If you’re a Star Wars fan, then this news is for you. Dark Horse has just announced a new way to feed your Star Wars needs. Writer John Jackson Miller (Mass Effect: Redemption, Knights Of The Old Republic) will be writing a new tale of Star Wars called Star Wars: Knight Errant first as an ongoing comic series, and then as a novel to be published by Del Ray Books. The novel will be set in the same era and feature the same characters but following them in an all-new adventure.

Knight Errant will introduce us to Kerra Holt, a young Jedi who’s about to realize that her role in the galaxy is far more important, and vastly different than she could have ever imagined. The series and novel will be set one thousand years before Episode I, in the “Dark Age of the Republic.” According to Dark Horse, this pivotal time in the history of Star Wars has been largely unexplored, until now.

Miller, in particular, is very excited to be taking on this new Star Wars project:

“There’s such wonderful chaos going on in the galaxy in this period,” said writer John Jackson Miller. “More than a generation before Darth Bane introduced the Rule of Two, Sith Lords are colliding not just with the Republic, but with each other. Kerra’s going to find that good intentions just may not be enough in a galaxy gone mad! This is a wide-open area to explore, and I’m thrilled that Dark Horse and Del Rey have given me this opportunity to do so.”

“With John writing both the comics and the novel, Knight Errant will be a Star Wars story on a scale we’ve never undertaken before,” said comic-series editor Dave Marshall. “This will be a first-of-its-kind opportunity to introduce the Expanded Universe of the Dark Horse comics to the fans of the Del Rey novels and vice versa!”

The Star Wars: Knight Errant comic hits stores later this year with the novel coming out early in 2011.

Cult movie legend Bruce Campbell has been in and out of the limelight about a dozen times since his indie debut in Sam Raimi’s 1981 classic, Evil Dead. Since then, he’s been attached to most of Raimi’s other projects, from Spider-Man to Hercules and Xena. Back in 2007, Campbell decided to branch off a bit and spoof himself in the film My Name is Bruce.

The film was enough of a hit with fans that Bruce says they’re going back for a sequel.

In the film, Campbell plays an exaggerated version of himself, when a local town is tormented by an ancient demon, they figure to call the guy who’s fought them over and over again in movies. The movie carries some of Raimi’s horror/comedy formula, while pumping out some great moments. According to a recent e-mail to Ain’t It Cool News, Campbell is ready for a second go.

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300, one of the biggest hits of 2007, directed by Zack Snyder and based off the comic book mini-series by Frank Miller (The Spirit, Sin City the movie and comic series), is now supposedly getting a prequel. For the prequel, the story is set in time to see the battle of Marathon – which took place ten years before the events of 300.

During the battle, Xerxes’ father, Darius I, battled the Athenians. I believe this is passingly mentioned in a mocking tone in 300, when Leonidas denies acquiescing to Xerxes’ messengers, before kicking them down a giant hole in the middle of town.

Miller, who will again be writing and drawing the comic series before it’s taken to the big screen, has said to the LA Times, “It’s the Battle of Marathon through my lens” and that he’s just about ready to begin. Of course, the interesting thing about 300, and some might say the frightening thing about this new story; is the level of fact and stylization Miller had put into his original story.

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The upcoming film Solomon Kane can’t seem to catch a break. Casting allegedly began back in 2001, when it was announced Christopher Lambert (Highlander) would be taking on the Pulp role. That version eventually died out, and the project went on the shelf for several years.

Later, in 2007, it was announced that James Purefoy (Rome) would take on the titular role, with British director Michael Bassett handling the directing duties. Principal photography began in early 2008, and the film wrapped nearly a year later. The film has been completed for quite some time, but has yet to find a US distributor, which means we may never get to actually see it in theaters.

With that said, other countries are still planning on a late December/early January release date, and with that comes some great marketing and clips from the film. After the jump, check out the brand new “Hall of Mirrors” sequence, which shows that the film will have just as much suspense as it will action.

We’ll be sure to bring you more news on a US release of Solomon Kane as it comes to us.

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When it comes to the Terminator mythology, I often wonder if the War Against the Machines is best left unexplored. I mean, let’s be honest — it’s the glimpses of grilled rats and a desperate humanity that made it so frightening. Once Terminator: Salvation and Fox’s The Sarah Connor Chronicles spent a lot of time in the Can’t-Really-Be-Changed future, it became rather boring.

However, I think if you’re going to explore that bleak future, a Dark Horse series is the place to do it.  As you may have heard already, Zack Whedon has been given the enviable task of penning a new series that will explore the life and times of Kyle Reese. Before Reese was sent to 1984 to save Sarah Connor and inadvertently fathered John, he was just your average soldier. Whedon’s six issue series aims to bring him to life, and describe just what it’s like to live under the robotic regime.

Whedon is joined by some top-notch artists. The new “Terminator” series will be drawn by Andy MacDonald, who you’ll recognize from NYC Mech, Punisher War Journal. If you’ve read NYC Mech, you should be pretty excited as he’s really the man for Skynet’s rubble. But if you prefer to judge a comic book by its cover, you’ll undoubtedly be pulling these, as the covers will be done by Y: The Last Man’s Massimo Carnevale

The first issue will be on shelves by March 2010. Even though my interest in the Terminator franchise has really cooled, I’d be interested in picking this up.  2 hours of raging against the machines and scrounging for food is a bit much, but 6 issues strung over a period of months? That’s a dystopia I can invest in.

Do you love Star Wars? Of course you do. Comics? Check. How about the iPhone? Copy that. Well, if you’re actually a fan, reader and avid user of these three things then today is truly your lucky day. Why?

Well, its simple really. Dark Horse Comics, in partnership with Lucasfilm and THQ Wireless, has just announced that they will release Star Wars comics to the iPhone for the first time ever. Excited? You should be. It’s pretty darn cool.

Here’s all the info from the official Dark Horse Comics press release:

In a partnership that will echo through the cosmos, Lucasfilm, THQ Wireless, and Dark Horse Comics will release Star Wars™ comics to the iPhone mobile platform for the first time ever!

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For yesterday’s The Pull List, go here.

Absolution #1 – Avatar – $3.99

Score: 8.0

Back in early July, we had the chance to talk to Christos Gage about his creator owned property, Absolution, from Avatar Press. The interview can be read here.  This week, Absolution came to stores and delivered what people were hoping for from the title. Absolution takes a different approach to the superhero genre. Unlike Garth Ennis’ edgy work on The Boys which has superheroes as corrupt drug addicted sexual perverts, Gage reinvents the wheel as he poses the question about what could cause a hero to snap.

Unlike the “heroes” of The Boys, Gage’s hero John Dusk is actually a good person. He uses his powers to save the lives of innocents and defeat bad guys. There is no corporate backing or monetary gain for John by doing it. He is the equivalent of a super powered beat cop. And like some cops who have been on Special Victims Units or the homicide for too long, Absolution explores what it takes to break a man.

The issue begins with John Dusk, the spandex wearing hero seen on the cover of the issue, as he fights White Power, a superpowered white supremacist. John’s powers can be compared to a toned down version of the Green Lantern or the Invisible Woman as he controls his aura around him that allows him to make crude objects with it that can be used both offensively and defensively. When things take a turn for the worst in the fight, John must use lethal force to stop his assailant. Even knowing the criminal is a rapist and murder, John still tries to keep him from dying until he sees two of White Powers captives, causing him to make a decision he can never step back from.

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On Thursday, I had the privilege of sitting down and speaking with Scott Allie, Senior Managing Editor of Dark Horse Comics. The full interview with details on Buffy, the Umbrella Academy and other Dark Horse comics will be up this week, but here are two exclusive insights Scott gave us here at The Flickcast that won’t be announced until today’s Dark Horse panel at Comic-Con in San Diego.

In December, the Buffy comic will take a month break from the main story arc to allow for a Willow one-shot issue. The issue will focus on Willow pre-season eight and on her power greatly increased from the end of the television show and the start of the comic run. During that time span Willow became intimately involved with a snakewoman and that relationship will be intimately explored in the issue. The issue will be written by Buffy creator Joss Weadon, drawn by Fray artist Carl Meline and feature one cover from Jo Chen.

Dark Horse is also announcing today that they will be doing a series of exclusive graphic novels with Janet Evanovich, one of the best selling authors in America with a focus on girl / woman adventures. She will be working with Dark Horse to bring some of her own previously established characters in to their own comic series. The character Dark Horse will be dealing with is Alexander Barnaby, the heroine from Motor Mouth and Metrogirl.

Janet is known for taking young, identifiable female characters who aren’t meant to be detectives and putting them in that role. “The kind of stories she does is what works in a lot of Manga stuff.” Using this, Dark Horse hopes to help bring in the young women who gravitate towards Manga in to the American comics world.

Captain America Reborn #1 – Marvel – $3.99

Score: 6.5

This review doesn’t have to do with the fact that Marvel is bringing back Steve Rogers, something many people are opposed to. Instead, it is based on the merits of the issue itself and how well the story inside is told, even if the central idea isn’t a popular one. The issue starts off with Steve Rogers giving a quick speech as he and the other soldiers get ready to storm Normandy on June 6th, 1944. D-Day. It flashes back to the present where Bucky-Cap and the Black Widow storm one of the H.A.M.M.E.R. helicarriers.

At the same time as Bucky and the Black Widow make their way through hordes of H.A.M.M.E.R. agents, the Vision, the Falcon and Sharon Carter, the woman who shot the fatal point blank bullets in to Steve Rogers, go talk to Henry Pym where Sharon admits her involvement in Steve’s death while under the control of the Red Skull and Armin Zola. She then begins to tell the details of that day that make her believe that Steve Rogers still might be able to be brought back. Back on the helicarrier, Bucky and the Black Widow search for an item that played a part in that fateful day one year ago when Steve was killed, only to be intercepted by Ares and Venom of Norman Osborn’s Avengers team.

And, as expected, an explanation of what just happened to Steve Rogers on that very day is explained in full, playing off the events of Captain America #600 and filling in the details that were left unspoken until now after Sharon began to remember all of the events of that day. Unfortunately, unlike Captain America #600, there were no creepily sexual cameos from the disturbed Crossbone and Sinn couple.

The issue itself feels very lean. Like even though there are supposed to be some big reveal moments, the idea that Steve is coming back isn’t a brand new idea in the minds of the reader and the events of Captain America #600 have shown the seeds of how it could happen. The pages with Sharon, Falcon, Vision and Hank Pym talking are pretty boring because of this as it is almost entirely old information and the new information doesn’t prove to be impactful enough to back it up. Norman Osborn, along with a “secret guest”, have a quick appearance that has much of the same lackluster effect.

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Despite the epic amount of press behind it (sarcasm), my local comic shop did not order any of Dark Horse’s miniseries Werewolves on the Moon versus Vampires. Just the name alone filled me with shock and terror as to what might be on the comic page should I one day be able to find this issue somewhere. As soon as I do get my hands on it though, you better believe it will make its way into a future back issue edition of The Pull List.

Until then, here’s this week’s The Pull List.

Pull of the Week:

Dark Avengers #5 – Marvel – $3.99

Score: 9.0

The first book to receive a second “Pull of the Week” accolade, Dark Avengers #5 focuses on just how cool it is to be a bad guy. Told through flashbacks taking place hours before a news interview, this issue does its best to introduce pieces of personality to almost all the members of the Osborn backed Avengers team. At the same time, Norman Osborn publicly responds to Clint Barton calling him out publicly as the former murder, the Green Goblin.

The final pages of the issue reveal that all might not be going as planned for the members of the Cabal as Norman must assemble his team of Avengers again for the next issue. Sadly, as it seems with many books that Bendis writes, if he doesn’t care about a character they don’t get much representation in his book. Daken, though seen gets a very limited role in the issue much like Mockingbird has since her return in the pages of the New Avengers.

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