If you’re attending both or either of the big summer genre cons – San Diego Comic Con later this month, or Atlanta’s Dragon*Con in September – than you’re in luck today. SDCC has released their Thursday (July 21) schedule, and Dragon*Con’s Star Wars track has their own tentative listings up.
With no big Hall H Star Wars presentation planned, there are several events planned for Thursday: A Kinect Star Wars Panel for the gamers, Dark Horses’ fall publishing highlights, The Old Republic MMO, and a Clone Wars S4 preview with Dave Filoni and Pablo Hidalgo.
(I suspect we’ll see at least one dedicated Expanded Universe panel at some point – We do know that both Timothy Zahn and Del Rey’s Shelly Shapiro will be in attendance. However, the Clone Wars panel being on Thursday leads me to suspect there won’t an official Star Wars day this year. )
Among several panels focusing on female fandom is one sponsored by Her Universe, titled ‘What Women Want in Their Female Sci-Fi Heroes.’ Panelists include Ashley Eckstein, Dave Filoni, Betsy Mitchell and comic writer Gail Simone.
Bowing out the day are the ever-present Star Wars Fan Movie Awards. Mark Hamill will also be present, although for Thursday he’s sitting on a panel for Batman: Arkham City.
Meanwhile, the more fandom-oriented Star Wars track at Dragon*Con has a tentative schedule up. They’re not lacking in stars – Carrie Fisher, Gary Kurtz, Ashley Eckstein, and Temuera Morrison will be in attendance, as well as several authors.
Of special interest: A panel on Star Wars myth and philosophy with Timothy Zahn and Gary Kurtz, one dedicated to Heir to the Empire, and the ever-popular (and over-18 only) Adult Themes panel!
Rounding out the list is the one book that has it all. Expanded Universe history? Check. Oddball merchandise? Check. Museum exhibits? Early versions of Yoda? Mark Hamill on Broadway? Check, check, and you better believe it. Star Wars Year by Year compiles over four decades (yes, four) of highlights, lowlights, and trivia – think of it, perhaps, as The Essential Franchise Chronology. But its scope goes beyond Lucasfilm productions. The authors also spotlight various milestones in science, pop-culture, and politics, giving readers a sense of the events that helped shape Star Wars, as well as how Star Wars changed the world. – Stooge
Setting the stage for the eventual release of The Old Republic MMO, Fatal Alliance builds up the worlds and character types, and then throws them all into the fray against a new threat. Sean Williams captures the look of this era, and brings together some new enjoyable characters. It’s a heist caper that unfolds into a tale of espionage and war. It takes a little while to set up the players, but the endgame is well worth it. – James
The saga’s most iconic ship is revealed! Ryder Williams’ text is sparse but clever, the illustration work by Chris Trevas and Chris Reiff shines, and the layer-by-layer design is icing on the cake. Kids will love it and adults will delight in the technical specs and (in-character!) modification notes. It’s a just plain fun book – certain to entrance even the most jaded fan for at least a little while. – Dunc
With Luke and Ben and their new Sith allies having defeated a more sinister evil, you’d think that Troy Denning would take it easy on the Jedi Order, but Abeloth’s demise in Allies is just the beginning of a series of explosive events. Faster that you can say “Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal”, the Sith bring it. Chief of State Daala brings it. The Mandalorians bring it. Tahiri’s prosecutor brings it. So it’s up to a couple of Jedi, and Han and Leia to strike back – and when they bring Lando and droids to help, you know it’s going to get heavy as the Jedi shake things up against their adversaries. – James
A book that needs a volume button? Not to worry, this is more than just a gimmick. To fully explore the audio awesomeness of Ben Burtt, The Sounds of Star Wars has a built-in soundboard which plays over 200 (unmixed!) effects from that galaxy far, far away. So you can read about the crazy ways he made these sounds, then listen to the fantastic end results! Plus, Mr. Burtt has enough behind-the-scenes stories to fill ten volumes – and for a quadruple Oscar-winner, he’s remarkably humble. – Stooge 
Read Red Harvest… After releasing the 
Both Amazon and DK’s site gives 
Sue Rostoni updated her 
Legacy. Comic Book Resources interviews 
Meanwhile Internet Rockstar/Man Who Never Sleeps Pablo Hidalgo will be penning The Essential Reader’s Companion. And I am forced to devolve into 
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. 