Club Jade

I don’t know why I was surprised when James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis failed to blow my mind.

I bought the book on the release date, but didn’t start it until last Monday – mainly because I knew I’d have to recap the Luceno Facebook chat on Wednesday and I didn’t want to be spoiled for what folks on Twitter were labeling AMAZING REVELATIONS. So I forced myself through it in two days.

And I was not blown away. The revelations? Not that amazing. To me, anyway.

There are no overt spoilers for Darth Plagueis after the jump, though there are some references to the content which may be obvious to anyone well-versed in fandom. (more…)

Coming today is a new edition of Terry Brooks’ The Phantom Menace novelization, which contains a new short story, ‘End Game,’ by James Luceno. Like the rerelease of Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter a few weeks back, this edition doesn’t have a new ISBN, so your best bet would be to pick it up in person to make sure you’ve got the right version.

If you’d rather pick up something brand new, also out today is The Millennium Falcon Owner’s Workshop Manual by Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas.

Meanwhile, Wednesday is a good day to head out to the comic shop, due to the presence of Dawn of the Jedi #0 on the shipping list this week.

It’s also about time to be keeping an eye out for the latest Star Wars Insider, #131, which a Millennium Falcon story by Star Wars newcomers David J. Williams and Mark S. Williams.

Joining the latest parade of Phantom Menace tie-ins is Gogurt, which is packaging their yogurt in glow-in-the-dark lightsaber packaging. Neat, sure. Until you get to the part where they call it a ‘Slurp Saber,’ at which everyone with a remotely dirty mind facepalms their brains out. Way to go, marketing geniuses!

Her Universe gave fans a sneak peek at the upcoming ‘Queen’ shirt on Facebook today. Get ready to look for it “really soon.”

Ten AMC theaters in the U.S. will hold the screenings, which will include Podracer 3D glasses and a free toy with each ticket. There will also be face painting, LEGOs, character appearances (aka your friendly neighborhood 501st and Rebel Legion members) and Xbox Kinect demonstrations.

The participating theaters are in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix and San Francisco, though it appears the free toy offer may apply to all AMC theaters.

Join in on what is sure to be chaos when StarWars.com hosts a virtual podrace on Twitter.

The racers will be Star Wars celebrities of actor and fandom ilk, alike. And you can play along by Tweeting as a character-not-racing. Think of it as a live-action roleplaying game in 140-character bits. (If only you could limit some real-life LARPers to 140 characters!)

The action will kick off at 11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern. Just follow the hashtag #podrace.

At least you don’t have to worry about having to rebuild your podracer when it’s over.

The Daily Blam has five new posters for the rerelease of The Phantom Menace 3D. (See the other two at the link.) There’s something very 80′s about that blue one, no?

Covers. Knight’s Archive found the new cover to The Phantom Menace novelization earlier this week. Shockingly, it looks just like the poster. Like the last TPM-centric rerelease, Shadow Hunter, this one contains a new James Luceno short story and may be a bit difficult to find because both editions share the same ISBN. It’s due out on the 31st.

In other cover reveals, StarWars.com has the covers for eighth Lost Tribe of the Sith installment and the paperback compilation. They look pretty much the same as all the Lost Tribe of the Sith stuff.

Fate of the Jedi. The mini-excerpts for Denning’s Apocalypse begin with – who else? – Saba.

Interviews. In a two-parter, James Luceno talks Darth Plagueis at TFN and Suvudu, while John Jackson Miller chats with CBR’s Tim O’Shea.

First Showing spotted an animated version of The Phantom Menace poster on Vimeo. We can’t really be sure if it’s official, but it is kinda neat: Check it out beneath the cut.

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A Belgian fast food chain, Quick, will be offering several Star Wars themed burgers to tie into The Phantom Menace rerelease. They do not look all that appetizing, but if you happen to be in France or Belgium for the month of February, you can go ahead and give them a try. Or not.