Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
Welcome back to Go/No-Go, Tosche Station’s regular feature where we offer our spoiler-free opinion as to whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on a book, film, or other entertainment. Today on the launch pad: Jupiter Ascending. It’s a film that cost a lot of money to make but has been struggling in the box office. How does our launch crew feel despite the critics’ thoughts? To mission control for the verdict!
Should the new Jedi be the same as the old? We answer that question on this week’s Tosche Station Radio!
Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s New on the Blog.Bria explained why KOTOR needs three video games and a TV show. She also reviewed Sabine’s Sketchbook, Star Wars #2 and Darth Vader #1, and the Rebels episode “Vision of Hope.” Nanci started Dark Force Rising for the Thrawn Trilogy retrospective and reviewed “Call to Action”
In Fixer’s Flash, the hosts have been catching up on Agent Carter and think you should be watching it too. Nanci read Heir to the Jedi. Both of the hosts spent the weekend at Disney World and the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Oh, and something about a Disney Star Wars Cruise.
Deak’s Dirt starts with a bit of Marvel. Spider-Man is coming to the MCU and there’s a new Daredevil teaser. In Celebration news, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, and Kenny Baker will be in attendance! On the literature side of things, John Jackson Miller, Christie Golden, and James Luceno will be there as well. Finally, Tosche Station will be recording a podcast LIVE at Star Wars Celebration! Our slot is Sunday at 10:30.
Bigg’s Bull$&#* features the usual grab bag of Standalone and Rebels rumors. What characters might be showing up in the animated series? Listen in to find out.
This week on Camie’s Concerns, some online conversation had the hosts wondering just how closely the new Jedi in the sequel trilogy should mirror the old Jedi. Our take? It’s a bad idea to be a carbon copy of the Old Order and we discuss why.
Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.
This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and Audible.com.
First there was Bail Organa, then Darth Vader, then Yoda, then Lando Calrissian. Now Grand Moff Tarkin joins the lists of classic characters joining the cast of Star Wars Rebels. While I don’t want the Ghost crew to be overshadowed by an endless list of guest stars, I can’t deny that Rebels has put them all to great use. So when I heard that Tarkin was going to appear in the next episode, I was super excited to see what Filoni and company would do with him. I loved his appearances on The Clone Wars, and as it turned out his appearance on Rebels didn’t disappoint either. Not only that, but he brought the expression “*@$! getting real” to a whole ‘nother level.
Sony and Marvel Studios have formed a Spidey-based partnership, according to Marvel’s official site:
Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017, in a film that will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger. Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.
Notably, the release refers to the character as “Spider-Man” rather than “Peter Parker,” with one exception:
“Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios share a love for the characters in the Spider-Man universe and have a long, successful history of working together. This new level of collaboration is the perfect way to take Peter Parker’s story into the future,” added Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.
While Belgrad doesn’t explicitly state that Peter and Spidey are one-and-the-same in this case, it is implied. If they are indeed the same, it will be the second film reboot of Peter Parker as Spider-Man in less than five years and the third film version of the character in less than fifteen. I’d find a film starring Mile Morales, the current Spider-Man in Marvel’s Ultimate comics universe, to be a breath of fresh air, but if don’t get to have that, perhaps they’ll at least get more creative with Spidey’s casting this time and choose an actor who isn’t white.
In addition to the news that they and Sony will be working together on Spider-Man, Marvel has pushed back the release dates of four previously announced films, possibly to give the new Spider-Man film some space. Thor: Ragnarok, previously scheduled for July 2017, will now be released on what had previously been Black Panther‘s release date of November 3, 2017, Black Panther will now come out on Captain Marvel‘s old release date of July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel is getting Inhumans‘ previous date of November 2, 2018, and Inhumans will now be released on July 12, 2019. You can read Marvel’s full announcement on the moved release dates here.
The Second Marvel Era continues on Wednesday with the release of Darth Vader #1 by Kieron Gillen with art by Salvador Larroca. Gillen leaves no time for readers to wonder “Well what happened when—” as this ongoing Vader story picks up not just shortly after the Battle of Yavin but directly from the pages of Star Wars #2. Long time Star Wars comic readers have seen Vader on the page plenty of times but how does Gillen handle one of the most iconic bad guys?
One of the neatest things about the Lucasfilm Story Group is that it’s giving readers experiences like this and rewarding those who swing by their local comic store every week. Again, this book ties in directly with the first two issues of Star Wars and yet provides enough context that a reader wouldn’t be lost if they hadn’t read the other book. That said, Gillen’s certainly telling his own story here. He’s writing a Vader who’s definitely a man in the doghouse with the Emperor and who needs to solve the mystery of the Rebel pilot. He’s also writing a story that takes into account the galactic political ramifications of the Death Star’s destruction, something that I hope continues in future issues.
It’s difficult to discuss the storyline without delving into spoiler territory. Gillen doesn’t have the same cliffhanger flair as his fellow Star Wars writer Jason Aaron but he does leave enough hints throughout the pages to keep readers intrigued. I didn’t find this to be the strongest #1 especially in the wake of some other books that Marvel’s released recently but I definitely enjoyed it. Regardless, I’m interested to see where Gillen takes this story and whether or not Vader will continue to weave in and out of the main book especially once he discovers Luke’s identity. I’m also interested to see whether Palpatine continues to play a role in the book and whether it will expand.
On the art front, I really enjoyed Larroca’s work and have been a fan of his ever since his work on Invincible Iron Man. Having to routinely draw an outfit like Darth Vader’s isn’t the easiest of tasks (Iron Man must’ve been good practice.) but he does it well. Larroca also draws a particularly great Emperor Palpatine Edgar Delgado’s colors are a nice compliment to Larroca’s lines. Another highlight of the book is when Gillen’s writing steps back and lets Larroca’s work do the storytelling on its own for several pages. Clearly this is a writer/artist team that collaborates well together.
Darth Vader #1 is a solid start for the Sith Lord’s ongoing series and gets a recommendation from us. You can preorder the comic from Marvel here for its release on February 11th.
Thank you to Marvel for providing us with a copy of the issue in advanced for review purposes.
Mere weeks after their first issue hit comic store shelves, Jason Aaron and John Cassaday are back with the second issue of the brand new headline Star Wars series. An all-around well-received first issue can be a tough act to follow. Expectations are high so how does Issue #2 stand up?
When last we left our heroes, Luke Skywalker found himself facing off against Darth Vader while Han and Leia were doing their best to find their way out of the weapons factory on Cymoon 1 with all the rescued slaves. It’s a task easier said than done especially since Luke’s training as a Jedi has barely begun much less prepared him to face off against a Sith Lord.
Yesterday Marvel brought us the teaser for the trailer of their upcoming Netflix series Daredevil. Today the full trailer went online and it’s kind of intense.
All 13 episodes of Daredevil will premier on Netflix on April 10.
Dark Force Rising was published in June 1992, an entire year after Heir to the Empire and a mere month before I first saw the Star Wars Trilogy in its entirety. As soon as I finished HttE I rushed to the bookstore and purchased my very own copy of the new Star Wars books. I was one of the lucky ones who didn’t have to wait a year to find out what happened next. (I wasn’t so lucky when it came to The Last Command, but that’s another story.) DFR might even have been the first piece of Star Wars merchandise I purchased all by myself, even before getting VHS copies of the films. (While HttE originally belonged to my father, it soon “magically” made its way onto my bookshelf.) And thus my status as a SWEU follower first and foremost was solidified early on in my fandom.
DFR is my least favorite book of the series, and the installment I’m least familiar with. I’ve read HttE more times, and I’ve skimmed TLC more times than I can count because of all the Luke and Mara stuff. But there are parts of DFR I really, really love. Garm bel Iblis is a great character, and while 11-year-old Nanci didn’t go quite so far as to ship him with Mon Mothma, 34-year-old Nanci totally picks up on that implication (and kind of wants to write a tragic fanfiction about them). I love that Mara Jade is willing to drop everything and ask for help from Luke kriffing Skywalker, the man she’s sworn to kill, in order to rescue Talon Karrde. I love Leia Organa Solo being the badass Lady Vader on Honoghr. And I love that by the end of this book, Luke is absolutely despondent at the idea of losing Mara, so much so that Han picks up on it. (Like I said before, Han Solo was the first L/M shipper.)
There’s not much else I can tell you about the book. I remember the basic plot beats, and being really interested in the Katana fleet mystery, but I can’t recall much more than that. Other than I liked it a lot and waiting several months to read TLC was absolute torture.
I’m really looking forward to revisiting DFR and seeing what I remember and the parts I’d completely forgotten. I hope you’ll enjoy the ride!
Here at Tosche Station, we don’t dive into the Star Wars children’s books very often but Sabine: My Rebel Sketchbook by Dan Wallace and Annie Stoll is just so awesome that we had to talk about it here. Just like it says on the label, Sabine’s Sketchbook is written like it’s Sabine’s latest sketchbook (the seventh this year!) and is filled with her artwork, thoughts, and random notes. Given that this is a children’s book, there’s much more writing and explaining that I would actually expect to see in the dozens of sketchbooks that Sabine undoubtedly has stashed in her cabin but that does nothing to detract from how thoroughly enjoyable this book is for all Rebels fans.
Like a sketchbook would, the book clearly takes place over a period of time. Towards the start, Sabine details everyone’s call signs but only goes up to Spectre 5. As the book progresses, they eventually add Ezra to their little crew and it covers the timeframe for all the episodes from the first half of Season One. While the book is intended for kids, adult fans of Rebels will undoubtedly get a kick out of reading it too. Throughout the book are tons of little tidbits about the crew of the Ghost and about Sabine herself. I feel like this book actually gave us more insight into who Sabine is as a person than eleven episodes of the television show which is a nice feather in the book’s hat. Expanded Universe fans will also enjoy spotting all the little bits that find their way back into canon status thanks to this book. (I won’t spoil the surprises for you.)
Much like a comic book, Sabine’s Sketchbook is a collaborative effort between Dan Wallace and Annie Stoll. I found myself lingering on each page so I could catch every last detail that Stoll worked into each page. Her use of different styles is perfect for an experimental artist like Sabine and the varying “completeness” level of each piece (some are just pencil sketches while others are finished works) gives a feel of authenticity to the book. Honestly everything about the artwork in the book is perfect from the graffiti to the quick sketches to the more completed and colorful works. It’s clear that Stoll really gets Sabine and I can’t imagine another artist working on this project. Honestly, everything about this book just confirms that Sabine Wren is a great character to have in the Star Wars universe: a woman of color who unabashedly loves the arts and explosions and who can hold her own.
The only thing that I wasn’t terribly fond of in the book was the number of “official artwork” pieces that were included on the pages. I’m not sure if the promo shots or the episode screenshots were more jarring. Annie Stoll’s art is so good and perfect for Sabine that the book didn’t really need them. This is a relatively minor issue but I hope that if they make a second Sketchbook (and oh boy do I hope they will!) that they’ll use far less of it and more of Stoll’s work.
I give Sabine: My Rebels Sketchbook two thumbs up and strong recommendation to pick up whether you’re a kid or an adult.
Thank you to Studio Fun for providing us with a copy of the book for review purposes.
Full episodes of #LegendofKorra are here! Do the thing – http://t.co/0RsTROi4TC pic.twitter.com/zPFfqjFyHv
— Nickelodeon (@Nickelodeon) February 2, 2015
If you missed seeing Legend of Korra, the fantasy action adventure animated series with a kick-ass WoC main character, the first time around or if you just want to watch it again (because really, who wouldn’t want to watch it again? Someone who is not me, that’s who), you’re in luck! Yesterday Nickelodeon posted the entire series online for free streaming on their website. Check it out here.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have cartoons to marathon.
