STAR WARS #40

Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases, tears, or spine stress; the bagged/sleeved presentation limits full assessment of edge wear. Colors appear vibrant with no fading evident in this lighting. Interior and back cover were not assessed. Minor handling wear cannot be ruled out due to the protective sleeve reflecting light in places.

Star Wars #40 is part of the long-running Dark Horse Comics Star Wars ongoing series (volume 1), which chronicled adventures set in the years before and around the prequel trilogy films. This issue, cover-dated October 2001, falls within the 'Darkness' story arc written by John Ostrander with art credited to Jan Duursema, and it carries genuine historical weight within the franchise: it is the first appearance of the Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, a character who would later be adapted into Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and the animated Clone Wars and Rebels series, cementing her as one of the more recognizable Jedi to originate outside the films.

Despite that pedigree, the issue circulates in the market like the rest of its Modern Age direct-market cohort: high print runs, wide distribution to comic shops, and decades of availability have kept demand modest and pricing close to cover. It does not appear with an assigned fair-market value in standard grading data, which is typical for direct-edition Dark Horse Star Wars issues from this period and reflects a large surviving supply rather than any lack of readership interest in the character.

For collectors, this book sits in an unusual position: a legitimate first appearance that has not yet been widely chased at the raw or mid-grade level, making it attainable for readers assembling a run of the Ostrander/Duursema Star Wars stories or building an Aayla Secura character collection. High-grade certified copies see more attention from character-first-appearance collectors than the raw market suggests, but across most grades this remains an accessible back-issue rather than a book that commands strong bidding outside a dedicated slab market.