Star Wars is Back at Marvel

Star Wars was, obviously to anyone who's read this blog, extremely important to my childhood. Seeing the film when I was five, in a tiny, packed movie theatre (people sitting in the aisles, and on the floor in front of the screen) was...it changed me. I wanted to do THAT. I didn't really grasp exactly what THAT was for a few more years, but a course was set.

Part of the genius of Geroge Lucas was how he left opportunities for his universe, his story, his characters to expand beyond the film itself. Many people bemoan the toys and merchandise now, but...they were tools to find more stories for Luke, Han and Leia....

My stories. New stories. The concept, the universe, felt so vast that almost anything was possible. New planets, new adventures on old planets...How many sandboxes in this country became Tatooine between 1977 and the mid-80's?

Part of what fed that was Marvel's comic books, which adapted the original film in the first 6 issues, and then immediately jumped into new stories and new adventures. The first story arc after the film was, flat out so cool. A loose re-telling of The Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven with Han Solo recruiting a rag-tag group of misfits and mercenaries to defend a backwater community from a gang on speeder bikes, essentially. I tell ya, I LOVED Jaxxon, a six-foot tall green rabbit who Solo recruited, created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Howard Chaykin, big legends of the industry. I often think that Jaxxon paved my path to being relatively unperturbed by Jar-Jar Binks.

George Lucas, however, apparently HATED the big rabbit. Thomas has inferred that the rejection of this character, and the demands of Lucas licensing, led to he and Chaykin walking away from the series. This led to Archie Goodwin and the truly great Carmine Infantino coming on board. Honestly, my memories of Star Wars in comics are dominated by Infantino's art.

Infantino

 As time went on, and Star Wars reached the dark days after the release of Return of the Jedi, interest in the book waned, and, eventually, marvel cancelled it with issue #107. Right after I had subscribed, no less, the first and only issue I got of my subscription was #107.

The property was fallow for a long time, but when Timothy Zahn released his "Thrawn Trilogy" of novels, beginning with Heir to the Empire in June 1994. The release of those books marked a resurgence of Star Wars fandom that we are, really, still in. A smaller publisher, Dark Horse Comics, snatched up the rights to do Star Wars comic books in 1996, and continued to publish until 2014, last year.

That's eighteen years of comics. Mini-series, ongoing series, specials, etc, that touched on every era of the imagined history, and created a few of their own. The books embraced drama, horror, comedy, and really showed the sort of expansive creative canvas the Star Wars galaxy is. In my mind, even if I was a much more consistent reader of the Marvel comics of the 70's and 80's, Dark Horse is THE publisher that should be associated with Star Wars (even if I, myself, am uninterested in endless Boba Fett mini-series).

Well, of course, we all know that Disney bought Lucasfilm, Star Wars with it, and already owns Marvel Comics. Corporate synergy being what it is, Star Wars is now being published my Marvel again.

I read the first issue, written by Jason Aaron (he of the AMAZING Southern Bastards), with art by John Cassaday. It's good. No big complaints, but somethign does feel fairly....mechanical about the issue. It's wrapped up in a lot of bells and whistles, and a $4.99 price tag, that wants to scream "EPIC!!!," but the story feels a little forced. It's kind of hard for me to imagine that Luke, Han AND Leia, all high-profile Rebel Alliance members and associates, would all be assigned to the same espionage mission. They make a viable case as to why Han would be useful, but then undercut it by pointing out the price on his head, and who put it there.

But, y'know...it's Star Wars. Sometimes shit happens just so the plot can move along. I can roll with that. The characters feel pretty true-to-form, and the action is appropriate.

However...and this is just me, your mileage may vary....

I liked the Star Wars ongoing series that Dark Horse began in 2013, at which point I think they knew they were losing the license, and took the opportunity to do a classic, Luke/Han/Leia series. It lasted 20 issues, was quite rewarding, and I think Carlos D'Anda's artwork is much more dynamic and appropriate to the concept (Cassaday is a bit too studied and stiff for my tastes...but it is pretty), and Brian Wood had a real solid handle on the characters. I was invested in what that team was doing, and it was sad, if fully expected to see it end.

That series was the first Star Wars I'd had on my pull list in years. Marvel's new series is, as well, and I am willing to give it a good six issues to well and truly grab me. It's a good, solid start.

I Must See This Film

Sometimes you hear about a film that you just can't imagine actually exists. Escape From Tomorrow is such a film. A "horror" movie shot guerrilla-style inside Disneyland and Disney World. The internet has been swirling about it, and if Disney would ever let it actually be released, since it premiered at Sundance.

well, now we have a trailer. The first actual footage I've seen.



Just fascinating.

Darth Mickey

We say things are gonna "break the internet in half" a lot, but few things really do. Yesterday, it happened, unexpectedly, and I'm still trying to suss out how I honestly feel about it.

The Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm Ltd. for 4.05 billion dollars. Disney now owns Star Wars and it's related characters, although I believe Fox still owns Episode IV: A New Hope, as a film (they paid for it, Lucas kept the sequel rights and characters, and financed the rest himself). Disney is jumping head-first into the Star Wars business, with Episodes VII, IIX and IX (from a reportedly detailed Lucas outline) tenatively announced for 2015, 2017 and 2019. The plan is also for a Star Wars-related film "every 2 or 3 years" after that.

The Mouse now also owns Indiana Jones, as well, but the legal entanglements with Paramount Pictures apparently have put any development there on the back burner. Too bad, I think an Indy animated show would be more exciting than, say, another Star Wars cartoon.

On one hand, I am shocked that Lucas, who proudly operated Lucasfilm without studio support (he's probably the most successful indy film producer in the world, technically) would up and turn the keys over to one of the largest corporate entities in the world. His criticism of Hollywood studios for having lost creative thought, due to their ownership by various conglomerates, is legendary. He seemed to relish the freedom that his success bought him, even, at times, from his most rabid fan base.

On the other, I bet George is happy as a clam right now. Let's be really honest here, running Lucasfilm for the last few years must've been a real pain in the ass. First you have the fanbase itself, who keeps begging for more, and then bitches incessantly when they get it. Not to mention that Red Tails, a non-Star Wars, non-Indy passion project that he's been working on for years, crashed and burned at the box office. There was much talk after Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released that Lucas would return to more personal projects, "art" films, and things like Red Tails.

The fanbase, however, was never gonna let that happen. Oh, yeah, the fan community gave much lip-service to "I can't wait to see what George will do," but really, nobody cared if it didn't have Boba Fett in it. No matter how much they professed to HATE the Prequels, the 1980's claim of a nine-part Skywalker family saga was always been thrown in his face. No matter how much disappointment surrounded Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, there's continual calls for another Indy film. It's a complete no-win situation for him.

Why put yourself through that? Now he can retire. Turn the business over to Kathleen Kennedy (great choice - hard to imagine that this titan of film business was Steven Spielberg's assistant), and the folks at Disney, and let them take the heat. "Here's the plot, have at it. Call if you have questions."

I've often said that Star Wars fans, or at least the vocal contingent, are a bunch of whining losers. Far too caught up in their own visions of what Star Wars should be to actually enjoy the thing. Too aggrieved over a perceived slight to just embrace the joy and fun that this series, and Lucas, have given them.

The reaction to the sale reflects it...for YEARS I've heard "just turn it over to someone else, George, and it'll be great again!" That is, essentially, what this sale is, and yet, now we have "he sold my childhood!!" (which is better than that asinine "raped" crap, I suppose). Personally, I just think anybody who says that is a little too consumed by their childhood. This coming from a man who collects action figures and dolls.

Me? Look, I'm not all that happy to see Disney take up another property that they can turn into a "branding engine," as they have with Marvel Comics and The Muppets. I have many problems with details of how they've worked those properties, but no one can say they haven't done well by them. It's hard to argue with success.

As to the prospects of the final trilogy being realized, I am cautiously optimistic. I really won't get excited until some talent is attached. I am very glad Lucas is plotting. I can nitpick the Prequels to death (I prefer not to, and just enjoy them), but the overall plots were not the issue. George understands his themes and how they should play out. He's not a great writer (he knows this), so I'm interested in who's brought in to put meat on the bones.

Who will direct? This could go any number of ways. Disney is just as apt to find a cheap film school graduate (not necessarily a bad thing) as to reach out to established directors. If I can throw in my two cents...call Andrew Stanton. Yes, I know John Carter lost a boatload of money, but that was the fault of Disney marketing, not the film, and certainly not Stanton. That film had the sweep, scope, style, humor and speed that a Star Wars film needs. Your guy is right there.

I will also say this...Somebody better have already reached out to Mark Hamill. Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford would be cool to see, as well, but I also think that, thematically, Han and Leia are not intrinsically needed for moving the story of the Skywalker Jedi forward. Luke is. I also think Fisher and Ford are less than enthused about the idea of going back to those roles. we know Ford isn't, and Fisher seems truly retired from acting.

Here's the other important thing that our raving fanbase better get a grip on real quick: The Expanded Universe material from the various novels/video games/role playing products....NO NOT MATTER. I suspect George may've mined some interesting bits (such as naming the capitol planet Coruscant for the Prequels) for his outline, the ultimate screenwriters may as well, but it's time to accept that anything that wasn't in a movie, or Lucasfilm TV show...is NOT cannon.

They are not going to make the Thrawn trilogy, you are not going to see three films that say "Story by Timothy Zhan." I'd love to see Mara Jade, too, but, thematically, Luke will serve the Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon role in a third trilogy...having a wife would be odd. The Solo children may be the leads, and they may be named Jaina, Jacen and Anakin, but to expect everything to paly out EXACTLY as you expect is to doom yourself to disappointment.

Fan art by Tom Hodges - Calm down

I suspect that there will be much fanbase consternation over this issue. Probably outright hatred. That's silly, this is as it should be. You cannot constrain a creative team because Chewbacca died in such-and-such a novel. Star Trek fans have been living with it for years, get used to it. Maybe we'll all learn to just enjoy the story, and not try to make it mean more than it does.

I'll leave you with something I'm REALLY excited about. I'm betting a Star Wars theme park on the Disney World property in Florida just in time for the 40th anniversary in 2017. Hell, they gave Cars their own corner of California Adventure, you can't tell me a Star Wars Land wouldn't be VASTLY more lucrative. That's five years from now, which may seem quite quick, but look at it this way: they kept this sale, which must've been ongoing for months, completely under wraps. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the plans weren't already underway.

That's so much cooler than a Marvel vs. Star Wars video game, in my book.

Marvel meets Disney

So, the Walt Disney Company is going to buy Marvel Comics.

Lot of teeth-gnashing over this.

First off, I honestly don't see, and have never seen, the problem some people have with Disney. They created a brand, the were successful. Big whoop. I get various pollution problems connected to the theme parks, and whatever, but you know, that's the same with any multi-national corporation. Big deal, it's like we're all conditioned to hate because it's big and wasteful. So's the government, so what? I bet Disney's health plan (which has been offered to same-sex partners since the 80's) is better.

They make entertainment, and, aside from a horrible period in the early-to-mid 80's, they do it pretty well.

Anyway...Marvel has been trying to Disneyfy itself for years. With plans for "Marvel Mania" stores and theme restaurants across the country, and a general concern with the value of their properties over using them effectively. I mean, for years I've been pretty much convinced that putting out solid comic books was the LAST priority for Marvel. Not when you have video game and movie deals, or merchandise to push.

think about it....How many Mickey Mouse cartoons have you actually seen? Precious few compared to say Bugs Bunny, or even Yogi Bear. (and you ought to seek them out, they're good...not the sublime madness of the Warner Brothers stable, but fun.) Yet every, single one of us knows Micky on sight.

That's what Marvel has been after for a long time, the ability to sell their "5000 characters" (yeah, tell me when anybody cares about 4,980 of those) based on their images alone. Not in stories, not in adventures, not with the simple, elegant stories that Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko dreamed up, but as images, as iconography

I went into one of the few remaining "Marvel Mania" stores in the Universal Studios theme park...piles and piles of shirts, backpacks, statues, action figures and toys. All well and good, but where were the COMICS?!?! Y'know the stuff that made your name? Oh, here they are, like 10 titles off in a corner.

Sad, Man....Sad.

I mean seriously, Spider-Man is right up there for me. Genius creation, broke all the rules for comic book superheroes, clever, well written. Right now, Marvel has (I think) 4 Spider-Man comic book series on the market, including one that's weekly.

Only one is any good, and that's the one that exists outside "normal" continuity. (That would be Ultimate Spider-Man, or Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, or whatever the hell they're calling it this week. Yes, faithful readers, I didn't get off the wagon...I'm still there. You'll pay for this, for being so good, Brian Michael Bendis!!!)

I won't even get into the cesspool that's become the X-Men line. It's almost a unwritten rule that only one X-Men book can be any good at any given time, the rest just have to wallow in 30-year-old plotlines, and concepts that were picked to death in 1985.

Captain America, however, is still very good. RIGHT NOW it's very, very good. Get on that.

Marvel has been slowly creeping toward the day when they won't have to publish comics. Why do it, when you make huge dollars selling the icon to a film or video game company to tell the story? (or to co-finance, the "Marvel Studios" model) This merger/buyout/whatever with Disney will only accelerate that pace. Disney is gonna realize real quick that the monthly pamphlet business ain't what it used to be. Plus, now there's a bonafide big-time movie studio

Maybe they'll continue with online comics. Maybe a trade paperback that comes out every 6 months, because the trades, and book stores, are where the real money is. That could be good or bad, hard to say. Me, I like my monthly books, I like my boxes full of comics. I'm not going to be happy about this.

For good or ill, this could be the beginning of a pretty huge shift in the comic marketplace.