Category: books and comics

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Out this week: New Blu-Ray/DVD box sets

OT Blu-Ray/DVD pack (2013)No books this week, but there is one big release on Tuesday: Blu-ray/DVD combo packs of the two trilogies. These are the same cuts of the film we saw last time, just with DVD versions and new cover art, so it’s not that big a deal, but if you’re a collector or just need copies for some reason, it’s your lucky day.

Those looking for something new can turn to the comic store on Wednesday, as Star Wars #10 and the digest Ewoks: Shadows of Endor, plus a second Wild Space omnibus hit the shelves.

Next week may be a tad more exciting, at least for fans of The Clone Wars, as the S5 and Complete Series box sets will be dropping. For everyone else, there’ll be Star Wars Art: Concept, which also comes in a pricey limited edition set. io9 has a look at a few of the pieces.

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Star Wars Reads Day is Saturday

sw-reads-day-ii-logoTomorrow, October 5 is the second annual Star Wars Reads Day. Last year, over 1,000 bookstores, libraries and schools got into the action with events to promote literacy combined with Star Wars, and this year aims to be bigger!

Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million are hosting events chainwide, and there are at least a dozen local events where Star Wars authors and illustrators are participating. Many locations will also be getting visits from their local chapters of the 501st Legion, Rebel Legion, and Mando Mercs costuming clubs.

Check out the list of author events at the official Star Wars Reads Day page, or view a larger list of participating libraries and bookstores by state (and even some outside the US). Aaron Allston, Tim Zahn, John Jackson Miller, Pablo Hidalgo and Jason Fry are among some of the authors hitting up their local shops for Star Wars Reads Day.

Bonus: Helen Keier of the New Essential Guide to Alien Species will be at the Mahopac Public Library, in Mahopac, NY for a reading and Q&A.

If you can’t make it to a participating venue, there’s also an online author chat on Saturday on GoodReads with John Jackson Miller, Jason Fry, Ryder Windham, Chris Alexander, Tom Angleberger and more. Or just watch the fun on the Star Wars Reads facebook page.

The Star Wars Reads Day program is sponsored by all of the main publishers of Star Wars books (Del Rey, DK, Dark Horse, Scholastic, Chronicle, Quirk, Abrams, Titan, Randon House Audio, Workman), and We Love Fine has the official Star Wars Reads Day tees (in men’s sizes only, seriously?!):

SW-reads-tshirts

In honor of Star Wars Reads Day, Dark Horse Digital is having a 50% off sale on a bunch of digital comics this weekend, mostly from the Star Wars Adventures and Clone Wars digests.

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Roundup: Fan sites review Razor’s Edge

Empire and Rebellion: Razor's EdgeWhile not eliciting the rapturous praise of John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi, Martha Wells’ Empire and Rebellion: Razor’s Edge was mostly well received – with reservations – by the fansite community. (I gave it a B.)

  • Bria at Tosche Station says the “does so many things right that it’s difficult to pick a place to start.” She praises the characterization, new characters and the balance of tension and fun.
  • Kay at Fangirl said the portrayal of Han and Leia’s relationship was “great fun,” and that “their romantic tension is so thick, you can only just barely see through it.”
  • TheForce.Net has a double review from Adam Nettina and Adam Throne, and neither were particularly impressed, rating it a 6/10 and 4.5/10.
  • William at EUCantina was disappointed that there seemed to be “nothing particularly Alderaanian” about the crew of the Aegis and in Chewbacca and Luke’s diminished roles, he still found the book “very enjoyable overall,” giving it a 4/5.
  • Bryan at Big Shiny Robot found that story echoed the Marvel comics from the OT years, and said “Wells brings a gravitas to the material that I really enjoyed.”
  • Aaron at Star Wars Report thought the book started out strong, despite not playing to his preferences, but found that it “ultimately fizzled.”
  • Amy of Geek with Curves was also pleased with the Leia characterization and thought the book’s tone was right on.
  • Eleven Thirty-Eight’s Lisa is pleased by the variety of species and races in the cast, and calls Wells’ characterization of Leia “one of her best.” She also discusses the book with another one of the site’s writers, Jay.

    • The reviewers at Knights’ Archive both played it down the middle. Megan liked the diversity and Leia’s characterization, but found the prose “workmanlike” and the ending abrupt. Bryan agreed on the characterization, cast and conclusion, but found most of the plot and the villains “boring.”

  • Peter at Lightsaber Rattling overall found it a “a solid edition to the Star Wars library,” but found that the story could use more fleshing out.
  • Geralyn at Roqoo Depot calls it a “rollicking Star Wars adventure,” giving it a 4/5.
  • Mark Newbold at Jedi News says that Wells “gets” Leia and that the book is a “success.”

If you still haven’t picked it up, there’s a book trailer and Martha Wells interviews on Roqoo Depot and EUCantina.

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Up close with Hasbro’s Black Series Mara Jade

Black series Mara Jade (Yakface.com)

Yakface has posted a look at the new Black Series Mara Jade figure in their Toyguide. I’m afraid the 80’s hair isn’t much better in these pics.

Black series Mara Jade (Yakface.com)Black series Mara Jade (Yakface.com)Black series Mara Jade (Yakface.com)

There’s a hefty gallery that gives you a good look at the figure… We’ve already gone over our disappointment over the catsuit, but how does the new figure compare to the previous ones, in your eyes? They provided a picture to compare and everything:

Mara Jade figures from 1998, 2007 and 2013 (Yakface.com)

The previous figure are from 1998, left, and 2007, center. Thanks to Yakface for permission to run a few of the pictures – head over to their gallery for many, many more.

UPDATE: Yakface has an easy fix for the, ahh, head issue.

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EUbits: Heddle on the Expanded Universe going forward

HeddleInterviews. Eric and Erik at The ForceCast had LucasBooks editor Jennifer Heddle on their latest episode. The discussion segment begins at about 28 minutes in. At about 50 minues in, Eric asks if there really is “a hold” on books for next year. “There was definitely a little bit of limbo,” Heddle said. But “there will be more books in 2014, we’re just not at the point we can announce them yet.”

Comics. Tim Siedell talks to CBR about his next Star Wars mini-series, ‘Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows.’

The blogside. At the StarWars.com blog, Jason Fry and Paul Urquhart address The Celestials, while Rich Handley and Abel G. Peña go back to the Marvel days for a look at The Wheel. Brian at Tosche Station compares and contrasts the Leia of the Star Wars comic with the Leia of Razor’s Edge. And I posted an intermediate followup to my beginner’s guide to the EU, because apparently I just don’t devote enough time to writing about Star Wars as it is.

Reviews. James is pleased with the mysteries deepening in Legacy #7.

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Roundup: The fall of LucasArts

lucasartsGaming. Kotaku has a lengthy write-up/expose on the last days – and games – of LucasArts. There’s plenty on the evolution of the game that was announced as 1313, and what was going on behind-the-scenes after the Disney sale. Interesting stuff – even for a non-gamer.

Star Wars Reads. A number of locations have been added to the StarWars.com list of venues participating on October 5. Ashley Eckstein, Timothy Zahn, Aaron Allston, Martha Wells, John Jackson Miller and many other EU luminaries will be attending events around the country. (Anyone else considering the Ann Arbor stop?)

Lists. John Williams’ theme for Star Wars tops a BBC poll of voter’s favorite soundtracks.