Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
If you want a book that has twists a plenty, Star Wars: Lando should do the trick. Lando #2 by Charles Soule and Alex Maleev is out today and boy have Lando and company gotten into a lot more trouble than they figured. After all, who would have suspected that the yacht they stole was Emperor Palpatine’s and that he’d send three Star Destroyers after them? (Lando should’ve guessed. Only his luck would be that bad.)
This review has minor spoilers for the issue.
You may have noticed that I have a weakness for all the royalty in Star Wars. That’s why it made perfect sense to team up with Jay Shah from Eleven Thirty-Eight for a nice long chat about all the different monarchies we see across the Star Wars universe. Part I covered how monarchy works and now we’re ready for a deep dive into the intricacies of Naboo.
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Bria: I’d like to thank George Lucas and The Phantom Menace for giving nine year-old Bria the dream that she too could one day be elected Queen and get a crown to wear at state occasions.
Jay: I love Naboo so much — you know, it was my home world in Star Wars Galaxies and I never wanted to leave. I hung around Theed and De’ja Po–oh wait, we were supposed to be talking about the Naboo system of government, weren’t we? Sometimes it’s hard to get over how beautiful and awesome Naboo is.
Bria: Did I ever tell you that I went to the Lake House? I mean, technically it’s called Villa Balbianello on Lake Como but it was the kriffing Lake House!
Jay: Yes, I still remember the day you told me and being eternally jealous. I lived vicariously through the photos, but oh my god it looked just like you had walked onto the set of the pier/balcony area.
Bria: Thankfully, no one was there to talk to me about how they hated sand but you’re right. We digress. Let’s get back to talking about how I’d like to be Queen of Naboo. I mean how Naboo elects their monarchs.
Jay: I’d vote for you–I mean, I’d vote for an improbably young candidate who went through a legislative program and a crash course in politics. But then people would probably think I was crazy, so why is it that the people of Naboo feel so comfortable electing children to run their planet?
Bria: Do we actually know how old the youngest queen ever elected was?
Jay: Argh, I feel like it was something that came up in one of the reference books, perhaps Wizard’s of the Coasts Secrets of Naboo sourcebook but I can’t remember offhand. Man, and Naboo is like my second or third favorite SW planet. Nerd fail.
Bria: Let’s assume it was 13 or younger since Amidala was 14. You knew me via the TFN boards when I was 14… would you have voted for me as Queen back then? Continue reading
We’re joined by Marvel editor Heather Antos to talk the new Star Wars comics in today’s Tosche Station Radio!
Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight What’s New on the Blog. We had a Go/No-Go: Under The Empyrean Sky by Chuck Wending. Bria reviewed Darth Vader #8. A reminder: Our Attack of the Clones live commentary is up now! Also an announcement: a new tabletop podcast will be coming soon!
In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s been working on a new book. Both the hosts have been reading Chuck Wendig’s Heartland trilogy. Brian’s been playing with Windows 10. Bria’s costuming, and Heather? Just making comics. No biggie.
Deak’s Dirt is quiet this week with D23 coming up. There’s going to be a new release and packaging for the Blu Rays. As for Battlefront, FIGHTER FLIGHT GAMEPLAY TRAILER!
In Biggs’ Bull$&#*! Jedi News has a rumor about The Force Awakens Blu Ray coming on April 26. Also, J.J. Abrams broke his back while working on The Force Awakens.
We’re lucky this week to be joined by Marvel editor Heather Antos to discuss, break down, and talk all things Star Wars comics in this week’s Camie’s Concerns!
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.
Over on starwars.com, Greg Rucka discusses writing Shattered Empire, Marvel’s contribution to the Journey to The Force Awakens project. The first issue of the four-part miniseries will be out September 4, with the trade listed for release November 17.
The comic will span several months after the Battle of Endor and surrounds two new characters, Shara and Kes Bey. A married couple and part of the Rebel Alliance, Shara and Kes soon realize defeating the Empire is going to take much more than killing the Emperor.
Be sure to keep an eye out for our interview with Heather Antos from Marvel, going live today, as she talks some more about what to expect in the series.
So let’s talk about Slave Leia.
I know, I know. Star Wars fandom has certainly voiced its share of opinions about Slave (or Huttslayer, if you prefer) Leia over the past several weeks. From the “concerned” dad at Target to Amy Schumer’s GQ photo shoot, at times it felt like 1983 all over again. And honestly, during most of the debate I felt like sitting back and yawning. Not because the topic isn’t pertinent to me — I can rant about Slave Leia with the best of them — but because I’m so bored of it. It’s like being forced to sit through American History 101 when I should be leading graduate level seminars.
This is not another column all about why Slave Leia is or isn’t bad. This is a column about objectification vs. fanservice, and why one is bad and the other is harmless fun. It’s about why I can swoon like a schoolgirl when Thor takes his shirt off, yet make the biggest side-eye when Carol Marcus strips down to her underwear in Star Trek Into Darkness. It’s about the differences between men and women in science fiction and fantasy, entertainment in general, and how we still have a long, long way to go.
I’d ask you to guess what comic is out today but given the title of this review, you already know that Darth Vader #8 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca is in comic stores everywhere now. We now return to our adventure show about a Sith Lord, an archaeologist, and two murderous droids.
The fun thing about this issue is that it’s definitely Aphra heavy and given that she’s been one of the best parts of this book that is a-okay by me. It takes until about halfway through the issue for Vader to show up. Again, this is not a problem which is a testament to what a strong supporting cast Gillen has built up in only a few issues. We are, however, getting to the point where I ask myself, “What exactly are Aphra’s motivations for continuing to work for Vader besides not wanting to, y’know, die?” She seems to be enjoying herself but this latest mission seems a little more out of her wheelhouse.
One of the neat things that this book has been doing is showing that Vader does still share that mind for strategy that Anakin Skywalker but that he still can’t beat a true master. He tries to be careful but he’s not perfect. This book has done a fantastic job at really integrating those last remnants of Anakin into Vader without sacrificing anything in terms of showing the Vader that we first met in the Original Trilogy.
Nothing much to say about the art this week. Larroca continues to do a fantastic job and is clearly having fun with character design. No wait, I’m sorry. I lied. I do have to point out that I appreciate the efforts towards diversity that the comics are making. It would have been very easy to make this new Inspector another white male and instead, we get an older black man so kudos to Larroca for that decision. I do miss the Adi Granov covers though.
Do we even need to say it? Darth Vader #8 gets out recommendation again this month.
This week on Tosche Station Radio, Tom and Jay join us to discuss Star Wars tabletop gaming!
Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight What’s New on the Blog. Bria reviewed Star Wars #7 and Kanan #4. We had our interview with Christie Golden. There was also our Attack of the Clones live commentary
In Fixer’s Flash, both Brian and Nanci have been busy reading Under the Empyrean Sky by Chuck Wendig. Jay’s been working on a collaboration with Tosche Station and ETE. Tom’s heading to a super awesome video-game arcade and we’re totally jealous.
Deak’s Dirt is light this week. Three day tickets for Celebration Europe are already sold out, which is nuts. Vader Down Star Wars/Vader comics crossover is a thing that’s coming. Most importantly, AFTERMATH EXCERPT.
Biggs’ Bull$#!& is also light this week, with only a weird rumbling that potentially three Star Wars shows are heading to Netflix.
This week on Camie’s Concerns, Tom and Jay help provide an introduction to Star Wars tabletop gaming. Why get into it? How do you get into it? How do you play? We answer all of that and more!
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.
I was super excited earlier this month to learn Chuck Wendig would be writing the entire Aftermath trilogy, and I hadn’t even read any of this books yet. Chuck is a delight on Twitter, and his blog is super informative for writers and always full of interesting stories and commentary on current events. I grew even more excited after reading the Aftermath excerpt. His prose seemed tight and catchy, and the present tense singled it out from all the other Expanded Universe books.
I wanted to check out some of Chuck’s fiction, to get a better sense of what he’d be bringing to the Star Wars Universe. The first two books of his young adult series were recently on sale, in anticipation of the release of Book Three. And since Chuck himself has suggested that series for people wanting to see how he’d handle Star Wars, that series became the logical choice.
Brian and I both finished the first book and are onto the second. What did we think? Our opinions after the break!
If you came into this issue expecting to find out just what the heck is up with Han Solo having a wife, that’s too bad because this issue is all about Obi-Wan Kenobi. Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi take a break from the action to travel back in time to years before A New Hope when Obi-Wan’s still becoming the crazy old hermit and Luke Skywalker’s just a little boy.
First things first though: what nerd at Marvel lettered the credits page entirely in Aurebesh? Because you, you beautiful nerd, are a wonderful human being.
Using the journal as a framing device was a simple yet great idea to allow Aaron and company to go back in time so they can use a character like Obi-Wan Kenobi and it’s one that I hope they use again in the future from time to time. Like Kenobi before them, Star Wars #7 brings the story down to a far smaller level and makes it about the characters. Is there a plot line? Sure but that’s not as important as the journey that Obi-Wan is going through as he continues to adjust to this life as Ben Kenobi. It’s also about him figuring out how to be at peace with being a Jedi to his core and also remaining in hiding where he can protect Luke.
On the art front, this is our first issue without John Cassaday and Marvel chose wisely. Bianchi was a great choice for this issue as his style is a perfect fit for Tatooine. He also draws an absolutely adorable young Luke Skywalker. I’d love to see more of Bianchi’s artwork in the Star Wars universe in the future especially if they continue to do the occasional Kenobi one-off.
Bottom line? Aaron-Bianchi-Kenobi are a winning combination in my book.
Star Wars #7 gets a 5/5 from me this week for a simple yet enjoyable one-shot story about the one and only Master Kenobi.
Our second installment in Tosche Station Radio’s live commentary track series brings us to Attack of the Clones! Joining the panel this week are Alli and Sho.
Instructions!
Sit back and enjoy!
