Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
No books, but there are comics. Invasion: Revelations #3 and The Old Republic: The Lost Suns #4 will both be beaming into your local comic shop on Wednesday.
Also keep an eye out for Star Wars Insider #128, which features a Dash Rendar story from Michael Reeves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff and “five storytelling faux pas” from Timothy Zahn.
Today is the release day for the 20th anniversary of Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. As Erich points out on Facebook, this new edition contains:
Also out today: Paperback version of Sean Williams’ The Force Unleashed II.
Comics: Out this week (check your store for possible Labor Day-induced shipping delays): Dark Times: Out of the Wilderness #2
While a lot of talk this week has been focusing on the changes coming in the Star Wars Blu-ray release, there’s also been some news and chatter in the world of the Expanded Universe:
Shadow Games: Del Rey has posted two mini-excerpts from Shadow Games on the Star Wars Books account on Facebook. The novel, by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, comes out at the end of November.
Mini-excerpt #1 (from last week):
“Confidence,” Dash retorted, annoyed at being pulled out of his pleasant reverie. “The Outrider is twice the ship the Falcon is.” As far as he was concerned Solo’s boat was a scow compared with Dash’s heavily modified YT-2400.
“Then where am I supposed to come by these steely-eyed, laser-toting…characters?”
A smile curved Kendara Farlion’s lips and her teeth showed, white and even in her face. “I never thought I’d say this, but there are advantages to being from Mos Eisley. I know exactly where to look for that kind of character.”
Comics:
Favorite Scenes: Del Rey asked fans on Facebook to identify favorite scenes from the novels. A lot of deaths pop in: Anakin Solo, Ganner, Chewbacca (I guess fans have mellowed a bit on that) and Thrawn, as well as scenes from the X-Wing (both comedic and action scenes), Republic Commando, and Darth Bane series. Did not see any mentions of Waru or the Black Fleet Crisis, and that makes me sad.
Fact mirrors Star Wars fiction: Discovered: A real life “Crystal Star” (well, a crystallizing former star) – Formerly a white dwarf star, this planet is believed to be turning into one giant diamond. At 4,000 light-years away, it’ll take a while for this rock to be a girl’s best friend. Also, did not see any mentions of Waru, and that makes me sad again.
Wonder Woman: Erika Peterman demands a Wonder Woman movie on the CNN Geek Out! blog. The co-founder of Girls-Gone-Geek.com addresses different theories as to why we haven’t gotten one yet: lack of a good story? Finding the right costume? Having an action movie led by a female? Casting for the perfect Princess Diana of the Amazons?
Battlestar Galactica: There’s talk that the upcoming BSG prequel series, Blood and Chrome, may end up a web series instead of airing on Syfy. Because they need more airtime for paranormal researching wrestlers. Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome focuses on a young William Adama during the first Cylon war.
Comics: Angel, the vampire with a soul, returns to Dark Horse Comics with this week’s release of Angel & Faith #1. For the past few years, while Dark Horse and Joss Whedon had been busy with Buffy Season Eight, IDW Comics and Joss Whedon had been publishing stories in the Angel franchise, including Angel: After the Fall and several Spike arcs. Now the Buffyverse is re-united back under Dark Horse as Angel and Faith team up to fight evil after the tumultuous events of Season Eight.
Raiders of the Lost Ark:Damon Lindelof (of Lost and 2009’s Star Trek) writes a love letter to the perfect movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and describes when he last peed in his pants.
Wednesday brings a new Star Wars Adventures digest, Chewbacca and the Slavers of the Shadowlands, featuring a tale from the youth of our favorite Wookiee.
And, not so much: If you were waiting for Sean Williams’ adaption of The Force Unleashed II to come out in paperback, it’ll be in stores next Tuesday.
Qui-Gon deals with Xanatos’ angsting in Jedi: The Dark Side #4, our only release this week. It’ll be in comic stores on Wednesday.
Red Tails. MTV has a new trailer teaser for George Lucas and Anthony Hemingway’s upcoming World War II epic, as well as the first poster.
Harry Potter. Our pal Bryan Young got into Pottermore, and walks us through J.K. Rowling’s multimedia experience.
Comics! The Hairpin interviews Kate Beaton of Hark! A Vagrant, whose historic cartoons entertain history/literature nerds and plebeians alike.
Twilight. Bella’s wedding dress hasn’t even been revealed to the public yet, but the license to manufacture the Carolina Herrera-designed dress has been rewarded to Alfred Angelo, who will release it under the brand ‘Twilight Bridal by Alfred Angelo.’ (Does that mean there’ll be more?!?) The replica dress will be made in sizes 0 to 30W, sure to delight Twilight fans of all sizes.
John Jackson Miller’s Knight Errant: Deluge #1, which follows up January’s Knight Errant novel, will be in the comic shops on Wednesday.
And don’t forget to check out Aaron Allston’s new short story/ebook, An Occurrence at Bifrost Bridge.
These credits will do fine: The Pacific island nation of Niue will be issuing a series of Star Wars coins, starting in November. Ten $1 coins and eight $2 coins are being issued in this first part of their Star Wars series, which will continue with additional designs to be released in 2012, to coincide with the 3-D movie release, for a total of 40 coins. While they are legal tender on Niue (Queen Elizabeth II is on the obverse) and made by the New Zealand Mint, the coins probably won’t see much circulation on their island home as they will be minted in small quantities for sale on the collector’s market – no more than 50,000 of the $1 coins will be minted, while the $2 coins will be limited to only 7,500.
The $1 silver-plated coins sport the likenesses of ten classic trilogy characters: Yoda, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, Han Solo, Obi-wan Kenobi, R2-D2, Chewbacca, and Emperor Palpatine. Each of these, shipped in a holder, will cost about $20 US.
The $2 coins will come in special four-packs with display cases – the dark side set of four coins (Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Stormtrooper, and Death Star) comes in a case shaped like Darth Vader’s mask, complete with breathing sound effects. The Rebel Alliance set comes in a Millennium Falcon case with hyperspace sounds and includes a Luke Skywalker & Princess Leia Organa coin, Han Solo & Chewbacca, Yoda & Obi-wan Kenobi, and C-3PO & R2-D2. Don’t expect to just pay 2 Niue dollars for these, as each of these coins is a whopping one ounce of silver!
Don’t feed the rancor! The Los Angeles Zoo will be having a Star Wars Day on August 27, including character visits, a sneak peek at the Blu-ray special features, and lots of comparisons between real world animals and the creatures and aliens of a galaxy far, far away. Just don’t pull a Jar Jar and accidentally let the animals loose!
Revelations decoded? Last week saw the release of two Star Wars comics, and launch of comics reviews on Big Shiny Robot by a familiar face. Check out GONK’s review of Invasion: Revelations #2 andThe Old Republic: The Lost Suns #3.
Here’s a one-two punch of some awesome art for the week:
Ever wondered what would happen when the First Avenger comes across a Dark Lord of the Sith? Dave Dorman has, and created this mash-up of Darth Vader and Captain America for Wizard World Chicago 2011. Who’s inside that armor – is it Anakin or Red Skull? Next time, get a shield made of cortosis, Cap!
Meanwhile, Matt Busch has produced an exquisite map showcasing the travels and artifacts of Indiana Jones, pulling from the films and other Indy sources (The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, comics, video games, novels, and theme park rides). Proceeds from this piece go to American Disabled Veterans. Now to drop hints that this would make a great gift for me.