This has been bouncing around fandom for a few days, but here it is, officially: The Art of Star Wars Rebels is coming out in October. The hardcover is written by Dan Wallace and “will chronicle the making of the show over its four-season run, complete with never-before-seen concept art and process pieces.” It will include commentary from Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, Carrie Beck and others, and is already up for preorder.
We’ve got one book, two new comics and a reprint this week. The book-only version of Dan Wallace’s The Rebel Files is out on Tuesday, July 3 (at least per Amazon – we’ll see). We’ve also got several comics coming on Wednesday, July 4, including Star Wars #50 (with a Terry Dodson variant), The Last Jedi #4 and Star Wars volume 3 in hardcover, collecting #26-30, #33-37 and Annual #2-3.
The Solo novelization by Mur Lafferty is coming on September 4, Del Rey and StarWars.com announced today. There’ll also be a junior version by Joe Schreiber. A cookbook, the Millennium Falcon: Owner’s Workshop Manual and a Deluxe Smuggler’s Guide from Dan Wallace are also coming in the fall.
Lafferty has previously written two Star Wars short stories – ‘The Voice of the Empire’, a tie in to the Rogue One prequel novel Catalyst which appeared in the Insider, and ‘Not for Nothing’ for the anthology From a Certain Point of View.
Jedi Bibliothek was first to spot two upcoming Star Wars coffee table books from Becker & Mayer. Both appear in the book producer’s 2015 autumn catalog (PDF) so we can probably expect them in the fall.
The first, On the Front Lines: Notes on Tactics, Armor and Valor from Galactic Conflicts is a look at warfare in the GFFA from Daniel Wallace. Here’s the blurb:
From the Clone Wars and the Rebellion to the clashes with the First Order, the galaxy is defined by war. Star Wars: On the Front Lines chronicles the tactics, weapons, and armor used in pivotal battles along with profiling acts of valor. By focusing on elements of the battles that occurred “off screen,” this collection brings the struggles faced by ground soldiers and starfighter pilots to life like never before and places the reader on the battle lines.
The second is the “in-universe” Star Wars: Propaganda from Pablo Hidalgo.
Whether it’s a Star Destroyer hovering over a planet or an X-wing delivering a message of resistance, propaganda images have become synonymous with life in the galaxy far, far away. This in-world art book explores the creation and stories behind these images of power and persuasion—where the images appeared, why particular planets were targeted, and who were the in-world artists behind the works.
Also featured in the catalog are a trade edition of last year’s Star Wars: Costumes and several crafting titles.
On Unboxing Star Wars this week, Yowie, Baby Jawa, and I take a look at this week’s Star Wars Rebels episode, ‘Stealth Strike.’ I also review the Lando five issue comic series that was released this past summer and fall from Marvel, and also take a look at one of the best Star Wars activity books to come out in a long while, Rebels Super Solve It. Plus we find some fruit with a connection to The Force Awakens?
Jawajames, Yowie the Skunk and Baby Jawa are back at it again! They take unboxing Star Wars stuff very seriously in today’s video for Force Friday Countdown: Wednesday. This time, they review Star Wars fruit snacks; DK’s Ultimate Star Wars by Tricia Barr, Adam Bray, Dan Wallace, and Ryder Windham; and Adam Gidwitz’ retelling of The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to be a Jedi?. Need more info on Ultimate Star Wars? James has a Q&A with Tricia and Adam and a follow-up interview with Adam from this past May.
Yowie and I got our hands on a copy of Imperial Handbook: A Commander’s Guide and we share the awesomeness of opening up the deluxe version, with its electronic protective case and accessories. The look and feel of this book is top-notch, with annotations by the various Rebels written in the margins, and some luxurious artwork. The Imperial Handbook, like its predecessors, The Jedi Path, Book of Sith, and The Bounty Hunter Code, is full of great detail on the organization of the Empire’s military. With sections about the army, navy, and stormtrooper corps as well as chapters on Imperial doctrine, there’s plenty of stuff for a fan of the Empire to learn, and some good comments from various Rebels about the Empire (including some snark from Han Solo). Fans of the Empire should enjoy this one, even if it is considered Legends.
Imperial Handbook is written with great detail and some awesome illustrations and schematics. There’s some propaganda style artwork as well as detailed drawings of Imperial war machines. If you’ve ever wondered what the rank badges are in the Imperial Navy, about the different training academies for stormtroopers, what General Madine recalled from his days as an Imperial, or how the Emperor inspired his command staff, this book is for you!
Grade: +
An advance copy of this book was provided by Becker & Mayer! for review.
Looking forward to Dan Wallace’s Imperial Handbook? We’ve got an inside preview at one of the pages from the upcoming book from Becker & Mayer. As you can tell from the image, we’ve got a section by Baron Fel on the various experimental TIE fighters, with notes from Luke Skywalker, Wedge Antilles, and Crix Madine.
The deluxe edition of the Imperial Handbook: A Commander’s Guide comes in mechanized protective case with inserts including an Imperial Order of Glory medal. The 160-page book goes on sale next week on October 14, and as previously announced, is considered Legends.
We first heard about The Imperial Handbookearlier this year and it was finally officially announced without a word about whether it fits into Legends or the new canon. Well, Mark Hurliman of Star Wars Report got an answer: It’s Legends.
This isn’t a big surprise – predecessors The Jedi Path, Book of Sith, and The Bounty Hunter Code are clearly Legends as well – but with Lucasfilm choosing to leave things vague (for sale purposes?) it’s good to have this nailed down.
The second is the “in-universe” Star Wars: Propaganda from Pablo Hidalgo.
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We first heard about The Imperial Handbook