Rebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen: Star Wars and the Power of Costume

Back in February Brian and I visited family near Seattle, which is home to Starbucks, Amazon, Microsoft, grunge music, and the EMP Museum. We’d planned this trip long before the announcement of the opening of a new costume exhibit — Rebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen: Star Wars and the Power of Costume — and once we heard about it we grew even more excited to return to Brian’s home city.  We’d been to the EMP once before and visited this time specifically for the exhibit. It did not disappoint!

Brian and I really enjoyed Rebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen; I especially loved seeing Luke’s Return of the Jedi costume, various handmaiden dresses, and the evolution of Palpatine. I do wish the exhibit had more Original Trilogy costumes, though, and was disappointed that some of my favorite costumes (Luke’s Dagobah outfit, Leia’s Endor and Hoth gear) weren’t included. While the focus on the prequels is understandable, at times the exhibit seemed incomplete.

That said, the exhibit had a lot of insights about how the costumes were designed and constructed, and gave me an even greater appreciation for Trisha Biggar (how that woman wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar, I’ll never understand). I consider myself pretty well-informed about the making of the saga, and the signage included lots of trivia I’d never heard before. I definitely recommend attending if you’re in the Seattle area, especially if you’re a costumer.

The exhibit is open through October 4, 2015, and your ticket includes access to the rest of the EMP galleries, so be sure not to miss out on those. Entrance to the exhibit is done via timed tickets, so it is recommended that you purchase tickets in advance in order to secure your preferred viewing date and time. It took about an hour for Brian and I to stroll through the costume exhibit, and we probably could have spent a lot more time in there!

Review: Darth Vader #4

We’ve met Doctor Aphra, Triple-Zero, and BT and now they have their mission to further Darth Vader’s need for a secret personal force. In Darth Vader #4 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, the “team” is off to Geonosis… a place that Vader knows well.

Interestingly enough, the star of the issue, in my eyes, is Triple Zero. While he’s obviously an inversion of Threepio, it works surprisingly well and doesn’t come off as an evil parody. He’s still got the fussiness of a protocol droid but Triple Zero is also definitely fine with both murder and torture. It’s a great way to take the premise and build off of it in a way that doesn’t feel boring.

On a similar vein of character moving past their concepts, Doctor Aphra continues to be a fantastic addition to the Star Wars universe. She’s a smart and capable woman of color who may babble when she’s nervous but doesn’t have any illusions about how this galaxy works. This is a galaxy that needs more realists and I definitely look forward to seeing how the working relationship between her and Vader evolves.

This is definitely a great book for some good old-fashioned Vader violence. Larroca draws a great Vader and he definitely has fun with all the action sequences. Edgar Delgado’s colors compliment his line work nicely. It’s also a testament to the work of both the artist and writer that the art of Vader still manages to be expressive and tell a story with his body language even though you can’t see his face.

Speaking of Vader, I haven’t discussed him much yet in a review of his starring book. This is definitely a great read for those who love the character. I find that Gillen’s allusions to Anakin are certainly obvious but they don’t feel out of place for the situation. It’s nice to see that despite Vader’s efforts, Anakin isn’t completely gone.

Oh. And that last page cliffhanger? I can’t wait until next month’s issue. It has the potential to be fantastic.

Darth Vader #4 gets another 4/5 from me this week.

All-Ages Comics With Queer Representation, Part 2: More Recommendations

Character and/or relationship spoilers for several comics lay below. Be warned.

A few months ago I shared a few all-ages comics I enjoy that include prominent characters that fall outside of the heterosexual cisgender mold. The list of excellent all-ages media with queer content, while still much shorter than one would hope, continues to grow, and thus I happily find myself writing a part 2 to that recommendation post! Without further ado, here are a few more fun all-ages comics with queer representation.

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Go/No-Go – Star Wars Rebels: Servants of the Empire: Rebel in the Ranks

nasa-mission-control-3Servants of the Empire: Rebel in the Ranks is the second installment in the young reader tie-in series to Star Wars Rebels. The first book, Edge of the Galaxy, introduced us to Zare Leonis, his sister Dhara, and soon-to-be girlfriend Merei Spanjak in the year before Zare entered the Imperial Academy on Lothal. Rebel in the Ranks picks up the story with Zare as a new Imperial cadet and follows him as he tries to learn the truth about what happened to his sister. Along the way he meets another cadet who has no love for the Empire.

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Star Wars Goes Digital on April 10th

Star_Wars_logoIn news surprising to no one thanks to rumors over the past few days, Disney announced tonight via a commercial during this big deal college basketball game that the six films will be available in Digital HD starting on Friday, April 10th.

“Since the debut of the first film nearly 40 years ago, Star Wars has become a worldwide phenomenon with legions of fans from every generation,” said Alan Bergman, president, The Walt Disney Studios. “It’s only fitting that audiences enjoy this legendary saga and its many fascinating behind-the-scenes stories on a wide variety of platforms, and we’re very excited to finally bring all six films to Digital HD for the first time.”

The digital releases will also contain bonus material although that will apparently vary by retailer. You can read the full press release on the official site.

2015 Hugo Nominees Announced

hugo-award-logoIt’s that time of year again– the time when my reading list suddenly gets a lot longer. That’s right, this year’s Hugo Award nominees have been announced!

Included in their ranks is The Dark Between the Stars by Star Wars book alum Kevin J. Anderson, up for the Best Novel award, as is Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie, the sequel to last year’s category winner Ancillary Justice, and Skin Game, the newest entry in Jim Butcher’s best selling urban fantasy series The Dresden Files.  Ms. Marvel volume 1: No Normal, introducing the Pakistani-American teenage superhero Kamala Khan to the Marvel universe and written by G. Willow Wilson and illustrated by Adrian Alphona and Jake Wyatt, has made the list of Best Graphic Story nominees, joining Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ space opera Saga, which won the category’s award in 2013, and the first volume of Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky’s Sex Criminals.

In the Dramatic Presentation categories, it’s a good year for superheroes, with both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy making the Long Form list and the pilot episode of the CW’s The Flash making the Short Form list. Also making the Long Form list are is The Lego Movie and making the Short Form list is the season 2 finale of Orphan Black, “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried.”

This year was a record year for nomination participation according to the Hugo Awards’ official website, with 2122 ballots cast. You can read the full list of nominees here. The winners of each category will be voted on by the members of Worldcon 2015 and announced at the Hugo Awards Ceremony this August 22 at Sasquan in Spokane, Washington.

Star Wars Weekends Guests Announced!

SWW2015_MerchandisePoster (1)In all the excitement for Celebration, it’s easy to overlook that other event that happens every May and June at Walt Disney World — Star Wars Weekends! The event will take place every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from May 15-June 14 at (soon to be renamed) Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Earlier this afternoon the Disney Parks blog and The Official Site announced the Star Wars celebrities appearing this year, including the first appearances of two very special guests, Ian McDiarmid and Frank Oz!

Weekend I (May 15 – 17)

  • Ian McDiarmid: Senator/Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Star Wars: Attack of the Clones; Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)
  • Amy Allen: Aayla Secura (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith)
  • Tiya Sircar: Sabine Wren (Star Wars Rebels)

Weekend II (May 22 – 24)

  • Warwick Davis: Wald, Wicket W. Warrick (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)
  • Silas Carson: Ki-Adi-Mundi, Nute Gunray (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Star Wars: Attack of the Clones;Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith)
  • Vanessa Marshall: Hera Syndulla (Star Wars Rebels)

Weekend III (May 29 – 31)

  • Warwick Davis: Wald, Wicket W. Warrick (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)
  • Daniel Logan: Boba Fett (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones)
  • Steve Blum: Zeb Orrelios (Star Wars Rebels)

Weekend IV (June 5 – 7)

  • Ray Park: Darth Maul (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace)
  • Jeremy Bulloch: Boba Fett (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back; Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)
  • Ashley Eckstein: Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars: The Clone Wars; Star Wars Rebels)

Weekend V (June 12 – 14)

  • Frank Oz: Yoda (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Star Wars: Attack of the Clones; Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi; Star Wars Rebels)
  • Ray Park: Darth Maul (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace)
  • Peter Mayhew: Chewbacca (Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith; Star Wars: A New Hope; Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back; Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)
  • Taylor Gray: Ezra Bridger (Star Wars Rebels)

James Arnold Taylor will be hosting the event, with Ashley Eckstein on hand to host the Padawan Mind Challenge (in addition to her Weekend IV guest appearance).

Also of note this year: a new complex of shops for Darth’s Maul on Streets of America and a new inside location for celebrity autographs just off Commissary Lane.

In addition to celebrity appearances in “Stars of the Saga” and “Star Wars: Rebels”, Ray Park and Warwick Davis will be appearing in their own one-man shows. No work yet if Ian McDiarmid and Frank Oz will be appearing as part of “Stars of the Saga” or a separate interview like last year’s “Conversation with Mark Hamill”.

Who’s excited? I’m excited!

Tosche Station Radio #108: Celebration Pre-Funk

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Dunc and James from Club Jade join the hosts to discuss all things Celebration on this week’s Tosche Station Radio!

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight What’s New on the Blog. Bria reviewed Kanan #1. We announced A Celebration of You, your chance to take part in a podcast recording and share your story at Celebration.

In Deak’s Dirt, Is there a Battlefront novel in the pipeline? (via clubjade). Is the Celebration opening panel going to be broadcast worldwide? (via clubjade). Gareth Edwards and Josh Trank are going to be at Celebration. But that’s stupid you shouldn’t go to it. Instead you should come to our recording instead! Starwars.com posted some Celebration shirts, Her Universe teases a Cloud City dress

Biggs’ Bullshit asks if a Lords of the Sith character feature in Rogue One? (via clubjade). Via Deadline: Ben Mendolsohn up for a role in Rogue One?

This week in Camie’s Concerns, James and Dunc help us break down Celebration and offer tips on what to bring, what to do, and what to see.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and Audible.com.

Her Universe - Flaunt Your World - www.heruniverseshop.com Listen to a bestseller for $7.49 at audible.com!