By Adam Pawlus in
Daily Lists, Movies
Friday, Mar. 19 2010 @ 7:57AM
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10) The Story of the Faithful Wookiee, The Star Wars Holiday Special
While its greatness may be debatable, this segment is easily the most legendary non-movie Star Wars story. In it, we see the first Nelvana-animated adventure in a galaxy far, far away, and the designs would be later modified for the Droids Saturday morning cartoon series. However, this special was particularly notable in that it gave most of the world its very first glimpse of the bounty hunter Boba Fett in 1978.
It's also the only non-movie Star Wars project to feature the entire cast of the original Star Wars film, even though it was only in a voiceover role. The story itself is pretty simple: the Rebels crash on some weird planet with water dragons, Han and Luke fall asleep for some reason, and it's up to Chewbacca and the droids to save the day with the help of their new mysterious friend, Boba Fett. You can probably guess the twist in this one, but it was one of the first glimpses into the future of Star Wars and the beginning of Lucasfilm's on again/off again love affair with television.
Trivia note: Boba Fett was played by Don Franks. His daughter, Cree Summer, would voice bazillions of female cartoon characters in the future including Princess Kneesa on Ewoks in 1985. The animated model for Boba Fett would eventually be reused in the Droids episode "A Race to the Finish" which, in 1985, gave us the above look at Boonta races.
9) Shadows of the Empire
In 1996 Lucasfilm (and its licensees) hit the ground running with a merchandising dry run-- they managed to do everything you might do for a movie, but without a movie. Shadows of the Empire was essentially required viewing of sorts at the time, because nearly everything Star Wars would refer to it for a while. Vehicles and droids from it would appear in the Star Wars: Special Edition, and to this day fans still request new versions of action figures from the stories. The Nintendo 64 game based on it was, to a great extent, a system-seller to the many fans who didn't find Mario 64 to their liking.
Each medium would tell the story slightly differently. The novel focused mostly on the Rebels, specifically Luke, Leia, and Lando as they tried to track down their friend, the Hansicle. Luke developed his Jedi skills, built a lightsaber in a sequence reminiscent of a deleted Return of the Jedi scene, and ran from bikers. All the while Darth Vader was given some rarely seen hero time as the bad guy you might root for against Prince Xizor (that's "She-zor," like "She-Ra"). And what is this Xizor? A criminal mastermind and shipping kingpin. The comic books focused largely on Boba Fett and the bounty hunters who tried to intercept him on the way to Jabba the Hutt as well as some of Jabba's other thugs, while the video game put the player in control of Han Faux-lo, otherwise known as Dash Rendar. Even Dash's ship was stunningly similar to the Millennium Falcon in its design, so if you need a roguish hero, he's your stand-in here.
Trivia note: early in its development Lucasfilm considered placing this story between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back rather than between Empire and Return of the Jedi. It was reasoned that there weren't many stories between the latter two films. Shadows' movie-less marketing campaign was given a false start with Jedi Quest in 2000, and was successfully rolled out again with the first incarnation of the Clone Wars in 2003-2005.
8) Riders in the Void, Marvel Star Wars #38
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The word "weird" is overused in fan circles these days but it really applies to "Riders in the Void," the final pre-Empire Strikes Back comic book made in 1980. Luke and Leia somehow get bolted out to the middle of nowhere in this uniquely drawn comic, into a part of the galaxy where there aren't any visible stars, ships, or anything. The ship they eventually come across is this weird biological entity that merged with its pilot after winning some ancient war, and initially mistakes our heroes for a computer simulation. There's nothing particularly quirky about it, and it has a hard to describe and adventurous look and feel that's sorely missing from a lot of modern Star Wars stories. As one-offs featuring the original movie's cast goes, you can't do much better than this one. It would have made a wonderful animated program.
Trivia note: Star Wars #38 was supposed to be the first issue of Marvel's The Empire Strikes Back adaptation. They got a lot of hate mail for the bait-and-switch, which you can see in the letter columns of the original editions of these books.
7) Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars
In some interviews George Lucas said that his Star Wars films are something of a latter-day silent movie, which seems like a bit of hooey. The Cartoon Network hand-drawn Clone Wars episodes-- made in 2003 and 2005 by Genndy Tartakovsky of Samurai Jack fame-- managed to pull off some of the most action-packed Star Wars adventures with nearly no dialogue and in a disgustingly short 3-minute runtime.
The first season was essentially the most awesome marketing device ever. These shorts would act as a way to sell toys, books, games, and more in less time than it takes to make a bag of microwave popcorn. In the first batch of episodes we get to see specialized ARC Troopers bring down a planet of bankers and jousting droids, we see Kit Fisto swim through a war with the Mon Calamari ("It's a Trap!") against the Quarren, and yes, even see the very first appearance on TV of Asajj Ventress.
It's not entirely clear if the events of this story are being held to or thrown out with the current The Clone Wars series, but the show has everything you'd want to see from the prequels minus the prequels. Heck, you even get to see the lights go out on the conception of Luke and Leia and a cameo appearance by a Dulok. What else could you possibly want from two of the best hours of Star Wars on television? Trivia note: George Lucas reportedly pitched the idea that the episodes should only be one minute at first.
6) The Mandalore Plot/Voyage of Temptation/Duchess of Mandalore, The Clone Wars
Are things boring? Call in the Mandalorians, they bring out the best in everyone! In 2009 fans got another dose of bucket-headed fun on the small screen with the introduction of the Death Watch into season two of The Clone Wars (episode 12-14, specifically). Lead by Pre Vizsla (get it?) these troopers were heavily armed rebels to the peaceful Mandalorian government, bringing in yet another interpretation of life on the planet Mandalore. (For those keeping track, there are several involving such diverse elements as dinosaur skeletons and nomadic tribes.) These stories try to stitch together many of the existing story elements, and for the most part, it does a pretty good job if you weren't too hung up on any one specific origin story of this warrior race. (Our notes show that you were, in fact, very hung up on one version.)
So, what makes this story so awesome? You get a Mandalorian dude armed with a black light lightsaber, you meet Obi-Wan's almost-a-girlfriend, and you get what may end up being one of the top defining moments of Anakin Skywalker of all time in which he takes a stab at saving a life. Because he stabs someone. Through the chest. (Get it?) As small-screen action goes, these episodes were peppered with fan wanks, awesome future toy designs, and combat galore. The animation team at Lucasfilm actually made the Mandalorians tough enough to put up a good fight against the Jedi, but, as often happens in Star Wars these days, much of the real combat is largely political. Thankfully, there's a lot of explosions to more than make up for that.
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154 comments
Comments
Brent said:
Two things.
1) Cree Summer would also go on to costar in "A Different World."
2) My sister had a Princess Kneesa plush Ewok toy. My dog used to fuck the living shit out of it. For years. We buried the poor li'l guy with it.
Greymattersplat replied to Brent:
Cree Summer's been EVERYWHERE in animation. From being the voice of Penny in Inspector Gadget to Elmyra in Tiny Toons, all the way to Foxxy Love in Drawn Together, and lots of points in-between.
She's usually pretty easy to "spot" in a cartoon, but always very good. Honestly, I think A Different World is really one of her smaller accomplishments.
Brent replied to Greymattersplat:
I just mention "A Different World" because it's usually the only place people have actually seen her face. (She was adorable back in the day.)
My main point was that my dog had a NSA relationship with Princess Kneesa that lasted longer than my marriage.
Black Kristos replied to Greymattersplat:
Yeah, I nearly crapped myself when I heard her voice on Danny Phantom.
trickfred replied to Brent:
She also was the sidekick girl in Batman Beyond, and did some voice work in the first Mass Effect.
Irreverenthope replied to trickfred:
Also look for her awesome solo album from 1999 called "Street Faerie" It has my favourite song about menstruation ever!
Stim replied to Brent:
Kawkblocker = http://bit.ly/p8Dx6
Anonymous said:
Clone Wars (both series) were crap. The first season sucked for being too anime-like abd was basically and advertisement for Revenge of the Sith. The 2nd series sucks because of horrible animation and feeling like a typical Saturday Morning Cartoon. And go watch the Nostalgia Critic's review of the Holiday Special to learn why that sucks.
Spider-Ham replied to Anonymous:
Urm... you are insane. Certifiable. Flown the coop, whatever. CLONE WARS (2D) was the best thing to happen to Star Wars since Empire Strikes Back. It made the prequel era worth hoping for and proved that given free reign, a great storyteller (Genndy Tartakovsky) could take the 25 year-old Star Wars mythos and make it cool again.
Anonymous said:
Clone Wars (both series) were crap. The first season sucked for being too anime-like and was basically an advertisement for Revenge of the Sith. The 2nd series sucks because of horrible animation and feeling like a typical Saturday Morning Cartoon. And go watch the Nostalgia Critic's review of the Holiday Special to learn why that sucks.
Chris said:
They did eventually make a Jodo Kast figure as part of the Legacy line:
ZADL said:
Genndy Tartakovsky is the only person to have t correctly shown how seriously BADASS the Jedi always were in my imagination. No one else ever approached that level of awesomeness when it came to Jedi going to town. That's exactly how I always imagined them when I was a kid, they were more like a force (no pun intended) of nature than simply extra-skilled fighters.
The best part of the fight scenes was when the Jedi stopped using their lightsabres. I mean, yes, lightsabres are great but that one with Mace Windu against the droid army and that big stompy thing? If anything, the lightsabre handicapped him.
mrm1138 replied to ZADL:
The problem I had was that the cartoon made the Jedi far too godlike. There's absolutely no way the Jedi of Tartakovsky's series could have been wiped out by anyone. I choose to look at that Clone Wars series as a sort of mythological version of the war that might be told to children within that universe.
Ah, but their powers were weakened by the Emperor when it came time. He no longer hid his abilities, and would have been able to suppress them (perhaps one or two at a time) to the point where they could be more easily killed. Vader goes out and hunts them, finds one, channels the Dark Side with the Emperor's help and weakens them, then kills them. That sort of thing.
Of course that would work better if he did most of it before he got all messed up and had his limbs cut off, but whatever.
Marc said:
Obviously, you've never even heard of "Dark Empire"... ;-)
Dark Empire (Series I) was pretty bad ass, if I remember correctly. Luke taking out an AT-AT using the Force and a lightsabre was pure insanity and awesomeness rolled up into one package.
Series II I wasn't as fond of; don't really remember the specifics as to why...just didn't reach the same level as the first, I guess.
Marc replied to Skeletor:
Oh yes. "The walker falls." What a great moment indeed. I also think that "Dark Empire II" fell short of its predecessor, but "Empire's End" was OK in my book.
mrm1138 replied to Marc:
Y'know, I could never get past the color scheme for the book. I know the title was Dark Empire, but they didn't have to literally make it so dark. It's like they tried to cross Star Wars with the visual style of Blade Runner. I know that that description actually sounds kind of awesome, but I just didn't think it fit.
Kellyanne replied to Marc:
I was thinking the same thing. I would have listed Dark Empire as #1.
Darth Shoju replied to Marc:
I thought both volumes of Dark Empire were terrible.
Kevin said:
I would have put Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars series at the #1 spot, no question. It had fantastic, fluid animation that was true art, told an exciting story, and presented versions of the prequel characters (especially General Grievous) that surpassed anything in the prequel films.
JenniferRuth replied to Kevin:
This.
Sven replied to Kevin:
And this for me too.
Flip replied to Kevin:
It should be higher on the list definitely.
Purple Monkey Dishwasher said:
Tartakovsky for the win.
Cuy'val Dar said:
What happened to the Yuuzhan Vong?!
BStu said:
Ugh. The Christmas cartoon has one of my animation pet peeves. Character design that is freakish characture when based on real people and bland generics when new characters. What on Earth was up with Han Solo.
tmaccurt79 said:
No just no. In the Expanded Universe there's Zahn's Thrawn Books and then there's everything else by a wide margin. I could understand your arguments for a lot of this until you got to #2 but you are dead wrong there.
elijahsnow replied to tmaccurt79:
Yeah, I agree. The X-wing books were awesome (both the rogue and wraith squadron books) as were the Jedi Academy trilogy and the han solo trilogy. Children of the Jedi sucked, as did planet of twilight but darksaber was great. There were a few other good ones here and there like the "tales of" books. By far those books informed my knowledge of star wars and my love of it more than anything else I ever encountered.
Anonymous replied to elijahsnow:
Its so funny to see someone say Children and Planet of Twilight sucked, but Darksaber is cool, when so many people hate Darksaber.
Nick Ahlhelm replied to tmaccurt79:
Agreed. It should have been Thrawn at one, and the X-Wing books at two.
They are the pinnacle of the Expanded Universe.
Anyone else get the feeling that Adam Pawlus hasn't read many Star Wars novels?
Dr Rotwang! said:
I am most pleased and grateful for the shout out to Jodo Kast's origin in the old West End Games RPG. In fact, he appeared in the very first published adventure for the game, Tatooine Manhunt -- along with Zardra, a female bounty hunter who also needs an action figure.
Hell, if Djas Puhr can get an action figure, so can Jodo Kast, Zardra and Platt O'Keefe, while you're at it, Hasbro.
jason bergman said:
No Knights of the Old Republic?
For shame.
Korinthian replied to jason bergman:
Hear hear. For shame.
Jaeric replied to jason bergman:
Not only that, what about the Darth Bane trilogy written by the head writer of KOTOR, Drew Karpyshyn? I think TOR will also be very close winner when it is finished. I find the events prior to the battle of Yavin more interesting than the Saga, yet not a single mention!!
Why.
KOTOR was a fantastic game, and the Darth Bane trilogy is an excellent, and entirely unapologetic, look at the most pivotal Sith in the entire Star Wars mythos.
Dr Rotwang! replied to jason bergman:
Dig:
"For the purposes of the article, we're sticking to the eras of the movies; surely you can find other nerds who can direct you to Kinghts of the Old Republic if you're looking for a Star Wars adventure minus anyone from the movies."
Jellodyne said:
Brian Daley's Han Solo trilogy is pretty awesome.
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Han_Solo_Adventures
TrapJaw replied to Jellodyne:
THIS.
.
For those Star Wars fans that were around back in the days of the original trilogy, The Han Solo Adventures was just about the only "Expanded Universe" that there was, besides Splinter of the Mind's Eye and the Lando Calrissian books that came out.
.
And the books were about awesome space-pirate-with-a-mean-streak Han, at the height of his scoundrel-y ways.
mrm1138 replied to TrapJaw:
Agreed. These books kicked ass. Nowhere will you find Han Solo being as much of a prototype for Malcolm Reynolds as you will here.
SEMI-SPOILER
The airlock execution in Han Solo at Star's End was kind of brutal but in a totally awesome, badass way.
TrapJaw replied to mrm1138:
Because any other smuggler would just make you walk the airlock into space, but Solo is such a bad ass pirate that he jettisons a motherfucker into hyperspace.
rdriley said:
This discussion should begin and end with Knights of the Old Republic. It has everything that's awesome about Star Wars - lightsabers, good vs. evil, hidden secrets and an epic story line - plus a homicidal assassin droid who has the best dialogue of any Star Wars character ever.
And if you doubt me, I suggest you run while my blaster warms up, meatbags.
Rocket Raccoon replied to rdriley:
Frick... You guys fail at reading...
"For the purposes of the article, we're sticking to the eras of the movies; surely you can find other nerds who can direct you to Kinghts of the Old Republic if you're looking for a Star Wars adventure minus anyone from the movies. "
Niner said:
Rob, I'm dissapointed in you. The "Mandalorians" in the Clone Wars series are terrible and no where close to what canon Mandos are.....
But wouldn't this cartoon be closer to canon than any other media outside the movies?
Niner replied to Kevin:
The books, comic books, and games came WAY before this cartoon though. They were also approved by Lucas and declared Canon, I hate how they got pushed aside for one crappy cartoon targeting kids.
I always got the impression that while the books, comics and so forth are "approved" by Lucas, he really doesn't pay that close attention to them. But he is very involved with the Clone Wars cartoon, so I guess this is closer to his vision, even if it maybe isn't as good. At least it did include elements of past versions, right?
Darth Shoju replied to Niner:
My impression of the books, comics and video game EU stuff is that it always takes a back seat to the movies and TV as far as being canon.
I'd heard that was pretty well-established from day one and that none of those sources should ever be considered 100% canon.
Swafus said:
One of my best friends, John Nadeau was the penciller on Twin Engines of Destruction and also did that amazing cover! Easily my favorite EU Star Wars story and the cherry on top of an awesome list!
Gasstank said:
No Dark Empire 1 or 2? What about the Dark Horse series Droids? Also Tartakovsky indeed for the win. I still love that series today.
Hachiko said:
What? No Jaxxon?
lou-bert vs. q-bert said:
Umm, just..where the scruffy-looking hell is "TROOPS"???!!! It explains the fates of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru among others.
Space Monkey X replied to lou-bert vs. q-bert:
As awesome as it is, Troops is purely fan work and therefore not a part of the expanded universe.
deadbug said:
I have a soft spot in my heart for Splinter of the Mind's Eye, which takes place after A New Hope and before Empire... so Luke and Leia don't know they're related yet... yeah...
Aaron said:
Seriously, Knights of the Old Republic, the first one at any rate, has a story that outdoes almost everything on this list.
Ramone replied to Aaron:
YES.
Brion said:
I really wish TFU was cannon, it fit into everything perfectly. An average game with a great story.
Silverback said:
In The Force Unleashed the character wasn't nameless. His name was Starkiller. I really liked the list though.
biggs33 said:
Good list, especially nailing that "Riders In The Void" Marvel Comic, that weird classic has stuck with me since it was first printed.
Definitely should have included KOTOR though.
I would have also added the Russ Manning newspaper comic strips, at least "The Frozen World Of Ota" where we see Boba Fett use his always-seen-but-never-used knee darts, and the badassery of Luke & Han not being able to kill him so they have to leave him magnetically stuck to a wall so they can at least delay his killing them!
Scott said:
Clone Wars? Give me a break.
Nicnac said:
Crimson Empire!
An awesome story of one of the Emperor's Royal Guards:
Neodymium replied to Nicnac:
I can not fucking believe it took this much scrolling to find a comment about Crimson Empire. I was seriously surprised to not see it on the list. So badass!
coughman said:
Tartakovsky's general grievous was the BEST genral grievous
stewbacca said:
How can all the best stories in the EU only have one actual book on the list....
This seems to be more of a list of the top 10 things that a non star wars fan might have heard of..`
Plus you forgot stories like Purge-- (although I enjoy Apocalypse Endor as well)..
There were tons of short entertaining and well written stories in the SW adventure journal...
Maybe the next list should be the top 10 things that Lucasfilm agreed to be in the EU and then pissed on, set fire to, then stomped on and shot dead , whenever he get the itch to give a big FU to the fans- that then the next batch of writers spend another 3 novels or comics trying to retcon all his godlike changes in.
Imon Fyre said:
I nominate I, Jedi. By far one of my favourite EU novels.
Melissa replied to Imon Fyre:
I remember that one, it was amazing, Corran Horn was awesome. I need to get a copy of that. Wasn't that one of the ones that Michael Stackpole wrote? Other than Zahn, I think he stayed the most true to the spirit of the original trilogy.
Ken said:
The EU really heated up after they switched to a new publisher and merged the three book lines (the primary set, the "Young Jedi Knights" that focused on Jacen and Jaina and introduced Lowbacca, Zekk, and Tenal Ka, and the "Junior Jedi Knights" that focused on Anakin and introduced Tahiri). That was the start of the Vong storyline where right from the start being a main character meant jack. Since then, of the main characters, we've had Chewbacca, Anakin Solo (Han and Leia's youngest), Mara Jade Skywalker, and Jacen killed off (with Jacen killing Mara and Jaina killing Jacen). They did add two: Ben, Luke and Mara's son; and Allana, Jacen and Tenal Ka's daughter (who's presumed dead but hiding with Han and Leia). Whew.
Lyricalholix said:
What!? No Darth Bane? He was so bad ass. His story rivals Vader's
Patrick said:
For shame! How is The Courtship of Princess Leia not on this list somewhere? It's the tale of Han finally convincing Leia to marry him. He wins a planet in a Sabaac game and tries to impress her by giving it to the survivors of Alderaan. Unfortunately, the planet just so happens to be the home planet of the Rancor, and there's a giant Imperial base in orbit of it. Oh yeah, and there's force using witches who at one point kidnap Luke and plan to use him as a sex slave so they can make more powerful force using witches. It's awesome.
Angela replied to Patrick:
Because it's a terrible book.
Randy said:
Thirding or quading or however much agreeing with KoToR needing to be on this list. I was honestly expecting it to be in the top 3.
bloods end said:
Nothing by Matthew Stover on the list?
LIST INCOMPLETE
Anchises replied to bloods end:
Agreed. His Mace Windu is the best portrayal of Mace, even better than Genndy Wankoffki's or whatever the cartoon guys name is.
Anchises replied to bloods end:
Agreed. Stover is amazing. His Mace Windu is the best portrayal of Mace, even better than Genndy Wankoffski's or whatever the cartoon guys name is.
Jeff Z said:
I bought SW #38 from a spinner rack at the grocery store in 1980. It's one of my top 10 favorite comic books ever. This was the first time I'd ever seen Michael Golden's artwork, and it instantly catapulted him up near the top of my art influences list (the rest of my top 10 are drawn by Jack Kirby, Gene Colan and Adam Warren). I still today draw stuff in ways I learned from this book.
The bait-and-switch on the "Next Issue: The Empire Strikes Back!" in SW #37 (which I also own, bought off the same rack the month before) was not Marvel's fault; Fox pushed the film release back a month to give a little more time for FX finish and proper distribution. Because of that, Marvel was left scrambling for a filler story for #38.
Fortunately, some months previously artist Michael Golden had on his own written, drawn, and submitted "Riders on the Void." (Archie Goodwin is credited as writer/editor, but according to Golden it was mostly his work with Archie helping here and there.) When Golden sent it in, Marvel EIC Jim Shooter didn't have anywhere to fit it into continuity, so ROTV went into the slush pile.
So when the film got pushed back, Golden's odd but rather fantastically-drawn creation was the perfect story to fill the gap. Had ESB been released on the original date, ROTV might never have seen the light of day.
I finally met Golden a few years ago at a con and talked to him about it. The next year at the same con, I knew he'd be back, so I made sure I had it with me and now I'm the proud owner of one of the very few signed copies. :)
Another strange bit about ROTV: apparently, according to Golden, there is in Europe an actual *cult*, a small splinter religious group, based around this comic book. Mike's kinda weirded out by that.
Drakonnen said:
Wow, like, it would be hard to do a good list of ten top EU stories without people nitpicking, but, hell, you didn't even come close.
All that material of decades of EU, and you've got ROOKIES as #3? Are you fucking insane? I'm like, personally offended by that.
Two story arcs from the Clone Wars shows? Really?
Plus, I'm surprised the ultra-cool Star Wars Legacy stuff didn't make it on here, set 100+ years in the future from what most think of as the "present" in Star Wars EU novels, with Luke Skywalker's great, great grandson or whatever, Cade Skywalker, the Empire and Sith back and strong, the Imperial Knights as a 3rd force using faction.
Ugh, EPIC FAIL. You should seriously try again.
Nekst replied to Drakonnen:
Wow, a lot of people missed the "Only EU stuff set during the movie period..." preliminary statement on this list....
Nega said:
The Force Unleashed may make a decent game, but it's as whorish as anything EU.
Shadows of the Empire seemed fake. Hey, these bounty hunters all fought over frozen Han. Hey, here's Han Solo/Cable composite with droid companion. Hey, here's Leia getting seduced by lizard man the crime lord.
Tartakovsky's Clone Wars seems off now, because the Jedi really aren't that badass. Palps kills like 3 masters in under 10 seconds. The clone slaughter the rest.
Anonymous replied to Nega:
The one thing I remember from the game was how freakin' scared I was of the Wampa, and I wasn't even the one playing. I was like 8 or 9 at the time.
The one thing I remember from the Shadows of the Empire novel was Xizor thinking "I can totally get naked pictures of Leia 'cos I got a camera in the shower. But I won't because I'm totally gonna bone her." This was in middle school :)
fork king said:
2 things:
Darth maul: shadow hunter. this book was the most epic depiction of maul, and it shows him cutting down jedi left and right. it also gives context to episode 1, and is an all around epic read. the second was bounty hunter for gamecube. that game had great cutscenes, and really introduces you to the character of jango fett, and pretty much gives all the backstory for jangos recruitment as a clone template. . it also ties in well with jango fett, open season.
Rob said:
Did anyone even read the intro? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Drakonnen replied to Rob:
No, but the title of your article is too broad if that is the case.
Nicnac replied to Drakonnen:
OHHHH the era of the movies..... why didn't you say so!
I still say everyone needs to read Crimson Empire.
Yakub Shabazz replied to Rob:
No, no one ever reads the authorship credits for these things either. They think you churn them out day after day, Rob.
Jedisilk replied to Rob:
Yes I read your introduction. Since you mentioned Heir to the Empire, I'm going to assume that post movie eras are ok as long as the original movie characters are still part of the story. By that logic, I must say I am disappointed that nothing of the New Jedi Order was mentioned. A whole mess of awesome SciFi authors took part in writing the series. This meant that each author built off the previous author's book and was a huge collaborative effort. One of the books was coming out at the same time as Attack of the Clones...I can safely say I was way more excited about the new book.
Jedisilk replied to Jedisilk:
Oh actually BAD Adam Pawlus. Shouldn't take poor Rob to task for something he didn't actually write. Sorry dude.
longbowhunter said:
FUCK.THIS.LIST....how can you not mention the two Boba Fett short stories? A BARVE LIKE THAT and LAST MAN STANDING,from Tales from Jabbas Palace and Tales of the Bouty Hunters? Hands fucking down,THE BEST Boba Fett stories EVER told. Read these stories and then weep at what Lucas did to the Fett-man in Episode 2. Last Man Standing still gives me chills,and I've read it dozens of times....hell,even after the prequels almost destroyed the character,these two stories make me love Boba.
JH said:
My favorite Boba Fett story, ever since I was a young fangirl, was "The Last Man Standing" from Tales of the Bounty Hunters. Surprisingly thoughtful, and Fett gets more dimensions without losing his badassitude. Screw the prequels, he'll always be Jaster Mereel to me.
TrapJaw replied to JH:
Indeed.
Paolo Mongon said:
This was the first time I saw any part of the STar Wars Holiday special....
That animated segment is AMAZING!! The character designs are so charming...like watching an episode from the Heavy Metal movie. Than again..I LOVE old school animation.
Dan said:
God yes, why does no one else ever seem to remember Twin Engines of Destruction
However, I heartily recommend you read "To the Last Man," a Dark Horse comic about an Imperial battalion surrounded by Amanin and desperately defending themselves (a la the movie "Zulu")
Excellently written, with great characters and great action
It's in the Dark Horse trade paperback "The Imperial Perspective"
Melissa said:
Awesome job, and I'm really excited that you included the Thrawn Trilogy, those are my favorite books from the EU-- the continuation in Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future is pretty good, too.
I remember being eight years old trying to request those from the library. The librarian thought I was insane. My mom totally had to check them out for me.
Pancakes said:
I thought the YOUNG JEDI KNIGHTS series was very solid.
Kevin said:
Anyone else have this experience?
I started reading "Heir to the Empire," got about halfway though, and then put it down because it just didn't feel like Star Wars.
TrapJaw replied to Kevin:
And it was a struggle to even get that far for me.
.
My problems with the book began with the introduction of the ysalamiri. The idea of living creatures that somehow negate and repel the Force, the energy field created by all living things, that surrounds and penetrates living beings and binds them together, seemed incredibly dumb and stank too much of overly convenient plot device.
PlutonHeaven replied to TrapJaw:
I prefer that from the Midiglorians dumbness. Zahn uses the Ysalamari's particularity in the smartest way : to accelerate the production rate of the clone factories. I thought this was very well thought.
paul replied to Kevin:
There is no trilogy or other books that come close to the thrawn trilogy by timothy zahn,hell all these extended universe books all use the characters that zahn introduced and without thrawn and the success that followed each book would so many other authors been given book deals to continue where zahn left off.
j m said:
APOCALYPSE ENDOR AINT NO COUNTRY I EVER HEARD OF. THEY SPEAK KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC IN APOCALYPSE ENDOR? KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC MOTHERFUCKER, DO YOU SPEAK IT?
Supermarioman said:
The Mace Windu vs. giant stompy tank thing short is one of my favorite Star Wars things period.
mrm1138 said:
I'd like to nominate the Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson comic strip that takes place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. They really managed to capture the Flash Gordon feel that Lucas was originally going for while telling some really fun stories. I really prize the three Classic Star Wars trades Dark Horse released to reformat and collect the strips.
marc salazar said:
How in the world could Star Wars Legacy from Dark Horse be left off this list?
The Spy said:
As others have mentioned, Dark Empire is a big miss here.
And the "era of the movies" rule just seems like it's there to keep out all the great Dark Horse stuff like Tales of the Jedi.
mrm1138 replied to The Spy:
Speaking of Tales of the Jedi, was anyone else supremely disappointed with The Sith War? I figured we were probably in for some trouble when I saw that Kevin J. Anderson had completely taken over the writing, but I still wasn't prepared for his massive squandering of Tom Veitch's characters and storylines. Talk about wasted potential.
demoncat said:
the first appearance of Boba fett is one of the only things that makes the star wars holiday special a risk to watch. and was going to say Zans empire books introduced Mara Jade called the Emporer's hand and Luke love in the end plus the books let the characters move on in life like marrying and Han and Lei having kids. the first clone wars cartoon proved that star wars can be done with some high stakes and baddness and not destroy the core of star wars.
Angela said:
My version of this list would include Tag and Bink Are Dead. Cracky fun.
Kate said:
Thank god you missed off the New Jedi Order. Thanks to that I stopped reading the books.
Speaking of, What about the X-Wing books and comics. Pages and Pages of Wedge and X-Wings to keep you warm at night.
Mmmmm Wedge and X-Wings
Themac339 said:
This is a good list,but I think there are a few more stories that should have made the list. Knights of the Old Republic,the video game,was easily one of the best Star Wars stories ever made. I would have also included Purge and the Darth Maul mini seris on the list. The Star Wars Tales comic,which was arguably the best Star Wars comic,had a slew of great stories and not putting the story of Vader vs. Maul on the list is a horrible oversight. There were so many other great Star Wars Tales stories like when Vader fought the Dark Lady,C-3PO's origin,the story when Qui-Gon tells Obi-Wan about the origin of some of the rules in the Jedi code, and many others. Also i would have eaten a bowl of Cheerios out of Cree Summers ass when she was on A Diffent World.
ms duck said:
Ahem:
'Splinter of the Mind's Eye'
gave us the original idea for ewoks, which was cool.
was the original script for emipre/ return
written by foster, so it's well written
Leia shoots Vader with an At-at cannon ( she steals and then re rigs intoa smiper rifle from heck)and he sghrugs it off.
Mister Gone said:
Um, no "Tag and Bink", List Fail.
me replied to Mister Gone:
Yes. This. Tag and Bink isn't just "my jedi is stronger than your jedi." It's "my jedi sucks at everything, but still manages to influence the history of the galaxy more than anyone else."
Rocket Raccoon said:
"This may be the single best treatment of Boba Fett outside the films ever"
He was punked in ROTJ so badly. Random stick from a blind Han Solo into a Sarlacc pitt? How is that good treatment?
josh said:
how did knights of the old republic not make the list
Zisteau said:
How can you leave out Dark Empire? It should be at 1!
ZimMan2 said:
In my opinion, Tartokovsky's Clone Wars: Chapter 20 is the single greatest thing out of the Star Wars expanded universe. Fuck Lucas' pussy cyborg, the true General Grevious made his debut (and sadly, died) in that series. And Chapter 20 was his shining moment. That's not to say he was no slouch in Volume II, but he was never quite on the Chapter 20 level of awesome ever again.
arkzist said:
i had that slave one!! oh how its brings up memories
SpOoKy said:
One of my personal favourites - Valance the Hunter, introduced by Archie Goodwin in 1978.
I read the living shit out of that comic book.
Good times! :)
Anomalocaris said:
No KOTOR? FAIL.
1207 said:
So, where's Republic Commando?
I mean, really. The guy who voices Carth in KOTOR is the wisecracking demolitions expert, and it works. There's no almost Jedi? It works.
It's basically awesomeness in gaming form.
CHR said:
WHOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!!?
ZeroCorpse said:
As someone who has read all the mainstream EU books (that means: Not the sidelines like the commandos or Rogue Squadron, and not the Dark Horse comics) I have to say I really, really DO NOT LIKE the Tartakovsky version of Clone Wars, and yes, I realize I stand pretty much alone in that opinion.
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It's way too over-the-top. The Jedi are too powerful, and the physics are WAY too cartoony. The stories themselves are cool, it's just that the actual individual events, especially where the Jedi are concerned, put EVERY Jedi into the realm of power that Luke & Anakin Skywalker, Starkiller, Yoda, and Palpatine are at, and the movies are clear in their assertion that the Skywalkers, Yoda, and Sidious are THE most powerful Force-users. Starkiller, in "The Force Unleashed" is also insanely powerful, in the "pull a Star Destroyer out of the sky" sort of way, and even HE looks weak when compared to Tartakovsky's Jedi.
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In short, anyone who imagines Jedi to be like Tartakovsky portrays them is likely just a casual fan of Star Wars. They're more of a fan of the movies they made in their head when they were a kid, after seeing IV, V, and VI, than they are the real stories that continue to entertain Star Wars fans today.
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In Tartokovsky's universe, even Kitt Fisto is more powerful than Yoda is ever shown to be in the movies, and that's just plain wrong.
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I like the idea that these are fables-- Exaggerated tales that shouldn't be taken literally. I can live with them as canon in that case.
Hmmm... said:
Yeah, Brian Daley is my favorite author. No love for him? And what about Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston? Booooooooooo!!!!
CW said:
First someone has to do their homework before writing this top whatever the F list it is...and get your Star Wars Eu under control...you sound like amateurs when you put out this crap
The Micronerd said:
Awww... no Legacy?
Darth Shoju said:
I thought the Shadows of the Empire novel was bollocks, but other than that this list seems ok.
X-Porter said:
Wow! Megapoints for "Riders in the Void". One of my favorite Star Wars comics alongside anything with Baron Tagge or Valance the Hunter. It being drawn by Michael Golden was an added plus.
I would put "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" in there, but that might just be nostalgia talking...
Celeb Toast said:
Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars is pretty awesome!Thanks for sharing the good list!
Nick said:
Gotta say, Zahn's still the best to me. Heir to the Empire created my idea of the extended universe. His Shadow of the Past series should be in here as well. Zahn knows what makes sense in Star Wars. His Pellaeon laughed at all the ridiculous overuse of superweapons, the ineffective political tactics of the Empire, and their stubborn insistence on fighting a war long lost. Luke was a plot-breaker because he was so powerful you either needed to distract him with some more lost Jedi lore, or create some sort of Force immunity to deal with him. Zahn recognized that this was hurting the universe as much as the invulnerability of the main cast. He made Luke stop being such a near-god, pointed out the glaring flaw in "Dark Empire," finally ended decades of wangst over his relationships, all in one fell swoop. He reminded us of why Thrawn was so awesome, and simultaneously insisted that Thrawn could not be recreated, and gave us the model for future leadership of the Empire. It was the best series I'd read in a long time, and convinced me that not all hope was lost for the EU.
Grimnir said:
Very pleased to see Twin Engines of Destruction at number 1.
I was hoping one of the DH Fett stories would make the list, and this one was the best of the bunch.
I understand that it doesn't belong on an official list, but "The Courtship of Princess Leia" is my personal number 1. I've read that book more times than I can count and certainly more times than I've read any other book. (This may be sad as I am a MA English Literature student.) That book ruled my sixth grade life when I was a kid and I still return to it years later with great admiration and appreciation for Dave Wolverton's work.
(This may be because I am female. But I do not hold it against men if they don't appreciate this amazing Star Wars book.)
I remember desperately seeking the Leia-in-the-wedding-dress cover when I was in the sixth grade. I never actually got one of those editions of the book...but I really wanted one! This book tickled the little girl nerd in me. Geez, I STILL love that book. I mean, come on! Do we ever again get Threepio giving dating advice or reciting poetry? Hahaha...amazing.
salatir said:
Zahn > everything else.
If not for Zahn's Heir to the Empire series, it's very doubtful that the revival of an expanded SW universe in book form would've become the juggernaut that it has. The fact that this series isn't at #1 is joke.
Michael Hartman said:
No KOTOR?
KOTOR has one of the best stories ever, star wars or otherwise.
PeterJR1961 said:
My ST:EU experience has been DH comic books, novels and the CN shows and I heartily agree with the selected items om this list. I might have switched numbers 1 and 2 but that's my opinion not the authors.
I might have also included the comic book Boba Fett: Agent of Doom. This was a story I remember as it played up to BF ego. Hired for only 100 credits to kill two Imps in a genocide ship, BF is not happy. BF is then reminded his rep is not what it was, and this job might bring it back. After bring back the heads in a sack, he asks his employer if he want to look and the reply was something along the line "was he not Boba Fett" with the answer being "Yes he was."
Saustin said:
I'm British, so when on no. 6 you put 'fan wanks' this means something else eentirely.
free movie downloads said:
I never read a lot of the books, but the ones that I remember was the book that tells the story of how Chewie gave his life debt to Han, and the stories of what all the bounty hunters did when they parted their ways in Empire
RobotJesus said:
I hate that I'm about to sound like the biggest nerd on the planet, but this list seems to have been crafted by someone who's only ventured ever so slightly into the expanded universe.
I agree with Shadows of the Empire and the Thrawn Trilogy, but everything else? Come on.
Knights of the Old Republic, as mentioned here the replies, has a plot and story that's probably better than any of the six movies.
Then there's all the old Tales of the Jedi series from the early 90's that gave us our first look at what life was like in the Old Republic and made everyone pissed to see that Lucas made the movie Sith a shell of what their comic counterparts were.
Then there's stuff like Tag and Bink, Rogue Squadron, hell, even Dark Empire. It just seems like you stuck to what you were exposed to and what you were exposed to wasn't very much.
hrmmm replied to RobotJesus:
"For the purposes of the article, we're sticking to the eras of the movies; surely you can find other nerds who can direct you to Kinghts of the Old Republic if you're looking for a Star Wars adventure minus anyone from the movies. This way, we get to show more really awesome stories about Boba Fett."
READ THE DAMN OPENER PEOPLE!!!
JJ said:
How could you omit the Han Solo Trilogy by A.C. Crispin?
Peter Payne said:
Would have liked to see Splinter of the Mind's Eye on here, since it's the granddaddy of Expanded.
Pete said:
This is a first class Top 10 list for EU fans. Great job Adam from your pals at GalacticBinder!!!!!
wood dash kits said:
I know that the title was Dark Empire, but they did not have to make literally dark. It's like they tried to cross Star Wars with the visual style of Blade Runner.
