did not occur since Luke doesn’t know who the Mon Calamari are in Classic Star Wars #13, and in Star Wood #7 Luke is surprised at the possibility of a spy on Mon Mothma’s staff.
-Luke has only seen Mon Mothma once before this story. While the successful version of the story doesn’t show Luke meeting Mon Mothma, he is introduced to her for the first time in the Oro storyline, suggesting that this takes place before their interactions in Allegiance and Star Wood.
-We're probably well into the second month after Yavin by this point, given that both Rebel Force #3 and Jedi's Honor say that it's been a "few" months since ANH. Since Rebel Force's references are to the beginning of the film and Jedi's Honor are to the end, I'm assuming that it's not quite two months as Rebel Force #3 begins and about halfway into the second month after Yavin for Jedi's Honor in order to accommodate the stories that fall between the two. “A few” would usually mean “more than two”, but Vader’s Quest has been locked in at two months ABY for awhile now, and both stories must come before the events of that series.

DEVILWORLDS #2: THE PANDORA EFFECT

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han is juggling spice smuggling with escorting Leia to a Rebel trade conference on Daalang in this story, suggesting that it takes place during his brief return to smuggling. Leia could be on Daalang during Early Adventures #6, below.

THE EARLY ADVENTURES #6: THE SECOND KESSEL RUN

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han is running spice for Jabba again, putting this after the bounty is called off in Marvel #28.
-The Essential Atlas retconned this version of Kessel into a separate world called “Little Kessel”; and suggested that it was never identified as being distinct from Kessel in this story due to an old smuggler’s tradition.
-Han ends up giving away his spice shipment on Rion, which is not likely to earn him any points with Jabba or Mosep.

STAR WARS #37: IN MORTAL COMBAT (Pages 217-218)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Jabba Mosep discovers the wreck of Crimson Jack's pirate ship, which Jabba owned a share in. He reasons that because Han Solo was responsible for the destruction of the ship and any treasure it was carrying, Solo is now back in debt to the Hutt.
-The treasure holds are said to have been destroyed. It's been suggested that Han might have recovered his reward, but I'm choosing to take the comic at face value in this instance.
-This amount is stated to be equal to what Han originally owed, plus interest. Presumably this is around 500,000 credits, as per Scoundrels.
-Ironically, Han now owes Jabba because Jabba couldn't get his share of the money that Han was going to use to pay Jabba. Han can't win!
-Han learns from a bounty hunter that the bounty is back on. Jabba's lifting of the bounty after Marvel #28 is said to have happened "weeks" ago. Han sets out to rejoin the rebels, seeing it as the safest option.
-This bounty hunter has been interpreted by some as the bounty hunter on Ord Mantell from TESB, though the planet they're on is never mentioned. Archie Goodwin wrote both this issue and the later Bounty Hunter of Ord Mantell stories and wasn't likely to contradict himself on this point.
-This is the other major re-sequencing of events on the timeline. This scene was originally intended as an epilogue occurring after the main post-ANH stories in Marvel 7-37, setting the stage for Han to pay back Jabba in TESB. However, after nearly 40 years worth of additional stories, the main events of Marvel #35-37, such as Vader learning Luke's name and confronting Luke personally, don't make sense at this point on the timeline given what's to come. At the same time, having a long gap that can't accommodate any stories with Jabba's bounty hunters pursuing Han doesn't work either.
-Therefore, I'm treating these epilogue scenes as something akin to the end credit sequences in Marvel movies; they don't always literally take place after the film's conclusion. I'm choosing to assume that the epilogue is now a flashback to events that occurred earlier.

GALAXIES: AN EMPIRE DIVIDED

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-With the addition of the NGE and Legacy Quests, the revised Galaxies game opened with Han Solo being paid by the Rebel Alliance to free the player character from captivity, with the assistance of Artoo and Threepio. They are pursued by Darth Vader, but escape to Tansarii Point Station and then to Tatooine. I've placed this at the earliest point this could occur on the timeline to accommodate other Galaxies plot points involving Jan Dodonna and Yavin. This also happens to coincide with Han's brief return to his smuggler/mercenary activities.
-I’ve read some summaries that indicate that Han is involved in getting the player character a job with Jabba on Tatooine. If Han is indeed on speaking terms with Jabba, this may take place before the Marvel #37 epilogue scenes above.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #2: TBHOOM/DARTH VADER STRIKES (Pages 22-26)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Luke and the Rebels know that Vader is alive, putting this after Marvel #21 and Jedi’s Honor. The Classic Star Wars run is now continuous through the beginning of issue 10.
-In the May 31st, 1981 Sunday strip, Vader dates that the meeting with the admirals earlier in this issue took place “several weeks” before, which justifies breaking the story in a way the Classic Star Wars re-edit doesn't make clear.
-Nevertheless, Luke is still grumpy about what went on between Han and Leia on Ord Mantell all those weeks ago.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #3: DARTH VADER STRIKES
CLASSIC STAR WARS #4: DVS/THE SERPENT MASTERS

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader realizes that Obi-Wan has a disciple among the Rebels, and alludes to previous incidents that have made him suspect this, presumably the near-misses in ANH, Marvel 18, 23, and Jedi’s Honor. It’s clear that he doesn’t know Luke’s name yet.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #5: THE SERPENT MASTERS
CLASSIC STAR WARS #6: DEADLY REUNION
CLASSIC STAR WARS #7: DEADLY REUNION/TRAITOR’S GAMBIT
CLASSIC STAR WARS #8: TRAITOR’S GAMBIT/THE NIGHT BEAST
CLASSIC STAR WARS #9: THE NIGHT BEAST
CLASSIC STAR WARS #10: THE RETURN OF BEN KENOBI (Pages 1-5)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader orders Admiral Griff to refrain from assaulting Yavin until the Executor is complete, and “certain other events are in motion”. Since Vader knows Luke’s name in the remainder of the issue, this scene is the most logical point to break the Classic Star Wars storyline.

VADER’S QUEST #1

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-On Centares, Vader interrogates a Rebel pilot who had returned to his homeworld to spread the news of the Death Star’s destruction.
-From him, Vader finally learns the name of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star: Skywalker.
-Vader's Quest has been placed at “approximately two months after the Battle of Yavin” in the Early Victories omnibus collection. The Essential Readers Companion repeats this date. Luke hints in issue #2 that it’s only been one month since ANH, but I’m going with the date that allows more time for stories that take place before Vader learns Luke’s name. (And there are a lot of them!)
-Luke has gained an enemy in Jal te Gniev, the Rebel pilot whose X-Wing was assigned to Luke during the Battle of Yavin. (The fact that he crashed it while joyriding the day after probably didn’t help either.)
-While it appears that Dodonna is about to send Luke to Jazbina on a diplomatic mission, the events of Star Wood (where Vader knows Luke’s name, but Luke is unaware that his identity has been compromised) mean that Vader’s Quest #2-4 have to be moved down the timeline a bit.
-Fortunately, Luke’s assignment isn’t given on screen, and we can infer a reasonable amount of time for Mala to make her way to Coruscant and for Jal to settle in on Dubrava, spitefully keeping tabs on Luke’s whereabouts through Rebel gossip.

STAR WARS #35: DARK LORD’S GAMBIT (Pages 1-8)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader interrogates a Rebel on a refueling station.
-From him, Vader finally learns the name of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star: Luke Skywalker.
-It’s often assumed that Vader’s Quest adapts this scene, but they seem to be two different events. In Vader’s Quest, the scene takes place in an abandoned museum, here it’s in a destroyed Rebel refueling station. Vader uses an Imperial Shuttle and Interdictor Cruiser in Vader’s Quest, but here it’s his TIE Fighter and a Star Destroyer.
-Most telling, in Vader’s Quest, Vader only learns Luke’s last name, but here he learns his full name.
-In any case, the two stories happen soon after each other anyway, since from here on out Vader either knows Luke’s full name or is in a position to find out easily.

STAR WARS MANGA - SILVER: PERFECT EVIL, PART 2 (Pages 6-16)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-One of Vader’s officers meets with him aboard a Star Destroyer.
-From him, Vader receives a data disc with the identity of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star: Luke Skywalker.
-This is yet another alternate depiction of Vader’s discovery, but it can be interpreted as Vader’s agents being able to provide information on Luke now that his identity is known.
-Vader sees a holo of Luke for the first time, and recalls seeing the boy aboard the Death Star.
-Vader engages Rebel forces in his TIE Fighter.

THE MANDALORIAN ARMOR (Pages 42-83, 103-171)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Takes place “just after the events of Star Wars: A New Hope”, according to the flashback introductions.
-Vader is still in command of the Devastator, placing this before Star Wood.
-Boba Fett joins the Bounty Hunters Guild, and must work with Bossk. Their partnership in Star Wood #5 seems unlikely to have occurred before or after this event.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #10: THE RETURN OF BEN KENOBI (Pages 5-31)
CLASSIC STAR WARS #11: THE RETURN OF BEN KENOBI

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-While Vader is fully aware of Luke’s identity here, Luke remains unsure about whether or not Vader knows who and what he is at this point, since they never meet face-to-face, and remains so even years later (as per the Life and Legend of Luke Skywalker.) This allows Luke to believe his identity remains unknown in Star Wood.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #11: THE POWER GEM
CLASSIC STAR WARS #12: THE POWER GEM/ICE WORLD (Pages 1-16)
STAR WARS MANGA - SILVER: PERFECT EVIL, PART 2 (Pages 17-19)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader is back on Coruscant, as he will be in Shadow Stalker, below.
-Vader releases Tao from his apprenticeship. (I’m assuming there’s a break in time before the Executor launch scenes on this page, to give the Empire a little more time to complete the ship before she launches later in the month.)

SHADOW STALKER

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This is often listed mistakenly on official timelines as occurring almost three years after the Battle of Yavin.
-In fact, this is both a sequel to Classic Star Wars: The Return of Ben Kenobi (Jix is said to have rescued Vader from Aridus) and a prequel to Classic Star Wars: Ice World (Jix sends the human replica droids in that story on their way), and makes the most sense if it is read between those two stories.
-Vader mentions that the Aridus incident was “months ago”. This was a mistake even when the comic was written, as the Return of Ben Kenobi storyline led right into the events of Ice World from Luke’s perspective.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #12: THE POWER GEM/ICE WORLD (Pages 17-28)
CLASSIC STAR WARS #13: ICE WORLD/REVENGE OF THE JEDI (Pages 1-15)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han mentions that he’s never heard of Hoth before. He previously sought refuge on the planet in the non-canon Star Wars Tales #11: Prey, and will offer it as a potential base location in Star Wars 3-D #2.

A NEW HOPE: THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF LUKE SKYWALKER (Pages 96-112)
CLASSIC STAR WARS #13: ICE WORLD/REVENGE OF THE JEDI (Pages 15-31)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

This story was originally intended to show how Admiral Ackbar came to join the Rebel Alliance. The video game X-Wing would later show Admiral Ackbar commanding Rebel fleets in the year before ANH, and other sources would show Ackbar with the rank of Commander and Captain after ANH but before the Empire Strikes Back. The New Essential Guide to Characters explained these contradictions by stating that Ackbar was an admiral of the Calamari fleet and an unofficial member of the Alliance during X-Wing, and that he would be promoted to the rank of admiral within the Rebel Alliance sometime after this story. Ackbar has the Alliance rank of Commander in Renegade Squadron, his next chronological appearance.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #14: DOOM MISSION (Pages 1-17)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The Executor has now been christened and launched, and is active in the galaxy. We're splitting this story here to accommodate references to Mon Calamari in Rebel Force #4 and the presence of Executor in Allegiance and Star Wood.

REBEL FORCE #4: FIREFIGHT

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-As this book opens, Leia is about to head out on a week long mission to Mon Calamari, putting this after the rescue of Admiral Ackbar. (Luke knows about the mission here, but hadn’t heard of the Mon Calamari prior to Classic Star Wars #13.) Presumably this is a follow-up mission to cement the Mon Calamari's commitment to the Rebel Alliance.

REBEL FORCE #5: TRAPPED

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader reveals that he knows Luke Skywalker’s name to Soresh, placing this after Vader’s Quest #1.
-Ferus has spent two months tracking Vader’s movements, placing this at least two months after Rebel Force #2.
-The Essential Reader’s Companion places this book at two months after Yavin, just before Allegiance.
-The Rebels learn from Ferus that Vader is tracking down the pilot who destroyed the Death Star. Ferus already knows that Vader has learned Luke’s identity, but does not reveal this fact to Luke and the Rebels. (Somehow this point has been oddly--but handily--consistent through Classic Star Wars and Rebel Force thus far.

ALLEGIANCE (Pages 1-24)
STAR WARS MANGA- SILVER: PERFECT EVIL, PART 2 (Pages 19-21)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader returns to Coruscant, where the Executor is formally presented to him by the Emperor. He will still be on Coruscant in the chapters of Allegiance, below.

ALLEGIANCE (Pages 25-324)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-While there are indications that this novel was intended to take place shortly after ANH (Imperial Center’s response to the Death Star’s destruction is only days old, and it’s implied that Luke hasn’t encountered stormtroopers since the film), Vader knows Luke’s name, placing it after Vader’s Quest #1.
-The Executor also appears, placing it after that ship’s launch in Classic Star Wars #14.
-Sue Rostini indicated that this novel was set six months after Yavin on the old starwars.com forums, but in the Essential Reader’s Companion, it has been moved back to around two to three months after Yavin, explicitly between Rebel Force #5 and #6.
-The Rebels are still on Yavin in Rebel Force #6, so this must take place before the final Yavin evacuation.
-Han balks at taking orders from Mon Mothma here, even "forgetting" her name, suggesting that it takes place before his missions for her in Star Wood. (He’s already had bad experiences working for her before Yavin as an independent mercenary in Galaxy at War.)

CLASSIC STAR WARS #14: DOOM MISSION (Pages 17-34)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-I assume that Leia receives news from the Mon Calamari on their way back from the adventure on Shelsha in Allegiance. The Mon Calamari will aid the Alliance in the Yavin evacuation, a result of the Daluuj mission in Classic Star Wars #13 and the meeting on Mon Calamari in Rebel Force #5. Leia informs Dodonna of this upon their return to Yavin.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #15: DOOM MISSION (Pages 1-24)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The Executor is disabled, again delaying the attack on Yavin. I’ve split the story here to accommodate Star Wood, where the Executor is completed, the Rebels have abandoned Yavin two months after the destruction of the Death Star, and Luke believes that his identity is still unknown to Imperial forces. My assumption is that the Executor takes much longer to repair than originally portrayed in Classic Star Wars, and that Vader resumes command of the Devastator while repairs are underway.

STAR WARS 3-D #1: LOOSE ENDS

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The 3-D comics don’t take the Classic Star Wars storyline into account, so this issue would be an awkward fit anywhere on the timeline. Luke and Han return to Tatooine, where Luke has decided to gift the deed of the Lars Moisture Farm to an alien smuggler named Throgg. (As suggested in Marvel #31, Luke’s return from the dead and the failure of the Tagge’s Omega Frost weapons project has allowed him to challenge the Empire’s claim on the land.) Throgg’s ownership later was referenced in X-Wing: Rogue Squadron and the old starwars.com databank.
-Meanwhile, Leia and Dodonna continue preparations to evacuate Yavin base.

STAR WARS 3-D #2: HAVOC ON HOTH

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Following directly on from 3-D #1, Luke and Han return to the Yavin system to find Vader’s Star Destroyers in orbit and the base completely abandoned in their absence. They rendezvous with the Alliance fleet, and are sent on a scouting expedition to Hoth, where they encounter the pirate Salmakk.
-In this version of events, Han has been to Hoth once before, but Luke has not, providing an alternate explanation for Hoth’s discovery from Classic Star Wars.
-Nevertheless, this scouting expedition and Salmakk were later referenced in the online RPG Planet Hoppers feature and other sources.
-One could interpret Han’s recommendation of Hoth as a semi-sarcastic support of Luke’s discovery, which is the more commonly accepted explanation for how the Rebels came to learn of Hoth, as well as the one most compatible with TESB’s opening scroll.
-An unofficial complete evacuation of Yavin prior to the “official” evacuation in Classic Star Wars at six months after the Battle of Yavin has long been a staple of fan timelines, in order to reconcile the contradictions between multiple stories offering different takes on the evacuation.
-Ultimately, this version of the story, where Dodonna remains alive and Han and Luke aren’t present for the evacuation at all, has proved to be the least compatible with other versions of the tale. Star Wood has the Rebels completely gone from Yavin as early as two months after ANH, but before important events such as Luke learning that Vader knows his identity and the formation of Rogue Squadron. Thus, the first two 3-D stories fit here as well as they’ll fit anywhere on the timeline.

REBEL FORCE #6: UPRISING (Pages 1-5)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-27 days have passed since Rebel Force #5, allowing for the events of Allegiance, Classic Star Wars, and Star Wars 3-D. It will be at least another month before the main events of Rebel Force #6, allowing Star Wood to take place in the interim.

STAR WARS #1-6: IN THE SHADOW OF YAVIN

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The introductory narration in #1 puts this issue at two months after Yavin. I’m interpreting this as the absolute tail end of the second month after the Battle of Yavin in order to fit in all the stories that logically precede Star Wood. (It’s still a major stretch, but every little bit helps.)
-Mon Mothma is in touch with Incom corporation and has new prototype X-Wings. It would be nice to place this after Star Wars Kids: X-Wing Marks the Spot, but this doesn’t seem feasible.
- Vader has been sent to Kuat by Palpatine to intimidate local officials. It is implied that it has been “weeks” since he has contacted the Emperor, time in which he was instructed to meditate on his failure at the Battle of Yavin.
-Vader is aware of the name “Skywalker”, placing this after Vader’s Quest #1.
-Command of the Devastator is taken from Vader, placing this after his conference with the Emperor and Xizor in The Mandalorian Armor.
-Leia mentions that she, Luke, and Wedge have been scouting new bases but are being ambushed by the Empire constantly. This sort of aligns with their missions in Marvel, Jedi’s Honor, and Classic Star Wars taking place before Star Wood.
-Ben talks to Luke about Leia in Star Wood #4.
-Bossk is working with Boba Fett, indicating that this takes place during the Mandalorian Armor, when they are both members of the Bounty Hunters Guild.
-The Executor is in the Endor system, as is the Death Star II. We might assume the Executor is here for repairs following Classic Star Wars #15.
-Construction on the Death Star II has progressed more quickly than might be expected, given that the construction of the shield generator has yet to take place (as per Choices of One, later in the timeline.) However, if the construction site was originally intended to be Kef Bir in Legends as it is in Canon, this might explain why the garrison and generator aren’t on the forest moon yet.
-Mon Mothma and Luke have met, placing this after Jedi's Honor. Luke is promoted to "full" Lieutenant, and Wedge to Commander.

End of the "second" month after Yavin. Third month to follow.

 

Extremely impressed with this research. I'm surprised you're going through the trouble of incorporating Star Wars 3D and even the manga! (The manga wasn't even canon to Legends-- https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Manga:_Black -- Author Daniel Wallace stated definitively in the article We Need to Talk About Jar Jar, written for Star Wars Insider 131 in February 2012, that the stories included in the Star Wars Manga: Black comic trade paperback are non-canon.[1] )

 

Thanks! Legends had a way of incorporating material previously deemed Infinities, and given that elements of Perfect Evil eventually made it into the backstory of Hoar from Masters of Teras Kasi, it makes sense to try and track the events of the Manga in order to make the best possible placement of the video game. I do place all Infinities stories in italics to indicate their status.

Also this is like the 100,000th time I've gone over this era, so anything new is welcome, LOL. Plus it finally gave me an excuse to track down the manga. (I'm not normally a manga fan at all, but there's something about the format that just works so well with Star Wars. The ANH adaptation is one of my favorite versions of the movie.)

 

Some of the works, like Star Wars 3D #2 and old Marvel Star Wars 78: Hoth Stuff seem like a really tough fit in the EU. It's a slippery slope, but I'm personally now pretending these 2 issues took place in the Canon universe instead. Especially as Janson never shows up again in Canon so far, Hoth Stuff seems like a perfect fit there.

 

Well, it's hard for me to find fault with any particular older story in this era for not fitting into the EU, particularly since Star Wood, one of the last iterations of the continuity, ignored most of what had come before. (And came so late to the party that we never got the usual retcon treatment.) If you're looking for a streamlined continuity experience, this era isn't it--we've got ignored evacuations, lots of doubling back to Ord Mantell, Jabbas who are not Jabbas, etc.

Hoth Stuff *was* reintegrated into the modern EU continuity, though not in a way that served it's solo survival story particularly well.

 

This. This cuts the Gordian Knot, brilliantly. I'd been taking it as an article of faith that any stories where Vader knows Luke's name and where Han is being pursued by bounty hunters had to come after the duel on Monastery. Well played.

Looking forward to future installments.

 

No one:
Absolutely no one:
Me waking up in the middle of the night: "OH! I just realized my placement for the Bounty Hunter Wars is probably off! I'm gonna fix it!"

Spoiler: Second Month Following the Battle of Yavin REVISED

REBEL FORCE #2: HOSTAGE (Pages 186-188)
REBEL FORCE #3: RENEGADE

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-I assume that the Falcon crew have finally returned to Yavin after a long search for Vader, giving X7 the opening he needs to go after Luke in the closing chapters of Rebel Force #2.
-Leia instructs Luke not to tell his friends on Tatooine what he's been up to "for the past few months", and none of his friends learn that he's with the rebellion. Given that the last time he saw them was during the deleted Anchorhead scenes in ANH, this is the first reference to more than one month having passed since ANH, even though the previous book took place just three weeks after Yavin. The missing time sort of justifies the added Scoundrel’s Luck Vader hunt time jump. I’m assuming that we’re still not quite at the two month mark yet, but close enough for Leia’s statement to make sense.
-Han is offered a job that pays 40,000 credits, which is enough to cover his debt to Jabba, a new exhaust port for the Falcon, and 8,000 credits to Avrik Lore. This puts the story before the actual events of Scoundrel's Luck, when the bounty is much higher. Boba Fett will later state in The Bounty Hunter that the dispute between Han and Jabba was over a matter of 30,000 credits.
-This is explicitly Luke's first return to Mos Eisley since ANH, (he returns of his own volition to honor Biggs) putting it ahead of all the other return-to-Tatooine stories. Camie and Fixer are engaged but not yet married, as they will be in later Marvel comics. This creates some serious continuity issues in their Marvel interactions with Luke (see below) but it can't be helped.
-Luke becomes targeted by Bossk, who has no idea who he is, but is after Han. Luke fights him to a standstill after an encounter that endangers all of his friends. Bossk returns to Jabba, who throws him into the rancor pit to see if he survives, and vows to hire Boba Fett.
-Indeed, Boba Fett attempts to capture Han in his next appearance, Scoundrels. Both Boba Fett and Bossk will then be seen hunting Han in the "Star Wood" series.
-Presumably having endangered his friends here is the reason Luke at first refuses to return to Tatooine when ordered in Tatooine Sojourn, below.
-In order to maintain continuity with Scoundrels and Scoundrel's Luck, I assume that after this mission, the Rebels return the droids to Yavin and are assigned to make a drop on Ord Mantell. Here, Han learns about an upcoming high-paying job on Wukkar. (Scoundrels) Han proposes that they remain on Ord Mantell in the meantime to take a brief vacation (Scoundrel's Luck).

SCOUNDREL’S LUCK

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Here Han's debt to Jabba has increased to 225,000 credits. Han attempts to raise the money by gambling, using his 25,000 credit reward for rescuing Princess Leia as a stake. Wookieepedia seems to think that these were Alliance, rather than Imperial credits, which are only worth 25% of Imperial credits. I can confirm the credit exchange rate in the WEG Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, but not that Han received that amount in Alliance credits. (Scoundrel's Luck does not specify.) It would be a handy fix, though: In this case Han may only be trying to raise 56,250 from 850, and we can assume that the Alliance just tossed some of their credits in with the precious metals, and that Crimson Jack either overlooked or didn't bother with such a small amount during his raid. Either way, Han's debt is higher here than in any story so far.
-Luke is assigned to scout new base worlds with his wing before the story begins, leaving Han and Leia on Ord Mantell.
-This choose-your-own adventure style story has an optional path where the reader can encounter the Super Star Destroyer Executor, Captain Piett, and Admiral Ozzel. In spite of so many timeline revisions, this combination of elements remains problematic. It is easiest to assume that this is an alternate series of events where the reader's choices started a butterfly effect that resulted in the Executor being launched from Fondor early, with Ozzel and Piett promoted to command.
-Vader and his TIE Fighter are returned to the Empire following this story.

STAR WARS MISSIONS #17: DARTH VADER’S RETURN (Pages 1-4)
STAR WARS MANGA - BLACK: PERFECT EVIL, PART 1 (Pages 33-36)
STAR WARS MISSIONS #17: DARTH VADER’S RETURN (Pages 4-11)
STAR WARS MANGA - BLACK: PERFECT EVIL, PART 1 (Pages 37-52)
STAR WARS MANGA- SILVER: PERFECT EVIL, PART 2 (Pages 1-5)
STAR WARS MISSIONS #17: DARTH VADER’S RETURN (Pages 12-70)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Both of these stories show Vader returning to Coruscant in his TIE Fighter after the Battle of Yavin, but they can work together if you squint hard enough. Perfect Evil wasn't technically Legends Canon, but I'm including it for completeness sake.
-This begins a pattern of the Emperor meeting with Vader as though it were the first time they've spoken since the Battle of Yavin, blaming him for the station's destruction, then appearing to calm down and assigning him a new mission. This is an inconsistency simply because so many authors tried to write the same scene in different stories, but it is in line with Palpatine's characterization in the Darth Maul Journal: act cool about an apprentice's failures, then hide dinkos in their bedroom weeks later as punishment. Vader is not off the hook yet…

STAR WARS MISSIONS #18: ROGUE SQUADRON TO THE RESCUE (Pages 1-7, 73-74)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This is the most drastic sequence-rearrangement in this timeline. I'm decoupling the Vader mission from the Rogue Squadron storyline in both books to delay Q-7N's involvement and because Rogue Squadron and Tycho Celchu aren't in play yet. This is a definite alteration to the intended sequence of events, but since most sources ignore the Missions books, it's the best option to smooth out the continuity issues. There’s the absolute thinnest justification in the books themselves: Frap Radicon, Imperial scientist, will later state in Missions #19 that he spent “weeks” waiting for Vader to scout a new location for the Imperial gravity well project, but that gap in time isn’t otherwise apparent in Vader’s activities during Missions #17-20.
-Vader leaves Coruscant in his TIE Fighter for the starship yards of Fondor on the orders of the Emperor, in a setup for his Classic Star Wars appearance, below.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #2: TBHOOM/DARTH VADER STRIKES (Pages 18-22)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader runs a test using a Falcon drone duplicate and meets with Imperial admirals at Jovan station on his way to Fondor, insinuating that the delayed strike on the Rebels will only resume when the Executor is finished. According to the Geonisis and the Outer Rim Sourcebook, this will be the headquarters for the sector blockade that keeps the Rebels around Yavin.
-A bit of a cheat here, as the Falcon returns Luke, Leia, and Han to the droids after Ord Mantell. I'm assuming that Han and Leia picked Luke up after his scouting mission, and that they are being reunited for the first time since they left for Ord Mantell prior to Scoundrel's Luck, rather than the intended earlier encounter with Skorr.
-Several weeks will pass between these events and the rest of the Classic Star Wars Fondor arc, as made clear in the original daily strip version of the story.

SCOUNDRELS

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-One of the last major Legends sources released in this era, Scoundrels inserts itself in the period between Han losing his reward to pirates in Marvel #7 and Leia finding out about it in Marvel #11.
-Han is offered a share of 163,000,000 credits if he participates in the heist. He thinks that even a small slice of this would pay off Jabba a dozen times over. Han is set to bring in “almost” 15,000,000 from the heist. This could suggest that his debt is as much as 1,500,000 at this point, but it’s accurate no matter the amount.
-I'm assuming that the "Ord Mantell drop" referred to at the beginning of this story is part of the Scoundrel's Luck backstory, above. This is partially to consolidate events in this crowded time period, and partially because Han Solo's debt balloons to 500,000 credits at the end of the story, the highest it’s been so far.
-Han and Chewie end up with 163,000 credits at the end of the story. He offers to pay out 111,000 to the others to be able to keep a set of encoded blackmail cards, which would leave them with 52,000 credits. This is said to be enough to pay off the debt to Jabba before he finds out that the debt has been raised to 500,000. (This is close to being consistent with Scoundrel's Luck if we assume that story refers to Alliance credits.)

THE MAVERICK MOON

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This storybook, featuring Luke attending the "New Academy for Space Pilots", is tricky to place but might fit best here, concurrent with Han’s three week long Scoundrels heist. Luke has yet to be sent on a solo mission, and could use some training. His identity as the destroyer of the Death Star is not yet known to the wider galaxy. Finally, his feeling that his Force abilities and connection to Ben are being forgotten is a story thread that runs through Rebel Force and the Classic Star Wars comics during this time. Scoundrels also gives Luke time to at least audit a few classes.
-Luke does make contact with Ben here; a rarity in this part of the timeline.

STAR WARS #7: NEW PLANETS, NEW PERILS (Pages 8-18)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-We finally return to the main Marvel storyline after the long break necessitated by Scoundrels. The comic's storyline is continuous from here through #15.
-It’s not directly depicted in any source, but both editions of the Essential Chronology state that around this time, the heavy equipment has been evacuated from Yavin IV, but the evacuation is interrupted by a flotilla of Interdictor Cruisers that appear in-system and prevent larger ships from leaving or entering the system. Eventually this blockade will extend to the entire sector.

STAR WARS #8: EIGHT FOR ADUBA-3
STAR WARS #9: SHOWDOWN ON A WASTELAND WORLD
STAR WARS #10: BEHEMOTH FROM THE WORLD BELOW
STAR WARS #11: STAR SEARCH

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Leia learns directly about Crimson Jack's theft of Han's reward while Han is present, putting this run of comics after Scoundrels.

STAR WARS #12: DOOMWORLD
STAR WARS #13: DAY OF THE DRAGON LORDS
STAR WARS #14: THE SOUND OF ARMAGEDDON
STAR WARS #15: STAR DUEL!

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This story doesn't lead directly into any other adventure.

STAR WARS #24: SILENT DRIFTING

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This double-flashback issue has a framing story that takes place after Star Wars #15, according to the editor's notes

STAR WARS #70: THE STENAX SHUFFLE (Pages 6-23)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-According to Luke in the comic, this flashback occurred sometime "just after Han and I joined the Rebellion." As it's not tied to Vader or any of the other usual post-ANH era makers, placing it in this gap between Marvel arcs makes sense to give space for the personal life of Jimm Starkiller (see below.)

STAR WARS #16: THE HUNTER

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Star Wars #16 assumes that there is a major time jump between the end of #10 and this issue; Jimm the Starkiller kid is now married to Merri, the woman who became interested in him in #10 and they are expecting their first child.
-Unfortunately, while I would love to slot in more adventures between these two issues, there simply aren't that many that fit the requirements: Han's debt has to be at or over 500,000 credits, Luke can't know that Vader is alive, and Vader can't have discovered Skywalker's name yet. And since all the Yavin based stories are limited to six months ABY or less, there's not a lot of time for a break for Jimm's major life events, period.
-We just have to assume that the courtship, marriage, conception, and detection of the pregnancy all took place in a very short amount of time--not what the comic writers intended, but not totally implausible either.

STAR WARS #17: CRUCIBLE

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Another flashback issue, this brief framing story takes place during a trip with at least Luke and Han on the Falcon.

STAR WARS #18: THE EMPIRE STRIKES!
STAR WARS #19: THE ULTIMATE GAMBLE
STAR WARS #20: DEATHGAME
STAR WARS #21: SHADOW OF A DARK LORD

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-I assume that Vader has left his assignment at Fondor to raid the Rebel outpost on Ultaar in search of information on the pilot who destroyed the Death Star. He finds Valence has gotten there ahead of him.
-The spirit of Ben Kenobi appears to help Luke after he fell into a coma while meditating. This is somewhat at odds with Rebel Force #4 and 5, where Ben's spirit is actively avoiding Luke and Luke is just beginning to meditate with the Force, but this small discontinuity is necessary because Vader hasn't yet learned Luke's name here, but has in Rebel Force #5.
-Luke is able to tell Han and Leia that, as they suspected (probably from their close call at Delaya, presumably Han hasn't told them about the incident with Sodarra), Vader survived the Battle of Yavin and is hunting for them.

STAR WARS #22: TO THE LAST GLADIATOR
STAR WARS #23: FLIGHT INTO FURY
STAR WARS #28: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JABBA THE HUT? (Pages 5-7)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han and Chewie escape the Wheel to an old hideout on Orleon, only to be cornered by Jabba the Hut Jabba the Hutt’s accountant Mosep. Mosep can’t get into their cavern hideaway, but Han can’t escape until repairs are complete. Mosep decides to bide his time in order to capture the Falcon.

STAR WARS #25: SIEGE AT YAVIN

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-At Centares, Luke and Leia find that the Empire has blockaded the entire sector surrounding Yavin.

STAR WARS #26: DOOM MISSION

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Luke has not yet heard Leia's story about how she was trained in the use of weapons, so the Star Wars Weekly story Weapons Master has not yet occurred.
-Luke is not yet a flight commander, which is why Dodonna sends him on the mission against the Tagge station. Dodonna will later (attempt to) promote Luke to Commander in Classic Star Wars #16.

STAR WARS #27: RETURN OF THE HUNTER

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Luke and Threepio are on a mission to probe the extent of the Yavin blockade, and obtain repair parts for Artoo, who was damaged in the last issue.
-It's suggested here that Valence has been on Junction for five weeks, putting this story at least five weeks after #18. If we're counting days, we would be well past two months after Yavin at this point--this is where the whole "six months after Yavin" limitation starts to break down if you look at it too closely.
-Luke says that Junction has the "first real city I've had a chance to see. That time we stopped on Centares we were too busy fleeing Darth Vader to play tourist!" One has to assume that he was too busy for sightseeing on Muunilust and Delaya as well, since those visits occurred within weeks of ANH.

THE EARLY ADVENTURES #4: TATOOINE SOJOURN

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The starwars.com feature "Time Capsule: Obi-Wan Kenobi 1979" places this story after the incident at the Wheel. Since Luke clearly returns to the Mos Eisley cantina for the first time since ANH in this story, we can infer that it takes place before Star Wars #31, in which he also returns to the establishment for what is only implied to be his first time since ANH. (A trip to the cantina was handily avoided in Rebel Force #3.)
-Luke is also targeted by one of Jabba's bounty hunters in a manner that actually is consistent with Rebel Force #3 having occurred before this story. (!)
-This is the only break in Luke's Marvel storyline that allows this placement. Luke is on a recon mission at the beginning of this story; he was also on a recon mission to probe the extent of the Empire's blockade at the beginning of Marvel #27. It seems Luke returned to Yavin, had Artoo repaired, then headed out on the same mission in a different ship.
-Luke will apparently end up heading right back to Tatooine for Marvel #31 once he drops Anduvil off at Yavin, his stated destination at the end of the original comic strip version of this story.

STAR WARS #28: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JABBA THE HUT? (Pages 1-5, 7-18)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-After ending the siege and saving Jabba Jabba’s accountant’s life, Han finally has his debt cancelled and the bounty lifted, and even gets a bonus out of the deal. But Mosep vows revenge; and Han isn’t out of trouble yet...

STAR WARS #29: DARK ENCOUNTER

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader fails to discover Luke's identity again, this time on Centares thanks to Valence's interference.

STAR WARS #30: A PRINCESS ALONE!
STAR WARS #31: RETURN TO TATOOINE!

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Dodonna has sent Luke back to Tatooine to keep him busy recruiting pilots to run the Imperial blockade while Leia is on her solo mission (not that Solo!) in #30.
-Rebel Force #3 ignored Marvel #31 entirely, which causes some difficulty in reconciling the two. A key point is that Camie and Fixer are married in #31, but only engaged in Rebel Force #3. I’m going to roll with this. (On the other hand, Luke states that he hasn’t heard the nickname “Wormie” since ANH, but it was tossed around pretty freely in Rebel Force. *shrug*)
-Luke visits the Lars homestead, but instead of finding it abandoned as he did in Rebel Force #3, he discovers that Fixer and Camie are making it operational for the new owners, TaggeCo.
-Fixer explains that everyone assumed Luke had died along with the Larses “when the Tusken Raiders hit the place.” This is a piece of Imperial misinformation Luke doesn’t correct. Strangely, Rebel Force #3 doesn’t address the raid on the homestead at all, even though that book was set over a month after ANH too.
-One could assume that the Empire kept the deaths of Owen and Beru a secret for well over a month, until the Tagges needed a cover story to take over the Lars homestead, explaining why Fixer and Camie are surprised to find Luke alive here. (On the other hand, Fixer is surprised by Luke’s skill with a lightsaber, when in Rebel Force #3 he saw Luke take out Bossk with it. *sob*)
-After Luke is outed as the Rebel who destroyed the Death Star, the Mos Eisley authorities will change the story again (probably also influenced by the Empire), stating that Luke was the one who killed his aunt and uncle. (As per the Movie Trilogy Sourcebook.)
-In any case, Fixer says that Luke’s return could foul TaggeCo’s claim to the Lars farm, and Luke is clearly disturbed to find an Imperial-friendly corporation in control of his uncle’s land. He’ll later return to Tatooine to find a more suitable owner in 3-D #2.
-Tatooine Sojourn is another story that takes place around this time, featuring Luke’s apparent first return to Tatooine (though it’s easier to reconcile with this issue than Rebel Force #3 is, and vice versa.) The two stories take place so close together that either one could come first; I ended up placing Tatooine Sojourn before this issue mostly because Luke seems like he hasn’t been in the cantina since ANH there, and because he argues against being sent back to his homeworld, whereas here he’s sent almost as an afterthought.
-Han Solo and Chewie are still on Tatooine, having delivered Jabba safely home brought Mosep back to Jabba, and randomly run into Luke again at the cantina.

STAR WARS #32: JAWA EXPRESS
STAR WARS #33: SABER CLASH

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han notes that Luke’s skill with the lightsaber is improving. He’s skilled enough to beat Baron Tagge in a lightsaber duel in the dark; Luke’s first successful lightsaber battle.

STAR WARS #34: THUNDER IN THE STARS

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-It’s not stated, but this seems to be the earliest post-Yavin source showing an assembled Alliance fleet.
-After a continuous run from Star Wars #18, the Marvel storyline has a break here.

STAR WARS #50: RAGE IN THE RED NEBULA (Pages 13-30)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The Imperial blockade established in Star Wars #25 is in effect, and Han is looking to get back into spice smuggling, suggesting that this takes place after Star Wars #34 but before Classic Star Wars The Early Adventures #6.
-As the flashback story begins, Han and Chewie are dropping off Rebel spies as a favor to Luke and Leia, who are absent from this story. I’ve slotted in two stories below to give Luke and Leia something to do while Han and Chewie are beyond the edge of the galaxy.

STAR WARS COMIC #7.12: LEIA'S TRUST

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-I haven't been able to find a copy of this story to check it's placement; all I know is that it's a Leia story and that Dodonna is involved. Until I can get a hold of it, I'm using the placement from Joe Bongiorno’s Star Wars timeline.

JEDI’S HONOR

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Running concurrently with the previous two stories, this Choose-Your-Own adventure style gamebook has Luke investigating the Sil’Lume asteroid field as a possible Rebel base site.
-This is a companion book to Scoundrel's Luck, but picks up at least a month afterwards, as the Battle of Yavin is stated to be “a few” months ago. (In Scoundrel’s Luck, Luke and his wing were sent on a scouting mission for a new base, which is referenced here.) General Dodonna is alive and on Yavin, putting this before the final Yavin evacuation.
-Another timeline hint: this story is explicitly the first time Luke sees Vader after the Battle of Yavin. (His earlier detection of Vader’s presence in Marvel #18 is unmentioned; of course.)
-An optional subplot involves a Calamarian aide to Mon Mothma named Oro being discovered by Luke. This is tangential to the main, successful storyline, and probably did not occur since Luke doesn’t know who the Mon Calamari are in Classic Star Wars #13, and in Star Wood #7 Luke is surprised at the possibility of a spy on Mon Mothma’s staff.
-Luke has only seen Mon Mothma once before this story. While the successful version of the story doesn’t show Luke meeting Mon Mothma, he is introduced to her for the first time in the Oro storyline, suggesting that this takes place before their interactions in Allegiance and Star Wood.
-We're probably well into the second month after Yavin by this point, given that both Rebel Force #3 and Jedi's Honor say that it's been a "few" months since ANH. Since Rebel Force's references are to the beginning of the film and Jedi's Honor are to the end, I'm assuming that it's not quite two months as Rebel Force #3 begins and about halfway into the second month after Yavin for Jedi's Honor in order to accommodate the stories that fall between the two. “A few” would usually mean “more than two”, but Vader’s Quest has been locked in at two months ABY for awhile now, and both stories must come before the events of that series.

DEVILWORLDS #2: THE PANDORA EFFECT

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han is juggling spice smuggling with escorting Leia to a Rebel trade conference on Daalang in this story, suggesting that it takes place during his brief return to smuggling. Leia could be on Daalang during Early Adventures #6, below.

THE EARLY ADVENTURES #6: THE SECOND KESSEL RUN

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han is running spice for Jabba again, putting this after the bounty is called off in Marvel #28.
-The Essential Atlas retconned this version of Kessel into a separate world called “Little Kessel”; and suggested that it was never identified as being distinct from Kessel in this story due to an old smuggler’s tradition.
-Han ends up giving away his spice shipment on Rion, which is not likely to earn him any points with Jabba or Mosep.

STAR WARS #37: IN MORTAL COMBAT (Pages 217-218)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Jabba Mosep discovers the wreck of Crimson Jack's pirate ship, which Jabba owned a share in. He reasons that because Han Solo was responsible for the destruction of the ship and any treasure it was carrying, Solo is now back in debt to the Hutt.
-The treasure holds are said to have been destroyed. It's been suggested that Han might have recovered his reward, but I'm choosing to take the comic at face value in this instance.
-This amount is stated to be equal to what Han originally owed, plus interest. Presumably this is around 500,000 credits, as per Scoundrels.
-Ironically, Han now owes Jabba because Jabba couldn't get his share of the money that Han was going to use to pay Jabba. Han can't win!
-Han learns from a bounty hunter that the bounty is back on. Jabba's lifting of the bounty after Marvel #28 is said to have happened "weeks" ago. Han sets out to rejoin the rebels, seeing it as the safest option.
-This bounty hunter has been interpreted by some as the bounty hunter on Ord Mantell from TESB, though the planet they're on is never mentioned. Archie Goodwin wrote both this issue and the later Bounty Hunter of Ord Mantell stories and wasn't likely to contradict himself on this point.
-This is the other major re-sequencing of events on the timeline. This scene was originally intended as an epilogue occurring after the main post-ANH stories in Marvel 7-37, setting the stage for Han to pay back Jabba in TESB. However, after nearly 40 years worth of additional stories, the main events of Marvel #35-37, such as Vader learning Luke's name and confronting Luke personally, don't make sense at this point on the timeline given what's to come. At the same time, having a long gap that can't accommodate any stories with Jabba's bounty hunters pursuing Han doesn't work either.
-Therefore, I'm treating these epilogue scenes as something akin to the end credit sequences in Marvel movies; they don't always literally take place after the film's conclusion. I'm choosing to assume that the epilogue is now a flashback to events that occurred earlier.

GALAXIES: AN EMPIRE DIVIDED

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-With the addition of the NGE and Legacy Quests, the revised Galaxies game opened with Han Solo being paid by the Rebel Alliance to free the player character from captivity, with the assistance of Artoo and Threepio. They are pursued by Darth Vader, but escape to Tansarii Point Station and then to Tatooine. I've placed this at the earliest point this could occur on the timeline to accommodate other Galaxies plot points involving Jan Dodonna and Yavin. This also happens to coincide with Han's brief return to his smuggler/mercenary activities.
-I’ve read some summaries that indicate that Han is involved in getting the player character a job with Jabba on Tatooine. If Han is indeed on speaking terms with Jabba, this may take place before the Marvel #37 epilogue scenes above.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #2: TBHOOM/DARTH VADER STRIKES (Pages 22-26)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Luke and the Rebels know that Vader is alive, putting this after Marvel #21 and Jedi’s Honor. The Classic Star Wars run is now continuous through the beginning of issue 10.
-In the May 31st, 1981 Sunday strip, Vader dates that the meeting with the admirals earlier in this issue took place “several weeks” before, which justifies breaking the story in a way the Classic Star Wars re-edit doesn't make clear.
-Nevertheless, Luke is still grumpy about what went on between Han and Leia on Ord Mantell all those weeks ago.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #3: DARTH VADER STRIKES
CLASSIC STAR WARS #4: DVS/THE SERPENT MASTERS

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader realizes that Obi-Wan has a disciple among the Rebels, and alludes to previous incidents that have made him suspect this, presumably the near-misses in ANH, Marvel 18, 23, and Jedi’s Honor. It’s clear that he doesn’t know Luke’s name yet.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #5: THE SERPENT MASTERS
CLASSIC STAR WARS #6: DEADLY REUNION
CLASSIC STAR WARS #7: DEADLY REUNION/TRAITOR’S GAMBIT
CLASSIC STAR WARS #8: TRAITOR’S GAMBIT/THE NIGHT BEAST
CLASSIC STAR WARS #9: THE NIGHT BEAST
CLASSIC STAR WARS #10: THE RETURN OF BEN KENOBI (Pages 1-5)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader orders Admiral Griff to refrain from assaulting Yavin until the Executor is complete, and “certain other events are in motion”. Since Vader knows Luke’s name in the remainder of the issue, this scene is the most logical point to break the Classic Star Wars storyline.

VADER’S QUEST #1

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-On Centares, Vader interrogates a Rebel pilot who had returned to his homeworld to spread the news of the Death Star’s destruction.
-From him, Vader finally learns the name of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star: Skywalker.
-Vader's Quest has been placed at “approximately two months after the Battle of Yavin” in the Early Victories omnibus collection. The Essential Readers Companion repeats this date. Luke hints in issue #2 that it’s only been one month since ANH, but I’m going with the date that allows more time for stories that take place before Vader learns Luke’s name. (And there are a lot of them!)
-Luke has gained an enemy in Jal te Gniev, the Rebel pilot whose X-Wing was assigned to Luke during the Battle of Yavin. (The fact that he crashed it while joyriding the day after probably didn’t help either.)
-While it appears that Dodonna is about to send Luke to Jazbina on a diplomatic mission, the events of Star Wood (where Vader knows Luke’s name, but Luke is unaware that his identity has been compromised) mean that Vader’s Quest #2-4 have to be moved down the timeline a bit.
-Fortunately, Luke’s assignment isn’t given on screen, and we can infer a reasonable amount of time for Mala to make her way to Coruscant and for Jal to settle in on Dubrava, spitefully keeping tabs on Luke’s whereabouts through Rebel gossip.

STAR WARS #35: DARK LORD’S GAMBIT (Pages 1-8)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader interrogates a Rebel on a refueling station.
-From him, Vader finally learns the name of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star: Luke Skywalker.
-It’s often assumed that Vader’s Quest adapts this scene, but they seem to be two different events. In Vader’s Quest, the scene takes place in an abandoned museum, here it’s in a destroyed Rebel refueling station. Vader uses an Imperial Shuttle and Interdictor Cruiser in Vader’s Quest, but here it’s his TIE Fighter and a Star Destroyer.
-Most telling, in Vader’s Quest, Vader only learns Luke’s last name, but here he learns his full name.
-In any case, the two stories happen soon after each other anyway, since from here on out Vader either knows Luke’s full name or is in a position to find out easily.

STAR WARS MANGA - SILVER: PERFECT EVIL, PART 2 (Pages 6-16)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-One of Vader’s officers meets with him aboard a Star Destroyer.
-From him, Vader receives a data disc with the identity of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star: Luke Skywalker.
-This is yet another alternate depiction of Vader’s discovery, but it can be interpreted as Vader’s agents being able to provide information on Luke now that his identity is known.
-Vader sees a holo of Luke for the first time, and recalls seeing the boy aboard the Death Star.
-Vader engages Rebel forces in his TIE Fighter.

THE MANDALORIAN ARMOR (Pages 42-83, 103-171, 205-322)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Takes place “just after the events of Star Wars: A New Hope”, according to the flashback introductions.
-The Boba Fett entry in the New Essential Guide to Characters places this at "several months after" the Battle of Yavin.
-Vader is still in command of the Devastator, placing this after his return in Star Wars Missions #17 but before Star Wood.
-Boba Fett joins the Bounty Hunters Guild, and works with Bossk. It’s later indicated by Bossk in Slave Ship that this is their first and only such so far partnership. For the purposes of this timeline I’m taking this at face value; Bossk either doesn’t remember or isn’t willing to consider his dealings with the Fett as a child before and during the Clone Wars in Star Wars Adventures and The Clone Wars as partnerships.
-Boba Fett, Zuckuss, IG-88 and D’harhan team up for a Guild job on Circumtore.
-Fett is successful in shattering the Bounty Hunters Guild into warring factions.
-Kud’ar Mub’at is aware of an old man living out on the Dune Sea who knows secrets of the Force, and believes the Emperor is still unaware of him. He has not learned that Obi-Wan died on the Death Star.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #10: THE RETURN OF BEN KENOBI (Pages 5-31)
CLASSIC STAR WARS #11: THE RETURN OF BEN KENOBI

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-While Vader is fully aware of Luke’s identity here, Luke remains unsure about whether or not Vader knows who and what he is at this point, since they never meet face-to-face, and remains so even years later (as per the Life and Legend of Luke Skywalker.) This allows Luke to believe his identity remains unknown in Star Wood.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #11: THE POWER GEM
CLASSIC STAR WARS #12: THE POWER GEM/ICE WORLD (Pages 1-16)
STAR WARS MANGA - SILVER: PERFECT EVIL, PART 2 (Pages 17-19)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader is back on Coruscant, as he will be in Shadow Stalker, below.
-Vader releases Tao from his apprenticeship. (I’m assuming there’s a break in time before the Executor launch scenes on this page, to give the Empire a little more time to complete the ship before she launches later in the month.)

SHADOW STALKER

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This is often listed mistakenly on official timelines as occurring almost three years after the Battle of Yavin.
-In fact, this is both a sequel to Classic Star Wars: The Return of Ben Kenobi (Jix is said to have rescued Vader from Aridus) and a prequel to Classic Star Wars: Ice World (Jix sends the human replica droids in that story on their way), and makes the most sense if it is read between those two stories.
-Vader mentions that the Aridus incident was “months ago”. This was a mistake even when the comic was written, as the Return of Ben Kenobi storyline led right into the events of Ice World from Luke’s perspective.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #12: THE POWER GEM/ICE WORLD (Pages 17-28)
CLASSIC STAR WARS #13: ICE WORLD/REVENGE OF THE JEDI (Pages 1-15)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han mentions that he’s never heard of Hoth before. He previously sought refuge on the planet in the non-canon Star Wars Tales #11: Prey, and will offer it as a potential base location in Star Wars 3-D #2.

A NEW HOPE: THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF LUKE SKYWALKER (Pages 96-112)
CLASSIC STAR WARS #13: ICE WORLD/REVENGE OF THE JEDI (Pages 15-31)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

This story was originally intended to show how Admiral Ackbar came to join the Rebel Alliance. The video game X-Wing would later show Admiral Ackbar commanding Rebel fleets in the year before ANH, and other sources would show Ackbar with the rank of Commander and Captain after ANH but before the Empire Strikes Back. The New Essential Guide to Characters explained these contradictions by stating that Ackbar was an admiral of the Calamari fleet and an unofficial member of the Alliance during X-Wing, and that he would be promoted to the rank of admiral within the Rebel Alliance sometime after this story. Ackbar has the Alliance rank of Commander in Renegade Squadron, his next chronological appearance.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #14: DOOM MISSION (Pages 1-17)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The Executor has now been christened and launched, and is active in the galaxy. We're splitting this story here to accommodate references to Mon Calamari in Rebel Force #4 and the presence of Executor in Allegiance and Star Wood.

REBEL FORCE #4: FIREFIGHT

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-As this book opens, Leia is about to head out on a week long mission to Mon Calamari, putting this after the rescue of Admiral Ackbar. (Luke knows about the mission here, but hadn’t heard of the Mon Calamari prior to Classic Star Wars #13.) Presumably this is a follow-up mission to cement the Mon Calamari's commitment to the Rebel Alliance.

REBEL FORCE #5: TRAPPED

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader reveals that he knows Luke Skywalker’s name to Soresh, placing this after Vader’s Quest #1.
-Ferus has spent two months tracking Vader’s movements, placing this at least two months after Rebel Force #2.
-The Essential Reader’s Companion places this book at two months after Yavin, just before Allegiance.
-The Rebels learn from Ferus that Vader is tracking down the pilot who destroyed the Death Star. Ferus already knows that Vader has learned Luke’s identity, but does not reveal this fact to Luke and the Rebels. (Somehow this point has been oddly--but handily--consistent through Classic Star Wars and Rebel Force thus far.

ALLEGIANCE (Pages 1-24)
STAR WARS MANGA- SILVER: PERFECT EVIL, PART 2 (Pages 19-21)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader returns to Coruscant, where the Executor is formally presented to him by the Emperor. He will still be on Coruscant in the chapters of Allegiance, below.

ALLEGIANCE (Pages 25-324)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-While there are indications that this novel was intended to take place shortly after ANH (Imperial Center’s response to the Death Star’s destruction is only days old, and it’s implied that Luke hasn’t encountered stormtroopers since the film), Vader knows Luke’s name, placing it after Vader’s Quest #1.
-The Executor also appears, placing it after that ship’s launch in Classic Star Wars #14.
-Sue Rostini indicated that this novel was set six months after Yavin on the old starwars.com forums, but in the Essential Reader’s Companion, it has been moved back to around two to three months after Yavin, explicitly between Rebel Force #5 and #6.
-The Rebels are still on Yavin in Rebel Force #6, so this must take place before the final Yavin evacuation.
-Han balks at taking orders from Mon Mothma here, even "forgetting" her name, suggesting that it takes place before his missions for her in Star Wood. (He’s already had bad experiences working for her before Yavin as an independent mercenary in Galaxy at War.)

SLAVE SHIP (Pages 74-152, 167-245, 304-321)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Vader has only recently taken possession of the Executor, putting this sometime after/during Classic Star Wars #14.
-Bossk has not seen Boba Fett in the flesh since the break-up of the Guild in The Mandalorian Armor.
-Bossk attempts to double-cross Fett, but Zuckuss intervenes. Still, Fett leaves them both adrift in an escape pod.
-The New Essential Guide to Characters acknowledges this event, but states that the chance to capture Han Solo will lead Bossk and Fett to team up again. This is in reference to later events in Classic Star Wars, but I’m assuming this also applies to Star Wood #5 (below) as an earlier attempt.

HARD MERCHANDISE (Pages 60-139)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Xizor attempts to have Boba Fett killed, but Fett ends up limping away in a damaged Slave I.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #14: DOOM MISSION (Pages 17-34)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-I assume that Leia receives news from the Mon Calamari on their way back from the adventure on Shelsha in Allegiance. The Mon Calamari will aid the Alliance in the Yavin evacuation, a result of the Daluuj mission in Classic Star Wars #13 and the meeting on Mon Calamari in Rebel Force #5. Leia informs Dodonna of this upon their return to Yavin.

CLASSIC STAR WARS #15: DOOM MISSION (Pages 1-24)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The Executor is disabled, again delaying the attack on Yavin. I’ve split the story here to accommodate Star Wood, where the Executor is completed, the Rebels have abandoned Yavin two months after the destruction of the Death Star, and Luke believes that his identity is still unknown to Imperial forces. My assumption is that the Executor takes much longer to repair than originally portrayed in Classic Star Wars, and that Vader resumes command of the Devastator while repairs are underway.

STAR WARS 3-D #1: LOOSE ENDS

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The 3-D comics don’t take the Classic Star Wars storyline into account, so this issue would be an awkward fit anywhere on the timeline. Luke and Han return to Tatooine, where Luke has decided to gift the deed of the Lars Moisture Farm to an alien smuggler named Throgg. (As suggested in Marvel #31, Luke’s return from the dead and the failure of the Tagge’s Omega Frost weapons project has allowed him to challenge the Empire’s claim on the land.) Throgg’s ownership later was referenced in X-Wing: Rogue Squadron and the old starwars.com databank.
-Meanwhile, Leia and Dodonna continue preparations to evacuate Yavin base.

STAR WARS 3-D #2: HAVOC ON HOTH

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Following directly on from 3-D #1, Luke and Han return to the Yavin system to find Vader’s Star Destroyers in orbit and the base completely abandoned in their absence. They rendezvous with the Alliance fleet, and are sent on a scouting expedition to Hoth, where they encounter the pirate Salmakk.
-In this version of events, Han has been to Hoth once before, but Luke has not, providing an alternate explanation for Hoth’s discovery from Classic Star Wars.
-Nevertheless, this scouting expedition and Salmakk were later referenced in the online RPG Planet Hoppers feature and other sources.
-One could interpret Han’s recommendation of Hoth as a semi-sarcastic support of Luke’s discovery, which is the more commonly accepted explanation for how the Rebels came to learn of Hoth, as well as the one most compatible with TESB’s opening scroll.
-An unofficial complete evacuation of Yavin prior to the “official” evacuation in Classic Star Wars at six months after the Battle of Yavin has long been a staple of fan timelines, in order to reconcile the contradictions between multiple stories offering different takes on the evacuation.
-Ultimately, this version of the story, where Dodonna remains alive and Han and Luke aren’t present for the evacuation at all, has proved to be the least compatible with other versions of the tale. Star Wood has the Rebels completely gone from Yavin as early as two months after ANH, but before important events such as Luke learning that Vader knows his identity and the formation of Rogue Squadron. Thus, the first two 3-D stories fit here as well as they’ll fit anywhere on the timeline.

REBEL FORCE #6: UPRISING (Pages 1-5)

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-27 days have passed since Rebel Force #5, allowing for the events of Allegiance, Classic Star Wars, and Star Wars 3-D. It will be at least another month before the main events of Rebel Force #6, allowing Star Wood to take place in the interim.

STAR WARS #1-6: IN THE SHADOW OF YAVIN

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The introductory narration in #1 puts this issue at two months after Yavin. I’m interpreting this as the absolute tail end of the second month after the Battle of Yavin in order to fit in all the stories that logically precede Star Wood. (It’s still a major stretch, but every little bit helps.)
-Mon Mothma is in touch with Incom corporation and has new prototype X-Wings. It would be nice to place this after Star Wars Kids: X-Wing Marks the Spot, but this doesn’t seem feasible.
- Vader has been sent to Kuat by Palpatine to intimidate local officials. It is implied that it has been “weeks” since he has contacted the Emperor, time in which he was instructed to meditate on his failure at the Battle of Yavin.
-Vader is aware of the name “Skywalker”, placing this after Vader’s Quest #1.
-Command of the Devastator is taken from Vader, placing this after his conference with the Emperor and Xizor in The Mandalorian Armor.
-Leia mentions that she, Luke, and Wedge have been scouting new bases but are being ambushed by the Empire constantly. This sort of aligns with their missions in Marvel, Jedi’s Honor, and Classic Star Wars taking place before Star Wood.
-Ben talks to Luke about Leia in Star Wood #4.
-Bossk is working with Boba Fett. The New Essential Guide to Characters explained that the two overcame their previous conflict in order to capture Han Solo. This is in reference to later events in Classic Star Wars, but I’m assuming this also applies to Star Wood #5 as an earlier attempt.
-The Executor is in the Endor system, as is the Death Star II. We might assume the Executor is here for repairs following Classic Star Wars #15.
-Construction on the Death Star II has progressed more quickly than might be expected, given that the construction of the shield generator has yet to take place (as per Choices of One, later in the timeline.) However, if the construction site was originally intended to be Kef Bir in Legends as it is in Canon, this might explain why the garrison and generator aren’t on the forest moon yet.
-Mon Mothma and Luke have met, placing this after Jedi's Honor. Luke is promoted to "full" Lieutenant, and Wedge to Commander.

Thanks so much! I really tried to avoid shifting around the order of events within the individual sources as much as possible, but I got tired of bumping up against this particular limitation after trying everything possible to make it work.

 

Very detailed, that. I had previously just had the comics up to Monastery be before the newspaper strips, with Vader pretending ignorance of Luke's identity to keep it from the Emperor, at Fondor. Mixing stories up between the two works as well, and I can see the appeal of that. Scoundrel's Luck I gave up trying to place more exactly, and Missions, to some extent. Rebel Force begins about two weeks post Yavin, and book 3 jumps forward, in my mind, to post Omega Frost. Books four to six fall in the period three to four months ABY, also, prior to Luke going to Aridus.

 

You're doing the Lord's work, TC . . . but now I have to think about shuffling my shelves around. Dammit.

 

I can see why you'd want to place book 3 that way, especially if you favor Marvel #31's account of Luke's first return to Tatooine over Rebel Force #3. I certainly did for years. I ended up slotting it in where I did because Scoundrels puts Han's debt much higher than Rebel Force #3, and that novel has to take place before Jack captures Leia in the earlier Marvel issues, and because Tatooine Sojourn benefits somewhat from having Rebel Force #3 occur before it, on top of the Fixer/Camie situation.

(Of course, there are yet more possible retcons for all of these; it's anyone's guess during this era, lol.)

 

Spoiler: Third Month Following the Battle of Yavin

STAR WARS #7-12: FROM THE RUINS OF ALDERAAN

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Leia has recovered from her injuries in Star Wood #6, suggesting a possible break in time between arcs.
-Luke and Leia return again to Tatooine, this time building a memorial to the Larses in the remains of the homestead.
-Luke feels like his connection to his home and youth are gone. Throgg isn't present or mentioned, but it's possible he's around somewhere.
-Nevertheless, he wants Tatooine to be a place where the fight against the Empire begins to turn in the Rebellion’s favor. Luke and Rogue Squadron will later spend some of their early training on Tatooine in the Rogue Squadron computer game.
-Luke is surprised that there might be a spy on Mon Mothma's staff, suggesting that the ending of Jedi's Honor where Luke exposes a spy on her staff did not happen.
-Luke says that he's completely unknown to the Empire, and that no one knows he's the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, suggesting that this takes place before the Jazbina mission in Vader's Quest #2-4.
-Han is still on Coruscant. The bounty on his head still appears to be in the half-million range, as per Scoundrels.
-Vader has returned to the Executor in the Endor system.
-Luke is capable of disassembling and reassembling his lightsaber.
-In Star Wood #10, Wedge mentions Rogue Squadron for the first time. He wants the Alliance to retire the Red Squad designation, and replace it with Leia’s Stealth Squadron, renamed Rogue Squadron. This is the first time Luke has heard the name.
-This and subsequent issues give Rogue Squadron a full origin story, which is why any stories featuring the Rogues, such as Star Wars Missions #9-12 and parts of #17-20 take place after this issue.
-Vader receives a full report on Luke Skywalker from Tatooine records. These may be the same ones mentioned in The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader.
-In Star Wood #11, Leia mentions that it's been "several weeks" since Kell Bircher started hunting the rebels, presumably since he took command of the Devastator in Star Wood #1.
-Leia scouted the Arrochar system and possibly others while she was in her solo mission, pointing at another break in time.
-Vader is aware that Obi-Wan still exists; they speak. Vader executes the command staff of the Devastator and views it as tainted, making it unlikely that he would retake command after this. Presumably Wermis was transferred to another Star Destroyer (perhaps the Conqueror, which Vader also used in Star Wars 3-D) back when Vader was removed from command.

STAR WARS #13-14: FIVE DAYS OF SITH
STAR WARS #15-18: REBEL GIRL

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Han has been offered a rank and position in the alliance by Mon Mothma.
-Having received approval for the Rogue designation, Wedge Antilles officially begins operating Rogue Squadron as Rogue Leader. Luke retains his call sign number from Red Squadron as Rogue Five. (While this is at odds with Luke’s leadership of the Rogues in the Rogue Squadron game, it does make sense as Wedge is the senior officer.)
-The Essential Guide to Warfare states that following the Battle of Yavin, Red Squadron was reconstituted as a pair of flights under Commander Narra, Renegade and Rogue, with Rogue Flight being put under Luke’s command with Wedge as his second in command. The Rogues wouldn’t be a fully fledged squadron until after the Battle of Derra IV. (All this is consistent with the Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama.)
-Presumably this early incarnation of Rogue Squadron is before Narra (previously seen commanding Red Squadron in Rebel Force #4) takes charge and reverses Luke and Wedge’s roles.
-Still, most sources in this era (such as Star Wars Missions and, y’know, the Rogue Squadron video game) call the Rogues a squadron rather than a flight.
-It’ll also be awhile before the Red designation is retired entirely as per Wedge’s wishes in Star Wood #10, since we'll later see Narra and Luke flying as Red Squadron in Empire #26, set 7 months ABY.
-Given that Rogue Squadron here is an evolution of the top-secret Stealth Squadron, we can assume that the classified nature of their early missions left the Rogue’s early days unclear for future historians.
-The Rebels have been on Arrochar for about a week.
-In Star Wars #18, the fleet goes into hiding for a few weeks.
-The entire comic run of Star Wood from #1-18 is more-or-less continuous and takes about 22-25 days. If we were counting days (which again, one has to assume isn’t completely accurate), this would account for the bulk of the third month after Yavin.

THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL: THE FAITHFUL WOOKIEE

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-The title for this cartoon is now all over the internet; apparently this was George Lucas’ title for the segment. It does not appear anywhere in the special itself but it’s better than just calling it “That cartoon from the Holiday Special”.
-Boba Fett meets Luke for the first time here.
-Given that this was originally presented as an in-universe cartoon, it would be tempting to assume that it’s an entirely fictional narrative within the EU, especially since Classic Star Wars #9 presents an alternate version of Luke’s first encounter with Boba Fett.
-However, both editions of the Essential Guide to Characters, the old starwars.com databank, and several other sources not only reference this cartoon, but many details from it.
-We’re left to assume that this is not only an in-universe cartoon, but one closely based on real events.
-Perhaps Artoo and Threepio provided the audio files from their own memory. This would speed the apparently quick production time on this story. (See below.)
-Yes, this would mean that you technically need to watch it twice to fully experience the era, but you could probably close your eyes during this viewing.
-The original Essential Guide to Characters puts both this cartoon and the Holiday Special proper "Shortly after the Battle of Yavin." Obviously the cartoon has to occur first.
-The New Essential Guide to Characters puts this story "Following the Rebel Alliance's evacuation from Yavin." Technically this is correct on this timeline with the early evacuation in Star Wars 3-D #2, but probably not what the Guide intended. (See the Holiday Special entry below for notes on why I placed it this early.)
-Fett has been hired by Vader to befriend the Rebels in order to learn the location of their base in this story. The New Essential Guide to Characters also adds that Boba was intending to capture Luke specifically for Vader, so this story must take place after Vader's Quest #1.
-This doesn’t seem to leave a lot of time for both the events of this cartoon to take place and for someone to make a cartoon out of it. This cartoon took 3 to 4 months to make in real life; on the other hand, nowadays something like an episode of South Park can be made in four days. I'm assuming the advanced technology in the GFFA leans more toward the latter timeframe.
-The asteroid base the Alliance is using here has never been placed. There appears to be an off-screen hyperspace jump between the Falcon firing at Luke and their arrival in the Panna system, since Luke has to check his location.
-I’d like to think that this base is in the Sil’Lume asteroid field that Luke scouted back in Jedi’s Honor, though the Essential Atlas places the Sil’Lume system in the Outer Rim near Mustafar, way across the galaxy from Panna, in the Tion Cluster.
-Another possibility may be the Kashyyyk system itself; Renegade Squadron establishes an asteroid base used by the Alliance here, and it would explain Vader's presence in The Holiday Special.
-After being ordered to let the Rebels take him to their new base, Fett says to Vader "This time we'll get them all!" I like to think this is a reference to the unseen events following The Force Unleashed II, where it was implied that Boba Fett rescued Darth Vader from the Alliance (while the main Alliance leaders obviously escaped unharmed,) and/or Star Tours II, where Boba Fett loses a vital Rebel spy near Geonosis.
-Han Solo doesn't appear to recognize Fett in this story, since he appears here as a new character. The Essential Guide to Characters reconciles this odd behavior with Fett’s established notoriety as a bounty hunter (and previous encounters with Han) by stating that Han was still groggy from the sleeping virus.
-Han does indeed appear to be under the influence right up until the end of the cartoon. They never should have let him fly.
-Presumably Chewie put heavy Wookiee air quotes around the word "friend" when describing Boba Fett.

SWW #104-106: WEAPONS MASTER

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-This story, in which Leia reveals the tale behind her weapons training, must take place after Star Wars #26, in which Luke remarks that she's never told him the story.
-I’m placing this adventure between the two Holiday Special storylines to give the Rebels/Wookiees/Nelvaanians/Paxi Sylo time to finish the cartoon we see in the Holiday Special.

THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-According to the Sunday comic strip The Kashyyyk Depths, the Wookiee holiday Life Day, seen for the first time here, only occurs once every three years.
-The original Essential Guide to Characters accordingly placed the events of The Holiday Special and The Kashyyyk Depths, two distinctly different adventures both taking place on a Life Day, three years apart.
-The Holiday Special was placed just after the Battle of Yavin, and The Kashyyyk Depths just before the Battle of Hoth.
-The Essential Atlas placed the events of ANH at 35:3:3, and TESB at 38:6:6.
-The events of the cartoon (see notes above) must take place after Vader’s Quest #1 at around two months after Yavin, so the Holiday Special must take place around three months after Yavin to allow for the three years, three month window between 35:3 and 38:6.
-I think this should actually be consistent with Rebel Dawn, which mentioned a previous Life Day occuring 1 year before the book’s 2 BBY setting.
-Leland Chee put the Holiday Special around 1.5 ABY in answer to a question posed by Lit’s own expert timeliner Mavrick889, which Wookieepedia has adopted. (The starwars.com blog entry “The Star Wars Holiday Special Cantina: Who’s Who” also assumes ANH and the Special take place 1 year apart.)
-The original exchange: ”Tasty [Leland], officially, how often does Life Day occur? I've always thought it was every three years, and there's a reference in Rebel Dawn (near the beginning -- set, according to the Essential Chronology, 2.5 years BBY) that the last Life Day had occured [sic] 'about a standard year earlier.' If this is so, does that mean the only Life Day to occur while Han was with the Rebel Alliance occurred 2.5 years ABY?”
“Wookiee Life Day occurs every 3 years, one of which fell at ~1.5 ABY.”
“So -- Tasty, would this mean that Rebel Dawn starts 3.5 years BBY? Where do you have it starting on your timeline?”
“I've got RD at 2 BBY”
-I’m having a hard time following this. If Rebel Dawn takes place in 2 BBY, one would assume that the previous life day was in 3 BBY and the next Life Day would be in the same year as ANH. Possibly the confusion stems from the fact that the Life Day referenced doesn’t actually occur in Rebel Dawn, or that someone is assuming that ANH takes place in 1 ABY. Possibly I’m just crazy from watching the Holiday Special more than four times in my life.
-Stir, whip, stir, whip, whip, whip stir.
-In any case, given the more recent Essential Atlas dates for the films, the original placement from the Essential Guide to Characters, and a closer reading of the Kashyyyk Depths Sunday comic arc, I’m inclined to place it here.
-Luke and Leia are already familiar with Chewbacca’s family in this special. According to TF.N’s dearly-missed Timetales chronology, the “Behind the Magic” CD-ROM contained a statement by George Lucas from 1978 that the Rebels held a special ceremony on Kashyyyk to honor Chewbacca for his actions in the Battle of Yavin. This was where Luke and Leia met Chewie’s family. The most convenient time for this event to take place in this reading order would be between Marvel #15 and #16, when Jimm the Starkiller Kid is getting married. (Leia may have already been acquainted with Chewie’s family during her time on Kashyyyk in The Force Unleashed II; she’ll call Attichitcuk an “old friend” in her Galactic Battlegrounds campaign set several months later.)
-Chewie and Han appear to be leaving Tatooine (through the magic of stock footage) as the story opens. It’s very likely that this is meant to be another planet (Yavin stands in for Kashyyyyk later in the program), but this could be related to Han’s activities there in Galaxies or the Rebellion’s interest in Tatooine in Rogue Squadron and The Mystery of the Rebellious Robot.
-The Empire institutes similar lockdowns and curfews on both Kashyyyk and Tatooine during the course of the special, also indicating some kind of connection.
-That being said, Saun Dann seems to say through code to Malla that Chewbacca is “four planets away”, so this may be intended to be somewhere in the Kashyyyk system--one of the moons of Shurr?
-Han loses control of the “remote cannons” during a dogfight with TIE Fighters and has to man the turret himself. This system will be replaced with a fully automated turret system in Star Wars #19.

VADER’S QUEST #2-4

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-Star Wars #19 seems to indicate that the Falcon has been grounded for two weeks, so I’m putting the rest of Vader’s Quest here to fill time.
-On viewing a holo of the Princess Syayna, Luke says “I’ve seen more hologram Princesses in the last month than ever before!” This was probably intended to place the story no more than one month after the Battle of Yavin, but this was changed to two months after in the Early Victories omnibus. The events of Star Wood necessitate these issues being moved another month or so up the timeline.
-This works since it’s not out of the question that Jal has been on Dubrava for a month, and that it took Mala a month to reach Coruscant.
-Vader and Palpatine have yet another meeting that is intended to be their first after the Battle of Yavin. Palpatine’s line “I thought you were lost…” could be reinterpreted to refer to Vader’s rogue actions in Star Wood #13-14.
-Vader's reference to a Death Star report can also be interpreted as a summary of his failures, which Palpatine had ordered him to meditate on in the weeks before Star Wood #1.
-Vader and Luke come face-to-face for the first time since Vader learned about Luke’s identity.
-Vader demands that the Jazbinains hand over Skywalker while Luke is present, and Luke offers himself up to save them. Luke is now aware that Vader knows who he is (even though he is blinded at this time.) This is the main impetus for moving these issues this far down the timeline.
-Palpatine is preparing to meet Vader again as the story concludes. He says that Vader will “offer another bit of his flesh”, referencing the assertion by Mara Jade in the Thrawn trilogy that Vader’s hand was cut off by Palpatine in punishment for his failure at the Death Star. Given Attack of the Clones, we’d probably now assume Palpatine made a somewhat higher cut.
-Palpatine is now aware that Luke Skywalker is the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, though he will feign ignorance of this fact.
-Palpatine’s closing monologue pretty much admits that he’s toying with Vader, which is one of the reasons why I’m okay with moving their previous meeting this far down the timeline.

STAR WARS #19-20: A SHATTERED HOPE

Spoiler: Timeline Notes

-IG-88 is on Lotho Minor in pursuit of Serena Song. Luke has not encountered IG-88 before.
-Han grumbles that the Millennium Falcon’s repair requisition “has been on hold for weeks”, possibly indicating that the Falcon has been grounded for that long. Luke later says he has Leia to thank for getting her flying again, putting this story weeks after Star Wars #18 (and the Holiday Special adventures.)
-Han also mentions that he and Leia haven’t been on good terms since Arrochar, in Star Wars #18.
-Han hints that the last rescue mission they went on was to the Death Star detention area in ANH. There have probably been lots of other rescue missions in the preceding stories, such as the events of Scoundrel’s Luck. (Possibly Han means rescue missions they all went on together, or he's just being sarcastic.)
-Leia authorizes Han to pull supplies for a ten day mission, though it’s possible the events of this story don’t take that long.
-It occurs to Leia for the first time in this story that she won’t have many opportunities to reconnect with childhood friends, possibly putting this before her reunion with Darlen in Star Wars Kids: Imperial Spy.
-Mon Mothma has upgraded the Falcon with a fully automated turret system, slaved to the navigational array. (This may have replaced the remote system Han lost in the Holiday Special.)

Back next month with Month 4, hopefully.

 

I find the whole scheme laudable, so far. That said, it must be borne in mind that Brian Wood never intended his mini series to be compatible with prior post Yavin storylines, about the rebels on the run. I prefer in many ways to use a sort of broad strokes appeal, for at least some of it, in that regard.
Also, is there any way a time jump of months could be inserted into Wood's stories, in the period post Bridger's defection, and the initial arc or two?

 

The best thing you can do with Wood's comic is, honestly, to throw it out. It deliberately doesn't mesh with anything else, it came in at the very end of the EU so nothing ever did reference it, and because the old EU is now closed nothing will ever reference it; there's no particular need to integrate it or reason to hold on to it. I haven't pulled it off my own shelves, with my completionist instincts, but the cleanest integration would be to just not integrate it.

It helps that it's a spectacularly terrible comic.

 

I don't think so. There are some gaps in time here and there that could accommodate some very specific stories, when Leia's recovering or off on solo scouting missions, but nothing longer than a week or two at most. I didn't find it advantageous to break up the Wood arcs too much because the later issues show the formation of Rogue Squadron, which is a factor in the Missions books and the video game, so that limits the amount of time it would be desirable to have the Wood series cover anyway.

Honestly, once you accept that the Rebels left Yavin at two-almost-three-months ABY, it's really not that bad to just bite the bullet and let the whole Wood arc play out all at once, more or less. It also helps legitimize Star Wars 3-D to some degree. (And an early evacuation is something this part of the timeline has had to work its way around for years, whether it's Star Wood, Star Wars Kids, Rebel Strike, or Star Wars 3-D.)

I'm standing on the shoulders of giants here, though. Mavrick, Quest, Nightowl, Butler, and Bongiorno, plus all those folks who took the time to put up videogame walkthroughs and cutscenes, and those who made a bunch of older RPG material available to me.

I have a little higher opinion of the comic, but it certainly doesn't do itself any favors by ignoring the other stories set in the immediate time period. (It did go to the trouble to reference things like the radio drama and the Tales comics, oddly enough.) It seems that every time someone tries to go back and make a clean slate of this time period, they just end up retreading stories that were already written anyway.

I can't say its the worst offender in terms of meshing with other sources--the biggest headache remains the Star Wars Missions/Kids continuity, which tries to tie into the Classic Star Wars series while at the same time managing to wildly contradict both those comics and itself. But if it's cleanliness you're looking for, this isn't the timeline for it--I'm such a completest that I'm going to go back and reshuffle just a bit to fit in some even more-apocryphal-to-the-EU stories.

But I think the benefit of this reading order is that you can pick and choose what you want to read on it and it will still make as much sense as it possibly can.

TC