Farewell to the Expanded Universe That Was

Earlier this month a new era of the Star Wars Expanded Universe was officially launched with the release of A New Dawn, the first Star Wars book to come out with the approval of the Lucasfilm Story Group. Earlier Star Wars books have been being printed under the new Legends banner for a few months now and the final comic set in the Expanded Universe That Was has also come and gone, but this book makes the start of the new Expanded Universe, one that does not share the history and continuity of the one I and so many others had come to know so well.

When it was announced that there would be no new stories in the Expanded Universe That Was and that a separate "Legends" banner would be created, I didn't feel overly emotional. It had felt like an inevitability since the announcement that Disney had purchased Lucasfilm. I had had time to get used to the idea and, in some ways, the announcement had made me glad. The Expanded Universe had been a mess for some time at that point and I had stopped following the new books going forward all the way back during the New Jedi Order, only picking up new Star Wars books by my favorite authors and ignoring the megaseries. I had been prepared for a continuity reset for over a decade. And then earlier this year I read Troy Denning's Crucible. If I hadn't been ready for a do-over before I sure would've been by the time I finished that book.

And yet now I feel a sense of loss, one that I did not feel at any of the announcements. The Expanded Universe I've known and read and discussed and researched my whole life is ended. There will be no more stories beyond fanfiction set in it, at least not for a long time. The characters I've grown so attached to may never appear in official material again and, if they do, they won't have the history and backstory I've come to know. And the lore and history of the entire universe has been wiped clean.

That is the part that caught me the most off guard. I had braced myself for the stories to stop being canon, heck, even approved of it. I had prepared myself for the absence of my favorite characters in the new stories. But the lore. The erasing of the lore was not something I thought about or prepared myself for. I did not realize how much that lore and history meant to me until about a month ago, when the timeline of the Republic and its wars with the Sith came up in several conversations with my brother.

 None of that extensive history matters anymore. None of it applies to the new stories going forward.

I never realized how much that history meant to me, but of course I'm attached to it. How could I not be? That lore was one of the first things I became attached to in the Expanded Universe, back when little me read and reread my brother's copy of The Essential Guide to Characters and learning about characters who lived thousands of years before the movies. That lore, that history, that was part of my Star Wars. It was the backdrop to the way I perceived Star Wars as a franchise. And those characters and those stories I had braced to bod farewell...they're a part of my Star Wars too. Even while I know and acknowledge that it's all fiction and I can think of it and arrange it however I want to in my head, the reality of there being no more official stories set in that timeline is tough to deal with.

I really do miss the Expanded Universe. I'm going to keep missing the Expanded Universe. The books remain on my shelves and their impact on me in not undone, but the knowledge that the Expanded Universe That Was and all of its history, all of its lore, all of its stories and characters will have such little impact on the new stories that come out hurts. But since I realized that I've been coming to accept that.

I'm saddened by the loss of all of that, but you know what? I'm also hopeful. New lore and history are going to be built! New characters and worlds! And the old stuff hasn't been destroyed, even if it no longer applies to things going forward. That story is over but we can still explore it and discuss it. We can still enjoy the stories that have been told before and the world that has been built by them, even as no more is added to it.

I have not yet read A New Dawn, but I fully intend to. It won't be part of what's been my Star Wars up until this point, but it will hopefully become part of my Star Wars in the future.

Star Wars Crucible: I Have Made a Terrible Mistake

I am very behind in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Chronologically, the only book I have read that is set after the New Jedi Order is X-Wing: Mercy Kill. That is one book in the primarily focused on time period of the galaxy in over ten years.

Until now.

Recently I liveblogged my reading of Troy Denning's Star Wars: Crucible, the book that was meant to be the final adventure of the main trio of the Star Wars books before handing the main focus of the series off to the younger generation. A few days later it was announced that the Star Wars Expanded Universe is getting a fresh start and the previous books would now be "Star Wars Legends." This effectively makes Crucible not only the final adventure of Luke, Leia, and Han but also the final book in the timeline of the Expanded Universe as we know it (not including the Legacy comics, which are kind of their own thing).

This was not a good sendoff book, either for the Big Three much less the EU as a whole. I did not find it to be a good book in general. Before getting into the issue that really stood out to me as a poor way to end this universe that I am rather attached to, a quick rundown on some of my thoughts about the pros and cons of this book. There will be spoilers.

Star Was Spinoffs: Han and Boba Walk Into A Bar

You may have heard that Star Wars spinoff films are planned.  One rumor claims that there will be stand alone films centering around Han Solo and Boba Fett, respectively.  Clearly, there are a lot of people who would love for this to happen.  Both characters are well known fan favorites; who wouldn't die to see movies completely about them?

Ready the hate mail.

I really don't care for the idea.

I worry about solo (hah) films, and not just because of my concerns about focusing too much on the actions of one character through the course of a story and not showing interactions and relationships.  If these films are made, it is entirely possible that Han and Boba would both have interesting, well-rounded supporting casts and lots of interaction.  While I would worry about the execution, this isn't my primary concern with the concepts.  Nor is my issue that Han Solo already has an origin story in the Expanded Universe books.  I have no problem with Star Wars having two continuities (something I'll discuss in greater detail some other time).  No, my issue with Han and Boba having their own movies is much simpler than that:

Overexposure.

Most of my favorite characters in fiction of all forms (books, movies, comics, whatever) are supporting characters rather than the main protagonists.  Because they aren't the main characters, creators seem to feel more comfortable giving them a degree of unpredictability and an air of mystery.  The creators can also dose the amount of time you're exposed to a character, adding to the intrigue.  This, added to the fact that the audience primarily gets to know these characters through their interactions with the main character makes the audience's relationship with these characters different then that with the main characters.  Instead of being the characters you relate to and see yourself as, they get to be the characters you want to hang out with and wish you were.  These are the kinds of characters Han and Boba.


It's true that you can make good films about such overly amazing characters; the Indiana Jones films (at least the first and third ones) prove this.  The problem is with Han and Boba specifically.

I am tired of hearing about them.

I'm aware that this is a personal issue.  Not everyone has read Star Wars novels and is aware how much Han and Boba's roles grow.  But I'm also aware that I'm not alone.  As fantastic as they are in the Original Trilogy and as much as I loved both of them when I was little, I have been overexposed to them.  Stories focusing entirely on them have no draw for me because, frankly, I've heard it and seen it and read it before.  If these movies are made, I will be apathetic to them.  I love Star Wars, but it would take good reviews from specific people to make me care about Han and Boba movies.  At this point, I would much rather see movies with new characters with open futures instead of the back-stories of cool characters I've been hearing too much about constantly since I was five.

Feel free to comment and let me know if you agree, disagree, or what characters you wish would get their own films.

Three Top Star Wars Book Covers (Out of Books I Own)

What happens when you combine the end of a planned break with a computer's decision to stop working?  Apparently an even longer break concluding in the use of someone else's computer with an unfamiliar OS and an unfamiliar browser.  Without dwelling too much on the details, I've recently had the ....pleasure to discover this first hand.  Thus this is is the first of this week's multiple updates.

.... Anyway!  Timothy Zahn's latest Star Wars book Choices of One was released not long ago and, being the massive Zahn fan that I am, I eagerly snagged a copy from the book store.  However, doing so forced me to come face-to-face with something I knew was coming.  I had scene the press releases for the book.  I knew it was a victim to the horror that has been plaguing Star Wars books both good and bad since Heir to the Empire hit the shelves twenty years ago: terrible covers.

Help! A computer game ate Mara! 

There a few problems I have with this cover, but, honestly, it's far from the worst cover a Star Wars book has had to bear.  There are without a doubt far more terrible than good covers and even more blandly mediocre covers.   Instead of wading through the slew of book covers that repel people from Star Wars books, let's look at some of the better art that has graced these books.  This list is in no particular order and is restricted to books I own, largely because of the shear number of Star Wars books ad the fact that it's much easier to look through the books I own.

• I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole, published by Bantam Spectra, 1998.

One of the major problems with Star Wars book covers from the '90s is the reliance on stills from the movies.  They would often be a hodgepodge of characters painted straight from the stills onto a generic background.  If there were any characters on the cover that weren't from the films, they had a flat look due to the lack of photo reference and were often shoved to the Unknown Regions of the cover.  This cover does not do that at all.  The central figure is Corran Horn, a character first appearing in the X-Wing book series and the viewpoint character of this novel, shown here in disguise as Keiran Halcyon.  While there is a close up of Luke's face, it's very clearly in the background.  The cover has a sense of cohesion that was rare for Star Wars covers of the day and, most shocking of all, Corran is well-painted.  When I think of Corran, I picture this cover.

• X-Wing: Iron Fist by Aaron Allston, published by Bantam Spectra, 1998.

Ah, the X-Wing books, the bastion of light and hope during the time of poorly painted character stills.  While I, Jedi deviated from other covers of its time by focusing on the original character, the X-Wing books took a different route, choosing instead to shown no characters and to focus on vehicles, most notably snub fighters.  Each cover in the series depicts one scene from the books with some difference and each cover each has a sense of both cohesion and drama.  As the covers are all excellent and rather similar, I chose Iron Fist to represent the nine-book series because it's my favorite of the covers.

• Allegiance by Timothy Zahn, published by Del Rey, 2007.

And now for the last of my short list, the real reason I was so disappointed with the cover of Choices of One.  Choices of One is the sequel to Allegiance, the cover of which I actually like.  While most of Del Rey's Star Wars books carry blandly unmemorable covers featuring heavily photoshopped characters for that mass-produced look, this cover combines CGI with brush strokes (either real or generated) to give the stormtroopers a rough feel.  However, this is only effective because they are storm troopers; put someone without armor on this cover and you get another mediocre photoshopped image with added element of it looking like a screenshot from a seven-year-old computer game.  Thus, the Choices of  One cover.

That is my subjective little list of the top three covers for Star Wars book I own.  Please comment and let me know how you agree and/or disagree and what other books you think have good covers.

Next time: Ryorin discusses comics and reboots.  Again.

Old Poll, New Poll, and May the Fourth

First off: Happy May Fourth, Day of Bad Star Wars puns!  Which is to say that StarWars.com has announced it "Star Wars Day" and is releasing information about the Star Wars Blu-ray set.  Because it's May the Fourth.  If you can't/don't want to dig through the official sight, Club Jade posted much of the info here.

My last poll asked which of this year's superhero movies you were most looking forward to, and the results were three votes for Captain America, one vote for Thor, and both Green Lantern and Green Hornet were unloved with zero votes.  I personally was most looking forward to Cap's movie, but I have to admit, I'm getting pretty excited about Thor coming out later this week.

The new poll asks your favorite "Star" franchises.  You may select more than one because, hey, I don't think I could choose between my favorite two.  Let me know which are your favorites in the comments or, if your favorites aren't listed, let me know what they are, why you love them, and why you consider them a "Star" franchise.  Just because I only listed science fiction franchises starting with "Star" doesn't there aren't others with legitimate claim to the designation.

Things To Look Forward to in 2011

A lot of things are happening this year, so it seems appropriate to talk about them as my first post of 2011.  In no particular order, here are some of the geeky things I'm looking forward to in 2011:

• Lots of Superhero Movies: The Green Hornet came out in the US on January 12 and Thor, Green Lantern, and Captain America: The First Avenger are scheduled for release in May, June, and July respectively.  Hopefully all of them will go well, and chances are at least one will be good.
• The Last Harry Potter Film: Deathly Hallows Part One  was possibly my favorite Harry Potter adaptation yet, and I am looking forward to Part Two knocking my socks off.

• Not One, But Two New Zahn Books: Cobra Guardian, sequel to Cobra Alliance, and Star Wars: Choices of One, sequel to Allegiance are both set for release this year.  As I may have mentioned before, I'm a big fan of Timothy Zahn's books, both Star Wars and non, so I am happy.
• Heir to the Empire Strikes Back: Speaking of amazing books by Timothy Zahn, the twentieth anniversary re-release of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire comes out this June, with new cover art (at least for the jacket...), annotations and a new short story.
• More Full Metal Panic! Novel Translations: I love giant robots and I love humor, so naturally one of my favorite anime series is Full Metal Panic!, based on the novels by Shoji Gatoh.  After nearly three years, Tokyopop is finally translating the Ending Day By Day, the fourth Full Metal Panic novel.  This is the book that FMP's third anime season, The Second Raid, is based on.  Say what you will about Tokyopop's novel translations, I'll be happy to have this book available to read in English.
• The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya:  The anime film based on the fourth book in Nagaru Tanigawa's Haruhi Suzumiya series is set for a US release this spring.  I really enjoyed the book and the anime series, so the movie should be fun to see.
• Television Continues Being Fun: While Syfy has canceled SGU, the shows Warehouse 13, Sanctuary, and Eureka have all been renewed for their third, fourth, and fifth seasons, respectively.  Also, the psychic detective comedy Psych has been renewed for a sixth season, so I'll have a lot of TV to veg-out on, despite the sad lack of Stargate.
• Veteran's Day/ Remembrance Day: November 11, 2011.  AKA: 11/11/11  How can you not love that?

So, those are a few things I'm happily awaiting this year.  Happy slightly-early Year of the Rabbit, and may you have plenty of good things to look forward to!

Geeky News: Return of Wraith Squadron!

Quick bit of news that has filled me with utter joy: Wraith Squadron is back!  Aaron Allston is going to write another X-wing book focusing on the Wraiths and Del Rey is aiming for a 2012 release date.

This news fills me with glee.  The X-wing books are the reason that Stackpole and Allston are two of my favorite Star Wars authors, and the Wraith books are some of my favorite in the series.  Currently my only question about this book is when it will be set, but I'll be happy no matter what the answer.

Add this to the news that Timothy Zahn, my other favorite Star Wars author, is writing a sequel to Allegiance that's slated to come out next year, and Ryorin is a very, very happy geek.

I'm going to go do a few back-flips and burst into the Ewok celebration song now, if you don't mind.

Once More into the Breech: Giving New Jedi Order Another Chance

I'm going to do it.

I'm going to give the "New Jedi Order" books another chance.

This is a big deal for me. I love Star Wars, Star Wars characters, and the Star Wars Expanded Universe, but I haven't been able to read any of the books set after "Young Jedi Knights" since I read "Star by Star" waaay back in middle school. Because I love the Star Wars characters and the Star Wars EU, I couldn't even finish "Star by Star." I was too upset, too enraged by what happened to one of my favorite characters, who had just gone through some amazing character development the book before. For years I couldn't talk about New Jedi Order, much less read it, without becoming extremely upset because of what happened to that one character in that one book.

I've gotten past that, now.

I've come to this decision thanks to this challenge put forth by the Fantastic Fangirls last year. It's not quite what they challenged their readers to do, as I had given the books a chance before, but it helped me realize that it's time to give up my grudge and stop making excuses.

"Star by Star" wasn't the only reason I stopped reading those books. Before I ever picked up "Vector Prime," I knew the series would make the Galaxy Far, Far Away a darker place, and since elementary school the thought of creatures like the Yuuzahn Vong (the antagonists of the NJO books) has freaked me out. But, knowing ahead of time the grim events taking place in my GFFA, I started reading the series anyway. And what made me stop was the fear of change.

New Jedi Order makes a point of drastic change in the beloved GFFA, something I was not prepared to face, despite my fore-knowledge of events. The reality of the fictional events caused me to retreat, and point to "inconsistent characterization" and "pointless death" and "a lack of hope" as the reasons for my withdrawal from the EU. "Inconsistent characterization," though, has been a problem in Star Wars books since long before NJO, and one of the defining characteristics of the Star Wars franchise has always been finding hope in the face of none. NJO is filled with changes, many for the worse for the characters I grew up loving, and these problems aren't solved in a book or three. They can no longer return to the status quo. There isn't the comforting knowledge of how things will be a few years in the future like there was when authors were filling the gap between the movies and Zahn's "Thrawn Trilogy." Things change, both for us and for the fictional characters we know and love. I need to face this.

Now, like back in middle school, I know what will happen. Despite limiting myself to the Star Wars books written before 1999 (excepting of the "Jedi Apprentice" series and books written by Timothy Zahn), I've been keeping up-to-date on the Star Wars galaxy via the internet, and I believe it's finally time to dive back in. My recent entrance into the Marvel Universe, in some ways so eerily similar to the EU, has helped to arm me for this battle. I want to read more stories about the worlds and characters I love. I want to watch the children I've read about for so long develop and mature into members of the new Jedi Order. I want to learn about the Chiss and the other races of the Unchartered Territories. Dang it, I want to be able to check out the intriguing-looking "Star Wars: Legacy" comics and know the backstory! I will allow the changes brought by the "New Jedi Order" and the "Legacy of the Force" isolate me from a galaxy I love no longer!

When I return to the U.S., I will confront my personal Sith of Geekdom and step into, what are for me, the Uncharted Territories of the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Wish me luck and ask yourself, what have you been hiding from?