Two of my favorite franchises, “Star Wars” (which regular readers may have noticed I’m obsessed with) and “Veronica Mars” (my No. 6-ranked show of the Aughts, and on my to-do list for “rewatching and reviewing the classics”) showed different […]
Michael A. Stackpole’s “X-Wing: Rogue Squadron” (1996) was the first adult “Star Wars” novel to not feature any of the main characters from the films. Today, with so many novels set well before the film heroes were […]
“Dark Empire II” and “Empire’s End” (1994-95) are the comics where the Emperor turns into a cartoon. But while “The Clone Wars” is currently doing a great job portraying Palpatine, I mean “cartoon” in a derogatory sense across […]
“Dark Empire” (1991-92) has always been in the shadow of the “Thrawn Trilogy” novels (1991-93). Both came out about the same time, and both are spot-on continuations from “Return of the Jedi” — but in different […]
Jabba the Hutt’s palace in “Return of the Jedi” was George Lucas’s “faster and more intense” answer to the cantina in “A New Hope.” Also benefiting from a second chance was “Tales from Jabba’s Palace” (1996), the […]
In this “Star Wars” re-reading project, I encounter some stories that are exactly as I remembered them and some that offer pleasant surprises. As I worked through the “Tales of the Jedi” series, I was […]
Like so many “risky” concepts, “Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina” (1995) ultimately proved to be a brilliantly obvious one. Up to this point on the “Star Wars” publishing schedule, every adult book had featured at least […]
Although the four-part “droids in the void” arc was by far the worst in the series’ run, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” Season 5 (8:30 a.m. Central Saturdays on Cartoon Network) nonetheless ranks as the best season […]
Similar to following evolutionary theory backward to the Big Bang, “Star Wars” stories always seem to have a backstory, no matter how far back on the timeline they take place. 1993’s “Tales of the Jedi,” […]
“Rebel Dawn” (1998) wraps up the best and most essential “Star Wars” trilogy outside of the classic films. Honestly, although its difficult to make a cross-media comparison, I think A.C. Crispin’s telling of Han Solo’s backstory […]