Club Jade

We haven’t heard much on the comic front since the cancellation of Legacy, but DarkHorse.com has a few hints today:

• John Ostrander has “already begun work on the scripts for the next very top-secret thing.”

• Tom Taylor has proposed “a semi-regular series” based on Blood Ties, aka the Fett comic. However, it “will not be what you expect it to be!” So… Not Fett, then?
• A “well-known” writer has a proposal in for a series that could launch Dark Horse’s twenty-fifth anniversary year. We’ll hear more about it towards the end of July.

Could one of these items be the big news for Celebration. We can only hope.

Oh, and there’s also a peek at the Legacy #50 pencils.

Seems to me that the knee-jerking over the Legacy cancellation was transfered over to the weekend’s cartoon news, but for those still panicking, Dark Horse’s Randy Stradley has come through with a statement. Yes, the book is ending, but…

No door closes without another opening, and to those longtime readers who pointed out that it was not likely that I would end Legacy without having some replacement planned, I thank you for your confidence. Trust me, it will be rewarded.

Well, I’m intrigued.

So sayth the July 2010 comics solicitations. Here’s the summary for the finale:

The galaxy is teetering on the edge of a new future, with everyone fighting for a foothold — not to mention their lives! The galaxy that emerges from this chaotic battle could even end up without a Skywalker to carry the legacy that so many have come to depend on… The final issue! Sith versus Sith! Jedi versus Sith! Imperials versus Sith! Cade Skywalker versus Sith! It’s all-out war!

I’m neither surprised nor particularly heartbroken. Legacy started out strong, and it’s still likely to be the only Dark Horse ongoing series that I actually have enough interest in to read completely, but it feels like it (or rather, one Cade Skywalker) has been stuck in a rut for a good long while. Maybe a big, booming wrap up is just what the comic needs to live up to its early promise.

It does seem odd that the first we hear of this is via the solicitations, though… Particularly considering that writer John Ostrander said in October that Legacy would not be ending with #50.

UPDATE: Ostrander says on the Dark Horse boards: “It was true when I said it. And might still be. . .from a certain point of view.” So hold to this, Legacy fans: The series ending doesn’t necessarily mean that the story will.

Randy Stradley and company are in San Francisco for Wondercon, and naturally Star Wars came up. Randy talked extensively about the next Invasion arc, and had this to say about Legacy:

Stradley noted that the recent issues of “Star Wars: Legacy” have brought readers to the “tipping point” where Cade Skywalker puts aside his life as a bounty hunter to fight the Sith. “In the next few months, you’re going to see how that comes together, and really how his involvement spurs so much that happens in the galaxy. I don’t even want to get into all the stuff that’s going on. But we’ve got a big surprise coming, and if you thought the end of the current issue was a big surprise, then you really haven’t seen anything yet.”

Hrm. I have yet to pick up the new issue, but the series is in dire need of a serious game-changer for Cade. Bring it on!

Diamond’s site was down all day, but the usually trustworthy Midtown Comics isn’t showing any Star Wars releases this week.

Instead, gaze into the future of May and July 2010 comics. Highlights include a very Palpy-looking Luke, Cade continuing his ride in the plot hamster wheel and Poser.

Our first rumor of the new year! Rich Johnston of the comic site Bleeding Cool claims that Lucasfilm, Dark Horse and DC Comics will be “getting into bed for crossovers with epic proportions.” Okay? It certainly seems like Dark Horse has been keeping something under wraps, but that could mean anything… (via)

They’re just not finding an audience, says Randy Stradley. (Shocking!) The bookstore-friendly digests will continue. And this might have changed somewhere along the way, but wasn’t the monthly series supposed to be a limited one anyway?

No books, no comics, just the Obi-centric Star Wars Insider #112. In more forward-looking news (or at least stuff you didn’t read last month,) the official site has December 2009 comic solicitations.

A few things I’ve been micro-blogging @clubjade lately. (300 followers and counting…)

Wowza. Danny Choo discovered Cho Woong’s incredible Star Wars room. I’m not normally a fan of collector chic, but for this guy I’m willing to make an exception.

Lists. Empire Strikes Back comes in at #6 on Empire’s list of the top 50 movie sequels, while Return of the Jedi clocks in at #21. Meanwhile, Star Wars is one of Geek Tyrant’s five films that changed the way people look at sci-fi movies. And Cracked checks out the five strangest post-Star Wars careers.

Tee. The environmentally-correct way to handle those lightsabered droid remains. Also: Hans Solo! (via)

Protip. It’s highly unlikely that Dark Horse was inspired by your fanfic, and saying so is your one-way ticket to a mass mocking.

Get with the now, man! Oh, USA Today. Why are you trying to fan the flames of Prequel vs. Original Trilogy rivalry? Protip: It is no longer 2002. We OT fans can (mostly) roll with it.

Party like it’s 2010. Hey, TFN came back! On the Celebration V note, the rumor mill seems to be favoring Chicago and this pleases me. Midwest represent! No Florida!

Bookstuffs. Check out the cover for The Making of The Empire Strikes Back. And perhaps today someone will enlighten us on this Star Wars: Visions thing. There’s also a panel report on what has to be the most ridiculous visual dictionary so far. And yes, Pablo you are shameless.

New Robot Chicken: Bonus segment from the DVD. Down nerds, down.

Phototacular. StarWars.com and Rebelscum don’t stop snapping.

But wait! It’s a comic con! Dark Horse is bringing select issues of Empire, Legacy and The Clone Wars to the iPhone and will be producing two Star Wars one-shots.

Nerd-spotting. Great White Snark has a Day 1 costume gallery.

Facepalm. Fans say Avatar will be as game-changing as Star Wars. Please stop feeding James Cameron’s ego. Don’t you remember what happened after Titanic?