Category: Simple Tricks

Aggressive Negotiations: Fans and the Expanded Universe

Posted on November 8, 2013by Aggressive Negotiations

October 26, 2013 – a day that will live in virtual infamy? No, not right, insanity? Getting closer I suppose. Four Star Wars fans got together for what was to be a short chat on the future of the Expanded Universe. Three in Britain, one in Germany – so the EU was to discuss…. the EU! (And there’s more where that came from!) Ground rules were set – a couple inevitably broken – a rough timetable set, though it really was more like a guideline and said short chat became an epic spot of online comedy mixed with some serious points!

The participants with me were: (brackets indicate TFN forum usernames)

Becca Hughes (@Beccatoria)
Stefan Pfister (@CeiranHarmony)
Gorefiend (@Gorefiend)

The doomed ground rules:

Stefan: Ok then we better set something straight now: NO 3 million clones, no death star diameters, no superstardestroyer lengths ;)

Becca: deal, I can’t remember why half that stuff is contentious anyway. (Well okay, even I remember most of the 3 million clones fiasco BUT STILL)

Gorefiend: As far as I am concerned only evil Clones fought against the Republic in the Clone Wars, the Death Star is the size of a moon and Vader’s Star Destroyer is big.

Stefan: Evil is a matter of point of view ;) but I agree there. I want my old… well ancient… Clone Wars… Republic invaded by Mandalorians who use clones against it.

Gorefiend: Wasn’t it insane Clone Masters?

Stefan: Yub

(EDIT: Yes, Ewoks, every controversy going and I hadn’t even turned up, still, if others do the work for you why worry?)

Prelude….

Becca: Ben! Two things: 1) I’m assuming you’ll be acting as an informal mod for the chat, and 2) we discussed it and we’re hoping you’re gonna run this thing through a spellchecker and correct for typos before it goes live!

(EDIT: They hoped – correctly as it turns out.)
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The Pitch – Novels Humbly Requested by Eleven-ThirtyEight

Posted on November 1, 2013by , , , , , and Not A Committee

Whatever one thinks of the Star Wars novels that have come out since Fate of the Jedi ended, one has to admit that their primary distinguishing feature is experimentation—in a little over a year we’ve gotten a western, an Ocean’s Eleven riff, a female-led Dawn of the Jedi story, and the first X-Wing book in thirteen years, among others. Now that no one—not even, it seems, LucasBooks’ Jennifer Heddle—is quite sure what’s going to become of the Expanded Universe in a couple years. It seems there’s never been a better time for the EU to just go for broke and see what works. To that end, the staff of Eleven-ThirtyEight humbly submits the following for your consideration.

Mike: X-Wing: Red Squadron

Seriously, now—how has this not happened already? In addition to being the perfect mix of fan-bait and movie tie-in, a book telling the origins of Red Squadron would be the perfect opportunity to sort out the myriad gaps and inconsistencies of this era and deliver a coherent history of the pilots who destroyed the Death Star.

If they were really into the idea, the concept could even spawn two different books—one pre-Yavin, detailing the initial formation of Red Squadron from pieces of several other units of the early Rebellion (and incorporating the proto-Red Squadron from the X-Wing game that gave us Keyan Farlander, one of the few Yavin survivors), and one post-Yavin that tells of the “Rogue Flight” era, when Luke and Wedge, alongside Commander Narra (an important character who dates all the way back to the Empire radio drama yet has had few moments in the spotlight) rebuilt Red Squadron almost from the ground up and eventually evolved it into the Rogue Squadron seen on Hoth.
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Go Figure: Race in Star Wars

Posted on October 25, 2013by Feature Articles

Introduction

The following analysis relies heavily on a 1000 Character Sample Database created by me as a method of analyzing patterns among Star Wars characters in a systematic way. References in this article to ‘the sample’ are referring to this grouping of characters. A full explanation of this database, and the raw data itself, can be found here.

Race is among the most important criteria considered regarding issues of diversity, being perhaps second only to gender. It is also a thornier issue to address analytically compared to gender, because categories of race are far more nebulous and difficult to detect, as well as being simply more numerous than the male vs. female dichotomy that defines the overwhelming majority of gender issues.

In Star Wars race is a human issue. While there is some evidence for sub-group division based on physical characters among a small number of alien species there is no systemic pattern and no means to delineate the issues beyond in-universe opinions. As a result, this analysis only considers humans. I am fully aware that many fans of Star Wars lump certain nominally alien species, particularly certain Near-Humans that outwardly resemble members of a specific human ethnic group, as part of racial issues, but for the purposes of this analysis I take the creators at their word that these persons are not humans, and confine the analysis to those who are known to be human.

Analyzing race depends on defining it, a difficult prospect, particularly when dealing with fictional characters that cannot be subject to genetic or pedigree analysis and who exist in a cultural context divorced from our own. Nomenclature, to use one simple example, is not a signifier of racial or ethnic identity in Star Wars in the way it is among most human populations on Earth.

Four hundred and twenty-six individuals in the sample are Human, or 42.6%. The margin of error for this group is 4.7%. These characters can be broken down by race for further analysis.
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The Star Wars Expanded Universe: The Pithy Reader’s Companion Vol. III

Posted on October 18, 2013by Feature Articles

Now over a year in the making, it’s time for the final volume of the Pithy Reader’s Companion! Our voyage begins with the arrival of the Yuuzhan Vong and the untimely demise of the mighty Chewbacca, and continues into the far, far future of the Skywalker family in the Legacy comics.

Fun fact: This batch almost certainly covers the time span where the sequels will be set, and as such is probably the stuff most likely to be erased from continuity—which is a damn shame for some of it, and frankly a relief for others. The exact proportions thereof may vary, of course; you can probably guess which ones @Havac (our own Lucas Jackson) would most like to get rid of. Enjoy!

 

 

Vector Prime – The book with one simple message: Chewbacca’s dead, Mara’s deathly ill, and incredibly dangerous biotech-wielding Forceless aliens are invading the galaxy — DEAL WITH IT. – @Havac

Dark Tide: Onslaught – The first of many NJO covers which depicts things that never actually happen in the novel. – @GrandAdmiralJello

Dark Tide: Ruin – Introducing Jagged Fel, the on-again-off-again-on-again-off-again-on-again-off-again paramour of Jaina Solo for the next twelve real life years. – @GrandAdmiralJello

Agents of Chaos: Hero’s Trial – Han Solo’s Magical Mystery Tour of Forgotten Classic-EU Supporting Characters. – @Havac

Agents of Chaos: Jedi Eclipse – Despite the cover, this book does *not* detail the Han Solo/Tsavong Lah buddy-cop comedy of the year. – @RC-1991

Balance Point – The most cleverly titled book of the series had no balance and no point. – @DarthRelaxus
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Continuity vs. Accessibility: The Struggle of Star Wars Writers

Posted on October 11, 2013by Feature Articles

Assume you’re a Star Wars fan. It should be easy since you’re on Eleven-ThirtyEight. You’ve watched the movies and perhaps some of the cartoons. You may even own an action figure or two. However, one thing you haven’t done is read any of the books or comics.

Maybe you were too busy living a so-called normal life or perhaps you didn’t have a bookstore in your neighborhood. The latter is especially likely since there are fewer bookstores today than there have been since Star Wars opened in 1977.

Still, you’re open to trying new things and see a copy of a book called Star Wars: Crucible. The cover contains an image of Han, Luke, and Leia—somewhat older but still recognizable. You pick up the book and start flipping through it. Who is Ben Skywalker? Who is Vestara Khai? Lando is married? The Sith are back? What’s a Mortis? Crucible is actually one of the more accessible books because it stars the “Big Three” of Star Wars.

Compare Crucible to Crosscurrent. Read More