Han Dies First – SWBTF #30

Greetings Fanboys, Fangirls, EU Fans, and returning Beyonders! And welcome to Star Wars Beyond the Films! This week, true believers, your EU Guru Nathan P. Butler, and The Defender of the EU Mark Hurliman, take you on a wild adventure as they explore the recent news that came out of San Diego Comic Con 2012 (SDCC), and how it effects your EU.   Some things that were recently discussed at SDCC: Vader’s Little Princess (like Vader and Son) A Galactic Pop-Up Adventure like Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy Darth Maul: Death Sentence  (comic series) Lost Tribe of the Sith: Spiral (comic series) Agent of the  Empire: Hard Targets (comic series) Dawn of the Jedi: Prisoner of Bogan (comic series) Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void by Tim Lebbon(new novel) Mercy Kill (Hardcover -comes out this month) Star Wars by Brian Wood (ongoing comic series; THE ONE TO WATCH) Essential Readers Companion (Essential Guide) The Old Republic: Annihilation by Karpyshyn (novel) Scoundrels by Zahn (novel)   Last of the Jedi (standalone novel)Ever since Emperor Palpatine’s Order  66–which called for the execution of all Jedi–Jax Pavan is the last  Knight around to fight the dark side of the Force.  Together with his  droid I-5, Jax has eluded Vader time and again, all the while wreaking  havoc against the Empire through the underground resistance on  Coruscant. But now the Rebel’s leader on the city-planet has been  captured, and it’s up to the Last Jedi to ride again…possibly for one  final adventure.”         Crucible (Spring 2013) Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia have spent a lifetime  fighting wars, bringing the Jedi back from extinction, raising families,  and saving the galaxy more times than they can count. They’ve earned  the right to rest on their laurels and let the younger generation  shoulder the burden–but fate has another adventure in store for our  heroes, a quest only they can tackle and hope to survive…”         Crucible leads Mark into pondering a death of one of the Big 3. He explains why readers would get more out of witnessing the deaths of the Big 3 and the reactions of the rest of the cast, compared to the idea that it should happen off page. Han dies first? There will also be 5 – 8 issues per year from the following comic series: Agent of the Empire (Hard Targets this time around) Dawn of the Jedi (Prisoner of Bogan this time around) We will get 5 issues per year of: Dark Times (just finished Into the Wilderness) Darth Vader (currently Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison) There will also be TWO ongoing series: Star Wars Untitled We will get 8 issues per year of a new ongoing series that has not yet been given a title. We’re betting this is the same series as above. There are no current plans to bring back Invasion, The Old Republic, or Jedi… This causes Mark to rant a bit. Knight Errant is ending after Escape. Blood Ties is ending after Boba Fett is Dead. Lost Tribe of the Sith is ending after Spiral.   Nathan focuses on the marketing and the term “accessible” and what that means. And Mark ponders the need to explore some of the most mined parts of the saga in the name of accessibility. Have we not had retcons, but instead Reboots this whole time?  The hosts are all for new stories. And Nathan lays out the gauntlet of stories set between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back right where the new “Star Wars” series plans to start. It makes it hard to envision this series NOT causing a continuity flubbup. Mark explains how you can’t add minutes to a day, and calls a spade a spade. In a “what?!” Rant that sets both hosts into a fun little moment. Randy Stradley writes about Invasion- There are lots of reasons why some series don’t go where we thought they  would (disappointing sales, writer’s get stalled on where to take  stories, other higher profile projects takeover the publishing slot, and  so on), and I’m not going to list the reasons for our decisions for  ending or continuing any given series. I will say this: feedback  from comics retailers and bookstore buyers (the people who actually  order our books) indicates overwhelmingly that they want more titles  that are accessible to casual fans. For instance, Dawn of the Jedi and Legacy, each being at relatively continuity-free ends of the timeline are good fits. The new Star Wars series, which is designed so that readers need know nothing more than what happened in A New Hope is another good jumping on point. This doesn’t mean that everything  we publish will fall into those kinds of categories, but it is a fact  that the more accessible titles (or those which focus on important movie  characters) sell better than those that require readers to be familiar  with Expanded Universe continuity. We totally get that hardcore or  longtime fans would like more exploration of the “between times,” but  the fact is that sales of those projects don’t come up to the levels of  the more accessible story lines. Every decision we make is a balancing  act between art and commerce. That’s why I have said — and will  continue to say — that telling a good story is far more important than  connecting the dots between existing continuity landmarks. A really good  story is always receive more consideration from me than one that exists  primarily to fill-in the blanks. Does it make fitting the stories more difficult to fit together when the newer materials ignore previous stories due to how obscure they are? Nathan and Mark try hard not to rant and rave, as they discuss all the various things that came from SDCC. Wait… the EU isn’t a part of Star Wars?! The hosts ponder a great many things this week. They also focus on the marketing choices by Dark Horse and Del Rey. There is a lot going on this week. A must listen episode if ever the dynamic duo have ever recorded one. “What happened to the Star Wars that I used to know…?”   Email:         [email protected] Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/swbeyondfilms Twitter:      twitter.com/#!/SWBeyondFilms http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Agent_of_the_Empire