I didn't realize so many other tie-in lines had expanded beyond the shows/movies. I know about DW and B5, but I didn't realize the others you talked about had done it too.
Anyone familiar with any Star Wars related lit forums?
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The best ones tend to, I've found. Books are really one of the oldest forms of transmedia, even if they do tend to be overlooked in a lot of modern web/mobile/twitter/youtube-obsessed franchises.
(The Robotech books are my iconic example; not only did they adapt the animated series, they filled in the blanks, smoothed over the incongruities, added a completely new storyline that was never animated, and constructed a coherent finale for the saga.)
(The Robotech books are my iconic example; not only did they adapt the animated series, they filled in the blanks, smoothed over the incongruities, added a completely new storyline that was never animated, and constructed a coherent finale for the saga.)
Delta Squad reappears throughout the series; they're supporting characters, admittedly, but they do have a constant presence (often either rescuing or getting in the way of Omega Squad).
Ooh, I hadn't heard. Adding to the list.
Man, I'd completely forgotten how much depth and excellence these books added to an already pretty solid series. Now I want to read through this series again...
What's Star Wars?
A movie starring Chris Pine, Zachery Quinto, and Leonard Nimoy.
Confession time: I check out theforce.net's forums from time to time and even post there. Over the last several years, I've read quite a bit of the Star Wars novels, from the NJO on. NJO was my first foray into the SW EU, from the novel perspective. I read almost half of it. I warmed to Anakin Solo and thought the Yuuzhan Vong were pretty well rendered.
Also became a big fan of the Darth Bane trilogy, didn't like the Legacy of the Force maxiseries overall (though I really enjoyed the first five books), and so far am iffy on the current Fate of the Jedi maxiseries still being released. Others that stood out for me was the Death Troopers horror novel, which I thought was pretty cool, some of the Clone War-era novels (Dark Rendezvous, Labyrinth of Evil, Cestus Deception, etc.), Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, and several others.
However, I think the best SW EU lit output has been in the realm of comics. Republic, Knights of the Old Republic, Dark Times, and Legacy have all been great reads. Plus, the Quinlan Voss books were great. Currently, Knight Errant is okay and I'm really iffy on the Invasion series (if it didn't feature the Yuuzhan Vong I wouldn't give it a second glance).
My love of SW doesn't take away my love of ST. I think you can enjoy both and be excited about both. However, I've never really felt all that compelled to write SW fanfic. ST just seems a more interesting universe for the kind of stories I like to write.
Also became a big fan of the Darth Bane trilogy, didn't like the Legacy of the Force maxiseries overall (though I really enjoyed the first five books), and so far am iffy on the current Fate of the Jedi maxiseries still being released. Others that stood out for me was the Death Troopers horror novel, which I thought was pretty cool, some of the Clone War-era novels (Dark Rendezvous, Labyrinth of Evil, Cestus Deception, etc.), Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, and several others.
However, I think the best SW EU lit output has been in the realm of comics. Republic, Knights of the Old Republic, Dark Times, and Legacy have all been great reads. Plus, the Quinlan Voss books were great. Currently, Knight Errant is okay and I'm really iffy on the Invasion series (if it didn't feature the Yuuzhan Vong I wouldn't give it a second glance).
My love of SW doesn't take away my love of ST. I think you can enjoy both and be excited about both. However, I've never really felt all that compelled to write SW fanfic. ST just seems a more interesting universe for the kind of stories I like to write.
I agree - a lot of the comic series are really quite outstanding. I loved KotOR and Legacy, I'm a little harder on Dark Times than you are, and Knight Errant is a little slow out of the gates, but it's JJM - he usually delivers. And Lord Daiman is a great villain. Invasion is okay so far as well - don't really see it getting better though.
Star Wars has had the best tie-in comics going for a long time now. They're really good at straddling the line between too-familiar and too-different, and the line between interesting new concepts and boring fanwank.
I've never read any of the Star Wars comics. I was a fan of the EU for a long time, but have been really disappointed by Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi and stopped reading.
Where would be a good place to start with comics? Or where would be a good place to find out? There's obviously a ton of them, and I don't know anything about them.
Knights of the Old Republic by John Jackson Miller (*NOT* the earlier, shitty ones by Kevin J Anderson) is completely stand-alone and probably one of my favorites. Legacy is also a stand-alone, taking place something like 150 years after the films. I like Legacy, but it kind of falls apart at the end for me, but it's got some pretty solid characters and solid writing through most of it. I would go with one of those two first.
Edit: Both are collected in trades now.
Edit: Both are collected in trades now.
Legacy is almost all in trades, but there's still one arc left (War) that's still being released as issues; with three left to go, we probably won't see a trade until this summer/fall.
Has anything been mentioned yet about what Ostrander and Duursema will be doing after War? I think I remember hearing they had planned for after it, but at the time I heard that they wouldn't say what it was.
I'm only up the the third collection of Legacy, but I really like it and have been keeping track of what's going on with it.
I'm only up the the third collection of Legacy, but I really like it and have been keeping track of what's going on with it.
Thrawn,
I agree with Bishop76 regarding both Knights of the Old Republic and Legacy. Of the two I recommend KOTOR, it has a nice mix of action and comedy, and perhaps feels more like traditional Star Wars. Legacy is currently wrapping up with the six-issue "War" storyline, that will probably come out as a trade late this year or next. For Legacy, it peters out toward the end, and I'm not enjoying "War" as much as I thought I would.
It's really hard to recommend where to start. There were the 80s era Marvel Star Wars comics that I'm not too familiar with.
I guess it all depends on if you like any particular era. The comics run from 5,000 years before the OT, with the Golden Age of the Sith trade to 150 years past the OT with Legacy, so that covers a lot.
This chronology might help you get started:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline_of_comics
I agree with Bishop76 regarding both Knights of the Old Republic and Legacy. Of the two I recommend KOTOR, it has a nice mix of action and comedy, and perhaps feels more like traditional Star Wars. Legacy is currently wrapping up with the six-issue "War" storyline, that will probably come out as a trade late this year or next. For Legacy, it peters out toward the end, and I'm not enjoying "War" as much as I thought I would.
It's really hard to recommend where to start. There were the 80s era Marvel Star Wars comics that I'm not too familiar with.
I guess it all depends on if you like any particular era. The comics run from 5,000 years before the OT, with the Golden Age of the Sith trade to 150 years past the OT with Legacy, so that covers a lot.
This chronology might help you get started:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline_of_comics
And which are my favorite incarnation of Star Wars, including the films. I gather that, at least for a time, they weren't very well-regarded by SW fans because they tended to have little to do with the core storylines and concepts of the films (necessarily, since it was up to the films to advance those), but that's what I enjoyed about them. They built up a rich, sweeping universe with a pretty solid continuity, and even if it didn't have much to do with the film storylines, it was interesting in its own right.
Funny, I always thought it was because of the green bunny.
You mean from the early issues written by Roy Thomas? Yeah, that was my least favorite phase of the series. Thomas's perpetually stilted dialogue style may work well for Conan the Barbarian, but not for much of anything else.
But that's another reason I like the Marvel SW comics -- because they get progressively better-written over the course of their run, from Thomas to Archie Goodwin to David Michelinie to Jo Duffy.
But that's another reason I like the Marvel SW comics -- because they get progressively better-written over the course of their run, from Thomas to Archie Goodwin to David Michelinie to Jo Duffy.
^
Regarding the Marvel run, I know that some things from that series have carried over to current EU. For example, Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith plays a significant role in the Legacy of the Force series. Also, some of the Marvel-introduced aliens like the Zeltron and Nagai find new life in the comic book Legacy series. I'm certain a more hardcore SW EU fan could identify more linkages between the Marvel comics and other EU output.
Regarding the Marvel run, I know that some things from that series have carried over to current EU. For example, Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith plays a significant role in the Legacy of the Force series. Also, some of the Marvel-introduced aliens like the Zeltron and Nagai find new life in the comic book Legacy series. I'm certain a more hardcore SW EU fan could identify more linkages between the Marvel comics and other EU output.
I think the Hoojibs have been acknowledged in the EU as well.
I liked the Hoojibs.
I liked the Hoojibs.
lol - Hoojibs - they were horribly awesome. A lot of the Marvel stuff is worked into the newer stuff. And they are really worth a read on their own - even if you hate them, it's fun to see what we had to read as kids (kind of like it's fun for me to read those awful old Gold Key Trek comics from before my time).
And if, like me, you're burned out on Jedi, the entire Rogue Squadron run is available in Omnibus editions. It tends to be less mythic and more fun, vaguely military adventure.
Regarding Dark Times, I really liked the first trade, but after that, it hasn't been as good. However, I do like the time period. The EU novel, Dark Lord by James Luceno, also follows shortly after ROTS, and for those interested in checking out the SW EU, I thought it was a good read. It's not tied to the Dark Times comics.
I agree that Knight Errant is a little slow. I haven't warmed to it yet, however, I really enjoyed how JJM delves into the differing philosophies of the warring Daiman and Odion. I find that more fascinating than the Jedi stuff. Though I too have faith in JJM. Kerra Holt has potential, but I think she needs a better supporting cast and they need to feature more Sith Lords. What's the point of basing a story during a time when there are lots of Sith Lords and not show, or at least reference, more of them?
I agree with you about Invasion. Though I think the just concluded arc contained some interesting twists, the main hero is one of the biggest Gary Stu's I've ever encountered. I wish this book had focused on a Kerra Holt-like Jedi, or the Solo kids instead. Or one of the other NJO Jedi like Corran Horn or Jaden Korr.
