Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
Legacy continues today with the release of Issue #7. Rest time is over as Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman set our heroes off on their next adventure in pursuit of Darth Wredd. But honestly, after that cliffhanger at the end of the last issue, who wants to waste any more time with this introduction? On with the review!
This review contains mild spoilers for the issue.
2013 was a big year for Leia in the Expanded Universe. First up, we got the Brian Wood written Star Wars comic, which Bria and myself were less than impressed by. Today we got Razor’s Edge by Martha Wells, which we were significantly happier with. Why the difference in reactions? Simply put, it boiled down to how Leia was used and characterized. To see what we mean, head below the cut.
It’s been hard in recent years to find a characterization of Leia Organa that just feels right. It’s also been hard to find a story about our Original Trilogy heroes where the stakes are high (but not ludicrously so) and where the galaxy doesn’t have to be put completely back together again at the story’s end or, in other words, a fun adventure story. Martha Wells delivers on both of these counts in Empire and Rebellion: Razor’s Edge. It’s a book where the story is important enough to warrant several hundred pages but it’s also a book that will make you laugh one page, smile another, and then perhaps duck your head and hide a tear for Alderaan. (Or maybe that last one is just me.)
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: Razor’s Edge by Martha Wells. Does the first of the new Empire and Rebellion series stack up? Time to go around the horn at mission control.
On this episode of Tosche Station Radio, the hosts are back and recapping Dragon Con!
Kicking off the show, there’s a bit of housekeeping. We’ve been away for a while, but hope you enjoyed our interview with John Jackson Miller and our episodes recorded live at Dragon Con. We conned Bria and Emily into stepping in for us one week, and now they have their own show! Be sure to check out their monthly show, Women of Odd Enthusiasms.
The hosts proceed to highlight what’s New on the Blog. Bria reported on her time at Baltimore Comic Con 2013.She also reviewed Legacy #6 and The Star Wars #1. Nanci discussed a certain plot twist in Kenobi and how it made her evaluate her own assumptions. Speaking of Kenobi, we have reviews by Brian and Bria. Spoilers: we all loved it. Bria reviewed another SWEU item: Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown. Emily gushed about the podcast Welcome To Night Vale. As we previously mentioned, we have a ton of content from Dragon Con! Be sure to check out our live recordings of the Introduction to the Expanded Universe panel, the Star Wars Authors panel, the Blogging, Podcasting, Vidding, and Fanfiction panel, the Women and Minorities in Star Wars panel, and the Conspiring for Fun and Profit panel.
In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s been busy reading The Darwin Elevator and writing a short space western story. Brian’s been reading through Razor’s Edge while both hosts recover from con season.
Deak’s Dirt starts with some news outside of the Star Wars fandom. J.K. Rowling is writing a Harry Potter spinoff film based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. In a Reddit AMA, Seth Green addressed the status of Detours. According to him, it’s just on hold. J.J. Abrams is setting up a post-production facility for Episode VII in Los Angeles. Episode VII rumors! They exist! Don’t fall for them. Del Rey released the blurb for Honor Among Thieves by James S.A. Corey. Finally in some sad news, Expanded Universe author and publisher watchdog A.C. Crispin passed away.
In this week’s Camie’s Concerns, the hosts finally sit down to recap their Dragon Con experience. From panels to workshops and costume photoshoots, it was certainly one convention to remember!
Wrapping up the show, the hosts field questions in Ask Us Anything.
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.
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According to a rumor from Bleeding Cool, Saoirse Ronan has read for a female role in Episode VII. If you want to believe them, it’s a leading role.
I can reconfirm that Saoirse Ronan has had a meeting and read for one of the lead roles – to the best of my knowledge, the lead role – in Star Wars Episode VII.
This was first reported by Latino Review but, for what it’s worth, I’ve also had a rather telling, silent nod from one of my own sources near the casting of this project.
She’s likely to be some way from being cast, as yet, and there are many other actresses who could very easily take the part, including more names that you’d know just as well, but Ronan’s very talented, has a real fanbase and seems to fit the bill perfectly.
The article also says the whole Bennedict Cumberbatch thing still has legs despite claims to the contrary from the actor. It’s the rumor that just won’t die!
As for Ronan, the only thing I’ve seen her in was Hanna, and she was good in that. But of course, this is a rumor. It’s not confirmed. It may not even be reality. So take it all with a gigantic grain of NaCL.
Dunc over at Club Jade spotted a Reddit AMA with Seth Green. While many of the questions asked had to do with other projects and shows Green has been involved with, someone was kind enough to ask him about the state of Detours. His answer:
So there’s actually been quite a bit of talk about this, but Detours is just on hold currently. We have 39 finished episodes and around 62 finished scripts. But that entire show was created before the decision to make more Star Wars movies, so our show (which was created by George Lucas) is an animated sitcom in the world of Star Wars, so we had a lot of conversations with Kathleen Kennedy about Star Wars in not just the next 3 years but the next 30 years, and when you’re in as privileged a position as we were to be able to work on Star Wars content with its creator, you get a great sense of responsibility to the whole. I was introduced to Star Wars as a child and it was without any ironic or comedic lens, so I saw Darth Vader as scary, and I saw all of those messages very very clearly. We didn’t think it made any sense, in anticipation of these new movies coming out, to spend the next 3 years with an animated sitcom as 3 generations’ of kids first introduction to the Star Wars universe.
I’ve had a lot of parents approach me in the last few years where they showed Robot Chicken or Family Guy Star Wars before they showed them regular Star Wars. The writers on Robot Chicken and I are seeing this a lot. The same way we were introduced to classic music through Bugs Bunny or Tom & Jerry, kids are taking our ironic interpretations of He-Man or other pop culture icons and never having the opportunity to meet them sincerely. It’s a really bizarre thing to wrap your head around, and because I’ve witnessed it firsthand, it made me more thoughtful about what we were putting it out.
I do feel that Detours is a timeless bit of entertainment. Media distribution is changing so quickly, so dramatically, that can you even imagine what distribution of content will look like in 5 years? In a day and age when Netflix series are nominated for the top accolades TV has to offer, what is to say what it will look like when the new Star Wars movie comes out? So Detours can sit on a shelf until the Star Wars movie comes out without losing any of its lustre, because what we’ve created is very funny, very smart and like I said before, timeless.
So are there immediate plans for releasing Detours? No, not yet. But Green is hopeful that it’ll be out there at some point.
After a whirlwind past couple of issues, Legacy #6 feels like a deep breath as our heroes regroup. That’s not to say there isn’t any action since, as the cover advertises, it’s a Sith vs Sith battle but Ania Solo’s very bad day finally has come to a close. Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman follow up on their excellent first arc with a transitional issue that’s a good read nonetheless.
This review contains mild spoilers for the issue.
Our own Bria was featured in an interview over at Suvudu to discuss cosplay and one of her latest costumes: Leia from the cover of Razor’s Edge.
What inspired you to create this costume?
From the minute I saw the cover for Razor’s Edge, I knew that I wanted to do the costume. I’ve said to my friends in the past that so many of the book covers with Leia bore me because they almost all show her in her film costumes. This was absolutely not something she wore in the films but it works so well for not only her character but also for the role she’s filling within the book as a leader of the Rebel Alliance on a vital mission. She gets to wear an outfit that shouts ‘this is meant for action!’ without automatically having to wear a catsuit. I had an idea for how I wanted to make the costume and one day, I challenged myself to complete the costume in 12 hours because I loved the look of it that much.
For the rest of the interview and for more photos, head over to Suvudu.
This is not your father’s Star Wars: it’s your alternative red-tinged universe’s father’s Star Wars. The Star Wars has taken George Lucas’s original rough draft screenplay of A New Hope and has been translated into a comic by writer J.W. Rinzler and artist Mike Mayhew. The names are similar and so is the basic galaxy but otherwise, this is absolutely a different story.
It is a somewhat familiar tale at the start: the Jedi-Bendu are all but extinct as the Knights of Sith hunt them down for being enemies of the New Empire. Jedi Kane Starkiller and his two sons are on the run while the Emperor announces to defeat the last frontier and conqueror the final refuge for the Jedi: the Aquilaean system. King Kayos of Aquilas prepares for war along with General Skywalker. In the midst of all this, the Princess Leia leaves the palace for her studies and Starkiller arrives on Aquilas with a plea to Skywalker.
This first issue is very much about exposition and establishing this alternative universe and yet it never feels boring. If nothing else, the familiar names and places that continuously pop up in different ways than fans know them will definitely keep readers intrigued. The elements and archetypes are familiar but they’re put together in a completely different order. I’m actually mostly unfamiliar with the original script aside from the basics but Rinzler has definitely done a good job with his translation. He manages to make you care about some of these new characters in just a few short pages and to hook your interest by the final page.
The artwork by Mike Mayhew with colors by Rain Beredo is a perfect fit for the story. It gives it that very classic and almost retro feel while still being dynamic. Seeing all the visual changes and tweaks from the original script is fascinating. Characters like the stormtroopers and Darth Vader and ships like the Star Destroyers look both familiar and yet quite different. It helps establish the story as being in its own universe and they even include a few pages in the back with sketches and commentary on “redesigning a universe.” Princess Leia will still look familiar to readers with her double hair buns while characters like Darth Vader present more of a mental what if? scenario.
At the end of the day, The Star Wars is a visual treat with a “new” twist on a story we all know so well. Is it essential reading for all Star Wars fans? No. Was the first issue enjoyable and does it warrant a read if you’re even the least bit intrigued? Absolutely.