None other than LANDO, of course, in Matt Haley’s riff on the classic Shaft poster. (Also check under storyboards in his gallery for some Revenge of the Sith art he did for LucasArts.)
Fan Art: Baroque Star Wars
We’ve seen quite a few variations on the Star Wars theme, but Mattias Adolfsson’s baroque versions have a definite charm. His Imperial Walker is particularly impressive. (The heels!)
UPDATE: And another: “Han Solo being harassed by the puritan squad.”
The Catchup: Friday morning reading list
NEWS
- Fractal Matter interviews Rick McCallum about all the usual suspects: Red Tails, TV shows, etc.
- Antifungal drug causes visions of Chewbacca. Well, better Wookiees than, say, Cthulhu.
- Star Wars gets namedropped in Blackwater probe.
- £10,000 worth of figures stolen in UK.
EVENTS
- Cédric Delsaux’s Star Wars on Earth photographs are on exhibit in Washington D.C.
GAMING
- Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron comes out on Tuesday, and TOS has been pulling out all the stops: a two part Q&A; an introduction to Commander Col Serra and a look at his character evolution.
FANDOM
- Perennial blogger Jason Kottke asks the age-old question: What’s the best order to indoctrinate your young with Star Wars?
- University of Alabama offers BUI 301: The Gospel of Star Wars: Mass Entertainment as Postmodern Religion. Does that mean Steve Sansweet is a prophet?
- Bengal Trooper spotted!
PEOPLE
- Sean Connery sexier than Harrison Ford, says poll.
- Natalie Portman campaigns to help end global poverty; will be starring alongside Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers.
- Carrie Fisher to take on Mrs. Bennett in Pride And Prejudice spoof.
- Billy Dee Williams in Aretha Franklin biopic?
MERCHANDISE
- Get your Master Replicas’ products now; with their license expiring, they stop selling Star Wars stuff after December 31st.
- Check out some of the 30th Anniversary Sketch Cards.
- Complete your collection of convention exclusives with the Celebration Europe Droid 2-pack.
Hyperspace
- The latest Bantha Tracks.
- Two Newsnets: Ralltiir Blockade Impacting Sector Economy and Kira Run Opening Up to Mainstream Trade.
- One tiny fiction bit: One Step Ahead.
- And a lowdown on Delta Source.
Bart Simpson reloaded
In the same vein as spring’s Vader Project, artists take on America’s favorite underachiever with The D.I.Y. Qee Project: BART Tour. Check out the gallery for Bart in Carbonite, Ewok Bart and Bowie Bart, among others. (via Neatorama)
Fan Art: Jabba’s Palace
Be sure to click through to see the whole thing.
An awesome Jabba the Hutt by artist Richard Whitters. There’s also a colorized version by DA user DoNotThrowAway.
Fan Art: Daddy’s Girl
This is only a portion of the full work – be sure to click to see the whole thing!
Jaina Solo by SvenjaLiv. There’s more Star Wars art in her gallery.
May the craft be with you
The Dubai Steamtroopers are not alone… In Bangkok, artist Yumi Modal and family are also crafting Star Wars figures from metal. Is this the start of a new trend? Graffiti is so last season. (via)
Before Kyle Katarn, there was
Gonk. Are you worthy of building an avatar of The One Droid? (via)
Someone made a tiny version of the Shadows of the Empire novel. But why SOTE? Is there a whole collection of these things out there somewhere? What a terrifying prospect!
So you already have a Princess Leia hat, crocheted Yoda ears, and an Artoo hat; Why not round out your collection with an R2-D2 Beanie?
Fan Art: Anakin’s demon
Be sure to click through to see the whole thing.
Fear is a dead-star dragon by Joanna Michalak. Be sure to check her portfolio site, gallery and scraps for more Star Wars, Harry Potter, and LOTR art.
Fan art: An adorable Padme
Sleepy Padme by Ruby Chan, because we’ve been a bit lacking in the cute department lately. She also has a second Padme in her gallery, Yellow Queen.
Fan Art: Art History 101
Be sure to click through to see the whole thing.
Sith Wedding, by illustrator Leo Lingas, is a riff on the classic Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck.
Check out Lingas’ DeviantArt gallery for two more fannish takes on art classics: The Bad Feeling and Klingons Crossing the Delaware.