I'll be busy these next few days, and I don't want to repeat my rudeness of missing a holiday wish as I did with Thanksgiving, so I just wanna take this time to wish you a Very Merry Christmas! (Or a Very Happy Holidays!)
Now it's time for me to listen to my Star Wars Christmas album. Seriously . . . I know "O Holy Night" is the most popular Christmas carol, but for those who've heard it, do Christmas songs get any better than "What Can You Get A Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Has a Comb)?"
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
A Star Wars Rant (A Defense of Ahsoka)
I got into an argument with Harold about the Clone Wars TV show and the character of Ahsoka Tano in particular. (She's Anakin's Padawan, for those unfamiliar with the series.) Harold was saying that she's another attempt to appeal to kids and makes no sense in the continuity of the movies since she's never mentioned. Now, Harold's dislike for anything Prequel is old hat with me. He doesn't like the Prequels and I love 'em. Now I won't lie--although I really enjoy the prequels, I think they were sorely missing a brash, Han Solo character and all of the banter between heroes. Clone Wars is a return to all of that, and to the fun adventure of the original trilogy so I thought Harold would like the show too. Well, he does, for the most part. However, he's constantly bashing Ahsoka, and I've had enough.
So I'm here to set the record straight.
As I said, in tone and banter, Clone Wars is a return to the original trilogy--and Ahsoka is a big part of that. The friendly banter is there between Obi-Wan and Anakin, but Ahsoka's hard-headed nature and the way she constantly challenges Anakin is a lot of fun to watch. Plus it's important for Anakin, since he's basically forced to look into a mirror every time she mouths off, since she's so much like him. Also, I think her fate may very well play a part in Anakin's downfall. Last episode already had him going Vader on a prisoner when he knew Ahsoka was in trouble, and Yoda has expressed concern about Anakin being able to let go of Ahsoka from day 1 (The Clone Wars movie).
And just because she's not mentioned in Episode III doesn't make her a flaw in continuity. There are 3 things that I can think of off-hand that would make sense.
1) She died during the Clone Wars (before Episode III). Perhaps she was a Jedi or, hopefully, still Anakin's Padawan, and that led to Anakin doing some awful, un-Jedi things. This would lead to Anakin having to cover up what he did, and thus not wanting to talk about Ahsoka again, or to the Jedi knowing what he did and either turning a blind eye to it or reprimanding Anakin and agreeing never to speak of it again.
2) She's killed during Order 66's execution. Anakin probably wouldn't have time to think about what happened to her during the time frame of Episode III, and that conversation between him and the Emperor would be for another time. If Ahsoka made it to full Jedi Knight before Episode III, she would be on her own missions and Anakin would probably have no idea where she was or what she was doing at the time of Order 66. Maybe a Special Edition of Episode III would contain a clip of her death during the Order 66 montage.
3) What number 2 said, only she survives Order 66 and goes into hiding. If the live-action TV series is gonna fill in between Episodes III and IV and will feature the Empire and bounty hunters hunting down the last of the Jedi, how awesome would it be to have Vader sent out to hunt down Ahsoka? If that were to happen, I'd hope that some of Anakin would shine through and he'd allow her to escape in secret, but I guess it'd be more poignant to have Vader kill his old Padawan. (Or it'd be really cool to have Ahsoka die to save Vader, even after he tried to kill her--maybe have the Emperor electrocute her like Luke in Jedi. That'd be some good food-for-thought for the Dark Lord.)
Either way, these are 3 ways that Ahsoka could easily fit into continuity (and I'm sure other writers could come up with a dozen more), but to say she's a kick in the balls to continuity is a statement that lacks sense or imagination.
That said (and on an unrelated note), Ahsoka's name reminds me of the movie "The Private Eyes" with Don Knotts and Tim Conway. There's a part where Inspector Winship (Knotts) and Dr. Tart (Conway) are interviewing the Japanese cook at a large estate where the owner has been murdered. The cook, in stereotypical Asian speak (and--believe me--being Cambodian, I've heard my share of stereotypical Asian speak), starts out by saying, "Ah, so!" to which Inspector Winship says, "Whatchu call me?" Ahhh! I love that movie!
So I'm here to set the record straight.
As I said, in tone and banter, Clone Wars is a return to the original trilogy--and Ahsoka is a big part of that. The friendly banter is there between Obi-Wan and Anakin, but Ahsoka's hard-headed nature and the way she constantly challenges Anakin is a lot of fun to watch. Plus it's important for Anakin, since he's basically forced to look into a mirror every time she mouths off, since she's so much like him. Also, I think her fate may very well play a part in Anakin's downfall. Last episode already had him going Vader on a prisoner when he knew Ahsoka was in trouble, and Yoda has expressed concern about Anakin being able to let go of Ahsoka from day 1 (The Clone Wars movie).
And just because she's not mentioned in Episode III doesn't make her a flaw in continuity. There are 3 things that I can think of off-hand that would make sense.
1) She died during the Clone Wars (before Episode III). Perhaps she was a Jedi or, hopefully, still Anakin's Padawan, and that led to Anakin doing some awful, un-Jedi things. This would lead to Anakin having to cover up what he did, and thus not wanting to talk about Ahsoka again, or to the Jedi knowing what he did and either turning a blind eye to it or reprimanding Anakin and agreeing never to speak of it again.
2) She's killed during Order 66's execution. Anakin probably wouldn't have time to think about what happened to her during the time frame of Episode III, and that conversation between him and the Emperor would be for another time. If Ahsoka made it to full Jedi Knight before Episode III, she would be on her own missions and Anakin would probably have no idea where she was or what she was doing at the time of Order 66. Maybe a Special Edition of Episode III would contain a clip of her death during the Order 66 montage.
3) What number 2 said, only she survives Order 66 and goes into hiding. If the live-action TV series is gonna fill in between Episodes III and IV and will feature the Empire and bounty hunters hunting down the last of the Jedi, how awesome would it be to have Vader sent out to hunt down Ahsoka? If that were to happen, I'd hope that some of Anakin would shine through and he'd allow her to escape in secret, but I guess it'd be more poignant to have Vader kill his old Padawan. (Or it'd be really cool to have Ahsoka die to save Vader, even after he tried to kill her--maybe have the Emperor electrocute her like Luke in Jedi. That'd be some good food-for-thought for the Dark Lord.)
Either way, these are 3 ways that Ahsoka could easily fit into continuity (and I'm sure other writers could come up with a dozen more), but to say she's a kick in the balls to continuity is a statement that lacks sense or imagination.
That said (and on an unrelated note), Ahsoka's name reminds me of the movie "The Private Eyes" with Don Knotts and Tim Conway. There's a part where Inspector Winship (Knotts) and Dr. Tart (Conway) are interviewing the Japanese cook at a large estate where the owner has been murdered. The cook, in stereotypical Asian speak (and--believe me--being Cambodian, I've heard my share of stereotypical Asian speak), starts out by saying, "Ah, so!" to which Inspector Winship says, "Whatchu call me?" Ahhh! I love that movie!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Whoa! I have a positive review!
Hello, Dear Reader!
My Transcriber at Essay Bee Comics just informed me that there's a blog from Rival Comics that gave my story a rather glowing review! (Read the review at http://www.rival-comics.socialgo.com/members/profile/1/blog-view/blog_12.htm.)
I checked out the Rival Comics website (http://rival-comics.com/), and they have some cool comics there of their own. I don't know if the comics they publish are a glimpse into another dimension (separate from yours and mine), so I asked Bob. Unfortunately, he said it would be a breach of his ethical code to let me (or anyone) know for sure, so I guess it'll have to remain a mystery. Be sure to check out the site and read the comics there, but keep in mind that CAPTive is a bit mature (some language and blood).
My Transcriber at Essay Bee Comics just informed me that there's a blog from Rival Comics that gave my story a rather glowing review! (Read the review at http://www.rival-comics.socialgo.com/members/profile/1/blog-view/blog_12.htm.)
I checked out the Rival Comics website (http://rival-comics.com/), and they have some cool comics there of their own. I don't know if the comics they publish are a glimpse into another dimension (separate from yours and mine), so I asked Bob. Unfortunately, he said it would be a breach of his ethical code to let me (or anyone) know for sure, so I guess it'll have to remain a mystery. Be sure to check out the site and read the comics there, but keep in mind that CAPTive is a bit mature (some language and blood).
Monday, December 14, 2009
Fusion #2 First Update (Continued)
As promised, here are pages 3-5 of Issue #2 of Fusion. My Transcriber said that he hopes to have the next update ready around the new year. He also said that the next update would more than likely be 6 pages, since that apparently is a better spot to break the update.
Pages 3-5
Pages 3-5
Fusion #2 Started!
Hello, Dear Reader!
Sorry I've been out of touch for so long. The holidays always keep me pretty busy, both with family, school (lots of projects to finish before winter break), and crime fighting (there's a spike in petty crimes and thefts this time of year). All of that has kept me from posting here as much as I'd like . . . and I feel absolutely awful that I missed sending a Thanksgiving message. Sorry! For what it's worth, Happy Belated Thanksgiving!
Anyway, my Transcriber at Essay Bee Comics has readied the first 5-page update of Fusion #2, which I'm posting presently. He told me this second issue will be 20 pages long, so expect three more updates before this issue's finished (hopefully by February, or else my Transcriber will be pretty embarrassed, since he dated the issue Feb 2010 on the cover).
Anyway, this post will contain the cover and first two pages; next post will contain pages 3-5 (and will be up within minutes of this post).
Cover and Pages 1-2
Sorry I've been out of touch for so long. The holidays always keep me pretty busy, both with family, school (lots of projects to finish before winter break), and crime fighting (there's a spike in petty crimes and thefts this time of year). All of that has kept me from posting here as much as I'd like . . . and I feel absolutely awful that I missed sending a Thanksgiving message. Sorry! For what it's worth, Happy Belated Thanksgiving!
Anyway, my Transcriber at Essay Bee Comics has readied the first 5-page update of Fusion #2, which I'm posting presently. He told me this second issue will be 20 pages long, so expect three more updates before this issue's finished (hopefully by February, or else my Transcriber will be pretty embarrassed, since he dated the issue Feb 2010 on the cover).
Anyway, this post will contain the cover and first two pages; next post will contain pages 3-5 (and will be up within minutes of this post).
Cover and Pages 1-2
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