Her Universe Debuts Celebration Exclusives

We got a teaser a few weeks ago, but today Her Universe finally revealed its Mara Jade shirt, designed by artist Cat Staggs. The bad news? Only 300 shirts will be available at Star Wars Celebration, and only 50 will be available online. The other bad news? Of course, Mara is wearing her trademark catsuit.

Still, it’s a gorgeous shirt (love the v-neck design!) and I’ll definitely be trying to get my hands on it. Hopefully it will sell out and Her Universe will produce even more Expanded Universe items; perhaps even Mara in Jedi attire, or Mara and Luke?

Also exclusive to Celebration include an R2-D2 charm. In wider availablity, Her Universe will debut two awesome tanks featuring the Rebel Alliance insignia and Imperial emblem. I will definitely be purchasing the Rebel option.

Read all about Her Universe at Celebration VI here.

Edit: Ashley tweeted me some information about why it’s an exclusive design:

We do not have the rights for the SWEU and we had to get special rights just to do this shirt. We are only allowed to make this an exclusive for Celebration. We are also releasing 50 online. I will work on getting the rights for the SWEU but that’s why this has to be exclusive.

Thanks for the update, Ashley! I hope the Powers That Be will see how much interest there is for Expanded Universe shirts and allow Her Universe to produce even more.

Catch Nanci and Brian at Celebration VI

As you may have noticed, both Nanci and I are going to be at Celebration VI this year. We’re always up to meeting people from around the fandom and putting faces to online handles. If you’re going to be at CVI, feel free to stop us and say hi! We’ll even have some Tosche Station swag to hand out.

Here’s our tentative schedule!

Thursday:

  • 11am-12 – StarWars.com and Beyond with Leland Chee, Katie Cook, Steve Sansweet, and Ashley Eckstein (Collecting Stage/W303 ABC)
  • 1:30-2:30 – Dark Horse Comics Looks Ahead: 2013 (Behind the Scenes Stage/W414 ABCD)
  • 2:30-3:30 – It’s a Trap Puppetmasters Rose & Quinn (Digital Stage/W415 A)
  • 5-6 – Ian McDiarmid (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)
  • 6-7 – Timothy Zahn Retrospective (Behind the Scenes Stage/W414 ABCD)

Friday:

  • 10:30-11:30 – What’s Coming from Del Rey (Behind the Scenes Stage/W414 ABCD)
  • 12-1 – Super Secret Star Wars Panel with Todd, Seth, and Matt (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)
  • 2:30-3:30 – Laying Down Tracks – Writing Workshop with Aaron Allston (Star Wars University/W300)
  • 3:30-4:30 – Star Wars Obscure Character Faceoff (Fan Stage/W311 ABCD)
  • 4-5 – Planning Your Star Wars Wedding* (Star Wars University/W300)
  • 7:30-8:30 – Mark Hamill** (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)
*Provided Nanci is feeling girly
**Prepare to queue early

Saturday:

  • 11-12 – The Clone Wars with Dave Filoni and Joel Aron (Digital Stage/W415 A)
  • 12-12:45 – Future of Star Wars in 3D (Digital Stage/W415 A)
  • 2-3 – Fakin’ It – Writing Workshop with Timothy Zahn (Star Wars University/W300)
  • 4:30-5:30 – Behind the Scenes of the Cantina (Behind the Scenes Stage/W414 ABCD)
  • 6-9 – Talking to Myself and Date with a Princess (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)

Sunday:

  • 10:30-11:30 – Why We Love the Prequels (Behind the Scenes Stage/W414 ABCD)
  • 11:30-12:30 – Warwick Davis (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)
  • 1-2 -Star Wars in 60 Minutes (Celebration Stage/Chapin Theatre)
  • 2:30-3:30 – Closing Ceremonies (Digital Stage/W415 A)

Celebration VI Floor Plan Now Available

The Orange County Convention center is big. Gigantic. Thankfully, the floor layouts are fairly straightforward and not an unholy maze of despair and agony like some other conventions *cough*Dragon Con*cough*. That said, you’ll probably still need some help getting around, and Reed is glad to help out.

Now available is the Star Wars Celebration VI floor plan, helping you find your way from panel to panel and from exhibitor to exhibitor. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the layout before the convention. The last thing you want to do is race towards something with time running out and having no idea where you’re going.

Celebration VI Exhibitor Directory

The Celebration VI Exhibitor Directory has been posted on the official Star Wars Celebration website. Take a peek to find out where all your favorite exhibitors, fan groups, etc. will be stationed at the con.

Knowing where certain exhibitors are located can make the rush for con exclusives much easier, not to mention knowing where to go for an author signing or just to get your picture taken with some scoundrels.

In news very relevant to my interests, Club Jade has already noted that the Del Rey and Her Universe booths are located near each other. My wallet weeps.

The panel schedule is already live on the mobile app, but it will become available on the regular site later today.

Edit: The Celebration store items have been posted on the official site. Start making your shopping lists now!

What Celebration VI Events are you Looking Forward to?

After the whirldwind that was fandom news yesterday, today has been a little more … dry. As is usually the case when there’s nothing else to talk about, we here at Tosche Station crowdsource the content to you! This week, we want your input on Celebration VI. Just what are you looking forward to? Leave a comment or reply to the tweet below and we’ll add your response to the list.

 

To the jump!

Continue reading

Tosche Station Radio #26: Heavy Meta

Logo

Play in new window | Download
On this week’s Tosche Station Radio, we’re joined by author, filmmaker, and Star Wars fan Bryan Young!

Kicking off the show, we highlight new Replace Mara’s Catsuit entries from kataja, Ellen, Bria, and Robert. Brian looked back at Isard’s Revenge and Emily wrapped up our series of X-Wing retrospectives with a fond review of Starfighters of Adumar.

In Fixer’s Flash, both Brian and Nanci have been pretty wrapped up with the Olympics. Nanci did find some time to read The Gathering Flame, the prequel to the Mageworlds trilogy. She also finished her Mirax costume! Brian apologized for live-tweeting the US Women National Soccer Team’s match versus Canada. Over the weekend he jumped into Marvel’s Siege comic arc and started reading Mageworlds again. He also spent the latter part of the weekend nervously watching NASA’s seven minutes of terror.

Deak’s Dirt opens with news that Brian and Nanci are thrilled about. X-Wing: Mercy Kill, the long-awaited tenth novel in the series, has hit bookshelves!  In Celebration VI news, badges were revealed, Warwick Davis was confirmed, the We Love Prequels panel is returning, and the full schedule has finally been revealed. The Old Republic was recently confirmed as going free-to-play, but Brian’s unsure if this is good news for the game. Rounding out the news, Brian and Nanci are pumped that NASA successfully landed Curiosity.

This week’s Camie’s Concerns features author and Star Wars fan Bryan Young. The hosts and Bryan talk his writing and filmmaking career, his love of nerd culture, and all sorts of Star Wars related topics. Bryan dives in and discusses the previous Celebration conventions he’s been at and what you can expect from his Why We Love the Prequels panel. Be sure to check out his novels like Operation: Montauk and Lost at the Con! You can find Bryan at Big Shiny Robot, Bryan Young Fiction, The Huffington Post, and on Twitter.

This time around in Wormie’s Works, Nanci highlights Kate Blankenship’s brilliant Endor Leia costume and Brian cheats and highlights the great costume and art entries submitted to our Replace Mara’s Catsuit contest. Rounding out the show, Brian and Nanci take questions from listeners.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Zune Marketplace. 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.

Celebration VI Schedule Released

After a long and sometimes torturous wait, the Celebration VI schedule has finally dropped! Here are some highlights.

For Expanded Universe fans:

There’s also numerous writing workshops with authors like Timothy Zahn, Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. 

Celebrity Panels:

This is just a sampling of what will be available for fans at Celebration VI. You can find other panels and events listed on the CVI Mobile App as well as the mobile website

DK Publishing Reveals CVI Lineup

Jason Fry will be in attendance with DK

DK revealed their schedule for Celebration VI just a few minutes ago. The publisher known for their reference and children books will be in attendance all four days and encourages attendees to Master the Art of Reading at Booth #813.

Thursday 8/23: 

  • Visit the booth for a free CVI exclusive print featuring the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia

Friday 8/24:

  • Jason Fry from 11am-12 noon
  • Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: The Expanded Visual Dictionary
  • Star Wars: The Secret Life of Droids

Saturday 8/25:

  • Ryder Windham from 10-11am to talk Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary and Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide
  • Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas from 3-4pm to discuss Star Wars Blueprints: Rebel Edition and Star Wars: The Secret Life of Droids

Sunday 8/26 – Kids’ Day

  • First kids to stop by the DK booth will receive a free DK Star Wars Reader
  • Jason Fry from 11am-12 noon
  • Ryder Windham and Ashley Eckstein from 12-1pm

Stay tuned. We’re supposed to get much more CVI related scheduling details today.

Celebration VI Exclusive Art Prints Available Now For Pre-Order

Remember those nifty Celebration VI exclusive art prints that have been previewed over the last month and change? They’re now available for pre-order!

You can pre-order one print per artist and must pick them up at Celebration VI in person. The name on the order must be the same as the person picking it up. To get your print, head over to the official pre-order page.

Warwick Davis Confirmed, Mary Franklin Teases Us Further, and Club Jade Offers Convention Advice

Yesterday the CVI staff announced that Warwick Davis, better known for playing Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi, will be in attendance.

Film and television actor, and seasoned Celebration host, Warwick Davis will attend Celebration VI, signing autographs and meeting fans in the Celebration Autograph Hall as well as appearing on stage to share stories about his fascinating career, and entertain questions from the audience.

Davis has been well known to Star Wars fans since his career-starting performance as Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi, and in the television films Ewoks: Battle for Endor and Caravan of Courage. The young actor moved to a leading role soon after, portraying the title character in Willow. Warwick returned to the galaxy far far away starting in 1997 with several roles in The Phantom Menace.

Outside of the realms of Star Wars, Davis has had scores of roles on stage, television, and the big screen. He was recently seen in a new comedy sitcom for the BBC with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant titled Life’s Too Short. Davis is in the core cast of the Harry Potter movies as Filius Flitwick and the Goblin bank teller, and portrayed Nikabrik in Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian. He is a cult favorite as the evil title character in six Leprechaun films. Davis appeared alongside David Bowie inLabyrinth, with Jamie Foxx in the multi-award-winning film Ray, and alongside Ricky Gervais in TV’s Extras.

(Via)

Meanwhile, Mary Franklin tweeted this last night …

While more awesome at CVI is great, I’m a little bummed that 10.5 Feet of Awesome doesn’t quite have the same ring as Nine Feet of Awesome.

Finally, if you’re going to be attending one of the summer/fall fan conventions this year, you should hop on over to Club Jade and read Dunc’s advice for con-goers. Seriously guys, good shoes. Get ’em.