Mara Jade Skywalker is Hasbro’s 2011 Fan Choice. Yay?

Toy Fair is going on this weekend, and according to multiple reports, Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker was voted the Fan Choice figure. (You might remember the contest from last fall.) Unfortunately for those of us hoping to finally get a Mara figure without that blasted catsuit…

Yeah. That artwork. (Again?) Sigh. I’m not hearing anything about a a prototype yet, but as always, we’ll have an eye out for updates.

The other Star Wars talker of Toy Fair? A Jar Jar in Carbonite figure will be a SDCC 2012 exclusive. Teehee.

UPDATED! StarWars.com has posted photos of Hasbro’s Toy Fair offerings, and sure enough, there’s no sign of Mara. (Though there is some nice Clone Wars stuff, if that’s your thing.) Needless to say, we’ll be watching Hasbro’s presentations through summer con season with great interest.

Japanese-style Jaina Solo figure coming from Kotobukiya

Licensee Kotobukiya will be releasing a Jaina Solo Bishoujo statue, it seems. (More proof? Heard about it from @StarWars.) While I’m happy see an Expanded Universe character get some non-Hasbro love (and George knows that’s sparing enough,) I’m not really sure what to think of the whole Bishoujo thing, other than to be grateful she’s not flashing her panties.

Speaking of non-Hasbro EU love, did anyone hear anything about that Mara figure Sideshow has said is in the pipeline? Anything? Bueller?

Toy Fair: Want EU toys? It’s not a total loss this year

Toy Fair has begun in New York, and Hasbro has revealed their plans for the coming year. There’s plenty of Clone Wars stuff, including Ahsoka in her new outfit, plus a new line of lightsabers. And while the comic packs may be gone, Expanded Universe action figures are still popping up. Most notably, a Nom Anor in June (That’s him up top, plus his card) and a Bastila Shan coming in April, both in the Vintage Collection.

I suppose the Quinlan Vos/Barriss Offee Galactic Heroes twin-pack counts as well, too. Perhaps most odd, however: Two Disney Exclusive Star Tours packs. You can check them all out at StarWars.com.

SDCC: Saturday (and some Friday) roundup

Someone got stabbed with a pen in Hall H this evening; There’s a report from San Diego’s NBC affiliate and Comic Book Resources and Entertainment Weekly are on the case. (Harrison Ford is not a suspect.) The rumors have been flying over Twitter, including allegations that seat-squatting (a common practice) was a factor.

EUbits: Inside The Making of The Empire Strikes Back

Nonfiction StarWars.com offers up a peek at J.W. Rinzler’s The Making of The Empire Strikes Back. The book’s release was recently pushed back to October, but there’s little doubt that it will be worth the wait.

Street date shuffle. On that note, our book release schedule has been updated. The most notable change: A double shot of Fate of the Jedi paperbacks as Omen and Abyss are moved up to spring.

Podcastery. Star Wars Action News talked to Paul S. Kemp earlier in the month, while the ForceCast caught up with John Jackson Miller at C2E2.

The blogside. Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff on the end game and the last period.

Morsel. Sue Rostoni says that Joe Schreiber’s Black Orchid is getting a new title because some people thought it sounded like a romance novel. Personally I think old school Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean

Toys. Rebelscum reports that the Legacy Collection’s Expanded Universe action figures (the wave that includes Jacen and Jaina) have begun showing up at Toys “R” Us stores.

Hasbro discontinuing Comic Packs

Sales haven’t been good for one of the few sources for Expanded Universe action figures, so the line won’t continue in regular stores through the Spring. Here’s what Hasbro said in a Q&A last month:

We can confirm that the Comic Packs will be discontinued after Spring 2010 (meaning no packs for Fall 2010). The Wal-Mart exclusive Comic Pack program has been cancelled after the last ones ship this Fall. Wave 3, including the pack with Tholme and T’ra Saa, will now be on shelf approximately March in the U.S. along with the rest of the Fall Comic Packs shown at Comic Con. This schedule should hold unless there are further delays. The Spring 2010 Wave 1 packs shown at Comic Con, including the Darth Nihl & Deliah Blue pack, may not make it out at all based on the current rate of sale, but we remain hopeful. The Camie/Fixer pack will be a convention exclusive next year.

This doesn’t bode well for EU figures, though it doesn’t effect the Jacen and Jaina figures (they’re part of Legacy Collection, an entirely different line.)

EUbits: Lightsaber scarf, Schreiber, Bohnoff and comics

Crafting corner. There are two Mara Jade items in this roundup, and here’s the first one. Rebecca aka Sorakirei, whose first lightsaber scarf we featured earlier in the month, has another made another one. The Mara Jade lightsaber scarf was a commission – could it be from one of our readers? It’s a big internet… She’s also done a ROTJ Luke saber since we last looked…

The Blogside: Joe Schreiber on haunted houses and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff on musical parody.

Action figures: A closer look at Jacen and Jaina.

Previews: Legacy #40, Knights of the Old Republic #46 and Invasion #4, which gives us our first look at (a fairly generic and perhaps Renaissance-Fair attending) Mara.

Lists: Topless Robot has a very Marvel-heavy list of the eleven least necessary Star Wars comics. Yes, its another one of those lists that was probably compiled by hitting the random button on the Wookieepedia, but I’m considering doing a novel version. (Since I’ve actually, like, read a lot of them. Imagine that. The New Rebellion, are your ears stinging yet?)

SDCC ’09 roundup: Star Wars Day in the afternoon

Fine, I cave: I’ll be updating this throughout the afternoon/evening, at least until the Spectacular… Unless something huge breaks!

The sun says hello. Afternoon for me, anyway: All this was morning for California, and you can tell because StarWars.com has snapshots from the Fan Club Breakfast, and more from TFN. (5:20e)

Jacen and Jaina Solo figures coming to Hasbro's Droid factory in 2010!All the wonderful toys. They also have Hasbro’s presentation. The Comic Packs are mostly things we’ve already seen, but I think the Exar Kun and Ulic Qel Droma are new. Walmart is getting an exclusive Corran Horn/Whistler and Rouge Squadron #1 two-pack (Dllr Nep and Plourr Ilo?) while Target will have a Wedge with X-Wing.

But the biggest news in here for us is that they’re adding Jacen and Jaina Solo to the Droid Factory line in 2010! Meanwhile, future Comic Packs will include Legacy’s Delia Blue/Darth Nihl and KOTOR’s Jarael/Rohlan Dyre. (5:20e)

Something something in 3-D. EU Cantina was tweeting live from The Clone Wars panel. Tidbits include S2 tone, comments on rogue Jedi and the unlikliness of a second movie. (5:20e)