Your comic or book store may have the hardcover collection of Dark Horse’s Thrawn Trilogy comic adaptions today. I say as someone who owns all these issues: You could totally do worse.
Also, the latest Star Wars Insider.
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.)
Thomas Dolby on his Star Wars movie rumor: “I should have chosen my words more carefully”
Having inadvertently unleashed an internet monster, he now clarifies that he misspoke (misstyped?) and that his LucasArts pal was actually talking about the eventual live action series:
A slight correction about the Lucas thing that my friend Paul Sebastien pointed out to me: he’s actually not aware of any movie plans, and was just talking about the live action TV show that George had talked about in an interview with an Australian TV station a while back. Paul is only working on the games side, and I know from past experience that he’s very professional and discrete, and would never leak confidential secrets, even to a close friend.
Even as I roll my eyes at these things, I gotta say I prefer them to the super-ignorant pre-prequel ‘They’re going to make a movie based on the Zahn trilogy,’ stuff, though. No one ever forgets that ‘third trilogy’ comment, even back in the dark ages. (via)
EUbits: Get Crosscurrent early with Kemp giveaway
Free book, sort of. Paul S. Kemp is giving away three signed, unbound galleys of his January Star WarsCrosscurrent. Enter through Dec. 18.
The blogside Karen Miller finished the rewrite of Clone Wars Gambit: Siege this week – twice. And Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff takes a look at forceful women and… Pets. When’s the last time we saw pets in the EU? I’m not sure I want to know. (Pittens in Children of the Jedi? Oye vey.)
Hyperspace. Discounting the Wookieepedians (with their love of War and Peace-sized character entries,) only Jason Fry could dedicate a week to Xim and the Tion Cluster.
Your moment of zen. The TFN boards have been quite the font of hilarity lately. First there’s the otter thing, and then the LULZ of reading KJA. Of course, then along comes something like this. Oh, TFN.
Rostoni: Imperial Commando may continue with new author
UPDATE: Look, Googlers: There will be no more Imperial or Republic Commando books. Aaron Allston is writing a Wraith Squadron book that took RC #2’s publishing slot. It’s over.
The departure of Karen Traviss might not mean a dead end for the Imperial Commando series after all. Sue Rostoni posted on StarWars.com today:
Imperial Commando — we’re seriously considering continuing the series with a new author. Details to come as they happen….
I feel for the author who would takes on that project – Traviss’ issues with The Clone Wars aside, they’re going to take a lot of scrutiny from her rather rabid fanbase – but plenty are clamoring for it. Stay tuned…
Poll: What EU programming would you like to see at CV?
With Celebration V solidly on the horizon and Reed soliciting event ideas from fans, now seems a good time to ask what kind of Expanded Universe programming you’d like to see. There’s sure to be plenty of Clone Wars events, and I’d be very surprised if there wasn’t a Fate of the Jedi panel, but other than that I wouldn’t count on much… Unless we volunteer to make ourselves heard. Vote in the poll beneath the cut (or on the sidebar) and feel free to elaborate in the comments. Continue reading “Poll: What EU programming would you like to see at CV?”
Out this week: Dynasty of Evil, The Clone Wars
Today you can be on the lookout for our last novel of 2009, Drew Karpyshyn’s third Darth Bane novel, Dynasty of Evil. Wednesday will bring The Clone Wars #11.
Karen Traviss: Second Imperial Commando book canceled
Looks like 501st will be the last Star Wars book from Karen Traviss after all: Apparently there have been some rumors about this flying around (news to me, but then, I haven’t been looking) and she has confirmed that the second Imperial Commando book is a no-go. The particulars and details – from Traviss’ perspective, anyway – are at the link. (via)
The book was tentatively scheduled for a November 2010 release, and appeared on Sue Rostoni’s schedule post in August, posted only days after Traviss announced she was leaving the franchise.
UPDATE: And Sue Rostoni says:
Karen’s blog was the first time I had heard that she was not going to write the second Imperial Commando book.
I don’t know if we will hire another author to finish the series. It’s rather up in the air at the moment.
Wow… UPDATE 2: Sue goes on to say, “This is really not an issue because Random House hires the Star Wars authors, not LFL,” so not quite as shocking as it first seemed. Still odd.
UPDATE 3: Traviss has a followup blog entry.
Out this week: A Clone Wars comic collection
Brace yourselves for the first collection of The Clone Wars comic, Slaves of the Republic. Because I guess there’s no such thing as a character being too young for a slave girl getup in the GFFA.
StarWars.com confirms Williams’ Old Republic novel
Sean Williams’ The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance will indeed be a July hardcover. (Though I suspect that date may still be subject to change pending word on the release of the actual game.) But that’s not the only upcoming Expanded Universe work set in the era: The site has announced another Old Republic novel from Paul S. Kemp and a StarWars.com short story from Threat of Peace scribe Rob Chestney.
UPDATE: Kemp has confirmed that his TOR novel is not the Crosscurrent sequel. Given that Crosscurrent sounds like it’s going to playing with timelines, I’m not sure whether this is the “Crosscurrent sequel” Kemp announced a few months ago or a third Star Wars book from him… With things still in the “the early planning stages” it could very well be either. But on a more solid note, an excerpt from Crosscurrent did surface today.