Farewell Princess : Carrie Fisher, 1956 - 2016

Just when you think you have made it through this train wreck of a year, 2016 decides to kick you one last time while your not looking. And it's a tough one.

The first crush of almost any fanboy that grew up with Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

As much as i loved her as Leia, my favorite was as "Joliet" Jake Blues ex girlfriend/fiancee, doing her best to kill him (and his brother) for standing her up at the asile in the "Blues Brothers".

She will be missed more than words can say.

Happy May the Fourth

Another May the 4th comes and go's. Hope everyone had a good one.

May the 4th be with you....all ways.

May The 4th Be With You!

Happy Star Wars day to all the fans of that "galaxy far far away" that George Lucas introduced us to all those years ago.

It's a pretty good time to be a Star Wars fan. The first of a new batch of movies is due out in December, the "Star Wars; Rebels" TV show seems to be doing well, as well as Marvel putting out a whole bunch of new Star Wars comics.

While there are lots of cool stories and ideas form the "expanded universe" that I will miss as these new movies re-write the story, I just have to remind myself that just because they won't be considered canon any longer that doesn't mean that they aren't good stories. Never the less, its still a good time to be a lover of all things Star Wars.

Happy Star Wars Day!

Happy Star Wars Day to you all! It's a pretty awesome time to be a fan of that Galaxy Far, Far Away. From all the exciting news coming out about "Star Wars VII", extra "season 6" episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Netflix and the new animated series out in the fall, Star Wars: Rebels. Lots to be happy about on this Star Wars Day!

This sexy and seductive Dark Lord, brought to you by the folks over at Blue Milk Special. One of the best Star Wars web comics around. If you haven't ever checked them out, your missing something fantastic!

New to the Closet's Collection - Obi Wan Kenobi

Bran new to my shelf this week is this Animated Maquette of  Obi Wan Kenobi from "Star Wars-Episode IV, A New Hope"  created by Gentle Giant a few years ago.

A couple of years back I started to notice that, even though I have a good sized collection of toys and other collectibles ( I like to think), most of it was a little low end mostly made up of mass produced figures (although some are rare and hard to find) and other such stuff, so I started to buy some mid to high end stuff. Good quality collectibles from time to time. This one is a gift to myself from my lovely wife for renovating our bathroom.

From the first time that I saw "Star Wars" in 1977, Obi Wan was the coolest character in the movie (next to Han Solo, which every 10 year old boy will tell you was the coolest.) Part old wizard, part mystical knight and part hardened warrior and general. A mentor to the films hero, Luke, he was cool and collected in every situation that came along. The great mystery of what it meant to be a Jedi Knight was all part of the fun back then. This was long before we would see Luke as a Jedi in "Return of the Jedi", or even better, A Jedi Knight and his Padawan in their prime in Episode I. So the whole Jedi Order and The Force were one big cool mystery.

First off I am a huge fan of this animated style. It is a very clean, tight design and Gentle Giant has released many figures from the entire Star Wars history over the last few years in this style all to great success. This statue does a great job of capturing the spirit of General Kenobi, as he stands cool and calm ready for battle against his former student, fellow Jedi Knight and friend. The figure is in great shape with no visible flaws and has a nice weight to it. It's part of a limited edition which is nice. The only draw back to the figure at all was the extra charges when you bring something in from the States. I don't mind paying the duty, But a extra "handling fee" that adds up to more than the duty and taxes after paying extra for shipping from the United States seems kind of like being mugged by my own Government.

Still, all in all, totally worth it. I love this figure and he will make a great addition to my bookshelf and to my growing collection.

Happy Star Wars Day!

Hope everyone has a great Star Wars day! May the 4th be with you....always.

Thanks For Everything Mr. McQuarrie

The artistic visionary, Ralph McQuarrie passed away at the age of 82.

"The world of science fiction and fantasy art and design has lost one of its true legends as Ralph McQuarrie died today at the age of 82.McQuarrie began his design career after moving to California from Indiana in the early 1960s. While he started out working as a technical illustrator for Boeing, he also found jobs designing film posters and providing animation elements for CBS News coverage of the Apollo space program.

An offer to work on concept art for a film project followed, and his designs caught the eye of director George Lucas, who had an ideal for a little movie about adventures in space. McQuarrie worked on designs for Star Wars before it was even known by that name and, in 1975, was commissioned to provide the now iconic designs for the likes of Chewbacca and Darth Vader, plus many concepts for the sets and ships. His art actually helped convince 20th Century Fox to take a gamble on Lucas’ dreams, making him a key component in one of the most beloved franchises of all time.“I just did my best to depict what I thought the film should look like, I really liked the idea,” he’s since said. “I didn’t think the film would ever get made. My impression was it was too expensive. There wouldn’t be enough of an audience. It’s just too complicated. But George knew a lot of things that I didn’t know.”

Lucas naturally asked him to work on The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi, and he even got to appear on screen in the uncredited role of General McQuarrie. But despite his close connection to the Star Wars universe, he declined Lucas’ offer to return for the prequels, commenting that he’d rather hand the baton to a new generation of artists and designers.Outside of Star Wars, McQuarrie worked closely with Steven Spielberg on Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and ET, providing the jaw-dropping designs for alien vessels. He also contributed to Raiders Of The Lost Ark and won an Oscar for Cocoon before moving on to work as either a consultant or the concept artist for such films as Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Batteries Not Included and Jurassic Park.A true original, McQuarrie is survived by Joan, his wife."

Sympathies to his family. Thank you for everything Ralph. You envisioned and influenced a huge and happy part of my youth, and you will be missed.

Wall Street. "A Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy"

"I feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and where suddenly silenced." - Obi-Wan

Happy Star Wars Day!

Today is (unofficially) Star Wars day. May the 4th be with you!