Club Jade

As first reported the other day, Spike gave Darth Vader the honor of being named ‘Ultimate Villian’ at the Scream Awards, with George Lucas on hand. The show aired last night, so here’s the clip.

Surprise! George Lucas made an appearance on stage at last night’s Scream Awards, as the Spike show honored Darth Vader as the ‘Ultimate Villian’.

The awards, which also gave the ‘Ultimate Scream’ prize to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and ‘Best Fantasy Actress’ to Natalie Portman for Black Swan, will air on Spike Tuesday, October 18.

NYCC. Mark Hamill and his evil laugh has his own panel at New York Comic-Con on Friday, and Tor.com has the report. Lucas’ new film, Red Tails, also got a panel, and has a new comic-style poster by Joe Kubert as well.

Amanda Lucas. We’re all familiar with her MMA fighting career, and in a new interview she addresses the constant and inevitable Star Wars references. “I hope to do my best on my own and prove I’m not just George’s daughter. I work just as hard as my training partners and I don’t want any special treatment. (But “Star Wars” is) going to get mentioned – it’s nothing I can hide,” she said on The MMA Hour.

Fandom. The 501st Legion’s Canadian Garrison is profiled by The Sudbury Star.

Earlier we announced that Dark Horse Comics had unveiled several new Star Wars titles for 2012 at New York Comic-Con. Now that the official press releases have gone out, here’s some more info about each new story.

• Knights of the Old Republic: War – Zayne Carrick has been drafted in war between Revan and the Republic against the Mandalorians. Starting in January, this story written by John Jackson Miller will continue the adventures from his Knights of the Old Republic series, but Dark Horse assures us that it is also a great entry point into Star Wars comics. Rebelscum.com has a sample page.
• Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison – Haden Blackman returns to write this five issue story about Darth Vader, starting in May. As Vader gets used to his role in serving the Emperor, there’s an assassination plot afoot! Blackman talked with Newsarama about the story involving the Dark Lord of the Sith and Moff Trachta, as well as getting into Vader’s head.
• Blood Ties: Boba Fett is Dead – Tom Taylor describes this new Blood Ties story (coming in April) with: “Boba Fett is dead. The most infamous hunter in the galaxy has been hunted. He’s lying, broken, on the desert floor. He’s more blaster-holes than man. It’s the ultimate ending. However, this is just the start of our story. With the fall of Fett broadcast across the galaxy, someone rises to avenge him. But who would care about the death of a man like Fett? Bounty hunters aren’t exactly known for their enduring, close friendships but even a man like Boba Fett has family… and now a Blood Tie demands blood.”
• Dawn of the Jedi – John Ostrander and Jan Duursema delve into the origins of the Jedi in this brand new series, set 25,000 years before the movies. We’ve already heard a bit about it from interviews, but here’s the official blurb. Issue #0 and Issue #1 (Starting the Force Storm arc) both come out in February.
• Knight Errant: Escape – The next story arc in the adventures of Kerra Holt, one-woman Jedi wrecking crew in Sith space starts up in June for a five-issue run. Although with a title like Escape, I wonder if John Jackson Miller will have Kerra fighting for her life more than fighting to liberate worlds from the Sith warlords.

Looks like we are going to have a very cool 2012 for Star Wars comics!

Star Wars Insider: Issue #127 hits the shelves this week, with Titan Magazines putting an overview online of its 100 pages. The cover article explains why Han Solo is still the man, and other features include a look at the new Star Tours attraction, an interview with Timothy Zahn, a look back at the radio dramas, and an extract from Drew Karpyshyn’s forthcoming The Old Republic: Revan novel.

Meanwhile, Del Rey announced on Facebook that a Darth Vader short story (not written by Haden Blackman) will be coming to an upcoming issue of the Insider.

Riptide: Just as Comic-con was getting going, Del Rey released a third mini excerpt from the upcoming novel Riptide by Paul S. Kemp.

LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace: After being broadcast over this past weekend on Cartoon Network, the animated LEGO Star Wars special will be coming to DVD and Blu-ray on September 16, coinciding with the Star Wars saga Blu-ray release. Also, Scholastic is putting out an adaptation for the kids of the show, sayeth Amazon. Stay tuned for our review of the hilarious adventure.

…So, uh, congratulations, Anaheim?

Pretty sharp dancing for a dude who’s half machine.

It’s May, and as always, Hallmark’s 2011 Dreambook is out. The ornaments were on display at Celebration, but for those of us who weren’t there or somehow completely missed the Hallmark booth, this is the first look.

Come July 16, you can pick up Jedi Master Yoda, Slave I, LEGO Darth Vader and the ever-controversial Showdown at the Cantina, featuring audio from the DVD edition. A fifth ornament, Bossk, will be available during the Keepsake Ornament Premiere.

Other familiar franchises you can deck your trees with this year include Star Trek, Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz, Pirates of the Caribbean, several superheroes and… Twilight.

All these ornaments will be available only in Hallmark stores.

The paperback reprint of the fifth Fate of the Jedi book, Christie Golden’s Allies, will be in bookstores tomorrow. (Be sure to check out Erika’s review when you’re done.) And while you’re buying, keep an eye out for Star Wars Insider #125, which features a brand-new Vestara Khai short story from Golden, ‘First Blood.’

Meanwhile, comic fans will have a few things waiting for them on Wednesday. Both Legacy: War #5 and Darth Vader and the Lost Command #4 made the shipping list.

StarWars.com also lists a few trades that may be making their way to the bookstores… But I wouldn’t count on seeing them in the comic shops until Diamond lists them.

Trauma ward. Dying for all the damage details on everyone’s favorite pan-fried villain? You’re in luck, ’cause Becker & Mayer has announced Darth Vader: A 3-D Surgical Log. Written by Dan Wallace with art by Chris Trevas (who has designed Vader’s underwear) and Chris Reiff, it sounds like it’ll be in the same vein as Millennium Falcon: A 3-D Owner’s Guide.

Actual nonfiction. StarWars.com has a look inside Bonnie Burton’s The Star Wars Craft Book, which is coming out in March.

The blogside. Authors Troy Denning, John Jackson Miller and Joe Schreiber just wrapped up their joint stint on Borders’ Babel Clash blog.

Your moment of zen. A reader over at the romance novel blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books reviews The Courtship of Princess Leia. She is amazingly kind to it.

Darth Vader will be on hand at the Consumer Electronics Show later this week to make a “most impressive announcement.” While my immediate thought was the Blu-Rays or Phantom Menace 3-D, the location – Panasonic’s booth – makes me think it could have something to do with this little tidbit.

UPDATE 01/05: And it’s the Blu-Ray. Oh well!

UPDATE 01/06: The Digital Bits says that the announcement will be an October release date for Star Wars: The Complete Saga – 35th Anniversary Collection. We’ll find out for sure in a few hours. (via)