Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Head out to the bookstore today to pick up the fifth volume of Fate of the Jedi, Christie Golden’s Allies. Also on the shelves is Golden’s Star Wars debut and the second Fate of the Jedi novel, Omen in paperback.
It’s a good week for post-ROTJ comics as well, with Invasion – Rescues #1 and Legacy #48 headed for comic shops on Wednesday.
The Maker himself will make an appearance in Orlando – only his second ever at a Celebration event. Time and date are still to be determined, but you can expect one thing: Very long lines.
We’ve already covered a bunch of Empire Strikes Back anniversary stuff, but today is the actual day. Here’s more stuff to check out:
The sequel begins. Leigh Brackett’s first draft of the film surfaced on the internet last week, giving us an intriguing glimpse into the could-have-beens, including a “tender love scene” between Luke and Leia, Lando being a clone, and Darth Vader’s pet gargoyles. (If you just want the highlights, Geeks of Doom has a nice rundown.)
Visuals. Lucasfilm gave Maxim magazine some rare photos, and to save us classy broads from buying Maxim (err, sorry guys) they’re also on StarWars.com.
Disturbance. They also have a look back at the Emperor’s first appearance – including some seriously whacked-out concept art. Baron Harkonnen is totally jealous.
In other news…
See any more unique tributes to ESB today? Post them in the comments or tell me on Twitter (@clubjade) and I’ll get them in.
Pablo reports from last night’s The Empire Strikes Back screening and Harrison Ford Q&A in Los Angeles.
Light speeding towards you in 3-D! (via)
Spike is taking the original trilogy for a go-round beginning Saturday, while Fox will air Family Guy’s ‘Something, Something, Something Dark Side’ as the show’s finale Sunday night. (I doubt it’s worth missing the Lost finale, but I suppose people will watch it anyway.)
So I finally do an EUbits and then we get more news? Such is the life. But Sue Rostoni posted an updated book schedule today – and revealed two new reference/nonfiction books – so no sitting on/twittering this, thank you very much. Here’s what’s new:
Meanwhile Internet Rockstar/Man Who Never Sleeps Pablo Hidalgo will be penning The Essential Reader’s Companion. And I am forced to devolve into aged memes. (I hate you, Pablo. Okay, not really.) Seriously now, Sue describes this as “a non-fiction guide to fiction, with side-bars calling out related comics and events.”
Meme or no meme, our schedule is updated, so go check out a new sneak peek at The Making of The Empire Strikes Back. (Holy heavy metal!)
Hamill will be directing an adaption of the 1996 comic he co-wrote with Eric Johnson.
“It’s kind of daunting,” said Hamill, 58, who previously directed a straight-to-video movie but is making his first try at the big screen. “The pendulum swings from great confidence to what did I get myself into? But I want to. This is going to be really a culmination of years and years of wish fulfillment on my part.”
His previous directing effort, the straight-to-DVD Comic Book: The Movie was fairly well-received (at least as I recall) and may even have featured a CJer (or two?) They hope to begin shooting on Black Pearl next year.
From web to print. The Clone Wars webcomics from Pablo Hidalgo and a revolving crew of artists (Jeff Carlisle, Katie Cook, Grant Gould and Tom Hodges) will be available in a trade paperback collection in time for August’s Celebration V. StarWars.com has a first look at the book, which also contains concept art, development sketches and a forward by Dave Filoni.
Nonfiction: Sue Rostoni says that Generation Star Wars, the fandom-centric book by Bonnie Burton, Mary Franklin, and Pete Vilmur has been put on hold “to develop the concept and content.”
Comics. The cupboard is bare for Dark Horse’s August 2010 comic solicitations. (Any chance they’ll launch something I’d actually want to read in the next year?) More hopeful, at least theoretically, are the previews for Invasion: Rescues #1 and Legacy #48.
Finish him. The last of StarWars.com’s Head to Head previews is up… And the book should be out.
May is still showering, but in the land of Hallmark, spring means only one thing: The 2010 Dreambook is out. There are several Star Wars selections: One set of Yoda and Captain Rex (page 56) and several Empire Strikes Back-themed ornaments (pages 60-61) that you can check out below the cut. Luke in flight gear, a snowspeeder, and Vader chatting with holo Palpy are full size, while the mini set is Boba Fett and Han in Carbonite. Continue reading “Hallmark’s 2010 Star Wars ornaments feature Clone Wars, Empire Strikes Back“