Dunc has covered all the news, and I’m just the guy who takes the pictures. and organizes the Bounty Hunt puzzle hunt event at Celebration. So anyway, here’s some of the best of the photos. If you want to see the full set, I have a photo album just of Friday at Celebration VI (170 shots of the Del Rey panel, cupcakes, Friday Bounty Hunt, random costumes) on flickr. Continue reading “Jawajames’ recap in photos of Star Wars Celebration VI Friday”
Celebration VI: Del Rey annouces Jaina Solo trilogy, new original trilogy series
We got news about two new projects this morning at Del Rey’s panel. The first is a new series, Rebels, featuring the classic characters, which launches with a Leia-centric tale by Martha Wells. The second, focusing on Luke, will be written by Kevin Hearns. These were just approved, so no art. It’s set between ANH and ESB, I believe.
The second is something we’ve all been waiting for and half-expecting: A Jaina trilogy, Sword of the Jedi, written by Christie Golden. Lots of cheers from the audience! It’s set not too long after Fate of the Jedi and does have some (temporary?) art. The Jaina fans are super-excited, and who can blame them?
But most of the panel was, as promised, given to Q&A. Some highlights and updates on other upcoming books, including Crucible, Scoundrels and more beneath the cut. In attendance were Pablo Hidalgo, Aaron Allston, James Luceno, Drew Karpyshyn, Jennifer Heddle, Shelly Shapiro and Timothy Zahn.
Continue reading “Celebration VI: Del Rey annouces Jaina Solo trilogy, new original trilogy series”
Celebration VI roundup: A week to go!
We’re now just a week away from the official start of the con. A WEEK. Crazy. As you might expect, it’s been a veritable glut of Celebration VI news lately, and as such I’ve fallen a bit behind. Here are some of the highlights:
History lessons. Dan Madsen remembers the first with The Celebration That Almost Wasn’t.
Expanded Universe. Tim Zahn has posted his Celebration schedule. He has three autograph sessions in addition to his panels, if you were wondering about that – including one on Sunday that he shares with fellow authors James Luceno, Aaron Allston, Troy Denning, Drew Karpyshyn and John Jackson Miller.
Guests. Matt Lanter (The Clone Wars) and Sam Witwer (The Force Unleashed) are the latest additions. And for the few, the proud, the VIP badge holders, here’s the Meet & Greet schedule.
Booths. I’m so happy that ThinkGeek is coming to Celebration! They’ve even posted a few hints at what new products we can expect from them. Also on the con floor? Disney Parks. Muppet merchandise, you WILL BE MINE!
El Rancho. Steve Sansweet writes about picking and packing up a fraction of his massive collection for exhibition at the Rancho Obi-Wan Experience.
Events. Kristen Hidalgo runs down the docket for the Star Wars Family Room; Patrick T. Gorman on how Star Wars Saga in 60 Minutes came to be; Stefan Cembolista talks about the props, new and returning, that we’ll see; John Scoleri highlights the art of Ralph McQuarrie and the many tributes to him; Art Andrews on the As You Wish Helmet Project; And our own James Floyd chats up The Bounty Hunt.
Random House posts Scoundrels blurb
Knights Archive spotted that Random House has posted a full blurb for Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels in their online catalog:
To make his biggest score, Han’s ready to take even bigger risks. But even he can’t do this job solo.
Han Solo should be basking in his moment of glory. After all, the cocky smuggler and captain of the Millennium Falcon just played a key role in the daring raid that destroyed the Death Star and landed the first serious blow to the Empire in its war against the Rebel Alliance. But after losing the reward his heroics earned him, Han’s got nothing to celebrate. Especially since he’s deep in debt to the ruthless crime lord Jabba the Hutt. There’s a bounty on Han’s head—and if he can’t cough up the credits, he’ll surely pay with his hide. The only thing that can save him is a king’s ransom. Or maybe a gangster’s fortune? That’s what a mysterious stranger is offering in exchange for Han’s less-than-legal help with a riskier-than-usual caper. The payoff will be more than enough for Han to settle up with Jabba—and ensure he never has to haggle with the Hutts again.
All he has to do is infiltrate the ultra-fortified stronghold of a Black Sun crime syndicate underboss and crack the galaxy’s most notoriously impregnable safe. It sounds like a job for miracle workers . . . or madmen. So Han assembles a gallery of rogues who are a little of both—including his indispensable sidekick Chewbacca and the cunning Lando Calrissian. If anyone can dodge, deceive, and defeat heavily armed thugs, killer droids, and Imperial agents alike—and pull off the heist of the century—it’s Solo’s scoundrels. But will their crime really pay, or will it cost them the ultimate price?
Scoundrels is due out in hardcover on December 26.
SDCC’s Star Wars book and comic panel set for Friday; Does Denning have a post-FOTJ contract?
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.
Out this week: Choices of One in paperback
If you’ve been waiting for the paperback to pick up Timothy Zahn’s Choices of One, Tuesday is your lucky day. And you get that spiffy new cover to boot!
Comic fans will have something in the shops this week, too: Blood Ties: Boba Fett Is Dead #3 is on the shipping list for Wednesday.
Our next book release, John Jackson Miller’s Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories, is coming up in about a month.
Full cover for Zahn’s Scoundrels revealed
Some of us got a peek at this at Origins, (See? You should totally come) but now Star Wars Books has revealed the full cover for Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels. The characters on the back half are, left to right, Kell Tainer, Winter, Zerba Cher’dak, and Bink Kitik. The painting is by Paul Youll.
It looks like Scoundrels has moved up a little in the schedule, as well – Editor Erich Schoeneweiss gives it a December 16th date, up from the 26th. Nevermind – it’s still the 26th. BOO.
Read the entire second chapter of Zahn’s Scoundrels
StarWars.com’s May 4th gift to EU fans is the entire second chapter of the upcoming Timothy Zahn book. And some other stuff, like a preview of Darth Maul: Death Sentence and Darth Vader and Son wallpapers. And the Fate of the Jedi writers talking about the series. But mostly Scoundrels.
Read a short tease from Zahn’s Scoundrels
Today on the Star Wars Books Facebook page, a short bit from the next Timothy Zahn book, Scoundrels. It’s due in December.
Star Wars Books passes Facebook milestone, celebrates with teases for Scoundrels, Reader’s Companion
To celebrate passing 30,00 fans, the Star Wars Books Facebook page gave us three previews today.
The first is four sketches for Pablo Hidalgo’s Essential Reader’s Companion, our first look at the interior artwork. I suspect they’re all from early on: One is from Darth Bane: Path of Destruction and the rest are from various books set in the prequel era.
The second is a lengthy (well, for Facebook, meaning it’s bigger than the usual ‘mini-excerpts’) bit from Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels featuring Han, Chewbacca, and an (apparently) brand-new character.
The third and final gift is a three-page excerpt of Jeff Grubb’s Scourge, which will be out later this month.