rossn
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Post by rossn on Jun 21, 2016 5:38:17 GMT -5
Ah, Palpatine enters the story! Objectively Empire is the better film but I always have a soft spot for Jedi. It might be because the last chapter of the trilogy (as it was then) was particularly rich in building blocks for the Expanded Universe. I am a big fan of Palpatine and Jabba (both alluded to before of course, but properly introduced in Jedi) and this story manages to give a glimpse of life both in the grimy underworld and in the centre of Imperial power.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Jun 15, 2016 7:25:59 GMT -5
That's a fair point about Tintin. I once read that the reason Hergé put so few women in his comics (despite having a pretty active romantic life) was that his upbringing in ultraconservative early 20th Century Belgium left him uncomfortable with lampooning women - and given the style of characters he drew, that would have been hard to avoid. I'd not heard that, but from what I've read about Hergé I'm quite prepared to believe it. The only woman of any note in the stories is the opera singer Bianca Castafiore and she is definitely a larger than life caricature, mostly arising from Hergé's dislike of opera, apparently. BTW, I don't know if you are aware, but I used to have a Tintin review thread back on the old Comic Book Resources forum, where many of us here used to hang out, before this forum existed. Unfortunately, I only got as far as reviewing King Ottokar's Sceptre before the forums were rebooted and the whole thread was lost. I tentatively plan to restart it in this forum when I'm done with Star Wars. Would that be something you'd be interested in following? Regarding Luke and Dani though I'm not sure I agree. I do see your point certainly and yes the real world reason why a 'freewheeling babe from the docks' ( ) might be seen as inappropriate but honestly, is it all that different from the Han and Leia love story with the genders flipped?In all honesty, no, probably not. But I think another reason that what your suggesting wouldn't have worked back in the early '80s is because of the inherent sexism and double standards present in comic books back then (and, of course, in the wider society too). I suspect that it would've been more acceptable to have had a strong, devil-may-care male character dating a more upstanding, noble female (a la Han and Leia), than having the reverse situation. That would've been quite unusual and fairly groundbreaking for comics of the time, I would think. Oh I'd love a Tintin thread! I'm a huge Tintin fan! I was actually re-reading Land of Black Gold the other day which was why I brought him up! And yes that is a great point about the attitudes society held back then, and maybe still does to a degree.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Jun 15, 2016 5:07:47 GMT -5
Yeah, it seems a bit much given Luke has had romantic interests in these comics before. Then again I never understood why he wouldn't fall for the gorgeous, funny and exciting Dani (I'm a Mara Jade fan but I'd have been happy to see him end up with Dani.) It's reminiscent of the Silver age Superman - or Tintin. Well, Tintin is slightly different, in that he never, ever had a love interest or any apparent inclination towards having one. Tintin is essentially an asexual character. Silver Age Superman is a closer comparison because obviously he had Lois Lane and Lana Lang chasing him. The weird thing abouth Luke's almost pathological need to escape from the Zeltron's game of "kiss chase" in this story is that, as you say, he'd already been interested in women before and even in the films he clearly had the hots for Leia. It's very strange. As for why Duffy didn't pair Luke and Dani up, and why he wasn't comfortable with her promiscuous advances, I think it was probably because Luke is a nice guy at the end of the day and the golden hero of the series. Fixing him up with a fast woman like Dani wouldn't have felt right in my opinion and may've even been something that Lucasfilm would've objected to. So I think that Duffy was definitely right to make Luke seem uncomfortable and a little wet behind the ears when dealing with Dani or Zeltrons in general. She was also able to play the whole thing for a lot more laughs that way too, of course. Now, if a more roguish character like Han or Lando had gotten together with Dani, then that would've been fine, I think. Ultimately, Star Wars is a fairy tale set in space and, in fairy tales, the bold, handsome knight usually gets the chaste and beautiful princess, not the loose, freewheeling babe from the docks. Of course, in the end Luke didn't get anybody -- at least, not officially -- and it was the scoundral Han Solo who got the princess. But nonetheless, pairing Luke with Dani would've been a mistake, I think. That's a fair point about Tintin. I once read that the reason Hergé put so few women in his comics (despite having a pretty active romantic life) was that his upbringing in ultraconservative early 20th Century Belgium left him uncomfortable with lampooning women - and given the style of characters he drew, that would have been hard to avoid. Regarding Luke and Dani though I'm not sure I agree. I do see your point certainly and yes the real world reason why a 'freewheeling babe from the docks' ( ) might be seen as inappropriate but honestly, is it all that different from the Han and Leia love story with the genders flipped? I don't know... I think the fact that they are opposites might have been good for them both - he'd have taught her how to be more serious and compassionate (without the terrible personal trauma Dani went through in the series as is), she'd have taught him how to relax and have fun once in a while rather than retreat into the very serious character he became in much of the later EU.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Jun 14, 2016 16:08:30 GMT -5
Great review Confessor! I'm a fan of this issue, even if it is a touch slight. She also injects a fair bit of humour into proceedings, with the insatiable Zeltron females chasing Luke around the station. I've noted before (in my review of Star Wars #71) that Duffy always writes Luke as a total gentleman – he never once takes advantage of the sexual temptations offered to him on a plate by Dani and the other Zeltron females. However, in this issue there's something almost phobic about his desire to escape their attention. I mean, Luke is a red-blooded male, so what is he so afraid of? I guess he might feasibly be anxious that the Zeltrons pursuing him will blow his cover and mess up the mission, but Luke's concern seems much more akin to a pre-adolescent, "girls are icky" mindset. Ultimately, these scenes with Luke and the Zeltrons remind me that these comics were mostly written for young boys, with Luke playing out a childhood fantasy of how a grown man might act in that situation. Unfortunately, it taints the story with a "NO GIRLZ ALLOWED IN THE CLUB HOUSE" vibe that doesn't seem very in character or very Star Wars-y. Yeah, it seems a bit much given Luke has had romantic interests in these comics before. Then again I never understood why he wouldn't fall for the gorgeous, funny and exciting Dani (I'm a Mara Jade fan but I'd have been happy to see him end up with Dani.) It's reminiscent of the Silver age Superman - or Tintin.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Jun 3, 2016 5:00:42 GMT -5
Neat review. While I'm sure it was for commercial reasons I do appreciate that Marvel put out this adaptation in a seperate run - as I said one of my issues with The Empire Strikes Back adaptation was it felt like we were 'losing' an original story or two to make room.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Jun 3, 2016 4:54:40 GMT -5
OK, here's something that I've been pondering for the past few days: are the new Star Wars films, including The Force Awakens, canon? To clarify, I'm not talking about what Disney marketing has to say on the subject because obviously they're going to stress the importance of these films as being the "real" Star Wars sequels. But I'm a big fan of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and in that realm of fandom we talk about Doyle's writing as being canonical, whereas all the other writers who came later -- many of whome have written fantastic stories about the master detective -- are considered non-canonical and therefore less important. Within Star Wars fandom there have always been different layers of cannon, with George Lucas's Episodes I - VI being the highest, most important canon, and stories from the so-called "expanded universe" being placed somewhere along the spectrum from semi-canonical to non-canonical. Given that Disney rejected Lucas's own story ideas for Episode VII and went with a totally different storyline for The Force Awakens (he's confirmed this in semi-recent interviews), and that none of the planned films are based on Lucas's story ideas, I've started to wonder whether they can really be considered canonical? I'm not really debating the overall merits of the six original Star Wars movies verses the new films, I'm just asking whether SW fans should consider a film like The Force Awakens to be the canonical Episode VII? Or, in reality, is it no more of an official Episode VII than, say, Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire novel? A tricky question. To be honest I think I'm in a minority of fans in (a) having a lot of love for the old Expanded Universe (especially the Thrawn books and the X-Wing stories), (b) liking the prequels (even as I see their flaws) and (c) only sort of liking The Force Awakens (basically I think the leads are great and the action is a lot of fun but the worldbuilding is beyond thin even by Star Wars movie standards and it is by far the least inventive film in the series, either visually or in plot.) While I'm going to see the new Star Wars films (and read the comics) in my personal continuity I consider the old pre-Disney EU what 'really' happened after the end of Return of the Jedi. In an odd way Lucas being shut out of the series allows me to puick and choose my own personal 'canon'.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Jun 1, 2016 5:28:28 GMT -5
Great review Confessor.
As I said before I think I like the arc less than most for reasons I explained earlier. Still it was enjoyable and looking forward to the next few issues.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on May 8, 2016 4:25:38 GMT -5
I like most of the issues in the Tay Vanis arc but I tend to think it was dragged on too long. Really? I can't say I've ever thought that. It's one of the absolute pinnacles of the series in my eyes, along with the Pariah arc, and the ESB adaptation, so in some ways it's a pity it didn't go on longer. I like Jo Duffy a lot as a SW writer though...she might be my all-time favourite writer on the series, although David Michelinie is a close second. She really understood the characters and the setting, which made for some great comics. (Sorry for the late reply!) Yeah, I think it suffered from the fact that we never knew the characters that were being searched for, which weakened the emotional impact for me (especially when they do eventually find Vanis). When you add in the fact that we have already had a similar story with our heroes trying to find a carbonite frozen and captured Han the poltline never quite gripped me, even if as I say I liked many of the individual aspects. (Also I know I'm a huge minority but I think I've made my feelings on the ESB adaptation clear. ) Regarding the 1983 Annual I agree that it wasn't great but I'm not entirely sure why. I know the name 'Barney' isn't really any more silly than 'Luke' in context but it somehow feels a little off.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Apr 26, 2016 15:31:47 GMT -5
I like Drexel personally. Yes I suppose it is a little more cartoony with the sea dragons and city sized galleon but it had a nice sense of atmosphere in the art.
The seatroopers remind me of the spacetroopers from Timothy Zahn's novels so it's interesting to see them here. I like most of the issues in the Tay Vanis arc butI tend to think it was dragged on too long.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Apr 21, 2016 19:07:00 GMT -5
Regarding Dani and Leia I actually think it could be because Dani reminds Leia too strongly of Han. I don't mean that in any kind of sexual way, just that if you created a female Han Solo from scratch you'd end up with someone more than a little like Dani. She's a fun loving, quick tongued smuggler and flirt who clearly hasn't the slightest interest in the Rebellion but is loyal to her friends. Arguing with Dani or watching her flirt with Luke, Leia isn't really thinking of Dani and Luke, she's thinking of Han and Leia and her own pain. That's an interesting theory, and one that hadn't occurred to me at all. Hmmm...interesting. Anyway, good to see you back again, rossn. Thanks, I hope you don't mind if I start commenting on some of the reviews I missed. Another aspect of the Dani/Leia interaction is that Dani is basically a Rebel for the excitement (and to be close to her beloved Luke.) For Leia who lives and breathes the Rebel cause I can see that being very offputting. Incidentally going back a bit I think we can retcon Leia's prickliness around Shira to something other than just romantic jealousy. We know with the benefit of hindsight that Leia is Force Sensitive, so maybe Leia's intution was nudging her that Shira was really the enemy in the same way Luke was given a much more overt feeling thanks to the Force when he had Shira's TIE in his sights.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Apr 20, 2016 17:53:24 GMT -5
Wow I've been away to long. Great to see this series still going Confessor, I'll have to read up on the reviews I missed (I'm sorry I missed Dani's introduction.)
Regarding Dani and Leia I actually think it could be because Dani reminds Leia too strongly of Han. I don't mean that in any kind of sexual way, just that if you created a female Han Solo from scratch you'd end up with someone more than a little like Dani. She's a fun loving, quick tongued smuggler and flirt who clearly hasn't the slightest interest in the Rebellion but is loyal to her friends. Arguing with Dani or watching her flirt with Luke, Leia isn't really thinking of Dani and Luke, she's thinking of Han and Leia and her own pain.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Feb 13, 2016 17:28:19 GMT -5
Realising that Giel would gladly sacrifice his own life in order to kill her, the princess manages to distract the Imperial and escape from the reactor room. I really loved Leia's sheer shock and imcomprehension that Giel is willing to pay the ultimate price for the Empire. Its quite a powerful character beat. I've said it before both I think that of the main characters Leia is probably the one who both hates the Empire the most (for very understandable reasons) while having the hardest time getting inside the mindsets of Imperials (we'll see this much more in Star Wars #86, but that's in the distant future.) Very good issue. I will say the Rebels seem incredibly harsh on what to an outsider, would look like a tragic but explicable case of friendly fire.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Feb 10, 2016 5:25:41 GMT -5
Well, the next female to show an interest in Luke in the Marvel series goes one better, by having both red hair and skin (well, OK...pink skin). As for talk of Domina Tagge showing up again towards the end of the run, I can't say I remember that, tex1272, but you may well be right. Having Domina appearing again might have been fun, actually. Perhaps she could've teamed up with Lumiya for some double redhead jeopardy for Luke! That would have been neat. After RotJ I felt that the Marvel Star Wars series failed to capitalize on the rich potential the galaxy far, far away had to offer. Not in a terrible way, and the series remained fun, but I thought many plot lines alluded to were simply dropped. Once the emperor was dead, how is it that the empire disintegrated so quickly? Wouldn't the other political powers present, like House Tagge, have vied for control of their own territories? Wouldn't there have been multiple established entities claiming to be the one true successor of the empire? We already had several interesting villains to use, including Domina... it's a pity that Marvel didn't go that way and chose instead the (relatively) unoriginal plot of an alien invasion. Twice, even, since the Tofs came after the Nagai. In that regard, I find the recent movie's backstory (whatever happened between RotJ and tFa) more intriguing that the later issues of the comic or the expanded universe developed since. I don't know, I like the way the old Expanded Universe had the Empire messily fall apart rather than vanish overnight. The X-Wing stories and the Thrawn books did a good job with that. I have the Dark Horse Omnibuses and I've been trying to read along but i don't remember Serphidian Eyes at all.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Feb 5, 2016 12:10:25 GMT -5
Marvel sure had a thing for evil redheads for Luke. Wasn't there some talk on the Star Words page of Domina Tagge making a return late in the run? Well, the next female to show an interest in Luke in the Marvel series goes one better, by having both red hair and skin (well, OK...pink skin). My favourite character of the Marvel run. Also it turns out I was wrong about the new canon and mind tricks. In Obi-Wan & Anakin #2 Obi-Wan mind tricks a female human sky pirate (Pran) into lowering her weapons. Actually it's kind of interesting because the mind trick works (Pran is lowering her blasters and repeating the instructions) but is almost immediately interrupted by an attack by a third party. Pran snaps out of her trance but shows no indication of being aware of what she had been doing. I could be wrong but I think that is the first instance of a successful mind trick being interrupted by an external event.
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rossn
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Post by rossn on Feb 3, 2016 20:01:30 GMT -5
You know I think this might be the only occasion in the entire Marvel run we see a mind trick used on a woman. In fact I don't think we've ever seen it happen in the new films, Clone Wars or Rebels. Strange that. Well, as Obi-Wan said, the Force can be a strong influence on the weak-minded. So, it's clearly gonna be more effective on men than it is women. Hey, I'm a guy and I'd call that sexist if it weren't true. Still it will be interesting to see if the new canon ever violates that unwritten 'rule'.
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