Once Upon a Galaxy
Books and Comics News
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latest update:
Saturday
August 16, 2008
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AUGUST 16
“Alex Wheeler”
to write new Scholastic series Rebel Force
Amazon
UK ‘announced’ the name of the writer of the upcoming Scholastic juvenile
series Rebel Force. Alex Wheeler will write the stories which take place in the
Classic Star Wars-era. Amazon.com announced the series as:
It is a critical moment in the struggle between the
Rebels and the Empire: the Force itself hangs in the balance, and all the hopes
of the galaxy depend on the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han
Solo, and a host of other heroes....
The first book will be published in late December.
Googling the name of Alex Wheeler does not turn up
much. I am not entirely sure myself that it is the real name of the writer, or
an alias, as an Alex Wheeler does turn up as a fictional character in Carolyn
Keene’s Nancy Drew Files: Heart
of Ice (also by Scholastic)...
sources: amazon UK
AUGUST 13
Special Dark
Horse 100 edition of Star Wars: The Clone Wars # 1
Dark
Horse will release a special Dark Horse 100 edition of Star Wars: The
Clone Wars # 1, with an alternate cover by The Clone Wars director
Dave Filoni. There will be only 1,000 copies of this special edition, which
will be send to ten randomly-drawn retailers as part of a quarterly retailer
promotion. The last Star Wars/Dark Horse 100 edition was Star Wars: Dark
Times # 1 from November 2006.
sources: darkhorseforums
AUGUST 12
Fate of the Jedi
to be a new 9-book series?
Well, for the past week, rumors regarding Fate of the Jedi being a new nine-book-series
have been all around the Internet (although nothing official has been stated
yet). The rumors began on a German
forum of the German Official Star Wars Fan Club in July 2008:
[translated in English]: “Fate of the Jedi is a new book-series,
comprised of nine volumes which take place after the Legacy of the
Force-series. The books will be written by Aaron Allston, Troy Denning, and
Star Wars newcomer Christie Golden.”
When asked about this news on the official
starwars.com forums, Lucas Licensing’s Sue Rostoni had the following to say
(August 8):
“You can expect information once the press release is
prepared and approved and posted on sw.com. Then we can open a discussion that
I can actually participate in!”
And on August 11, Sue Rostoni added the following regarding Christine
Golden:
“I met her some time ago and she's very enthusiastic
about the unnamed project I can't talk about. She's a team player and a good
communicator... We have quite a number of books planned for the near future, so
I'm hoping that everyone's appetites will be somewhat appeased.... not
entirely, probably, but somewhat....”
About Christie
Golden, she is the author of several original novels, as well as numerous Star
Trek novels, and stories in the World of Warcraft, Ravenloft,
StarCraft, and Invasion America universes.
So, although nothing is set in stone yet, we know that
Christie Golden is aboard the Lucas-train... You can visit her blog here.
sources: christiegolden.com, OSWFC.de forums & starwars.com forums
AUGUST 9
Karen Traviss to
write an Essential Guide to Star wars Military
On her website, author Karen
Traviss revealed that, among several other Star Wars projects, she will be the
author of an essential guide to the Star Wars Military for Del Rey.
source: karentraviss.com
AUGUST 1
Weekly Online
Clone Wars Comic
In his starwars.com
blog, artist Grant Gould announced the following:
“Lucasfilm announced some exciting news at Comic-Con
regarding a weekly Clone Wars online comic that will accompany the TV series.
There will be four artists switching off each week -- Grant Gould (me), Tom
Hodges, Katie Cook, and Jeff Carlisle -- and I'm really excited about it. I
think it's gonna set a new standard in webcomics and blow everyone away.
In a follow-up, artist Tom Hodges (from webstrip
Evasive Action-fame), posted the following at theforce.net
forums:
“This has been a few months in the making and I'm
relieved to be giving out details. Pablo Hildago at Lucas Online approached me
earlier this year and asked me to give him a few names of people I would be
comfortable working with. Right off the top of my head I suggested Katie and
Grant. the 3rd was difficult as I have many a lot of friends who I would have
liked to have on this, it just seemed like some were too busy. Pablo suggested
Jeff and I agreed.
The quick version is each week, we'll be given a story
leading into that weeks episode. Now it could be a direct tie-in or
peripherally connected from a distance because some episodes have story arcs
not connected to each and every episode. Keep in mind, the series will not
always be about Anakin, Obi-Wan and Padme. It will flesh out characters we've
only seen bits and pieces of.
This will also NOT be "web-strip" format. It
will be full color, comic format and each story will be 5 pages in length.
I've been really excited about this (and one other
project I have with them that i should be able to talk about soon). I'm really
excited for Katie, Jeff and Grant as well.
More as it comes in!”
sources: blogs.starwars.com, theforce.net forums
JULY 29
Leland Chee
about Clone Wars continuity
On the starwars.com
message boards, Keeper of the Holocron Leland Chee had the following to say
about the new Clone Wars continuity:
“...at some point, we'll rework the official timeline
so you can see how everything fits. But until the latter portions of the series
become more solidified, we won't publish anything official.”
“Everything's staying C-canon. As we've always done,
any specific inconsistencies will be dealt with case-by-case as needed.”
source: starwars.com message boards
JULY 28
Karen Traviss to
write Imperial Commando books
In an interview on randomhouse.com
concerning her new book, The Clone Wars, Karen Traviss remarked that she is
“continuing the Republic Commando series in Imperial Commando books.” She also
said that there were several other Star Wars books down the pipeline, including
a Boba Fett one.
source: randomhouse.com
JULY 25 (San Diego
Comic Con International 2008)
New Comic Packs
announced for late 2008/2009
During a slide-show presentation at San Diego Comic Con International 2008,
Hasbro announced three more Wal-Mart
exclusive Comic Packs to be released in March 2009.
Wal-Mart exclusives (March 1, 2009) consists of:
-
Marvel Star Wars # 94 (Small Wars) (reprint from April 1985)
(with Ewok action
figures Keoulkeech, Machook and Kettch)
-
Star Wars: Empire # 16 (To The Last Man Part 1) (reprint from
January 28, 2004)
(with Lieutenant
Sunber and Amanin)
-
Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron # 19 (Requiem for a Rogue Part 3) (reprint from May 1997)
(with Nrin Vakil and
Ibtisam)
Two more Comic
Packs were announced during the presentation. They are to be released on
November 15, 2008:
-
Star Wars: Dark Empire # 1 (Book 1: The Destiny of a Jedi)
(reprint from December 12, 1991)
(with Clone Emperor and
Luke Skywalker)
-
Star Wars: Republic # 82 (Hidden Enemy Part 2) (reprint from January 11, 2006)
(with Quinlan Vos and
Commander Faie)
sources: San Diego Comic Con International 2008, rebelscum.com
JULY 24
The Force
Unleashed novel already out in Germany
In an unexpected move, the German-languaged
version of the novel appeared before the US (English-languaged) version.
The paperback, released in Germany by Panini Books, tells the story of the
upcoming game. The US version of the novel is expected to hit the shelves on August
19 in hardcover-format.
sources: amazon.de
JULY 17
Dark Horse
reveals Clone Wars comic-covers
Dark Horse updated their website today
with the covers of their upcoming Clone Wars comics. Clone
Wars # 1, written by Henry Gilroy, the first of six issues, will come
out on September 10. Clone
Wars # 2, with a cover by Kilian Plunkett, appears on October 8.
September 24 sees the birth of the first issue of the Quarterly Clone
Wars digest, titled Shipyards
of Doom. Volume 2: Crash
Course will be published on December 31. Both quarterlies are written
by Henry Gilroy, the head writer for the Clone Wars tv-show.
sources: Dark Horse Comics
Karen Miller’s
Clone Wars book has a title
Random House announced the title of the
second Del Rey Clone Wars book: written by Karen Miller, the book is called Wild
Space. The book will be available on November 25 for a coverprice of $
15.00.
On her LiveJournal,
Karen Miller has the following to say:
“Well, my first Star Wars novel has a title: The
Clone Wars: Wild Space.
Plot details are still under wraps. If and when I can whet your
appetites, I will. But I will say this much, because I know some folk are
feeling antsy. These novels are companions to the upcoming Clone Wars cartoon
series. They aren't word-for-word adaptations of the scripts. For a start,
Karen Traviss and I are writing adult novels and the cartoons are aimed at a
young audience. So don't expect a mirror book-form of the cartoons as they air
on the big and small screen. These stories are designed to complement the fine
work of the animated-action series.
And humungous thanks to the incomparable Karen T, who came up with this
title after reading the draft manuscript. Alas, my brain was broken. She rocks
every rocking chair in the known universe..”
sources: randomhouse.com, Michael Marks. Karenmiller.livejournal
JULY 16
Hasbro announces
the release-dates for waves 1 – 3 of the comic-packs for 2008
Hasbro.com announced the release-dates of Waves 1 to 3 of the their 2008 comic
pack line. Apart from the three WalMart-exclusives already released, the
following were officially announced in their fall
release schedule:
Wave 1 (August 15, 2008) consists of:
-
Star Wars: Republic # 57 (The Battle of Jabiim Part 3: Lightning Rods) (reprint from September 24, 2003)
(with Anakin
Skywalker and an Assassin Droid repack)
-
Star Wars: Republic # 69 (Dreadnaughts from Rendilli Part 1)
(reprint from September 29, 2004)
(with Asajj Ventress
and Tol Skorr)
-
Star Wars: Obsession # 3 (reprint from January 26, 2005)
(with Anakin
Skywalker and Durge)
Wave
2 (September 20, 2008) consists of:
-
Star Wars: Legacy # 2 (Broken: Part 2) (reprint from July 12,
2006)
(with Darth Talon and
Cade Skywalker)
-
Star Wars: Legacy # 6 (Broken: Part 5) (reprint from November 29,
2006)
(with Antares Draco and
Ganner Krieg)
-
Marvel’s Star Wars: # 68 (The Search
Begins) (reprint from February 1983)
(with Dengar and
Fenn Shysha)
-
Marvel’s Star Wars: # 69 (Death in
the City of Bone!) (reprint from March 1983)
(with Tobbi Dala and
Princess Leia)
Wave 3 (October 20, 2008) consists of:
-
Star Wars: Empire # 1 (Betrayal: Part 1 of 4) (reprint from
September 4, 2002)
(with Darth Vader and
Admiral Trachta)
-
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire # 5 (reprint from May 7, 1996)
(with Princess Leia and
Prince Xizor)
-
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire # 1 (reprint from October 3, 1995)
(with Grand Admiral
Thrawn and Talon Karrde)
-
Star Wars: Infinities # 3/4
(with Darth Vader and
Princess Leia (sniper)
source: hasbro.com
Star Wars:
Knights of the Old Republic # 31 preview
Dark Horse
posted a preview
of the first three pages of Knights of the Old Republic # 31 (Turnabout).
Written by John Jackson Miller, with art by Alan Robinson, Turnabout tells the
story of Zayne Carrick, a fugitive Padawan accused of the
murder of his fellow students. Carrick is on his way to the authorities in hope
of clearing his name, shedding light on the Jedi Masters who framed him, and
revealing the covert order to which they belong. But reaching the right people
without facing off against his former masters is proving to be more difficult
than Zayne imagined! Success is going to require help from every true friend
Zayne has garnered in his long quest for justice.
source: darkhorse.com
New Cover for
Star Wars: Republic Commando: Order 66
On July 11, author Karen Traviss remarked on her site that the announced cover
for Order 66 would change. Today, clubjade.net was the first to show the
new cover.
source: clubjade.net
Dark Horse
Give-away for San Diego Comic Con 2008
Dark Horse Star Wars editor Randy Stradley revealed today
that Dark Horse’s primary giveaway this year will be a 144-page full-color
signing/preview book. The Star Wars section of the book includes an extensive
preview of Star Wars: Rebellion # 15, a shorter preview of the The
Clone Wars: Shipyards of Doom, plus pages or covers from The Force
Unleashed, Knights of the Old Republic, and Legacy.
Dark Horse will also have on hand a
special Luke Skywalker: Last Hope for the Galaxy, and Clone Wars signing
cards.
source: Dark Horse forums
JULY 14
Star Wars:
Rebellion # 15 preview
Up today: a special preview of Vector:
Part 7 (of 12) from Dark Horse’s Star Wars: Rebellion # 15.
source: MySpace comic books
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