Tag Archives: SWEU

Star Wars Reads Day Returns

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1396529124000-RD3FINALUSA Today has the exclusive news that Star Wars Reads Day will be returning again this year on October 11th.

Today I can report that Star Wars Reads Day will return for its third year Oct. 11 — a fact that doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, since it keeps getting bigger.

Last year more than 2,000 events took place, so expect just as many this time around. Several publishing partners will come together for the festivities, including Disney Publishing Worldwide, Abrams, Chronicle, Dark Horse, Del Rey, DK, Klutz, Quirk Books, Random House Audio, Scholastic and Workman.

Keep an eye on starwars.com/reads and facebook.com/StarWarsReads for the latest info on signings, parties and special events in your town.

Numerous authors participate with the festivities, so stay tuned to see if an Expanded Universe author will be at a location near you.

Kevin Hearne’s Luke novel set for release in January 2015

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Over on the catalog Edelweiss, Knights’ Archive spotted a listing for the audio version of Kevin Hearne’s upcoming debut Star Wars novel. It will star Luke Skywalker and round out the unofficial “Empire and Rebellion” trilogy.

In an attempt to distract the Empire from important Rebel Alliance activity, Luke Skywalker draws the attention of Imperial Security, leading him-along with Princess Leia Organa, Han Solo, and Chewbacca-into a deadly trap right in Darth Vader’s sights!

No mention of Rogue Squadron of X-Wings in there, but I’m still really excited for a book starring Luke Skywalker, the most underappreciated of all the Star Wars Original Trilogy characters.

The novel is scheduled for release on January 13, 2015, which is the day after my birthday. Thank you, Del Rey, for a lovely birthday present.

Report: Disney Prohibits EU Characters from Star Wars Weekend Motorcade

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A fan dressed as Baron Fel marches in the 2013 Star Wars Weekends motorcade.

Update: It appears it’s the 501st acting on their own rather than Disney calling for this. Brian has written an open letter to the 501st in response. 

One of the most popular events at Disney’s Star Wars Weekends is the Celebrity Motorcade that travels down Hollywood Boulevard to the stage hear the Sorcerer’s Hat. Fans line the streets to watch Disney characters, celebrity guests, and costumed fans from the 501st and the Rebel Legion. One of my favorite things about the motorcade is picking out all the Expanded Universe characters and yelling out their names to give them love. Popular EU appearances have been Mara Jade, Baron Fel, Starkiller (both versions), Revan, Darth Nihilus, Juno Eclipse…the list goes on.

According to a post on the Disboards, Disney is getting more strict this year when it comes to fan costumes, and is outright prohibiting certain Expanded Universe characters, including Mara Jade, from participating in the motorcade.

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Darth Nihilus intimidates spectators.

This isn’t surprising, considering Disney has already retired the Hyperspace Hoopla, a popular dance-off type event with Star Wars characters, some speculate in order to “be more serious” about their characters in anticipation of new films being released. Why allow characters like Mara Jade to participate in the motorcade if they’re rendered non-canon by the Sequel Trilogy? It makes sense.

But it’s still incredibly disappointing, both to fans who made the costumes and fans like me who really enjoy seeing EU characters represented and get some love. In previous parades, I’ve heard the hosts call out Mara Jade and explain that she was the Emperor’s Hand and later Luke Skywalker’s wife. I’ve also heard them do this with characters like Revan and Starkiller. (One of my favorite moments was seeing a young boy freak out and yell, “There’s no way that was Darth Revan!”)

I’ve always been realistic when it comes to the future of the EU and the characters I love, but I didn’t expect Disney to kick ’em out of the parade. I guess I’ll have to get my fill of EU characters at conventions.

Edit: I’ve learned from 501st members that while certain EU characters like Revan and Starkiller are still allowed to march in the parade, the majority have been prohibited, including post-RotJ characters. And standards for Jawas (must be under 5 feet) and Jedi robes (must be standard colors) have been clamped down.

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Even Admiral Daala was represented in the motorcade.

Yub Yub, Aaron Allston

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This is not a post any of us ever wanted to have to write. Aaron Allston, prolific Star Wars author and all-around awesome human being, passed away last night after apparent massive heart failure.

It’s safe to say that without Aaron, many of us wouldn’t be SWEU fans. It’s also safe to say that several of us wouldn’t have stayed SWEU fans without Aaron. No matter what he was writing, he had the ability to make you laugh and cry, sometimes on the same page, and then make you laugh through those tears. He created some of our most favorite characters, some of the SWEU’s best moments, and kept it fun through dark times. Several of us name Starfighters of Adumar as our favorite SWEU book of all time.

Aaron was a presence at many conventions, including Celebration and Dragon Con, where he ran writing workshops with Mike Stackpole. I participated in several of his seminars; not only was the man a great writer, but he was a great teacher, too. He always treated everyone like a friend, whether you’d known him for ages or had just approached him to ask him to sign one of your books. Aaron also contributed to several of my favorite panels at Dragon Con, where he had the audience in stitches. As Timothy Zahn said last night on Facebook, “The Aaron, Mike, and Tim show, as we called it, has come to a sad close.”

Brian and I had the honor of interviewing Aaron on the podcast, only our second interview (after Stackpole, fittingly), and were quite nervous to do so. He put us at ease and, needless to say, the interview ended up being informative and full of laughter. Probably my favorite interview we’ve ever done.

Star Wars will not be the same without Aaron Allston. Yub Yub, Commander. The Wraiths are flying in formation in your honor today.

Allston's Wraiths

edit: Brian posted his own thoughts here. 

Tosche Station Radio #79: Teachable Moments

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On this episode of Tosche Station Radio, it’s learning moments from the Expanded Universe.

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s New on the Blog. Bria reviewed Darth Maul: Lockdown the first EU book on the 2014 calendar. In comics, Emily reviewed the new Serenity comic, Leaves on the Wind #1, while Bria reviewed Legacy #11 and The Star Wars #5. Brian reminds everyone to go watch Gargoyles. The Hondo Caravan visited Dathomir and Mortis, broke out of the Citadel and dove underwater with Captain Ackbar. Finally, we talked about Diversity a lot in the past three weeks. Nanci explained why Diversity for Diversity’s Sake is not a Bad Thing. Brian deconstructed Four Stupid Arguments Against Diversity. Bria discussed Diversity Among the Stars (And the Royals of Alderaan).

On Fixer’s Flash, the hosts weren’t up to much geeky stuff thanks to both Bowls of the Super and Puppy variety. They are planning to go see a sing-along version of Frozen.

Deak’s Dirt starts with Christie Golden reminding us that Sword of the Jedi is on hold. Episode VII stuff: According to USA Today, JJ Abrams says the script is done and filming is slated to begin May.  Carrie Fisher told TV Guide that she, Mark, and Harrison will begin work in March or April. Rumor – Judi Dench playing Mon Mothma? The Rebels movie rumored to air this summer. We also met the latest character from Rebels, Chopper the droid.

In Camie’s Concerns, the hosts take a look at what Rebels and the Sequel Trilogy can learn from the Expanded Universe. Both good and bad.

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.

Her Universe - Flaunt Your World - www.heruniverseshop.com Listen to a bestseller for $7.49 at audible.com!

Golden: Sword of the Jedi is on hold

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This isn’t exactly news, but it was a slightly more official confirmation of something we’ve known for a while. For a bit of clarity, this isn’t confirmation that the continuity is changing (though let’s be honest, it’s quite likely that will happen). If I were to wager a guess, Sword of the Jedi won’t be released unless LFL decides to go with a split canon that allows the legacy Expanded Universe to go it’s own direction.

Six Thoughts: Marvel gets Star Wars

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You wanted news? Well there you go. And now for a jumbled mess of assorted thoughts about said news…

  1. It is a bummer that Star Wars is leaving Dark Horse. As with any comic shop, there are high points and low points. Of late the Brian Wood comic was a definite miss for us, but the new Legacy series was a big favorite. Dark Horse has done a lot of good stuff with the license over the years and that shouldn’t be forgotten.
  2. It’s going to be a really big bummer if the latest Legacy series isn’t allowed to continue, but sadly I’m not holding my breath on that. (Edit: Big bummer confirmed, series to end at issue #18)
  3. I wrote a piece about Star Wars and following Marvel’s multiverse approach. Here’s the heavy-handed and very shameless plug to said piece.
  4. It should be pointed out that Marvel, from a creative standpoint, is absolutely flying high. It’s clear they understand their audience well and are keen to deliver both grand adventures and more character focused pieces (such as blog favorites Hawkeye and Captain Marvel).
  5. While writers like Kelly Sue DeConnick and Matt Fraction may be too busy with other projects to work on Star Wars, Marvel has shown the ability to attract great creative talent to work for them. If they can do this with Star Wars, we’ll all be better off.
  6. Marvel has done a solid job with LGBTQ and minority representation in their works. It might be a lot to ask them to do that with Star Wars, but here’s hoping.

In all, this is definitely a mixed bag of feelings. I completely get the disappointment and sadness that Star Wars is moving away from Dark Horse, who generally has treated the franchise very well. On the other hand, I’m very optimistic about Marvel taking over. In the last few years, Marvel has proven themselves to be a very capable and, sometimes, progressive shop that’s capable of attracting top-flight talent and putting out a wide variety of stories. I’d say I’m looking forward to seeing what they’ll do with the license.

Excelsior, I suppose.

Tosche Station’s 2013 Highlights

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Our second year was a busy one here at Tosche Station. Here are some of the highlights you may have missed:

Thanks for joining us in 2013 and we hope you’ll stick around next year!

New Essential Characters Guide cancelled?

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Spotted by Knights Archive, it appears that the postponed updated Essential Character Guide has been cancelled according to edelweiss.

While no doubt this will kick up a new batch of Expanded Universe/Episode VII related conspiracy theories, it could be possible that this is merely postponed again until some point after Episode VII releases.

Via Club Jade