And you thought my con coverage was over! Here’s Randy Stradley, writer of Star Wars: Dark Times, and Douglas Wheatley, artist of Dark Times, discussing the start of the current arc, ‘A Spark Remains’. If you haven’t checked it out yet, Issue #1 came out in July, just before Comic-Con, and the second issue comes out today. While setting the stage for the activity in the first issue of ‘A Spark Remains’ (check out my review of #1 on Big Shiny Robot), the pair kept mum about the future of Jedi Dass Jennir and his friends, as well as other projects being worked on. Bonus: we get photobombed at the very end by a certain Sith voice actor.
With today being the release date of the fifth and final issue of the Fire Carrier story arc for the Star Wars: Dark Times comic, I wanted to highlight this fantastic comics storyline, so I got the chance to discuss the story with Randy Stradley, the writer of Dark Times as well as senior Star Wars editor and VP of Publishing at Dark Horse Comics.
Let’s hear what Randy has to say about writing the latest adventures of the Whiphid Jedi, Master K’Kruhk and a group of younglings under his care, posing as refugees on an Imperial backwater world. We won’t spoil the final issue, but if you want to learn more about the story so far, you can check out my reviews of all individual issues at Big Shiny Robot: #1#2#3#4#5. Continue reading “Interview with Randy Stradley on Dark Times: Fire Carrier“
Comics. Remember how Entertainment Weekly was supposed to break some ‘interesting’ Star Wars news? And then we heard it out of WonderConinstead? Well, their article on The Star Wars has finally shown up… And Dark Horse’s Randy Stradley is, let’s say, less than impressed with the end result.
There are two other recent, less wrath-inducing interviews with Stradley on Newsarama and Jedi Journals.
The blogside. Two very different takes on the EU/EpVII issue: Newsarama’s Lucas Siegel takes a thoughtful approach, while io9’s Rob Bricken fans the angry paranoia flames. In another direction, Bria’s Waru Express has reached the New Jedi Order.
Flashback. Blogger Rologutwein is creating Star Wars roleplaying modules – based on other films – in the style of the old West End Games. Here’s his covers, and one of the interiors.
Comic Book Resources interviews Dark Horse’s Randy Stradley about their Star Wars line, Brian Woods’ eponymous series and the return of Legacy.
He hints that Wedge will be getting more facetime in the Woods’ series, and how the upcoming Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin came about…
And of course, there’s Legacy, which apparently owes it’s return to the retailers asking for more. Stradley talks about why it’s going in a different direction than the original:
For one thing, I felt too many direct comparisons between creative teams would dilute fan enthusiasm for the series. I also felt that by the end of his arc, Cade Skywalker had become too involved with the movers and shakers within the galaxy. I couldn’t see where to take him. That’s when it struck me there had been no Solos in “Legacy.” What were the Solo descendents doing 140 years after “A New Hope?”
There’s more, of course, on Dawn of the Jedi and Dark Times: Fire Carrier… Plus Dark Horse still has “a huge announcement coming up in the next few weeks.”
The new Star Wars comic sure looks like a hit: It’s sold out and Dark Horse is already going back to press for a second printing. Editor Randy Stradley says the second printing will have a slightly different cover design:
The second printing cover is the Alex Ross painting with no text at all. The logos, price, etc., will all be on the back cover.
There may be some copies still in stores with light traffic, but if you’re in a hurry to read a copy or don’t have it on your pull list, try digital.
Scoundrels. With only a few days until the book’s release in January 1, we’re seeing plenty of Scoundrels action. There’s 50 pages on Suvudu and a brief excerpt on io9 (which is also part of the larger chunk.) And Aaron Goins’ review is up over at Star Wars Report.
Interviews. For it being the holiday season, there sure are a lot of them popping up lately. Fangirl has Troy Denning, there’s Brian Wood at Newsarama, Randy Stradley at CBR and Steve Sansweet at GalacticHunter.
Rebels.Martha Wells is nearly done with the first draft of her Star Wars novel.
Star Wars Reads. Well, hopefully you have a good idea of what you’re doing tomorrow, but for today, the chat at GoodReads is on. Of particular interest may be Randy Stradley addressing continuity concerns people have been bringing up for Brian Wood’s Star Wars. Jason Fry, Ryder Windham, Jeffrey Brown and Timothy Zahn have answered fan questions so far. And on the Star Wars blog, Fry weighs in on his first Star Wars book.
James, that scoundrel, sent in four videos from the panel yesterday, as well as new photos (starting here.) At this panel, they announced two new books and talked about several new comics, including Brian Woods’ Star Wars. Part 1, above, is the introductions and Dark Horse announcements
Then, Del Rey…
Their announcements…
And the longest bit, the question and answer session:
Yes, this is actual news. Well, here’s one Star Wars debut due at SDCC: A comic called just Star Wars by “prolific author” Brian Wood. Wood’s name doesn’t ring any bells for me, but you may recognize some of his previous titles: DMZ, Channel Zero, Northlanders and The Massive. And the cover artist should be familiar: Comic legend Alex Ross.
The series represents a refocusing on “the core characters of the Original Trilogy.” (Fan reaction should be interesting, as it seems a lot of the love Dark Horse gets in EU fandom is for not doing that.) Randy Stradley tells io9:
It’s back-to-basics in the sense that we’re going back to the beginning, but Brian Wood is exploring aspects of the characters and their relationships that have, in many ways, been glossed over in the past, or shoved aside in favor of big action set pieces. Don’t get me wrong, this series has plenty of action, but all of it is informed by, or springs out of, the characters’ reactions to events in A New Hope.
Well, I’m intrigued, though I’m not sure of how this will go over. Still, Dark Horse is clearly going for a wider audience here, one not bogged down in the minutiae of “impenetrable continuity,” and I for one can’t blame them for aiming higher than their usual audience of ultra-concentrated fanboys. Should be interesting, even if the title is going to make it a bit of a nightmare for categorizing.
SDCC released their Friday schedule, and the wording on the Star Wars EU panel has folks speculating that Troy Denning is back for another round.
3:00-4:00 The Future of Star Wars Publishing: Dark Horse & Del Rey. Find out what’s coming up in the Expanded Universe of Star Wars publishing. Editors Randy Stradley and Dave Marshall from Dark Horse Comics discuss what’s next for Agent of the Empire, Dawn of the Jedi, Lost Tribe of the Sith, and Darth Maul, as well as reveal a new secret title that’s on the horizon. From Del Rey Books editors Frank Parisi and Erich Schoeneweiss, along with author Troy Denning (Apocalypse), look at new novels coming later this year from fan-favorite authors Timothy Zahn and Aaron Allston, as well as give a peek into 2013. Also on the panel is Jennifer Heddle, senior editor at LucasBooks. Moderated by author Pablo Hidalgo (Star Wars: The Essential Reader’s Companion). Room 7AB
I think that the speculation might is almost certainly jumping the gun, and since Golden’s announcement came so late maybe that’s why she’s not a part of it… And who the hell writes these things anyway? Basically, I don’t know. So let’s not panic about Dark Nest 2: Electric Bugaloo just yet, okay? (via)
UPDATE: Roqoo Depot has some thoughts on the comic portion (which I won’t even touch,) but they also speculate that the book announcement might be the upcoming Kemp duology.
However, remember that Heddle told EUC last month about post-Fate: “We’ll be making an announcement about that at San Diego Comic-Con, so stay tuned.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some news on the duology, or even at it being set after Fate of the Jedi, but with Kemp’s wheelhouse thus far being rather niche, I’m not sure it would qualify as big enough news for a general con like SDCC. Still, it’s one of the few announced projects we have little-to-no detail on at the moment, making it a certain contender.
Comics. Remember how Entertainment Weekly was supposed to break some ‘interesting’ Star Wars news? And then we heard it out of 
The new Star Wars comic sure looks like a hit: It’s 
Yes, this is actual news. Well, here’s one Star Wars debut due at SDCC: 
SDCC released