Discussion, Analysis, and Rhetoric
On a recent trip out to LA to visit my daughter, Erin, I was passing the time on the four-hour flight doing puzzles in the paper and crossword puzzle book I brought along. The flight attendant came by to bring us passengers a snack and beverage. I looked up from what I was doing to take my tea and goodies, and as she passed, I espied a special treat showing on a fellow passenger’s tablet screen. [He was sitting across the aisle and one row up from me.]
Dan Z is joined by Beltway Banthas co-host, Swara Salih & CWK newsman, Tom Gross. They begin the show with the news of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller leaving the untitled Han Solo film. Jason Brame and the hosts discuss categorizing ancillary characters in Star Wars, and Tom gives the news. For the Coffee Chat, they play a few rounds of Star Wars Trivial Pursuit. They close out the show with your tweets. This the podcast you’re looking for!
Very simply put, this is the most important thing you can come to grips with, and become part of. And yeah, me, of the first estate by vocation, I will teach this to the bitter end. There are evil and nefarious forces in the world masquerading as goodness, trying to steal the inherent beauty in each of us. There are greedy people trying to gain unlimited power through the theft of the beauty each of us possesses.
Sit down, pour a cup of joe and relax. Be at one with the Force as we discuss all the comics from May — and we mean all of them.
Apologies for the length of this show — it’s more than two-and-a-half hours — but there was a great deal to discuss about the events of (The) Screaming Citadel crossover that’s gone through three of its five chapters in its namesake one-shot, Star Wars No. 31 and issue seven of Star Wars: Doctor Aphra.
(At this rate, our show discussing August’s comics will last three days!)
This review of Star Wars: Rebel Rising contains minor spoilers.
There’s a sense of wonder, and dread, as you make your way through the opening chapters of Beth Revis‘ finely crafted and exquisitely paced story of Jyn Erso that plays out through the pages of Star Wars: Rebel Rising.
The wonder is the amazing facet of seeing how Jyn Erso became the woman that we, as Star Wars fans, experienced on the silver screen amid the kinetic action and brisk storytelling of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The dread is knowing that her fate is sealed and that her life, with so much potential and promise, was cut short. Yet, more importantly, its knowing that Erso as a character is finite. This makes Revis’ prequel-style account of Erso so engaging and, in fact, so dramatic.
With the release of Rogue One came a bevy of new characters in the Star Wars universe. Two of the breakout stars of the popular film, Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus, are featured in Greg Rucka’s Star Wars Guardians of the Whills, and are more fully formed as dynamic characters in the new book. Rucka beautifully shifts the third person narrative from each main character’s perspective and provides important motivation for a richer understanding of their crusade against the Empire. The Star Wars universe has a rich history of ambiguity, regarding many of their characters’ backgrounds, and with Star Wars: Guardians of the Whills, an intriguing piece of the proverbial puzzle is provided.
April proved a pivotal month for Star Wars comics.
From the first issue of Marvel’s Rogue One adaptation, which provided some context and details not seen in the film, to the conclusion of story arcs in Star Wars 30 and Star Wars: Doctor Aphra 6, along with the passing of a beloved member of the Resistance’s Black Squadron in Star Wars: Poe Dameron 13, there was plenty of pathos and high adventure to be had.
Co-hosts Matt Moore and Jeff McGee were suitably impressed with Star Wars: Darth Maul 3, which continued to build nuanced layer after nuanced layer on a Zabrak who began life seemingly as a throwaway character, but has grown to become one of the Star Wars Saga’s most enduring and utterly complex characters.
A few weeks ago I put out a question on Twitter not really expecting an answer, to be honest. It was asking what piece of Star Wars music do you most relate to as a person. There are plenty of things about the Star Wars saga that people resonate with. Everything from the characters on both sides to the life lessons of love, pain, and redemption. One thing that seems to not get brought up as often, if ever at all, is how the music can be just as important in that conversation.
There’s something to be said for building something with your own two hands. Usually, there are trials and tribulations that crop up along the way, but that’s neither here nor there. When that last nail is pounded into place, when that last screw experiences its final turn, when that last dab of paint is applied, you can breathe a sigh of relief, step back to admire your work, and even go as far as to pat yourself on the back for a job well done [even if you’ve had to start over a time or two 😉 ]. That can describe Greenfield, Wisconsin’s Steve Schmidt. Well, sort of.
