San Diego Comic-Con News:  At the SDCC IDW Publishing announced the October launch of a five-issue, weekly horror-tinged Star Wars kids comic, Star Wars Adventures: Tales From Vader’s Castle.  This all-ages series, which Cavan Scott is writing, will explore the creepiest corners of the Star Wars universe and feature fan favorite Star Wars character such as Hera, Canan, and Chopper (from Star Wars: Rebels), Obi-Wan Kenobi, Count Dooku, Han Solo, and Chewbacca.

Eisner Award-winner Francesco Francavilla will provide the covers for all five issues, while Derek Charm will provide the art along with guest artists Kelley Jones, Chris Fenoglio, Corin Howard, Robert Hack, and Charles Paul Wilson III as the Halloween-celebrating October weekly series spins scary stories from the Star Wars universe.

IDW announced its Star Wars Kids comics line back in April (see “IDW to Produce Star Wars Kids Comics”), and just this week IDW announced a deal with Marvel to create a kid-friendly line of comics featuring Marvel characters (see “Marvel & IDW Partner on Middle Grades Line”).  Sales of graphic novels for young readers was one of the few growth areas in the comic market in 2017 (see “Comics and Graphic Novel Sales Down 6.5% in 2017”).