Club Jade

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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?)

Nonfiction corner. StarWars.com talks to Ryder Windham and Pete Vilmur about The Complete Vader. On a related note, take a peek at Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Death Troopers. Did you catch all the Purge letters? No? Well, here are the direct links: DeathTroopers.com, StarWars.com, Star Wars Action News, NJOE, RebelScum, TheForce.net, and ours.

Podcasts. Jason Fry and Daniel Wallace are on the latest Fictional Frontiers with Sohaib. (Warning: auto-pla.)

Blogsided. Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff on the pool of knowledge and Star Wars as part of the vernacular.

Ye Olde Databank. New or expanded entries for Jocasta Nu, Cad Bane, and Cato Parasitti. And hey – Ben Skywalker is in there now. That’s new! Newish. Wait, don’t tell me: They added him with the Backlash cover, didn’t they?

Sweet mockery. Checked in with We Hav to Take a Trip with Jacen Solo lately? Havac is currently working his way through Legacy of the Force.

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)

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)

A man trying to rob an Arkansas gas station by sneaking through the bathroom ceiling told police that his name was “Jason Solo” before fingerprints revealed his true identity. (via)

Awards: Judy Blundell, better known to Star Wars fans as Jude Watson, author of the Jedi Apprentice, Jedi Quest, and Last of the Jedi series’ for Scholastic, has won the National Book Award for her novel What I Saw and How I Lied.

UPDATE: GalleyCat now has a video interview with Blundell.

• Interview: CloneWarz.net talks to Karen Miller, who drops a few Wild Space hints along the way.

• Comics: Preview Knights of the Old Republic #35.
• Humor: The life of Jacen Solo, in hilarious recap form.

Lots of tidbits: Sue Rostoni has continued posting bits and pieces about the new contract on StarWars.com boards and blogs, including the timing of Fate of the Jedi and Blood Oath (apparently Seeley’s cover art has Zekk “in a very manly pose, looking ruggedly handsome.”) Meanwhile, the first FOTJ cover will feature Luke, although no artist names yet, and the manuscript for Shadows of Mindor is 419 pages. And she’s updated her book schedule entry with a few new dates (already reflected in our schedule) and the news that the Reaves/Bonhoff ‘holostar’ novel is set two years before the Battle of Yavin. And today we swing right back to Fate of the Jedi: It “will continue to be a mix of characters.”

• Comics: StarWars.com has Dark Horse’s January 2009 solicitations, but it looks pretty slim: Just Knights of the Old Republic and the beginning of Legacy’s first post-Vector arc.

• The Force Unleashed: Sean Williams shares his piece from the Adelaide Advertiser on writing Star Wars.
• LOTF: io9 features Jacen and Jaina as one of Science Fiction’s Fiercest Sibling Rivalries.

When asked for his take on the Expanded Universe’s use of the themes he introduced in Traitor, this is what he had to say.

…due to my privileged position as a Star Wars novelist, my opinion would be given more weight by the fans than it actually deserves — it would tend to tip the perceptions of, at least, my particular fans, and even others would be tempted to end arguments with “Well, Matt Stover says . . .” I’ve decided I just have to keep it to myself.

Yes, some fans will angst at not having that clarification/ammunition, but hats off to you, Mr. Stover.

Kidan9 analyzes Jacen Solo, the early years. Wait, people actually read the Young Jedi Knight books?

Hehe. Foreshadowing.

Sketches of Jacen Solo, “hero of the New Jedi Order” by Andur. Okay, he may be a tad too grizzly for the NJO, but I like this Vergere way better than the official version.

Tonight at midnight (Eastern) is readers’ last chance to submit Sith names.

It’s over, for the time being. Better luck next Darth!

The finalist entries will be revealed and ready for voting in late January.