PARKERSBURG — Want to know when Darth Vader found out Luke Skywalker was his son? Or how Captain Phasma escaped the trash chute on the now-exploded Starkiller base?

There’s a comic book for that.

Even with Disney apparently set to release at least one new “Star Wars” movie a year and “Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” debuting tonight with a two-and-a-half-hour running time, there are a lot more stories to be told a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away than can fit on the big screen.

Marvel published the first “Star Wars” comics after the original film came out in 1977. Dark Horse Comics held the license for years before the property came back to Marvel, which is now, like Lucasfilm, owned by Disney.

Prior to the release of “Episode VII” two years ago, Marvel launched a new “Star Wars” title focusing on Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C3PO. Written by Jason Aaron, it shows the heroes of the Rebellion continuing to clash with the Empire following the destruction of the first Death Star, running afoul of a Hutt that collects Jedi relics and trying to stop an elite Stormtrooper unit from stealing back the Imperial Star Destroyer our heroes hijacked, among other adventures.

Interspersed among these tales are issues focusing on Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life on Tatooine, watching over young Luke Skywalker from afar and sometimes having to step in when the youth is endangered — much to the dismay of Uncle Owen, who wants to keep his nephew safe and away from the stars.

An ongoing “Darth Vader” series by Kieron Gillen shows the Sith lord’s search to uncover the identity of the young pilot who took down the Empire’s greatest weapon, including returning to his home planet. And, for those who questioned why Kenobi would put Luke on Tatooine in the first place, there’s even a line where Vader muses “Hiding the boy in the one place I would never return was cunning.”

The Vader series provided the title character with his own inner circle, a group that’s sort of a warped mirror of the movies’ heroes. There’s Dr. Aphra, a resourceful archaeologist who runs secret missions for Vader; Triple-Zero, a protocol droid who specializes in torture in addition to etiquette and translation; BT-1, a heavily armed droid looking like a simple Artoo unit; and Black Krrsantan, a brutal Wookie bounty hunter.

Aphra became a fan favorite, eventually earning her own series. Among her work for Vader was confirming that his wife did in fact give birth before her passing. This and other sequences serve to strengthen ties between the original films and the prequels.

Other comics glimpse “Star Wars” eras from the prequels with a “Darth Maul” limited series to “Rogue One,” with an adaptation that expands on the film.

But the comics don’t live in the past.

Poe Dameron has his own ongoing series that shows his work for Leia and the Resistance prior to his movie debut. He and his hand-picked Black Squadron are charged with tracking down a mysterious figure who might be the only person who can locate Luke Skywalker (the subject of a galactic search in “The Force Awakens,” of course).

Captain Phasma, who fulfilled the Boba Fett role in “Force Awakens” of looking cool and getting a lot of hype without actually doing much, is the subject of a novel and a limited series, the latter explaining why she didn’t go boom with the rest of the First Order’s weapon/base.

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Recommended Reading

* “Darth Vader: Vader” — Following “A New Hope,” Darth Vader carries out the Emperor’s orders and his own plans, while fending off rivals for his power. Includes the first appearance of Dr. Aphra, Triple-Zero and BT-1.

* “Vader Down” — The Rebels go all out when they get a shot to take down Darth Vader once and for all. But in who has the advantage, even if it is Vader alone against hundreds of Alliance soldiers and pilots?

* “Poe Dameron: Black Squadron” — The Resistance’s top pilot and a hand-picked team search for Luke Skywalker, a quest that takes them to a hidden sacred site and a maximum security prison.