Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Three books and one comic are coming this week. First up on Tuesday, November 5 is the Rebecca Roanhorse novel Resistance Reborn. (I reviewed it last week.) Also out is Anthony Daniels’ I Am C-3PO and Galaxy’s Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, November 6, our lone comic is Doctor Aphra #38.
There’s a new recipe for Rey’s bread, courtesy of the Galaxy’s Edge cookbook and previewed early via io9. While less green than Jenn Fujikawa’s version, as offered by StarWars.com in 2016, it also requires only the ingredients and a microwave.
For the slightly more advanced cook, there’s also a recipe to make your own Ronto Wraps.
Is guacamole canon?!? (It should be.)
Galaxy’s Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook is out November 5.
The first Star Wars land opened this week in California. Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland only has one ride running, but that didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. (Though at least one review did mention it. More reviews: StarWars.com, EW, /Film, Polygon and Hypable.)
But maybe the neatest was seeing the reaction of some of the first fans allowed into the land:
Of course there’s a BB-8 cake mold, and of course Thinkgeek carries it as part of their wide variety of geeky kitchenware. My only question: Do you eat his head first?
Star Wars Story Talk (AKA the show formerly known as Unboxing Star Wars) gets in one more episode before Star Wars Celebration Europe! This time, Baby Jawa, Yowie the Skunk, and I try some snacks and review two books: LEGO Star Wars: The Chronicles of the Force, by Adam Bray, David Fentiman, and Cole Horton; and the junior novelization of The Force Awakens by Michael Kogge. Plus a little update on where I’ll be in the coming weeks —Star Wars Celebration Europe and San Diego Comic-Con. Hamburger Helper, Cheez-It crackers, and of course some Baby Jawa fun time!
Quick reviews
→ LEGO Star Wars: Chronicles of the Force – A fun and fact-filled guide to both Star Wars and LEGO Star Wars in particular. Lots of focus on LEGO minifigures and sets with plenty of call outs about the story of Star Wars. Plus the exclusive Unkar Plutt’s thug minifigure.
→ Star Wars: The Force Awakens junior novel – Thumbs up! Michael Kogge pens the adaptation of the film for the younger audiences. Quite a few scenes in it that weren’t in the film, and we see a few scenes a bit differently as well. Plus an insert of color photos from the movie.
→ Cheez-It Star Wars crackers – The cheesy square crackers have Star Wars shapes stamped into them! A Star Wars food tie-in done right.
→ Ultimate Hamburger Helper – Star Wars – Barely a tie-in. The food’s the same. Just an offer for $5 of movie concessions if you submit a photo of a receipt showing the purchase of 3 or more boxes. A Star Wars food tie-in done pretty sad.
Where to see jawajames at Star Wars Celebration Europe:
→ Friday: STEM Heroes and Heroines of Star Wars, 12:00p to 1:00p, Star Wars Fan & Collector’s Stage, with Tricia Barr, Cole Horton, Kevin Beentjes, and Hannah Gillis.
→ Saturday: International Star Wars Fandom, 10:30a to 11:30a, Star Wars Fan & Collector’s Stage, with Mark Newbold (UK), Tim Veekhoven (Belgium), Johanna Nybelius (Sweden), and Kevin Beentjes (Netherlands).
Get more info on Wear Star Wars Every Day or make a donation at GoFundMe or sign up to make a per-day pledge.
Note: DK Publishing provided a copy of LEGO Star Wars: Chronicles of the Force for review.
Happy Star Wars Day! We’ve got a special episode of Unboxing Star Wars for May the 4th! First, Baby Jawa, Yowie and I check out the fun at “The Dome Awakens”, the Star Wars Day celebration at the downtown San Diego Public Library held on May 1, 2016. Then it’s time to review the recent C-3PO one shot comic by James Robinson and Tony Harris, and get excited for the new Star Wars novel, Bloodline, by Claudia Gray. We finish up with the results of our first try at making Star Wars Jell-o Jigglers, and then some Baby Jawa fun time!
Quick reviews
→ C-3PO #1 – A fun (and long-awaited) tale that does indeed explain the origins of Threepio’s red arm. Read this comic then watch the LEGO Star Wars short “The Resistance Rises: Poe to the Rescue” for an interesting crossover of canon and LEGO Star Wars.
→ Bloodline – Strongly recommend! I had high expectations for this novel because of Gray’s first Star Wars novel, Lost Stars, and she surpassed them. I really enjoyed this tale – it’s a top-notch story with some great characters, and Gray nails Leia’s character.
→ Star Wars JELL-O Jigglers Mold Set – Comes with two 6-character mold trays and 4 boxes of Jello! All the characters look great, except Yoda, who is in some sort of action pose which doesn’t quite work right. Be sure to use the special mold instructions on the big box instead of the regular Jiggler instructions on the inside boxes of gelatin.
Get more info on Wear Star Wars Every Day or make a donation at GoFundMe or sign up to make a per-day pledge.
Note: Del Rey provided a copy of Star Wars: Bloodline for review.
We’ve got a new episode of Unboxing Star Wars! Yowie and I hit the road for the Star Wars Rebels finale screening at Walt Disney Studios and we review ‘Twilight of the Apprentice’. I also check out Star Wars Character Encyclopedia Updated and Expanded by Pablo Hidalgo and Simon Beecroft, from DK. Plus I give a quick review of the first issue of the Poe Dameron comic, while Baby Jawa plays with a new R2-D2 toy and we check out some of the new Star Wars stuff we’ve picked up. And at the end, some Baby Jawa fun time!
Quick reviews
→ Star Wars Character Encyclopedia Updated and Expanded – Great for everone! Have fun learning tidbits about more than 200 characters and creatures from all the Star Wars films! (and watch for my interview with author Pablo Hidalgo on starwars.com early next week)
→ ‘Twilight of the Apprentice’ – Big thumbs up! When Rebels has a season finale, they pull out all the stops and unload a whole boatload of awesome. (Also, if you haven’t seen it already, I have the entire Q&A from the screening available to watch.)
→ Poe Dameron #1 – A promising start! I think I’m more interested in who Lor San Tekka is than about Poe on his tail but we’ll see where it goes. Plus BB-8!
Get more info on Wear Star Wars Every Day or make a donation at GoFundMe or sign up to make a per-day pledge.
Note: DK provided a copy of Star Wars Character Encyclopedia Updated and Expanded for review.
With less than a week to go before The Force Awakens, Yowie, Baby Jawa, and Jawajames host a jumbo-sized episode of Unboxing Star Wars. This time, we talk about our visit to Season of the Force at Disneyland California, and even get an interview with two guests, Bryan Young and Dartanian Richards, outside Path of the Jedi. We also check out the Star Wars Epic Yarns books from Jack and Holman Wang, review the most recent Rebels episode, ‘Legacy’, and try some of Captain Phasma’s Crazy Hot popchips. Watch out, Baby Jawa – they’re hot!
Check out the Star Wars Rebels episode guide for ‘Legacy’, get more info on Star Wars Epic Yarns, and read my full report on Season of the Force. You can also enter the popchips Pop with the Force contest.
When most folks think of Star Wars at Disneyland Resort in California, they think of the Star Tours ride, and maybe also the Star Trader shop and the Jedi Training show for children. But now, Star Wars has fully invaded Tomorrowland during the Season of the Force event. I got a chance to bring the whole Jawa family to Disneyland to experience Season of the Force as well as some of the other holiday festivities at the Park.
Continue reading “Visiting Season of the Force at Disneyland for the holidays”
With less than two weeks to go before The Force Awakens hits theaters, Yowie, Baby Jawa, and I recount the latest in Star Wars for this week’s Unboxing Star Wars show. First we give a shout out for Wear Star Wars Share Star Wars 2015, then we salute our favorite Wookiee with a look at the Chewbacca comic mini-series. Finally, we review this week’s episode of Star Wars Rebels, ‘The Future of the Force.’ Plus lots of love for tookas and counting down to a new Star Wars movie!
Get more details on the Rebels episode ‘The Future of the Force’, and Marvel’s Chewbacca series by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto.