Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
From Dragon Con day two, it’s the Star Wars and Disney parks panel. We explore the relationship between Disney and Lucasfilm in the parks and preview what’s to come. Panelists include Nanci Schwartz, Brian Larsen, Chadwick Miller, Kelly Adams, an Charles Ecton. Carl Cunningham moderates.
From Dragon Con Day One is the Star Wars Mythos panel featuring Expanded Universe authors Mike Stackpole, Timothy Zahn, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rebecca Moesta. Moderating was Bryan Young.
From Dragon Con Day One is the Force Friday Finds panel discussing what we managed to snag on the big day. Panelists include Thomas Harper, Sarah Dempster, Brian Larsen, Nanci Schwartz, and Travis Grimm. Moderating was Brandy Roatsey.
It’s our first new taste of post-Return of the Jedi galaxy. Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig hit bookshelves and eagerly awaiting hands at midnight. No fear though: this review will be spoiler free.
It’s been several months since the Battle of Endor and now the Rebel Alliance is attempting to establish itself as the New Republic. Wedge Antilles goes on what should be a simple scouting mission but soon finds himself captured by the forces of Admiral Rae Sloane as he stumbles into the location of a high-level Imperial summit. The only person to hear his distress call is Norra Wexley who just wants to be reunited with her son but she can’t abandon one of her fellow Rebellion pilots no matter how dangerous this new rescue mission might be.
Brian and Nanci run through a quick episode while on the news to catch up on the news, Force Friday, and let you in on where you can find us at Dragon Con!
Lando #3 by Charles Soule and Alex Maleev definitely left me wanting more when I turned the final page… and I’m not entirely sure that’s a good thing. (Which in itself is about to be a confusing statement because I did enjoy the issue.) Heyyyy did you all see the rad cover with Lando Draper? (Dunnna Dunnnna Dunnn.)
This was clearly not Lando’s best-planned heist. They got the ship, sure, but that was the easy part. Now the twins are fighting two Royal Guards and Lobot’s down for the count and uhhh… what exactly is on the Emperor’s private yacht?
Kanan #5 by Greg Weisman and Pepe Larraz is out today and, well, you know what that means.
Star Wars #8 is out today. The bad news is that we don’t get the answers we’ve so anxiously been awaiting. The good news is that Stuart Immonen took over art duties and rocked the hell out of it.
Luke’s journey to Tatooine wasn’t as fruitful as he’d hoped. His next plan for learning how to be a Jedi is about to take him to a hive of even more scum and villainy. Meanwhile, Han and Leia find themselves caught between an Imperial patrol and a woman named Sana Solo who says she’s Han’s wife and hardly seems to be his biggest fan.
Somehow, Jason Aaron manages to keep a reader’s interest throughout an issue where we don’t get the answer we’ve been so desperately wanting for two months now. Actually, I may be even more confused as to who Sana Solo was than I was before. Is she actually his wife or not? Maybe next issue we’ll get some solid answers?
Character-wise, the two who stood out to me this issue were the Skywalker twins. Aaron really nailed how impetuous Luke can be at times especially right after he leaves Tatooine. On the flip side, we get to see Leia’s very no-nonsense attitude that rears its head so frequently when Han Solo is involved. I’m very impressed by how both writers Marvel has tapped so far have seemed to really get all aspects of Leia’s character.
Unsurprisingly, Stuart Immonen rocks his first issue on Star Wars especially when paired with Justin Ponsor’s colors. Everyone’s body language tells just as much of the story as the dialog bubbles which makes for a more dynamic book. Can we keep him on this book forever? I’d especially like to see him do an arc where he gets to do all of the artistic set up and come up with what the planet looks like and also what Leia’s outfit of the day is. (So sue me, I’m a geek with a weakness for fashion and costume design.)
Overall, Star Wars #8 was an enjoyable issue with some great art that has left me wanting it to be September already so I can have #9 in my hands. No seriously: who the heck is Sana Solo?
The announcement of Star Wars Land wasn’t the only big news to come out of D23 today.
The speculation begins in the comments section!
This week on Tosche Station Radio, we’re joined by Star Wars at Dragon Con track director Brandy to preview the fun at DC 2015!
Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight What’s New on the Blog. New crossover feature on monarchy in Star Wars by Bria and Jay from Eleven Thirty-Eight. Bria reviewed Lando #2. Nanci wrote about the difference between fanservice and objectification.
In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s been working on her new book. Brian’s been reading The Heartland trilogy by Chuck Wending. Both hosts have been busy watching All The Space films.
Deak’s Dirt starts with publishing news!New characters and plot details for Shattered Empire. We got a blurb for Twilight Company. Finally, there’s Rise of the Empire short story details.
Bigg’s Bull#&@! is awash with brand new The Force Awakens and anthology news courtesy of EW! There’s even some details about the upcoming Han Solo anthology film.
This week’s Camie’s Concerns is all about Dragon Con 2015 and what Star Wars fans have to look forward to. Track director Brandy joins to break down what’s coming this year and how the track has grown over the last seven years. For more information, be sure to follow Brandy and the track here on Twitter!
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.
