EUbits: Fire and ice and rage, and that’s just Randy Stradley

The Star Wars comic - preview detail Rinzler MayhewComics. Remember how Entertainment Weekly was supposed to break some ‘interesting’ Star Wars news? And then we heard it out of WonderCon instead? Well, their article on The Star Wars has finally shown up… And Dark Horse’s Randy Stradley is, let’s say, less than impressed with the end result.

There are two other recent, less wrath-inducing interviews with Stradley on Newsarama and Jedi Journals.

The blogside. Two very different takes on the EU/EpVII issue: Newsarama’s Lucas Siegel takes a thoughtful approach, while io9’s Rob Bricken fans the angry paranoia flames. In another direction, Bria’s Waru Express has reached the New Jedi Order.

Interviews. EUCantina talks to Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff.

Flashback. Blogger Rologutwein is creating Star Wars roleplaying modules – based on other films – in the style of the old West End Games. Here’s his covers, and one of the interiors.

Randomly… Tosche Station’s Emily has a recipe for Corellian ryshcate.

EUbits: Making of Return of the Jedi coming in October

Ewoks behind the scenesUpcoming nonfiction. Guess what’s appeared on the Random House online catalog? It’s J. W. Rinzler’s Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, with a release date of October 8. In other Rinzler news, he’s announced that the next art book will be devoted to concept art. As someone who already owns all six concept art books devoted to the films, I hope we’ll get to see something new from the actual movies… If it comes out next year, would it be too early to hope for an Episode VII peek?

The blogside. Tor’s Ryan Britt looks at how Heir to the Empire turned Star Wars into science fiction. Lucasfilm’s Jennifer Heddle discusses balancing between work and being a fan. And Tosche Station’s Bria visits two extremes of the EU with The Crystal Star and Starfighters of Adumar.

Conventions. Dark Horse had a panel at Emerald City Comicon yesterday, and Amy Ratcliffe was kind enough to live-tweet it for those of us playing at home. While there was no breaking Star Wars news, there were a few insights into Star Wars and Legacy comics.

Short stories. Del Rey’s Frank Parisi reveals that John Ostrander has an Insider story coming up, ‘Eruption,’ with cover art by Jan Duursema. (It’ll also appear in the hardcover of Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void.) A Jason Fry story featuring a Clone Wars character was also recently greenlit. He also hints at something we’ll be seeing in Miller’s Kenobi.

The Last Jedi. Author Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff talks to NJOE (with Del Rey’s Shelly Shapiro) and TFN.

Gaming. We don’t even try to cover gaming anymore – trust me, it’s for the best – but if you’re curious about the (rumored) fate of 1313, well, here’s the word on the street.

EUbits: Take a Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell

Rebel Mission to Ord MantellAudio For you audio drama fans, Big Shiny Robot has unearthed Rebel Mission to Ord Mantell a ye olde (scripted by Brian Daley!) tale that takes place between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back.

The blogside. EUCantina debuts a new column, with a look at what they’d like to see in Kenobi (some Clone Wars spoilers.) Meanwhile, Bria’s Waru Express has pulled into Tosche Station with The Thrawn Trilogy.

Interviews. There’s a real surplus of them since we last checked in, with new writers (Martha Wells, Tim Siedell, Corinna Bechko & Gabriel Hardman) old writers (Kevin J. Anderson) and of course Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, co-writer of The Last Jedi, which came out yesterday.

Speaking of The Last Jedi The reviews! NJOE, EUC, Jedi News, Lightsaber Rattling, Roqoo Depot and Bry/Megan at Knights Archive are all fairly positive, while Bria at Tosche Station is unimpressed.

Comics. Preview Dark Horse’s Free Comic Book Day offering, and behold a Legacy variant cover. Also, James has his reviews of the most recent comics: this week’s Dawn of the Jedi: Prisoner of Bogan #3 and ,a href=”http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/49301″>Agent of the Empire: Hard Targets #5 and Brian Wood’s Star Wars #2.

Congratulations to your publicist. Forbes, of all publications, profiles Dark Horse and their role in making licensed properties cool for comics. There’s some interesting stuff from a generalized viewpoint, but despite use of the term ‘expanded universe’ it’s more focused on video game tie-ins than things like Star Wars and Buffy.

Out this week: The Last Jedi. No, the other one.

The Last Jedi (detail)Out Tuesday is Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff’s The Last Jedi, which continues the story of Jax Pavan from the Coruscant Knights book.

Wednesday has plenty to offer comic fans, with Agent of the Empire: Hard Targets #5 and Dawn of the Jedi: The Prisoner of Bogan #3. Plus there’s the third printing of Star Wars #1.

Our next novel release won’t be until May, with Tim Lebbon’s Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void.

Interview: Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff on The Last Jedi and Shadow Games

Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, co-author of Shadow Games and Coruscant Nights III: Patterns of Force, was a featured guest at Conjecture/ConChord in San Diego this past weekend for her work on writing filk songs, but she had time to give me the scoop on her upcoming Star Wars novel with Michael Reaves, The Last Jedi, as well as shares about writing Dash Rendar in Shadow Games, and characterizing droids like I-Five and Leebo. She also discusses how the short story “And Leebo Makes Three…” came about, and her other upcoming works.

I was a little disappointed that the programming staff for the joint convention (ConChord is a Southern California filking con, for which Bohnhoff and her husband were toastmasters, while Conjecture is a San Diego sci-fi/fantasy lit con) didn’t get their ducks in a row to have Bohnhoff on any Star Wars panels, such as readings for Star Wars Reads Day, or joining the discussion with Patricia Wrede, David Brin, and myself. Still it was a treat to have a chance to sit down with Bohnhoff about the writing process and baseball. Smaller cons are great places to actually meet and talk to the featured guests.

The Last Jedi, by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, comes out on February 26, 2013 in paperback.

EUbits: Grubb, Fry short stories coming to Insider

Short stories. David Pomerico revealed that Jeff Grubb and Jason Fry will both have short stories in upcoming issues of the Star Wars Insider, tying into Scourge and The Essential Guide to Warfare, respectively. Both books will be out in April, so expect to see the stories soon.

Authors. Troy Denning wrote a post on climactic scenes for Amazon’s Omnivoracious blog today.

Interviews. Sohaib Awan talks to Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, while Jedi Journals has James Luceno.

Excerpts. Plagueis is nigh, with excerpts upon excerpts.

Reviews. Over at Big Shiny Robot, James reviews the Phantom Menace comic reprints, Agent of the Empire #1, and Knight Errant: Deluge #5.

Out this week: Shadow Games, CEIII #2

Tuesday brings our final Star Wars novel of the year, Shadow Games by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff. Here’s a mini-excerpt for the Dash Rendar fans.

Comic fans will have two books to look for on WednesdayCrimson Empire III: Empire Lost #2 and Dark Times: Out Of The Wilderness #3.

Our next major release will be James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis on January 10. This one also has a recent mini-excerpt.

EUbits: Book of Sith trailer, Bohnhoff interview

Video. IGN has an exclusive reveal trailer showing Dan Wallace’s Book of the Sith in action.

Interview. Roqoo Depot talks to Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff about next week’s Shadow Games and the upcoming fourth Coruscant Nights novel.

Pictures. A few more looks at the Essential Guide to Warfare art… Mostly technical stuff this round.

Excerpts. The Darth Plagueis drum has started beating with mini and audio peeks.

Reviews. James checks out Invasion: Revelations #5 at Big Shiny Robot.

EUbits: A quick peek inside Shadow Games

Two smugglers walk into a bar… Today on the official forums, editor Sue Rostoni shared a brief excerpt from the proof of Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff’s Shadow Games. Black-barred for the paranoid spoilerphobics:

“In case you haven’t noticed, Captain, there are Imperials all over the place. It would be in our customer’s interests to be discreet.”

The Wookiee said something, to which Han replied, “Of course I’m discreet. I’m always discreet.” To Dash he said, “What’d you have in mind?”

The proof, for those of you keeping track, is 338 pages. Shadow Games will be out in paperback in the fall.

Interview. Lightsaber Rattling talks to Paul Kemp about his just-released Old Republic tie-in, Deceived.

Blurbs. In other Kemp-related news, there’s a summary out there now for his September paperback, Riptide. (via)

Comics. The Crimson Empire story that will be in Dark Horse Presents #1 will feature Kir Kanos in a standalone tale that will both recap some of the earlier CE and set things up for CEIII, according to Randy Stradley.

First look. The next in the Lost Tribe of the Sith series, ‘Pantheon,’ will hit July 18th.