Lit Poll: Have your EU consumptive habits changed since the Disney announcement?

Well I think they probably wouldn't have said it was film canon since none of it was on film. They did say it was normal canon though, so there's that.

 

Canon yes, but canon that could get overwritten if certain people so chose to.

 

Maybe what Lucas could have done (along with saying who can't be killed) is say how many kids the big three could have. Because pretty much the entire post ROTJ EU expanded from how many kids Han, Leia, and Luke had.

 

My EU buying habits had already gone way down since the start of the FotJ series. When the Disney announcement came, I first debated stopping buying anything new until the EU's canon status was cleared, then finally decided to stop after the "core" timeline's end with Crucible (and given how that book turned out, I wish I'd saved the money instead). After that, I eventually gave in and bought one last EU novel, Darth Plagueis, because I'm really interested in the Sith and that novel has excellent reviews.

Now, with the old EU officially non-canon and the upcoming start of a new EU, I'm in waiting mode until the new canon novels start being published. However, this time I'll be a lot more discriminating than I was with the EU. No more buying books just because they've got the Star Wars logo, their blurb sounds interesting, and/or they're part of the core storyline. Now, I'll wait for reviews from here and Amazon before I make a purchase. That will apply even for Lords of the Sith, which is by far the book I'm most interested in out of the four new ones Del Rey has announced.

 

I'm going to wait and see what Marvel is doing but for the first time in a long time all the announced books are going to be buys/pre-orders for me. The material and the authors sound good to great and I'm hoping that DR is paying a lot more attention in terms of copyediting so the books read cleanly and the SG is keeping things on track.

So...my consumption is probably going to rise dramatically, and I'll be watching REBELS out the gate, as it looks fun and the steep increase in quality in the later TCW seasons looks to continue there.

I'm cautiously hopeful, and really just waiting to see what Marvel does, but I haven't been this eager to read SW in a while.

 

Indeed, which is why I have such a massive problem with TCW. Lucas directly authorized the multimedia project, even writing the forward to Shatterpoint, but then he expected us to believe all of the stuff in TCW happened too.

 

No Mr. Zeta, he expects you to die.

 

I feel like I've started buying far less, simply because all this just happened at the wrong time for me and money is tight. I don't think I'll be able to get all the Dark Horse Omnibuses in time before they disappear from store shelves.

 

From Wikipedia:
Determining canonicity

The Star Wars canon was first defined in a 1994 interview with Lucas Licensing's Sue Rostoni and Allan Kausch in issue #23 of the Star Wars Insider:.

Gospel, or canon as we refer to it, includes the screenplays, the films, the radio dramas and the novelizations. These works spin out of George Lucas' original stories, the rest are written by other writers. However, between us, we've read everything, and much of it is taken into account in the overall continuity. The entire catalog of published works comprises a vast history—with many off-shoots, variations and tangents—like any other well-developed mythology.​

This policy has been further refined and fleshed out over the years. The official Star Wars website has also detailed the role of canon, Expanded Universe, or "EU" sources, and how they fit into overall Star Wars continuity. In a 2001 "Ask the Jedi Council" response by Steve Sansweet (director of fan relations) and Chris Cerasi (an editor for Lucas Books at the time), it was stated that:

When it comes to absolute canon, the real story of Star Wars, you must turn to the films themselves—and only the films. Even novelizations are interpretations of the film, and while they are largely true to George Lucas' vision (he works quite closely with the novel authors), the method in which they are written does allow for some minor differences. The novelizations are written concurrently with the film's production, so variations in detail do creep in from time to time. Nonetheless, they should be regarded as very accurate depictions of the fictional Star Wars movies.​

The further one branches away from the movies, the more interpretation and speculation come into play. LucasBooks works diligently to keep the continuing Star Wars expanded universe cohesive and uniform, but stylistically, there is always room for variation. Not all artists draw Luke Skywalker the same way. Not all writers define the character in the same fashion. The particular attributes of individual media also come into play. A comic book interpretation of an event will likely have less dialogue or different pacing than a novel version. A video game has to take an interactive approach that favors gameplay. So too must card and roleplaying games ascribe certain characteristics to characters and events in order to make them playable.​

The analogy is that every piece of published Star Wars fiction is a window into the 'real' Star Wars universe. Some windows are a bit foggier than others. Some are decidedly abstract. But each contains a nugget of truth to them.​

In a December 6, 2006 post on the official Star Wars forums, Leland Chee ("keeper" of the Holocron) made this comment in response to a question regarding whether Sansweet's "foggy window" was a window into the "real Star Wars Universe of the Films Only" or the "Star Wars Universe of the Films + EU continuity":

Film+EU continuity. Anything not in the current version of the films is irrelevant to Film only continuity.[3]​

By 1996, Licensing was keeping an in-house bible of reference materials as the volume of publications, facts, and figures grew to such unwieldy proportions that it became difficult to know everything relevant to a particular project. They finally decided something had to be done to organize the increasingly large collection of media which chronicled the Star Wars universe. A system of canon was developed that organized the materials into what was and wasn't fit for the Star Wars story.
In 2000, Lucas Licensing appointed Leland Chee to create a continuity tracking database referred to as the "Holocron".[5] As with every other aspect having to do with the overall story of Star Wars, the Holocron follows the canon policy that has been in effect for years.
The Holocron is divided into five levels (in order of precedence): G-canon, T-canon, C-canon, S-canon, and N-canon.
G-canon is George Lucas canon: Considered absolute canon, it includes Episodes I–VI (the most recently released versions) and the upcoming Episodes VII–IX feature films, the animated film, and any statements by George Lucas (including unpublished production notes from him or his production department that are never seen by the public). Elements originating with Lucas in the scripts, filmed deleted scenes, movie novelizations, reference books, radio plays, and other primary sources are also G-canon when not in contradiction with the released films. G-canon overrides the lower levels of canon when there is a contradiction.
T-canon is Television canon:[6] refers to the canon level comprising only the two television shows: Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the upcoming Star Wars Rebels. Its precedence over C-Level canon was confirmed by Chee.[7]
C-canon is Continuity canon: consisting of materials from the Expanded Universe including books, comics, and games bearing the label of Star Wars. Games and RPG sourcebooks are a special case; the stories and general background information are themselves fully C-canon, but the other elements such as character/item statistics and gameplay are, with few exceptions, N-canon. On April 25, 2014, all previously released C-Canon was officially bumped to S-Canon, and will be replaced by all-new C-Canon material.[8] The first official C-Canon project in the revised continuity will be Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller, which is a prequel novel to Star Wars Rebels. It will be released September 2, 2014.[9]
S-canon is Secondary canon: covering the same medium as C-canon, it is immediately superseded by anything in higher levels of canon in any place where two elements contradict each other. The non-contradicting elements are still a canon part of the Star Wars universe. This includes all C-canon material released prior to April 25, 2014,[10] video games such as the online roleplaying game Star Wars: Galaxies, and certain elements of a few N-canon stories.
N-canon is Non-canon: "What-if" stories (such as stories published under the Star Wars: Infinities label), crossover appearances (such as the Star Wars character appearances in Soulcalibur IV), game statistics, and anything else directly contradicted by higher canon ends up here. N-canon is the only level that is not considered official canon by Lucasfilm. Any published material that contradicts things established in G-canon and T-canon is considered N-canon.
Classified separately from the other levels is D-canon or Detours canon, the canon of the animated comedy series Star Wars Detours.[11]
Leland Chee continues to answer questions about the Holocron in the Holocron continuity database questions thread at the starwars.com forums.[12]
On August 4, 2004, when asked if the G and C-levels formed separate and independent canon, Chee responded by stating that both were part of a single canon: "There is one overall continuity."[13]
In a December 7, 2005 post, Chee commented on how the Holocron is applied to licensees:

The Holocron comes into play for anything official being developed for books, games, websites, and merchandise. For anything beyond that, it is simply a reference tool.[4]​

In a December 6, 2006 post, Chee suggests the existence of a second continuity composed only of the films:

The only relevant official continuities are the current versions of the films alone, and the combined current version of the films along with whatever else we've got in the Holocron. You're never going to know what George's view of the universe beyond the films at any given time because it is constantly evolving.[3]​

On a post made on the same day, Chee stated that:

Anything not in the current version of the films is irrelevant to Film only continuity.[14]​

This statement confirms the existence of two separate continuities, the "film only" continuity maintained and followed by George Lucas himself, and the "films + EU" continuity that is used for licensed products; G-Canon, and Star Wars Canon.

 

The old canon system was very clear and it never ever stated that the novels and comics were one canon with the movies. It basically stated that you can view it as canon until the movies decide to change it.

 

Lucas laughed in my face about TCW. then he kneecapped me

 

I voted decreased - a lot. Right now, Tarkin is the only book I might get.

I think I finished FOTJ before Disney. I would have gotten the Sword of the Jedi trilogy.

I think after FOTJ, I read Scoundrels which I liked. Then Crucible and Lockdown which were okay. Thought Razor's Edge and Honor Among Thieives were boring.

 

Canon: G+C+S
Continuity: G+C
Is it right?

Not exactly. Continuity and canon and pretty much the same thing as far as the Holocron goes.

- Leland Chee


"Parallel universe" suggests that each universe can go in separate directions which really isn't the case with regard to the EU. The EU is bound by what is seen in the most current version of the films and by directives from George Lucas.
- Leland Chee

Also, the definition of S-canon - and the statement that Chee is "still answering questions" isn't exactly correct.

 

Totally unchanged. I get what appeals to me - anything Tales of the Jedi era IU or earlier, anything that was originally published while the OT was coming out, anything between Ep. IV and Ep. V IU, anything that seems like it uses discarded ideas from GL's old SW drafts, anything that seems focused on the Force. Some other stuff too, but that's the stuff I hunt down. And I make my own canon rules.

 

Save the planet man. Don't throw away so much paper needlessly. Just donate it to the library. Someone'll like it.

 

I think it's because the book makes Tarkin look very bad- which to him is the worst sin a Star Wars book can commit.

 

The above is a great depictions of the old canon, now though everything changed and now its just the films, TCW and Rebels and everything else that the Lucasgroup says is canon. A book and a comic now has a much weight as a movie or cartoon episode. New change. I guess.

 

Its almost a year since this has been posted in, and I didn't reply here before. My purchasing and reading habits have changed, just a bit, but there wasn't really an option for increased buying and an increase in reading, for all new and old EU (at least, by intention).

My reading of comics is about the same pace, but my reading of the novels has increased. I let the backlog of SW books build up for so long, however the announcement of the Disney-SW development, and the coming of the new movie prompted me to read Darth Plagueis a short time after it came out in paperback. This helped me get over a hang up that I've had approaching books that are longer than the 300-400 page range since college reading killed a lot of my passion and endurance for reading. Darth Plagueis was a nice long awaited return to SW in prose format, and the fact that I was trying to make my craving for the new SW movie more bearable gave me a new level of stamina for it...I ended up finishing it in record time.

I've kept momentum up by reading other SW books I haven't gotten to, that it's been long overdue that I tackle every couple of months or so. During the wait for the new movie, Kenobi, The Shadows of Mindor, The Bacta War, Labyrinth of Evil, and now most recently I, Jedi have helped along with the usual diet of comics to tide me over until the new movie arrives.

I haven't delved into the new EU yet, but that's just because a lot of them haven't arrived in paperback yet. I bought A New Dawn for reading sometime in the future, but I've been focusing on books from the old EU to give them that last bit of space before they have to share as alternative versions of the post-RotJ era. I also wanted to watch more of the Rebels episodes, in order to connect with the characters more deeply.

I've found that I've been buying a lot of SW stuff that I hadn't considered before, partly because a lot of stuff has been showing up in the used bookstores, Half Price and Bookman's. Half Price especially, it's like they are receiving surplus that is basically brand new, and now it's available at nice prices. So I went crazy, finally caving and getting the comic adaptations for Splinter of the Mind's Eye and the Thrawn trilogy, and the re-done adaptation of ANH from the 90's for the Special Edition releases. I toyed with the idea of getting the Droids and Ewoks Omnibus from Amazon, but that showed up at Half Price, too, alongside the Adventures Omnibus which is still at the regular bookstore. I got lucky and saw The Shadows of Endor mini-comic available in a different part of the story that I usually never look at.

I, Jedi has been an interesting return look into the pre-TPM realm of SW literature, and as a surprising bonus a nice look at SW fiction that draws on the SW D6 WEG roleplaying game (Stackpole uses the whole Control, Sense, and Alter paradigm of Force powers, that's incredibly specific). In a nice bit of synergy, while considering an inclusion of the short stories Stackpole wrote for the Adventure Journals featuring Corran Horn in my pre-TFA reading schedule, a nice handful of those Adventure Journals turned up in the used bookstore, and I just couldn't resist. I love Star Wars, and it's been a great time for collecting the stuff that I didn't get around to the first time!

 

If anything I'm more invested in the universe. I had pretty much given up on the majority of the books in the old EU since I never made it through the NJO series and didn't want to read anything after that. It's nice to be able to start fresh without having to catch up on a couple dozen books. Though I've still been reading some Legends stuff. I read Kenobi last year and have been slowly making my way through the Dark Horse comics (I bought the digital bundle before the license went to Marvel).
I've also started following the comics much more closely and have bought every issue so far of Kanan, Star Wars and Darth Vader. I loved the DH stuff but just bought the occasional trade.
Overall I'm spending more money and following the universe more closely than before the reboot.

 

My buying has increased from zero Star Wars books and comics, to every Star Wars book and comic, plus the reprints of the old comics and ebooks from the old EU.

 

Cushy was in carbonite for a long time. Now, I'd say, with deciding to ignore labels my habits remain the same as they've been for years. Read as I choose, buy what impresses me. I do intend to read Tarkin come August. Still not certain I'll let Luceno pass my test but I hope to.

 

much much more, I have every single one of the new comics Marvel has put out.

 

I will admit my star wars reading hasn't been up there lately. However, that's mainly because I just have been taking a bit of a break from star wars recently. So I do plan on doing more reading soon.

 

There is no vote button for: I will sadly read all the novels and be highly disappointed on a consistent basis.