Lit Books Star Wars Dark Legends by George Mann

Haven't seen a thread about this yet but came upon it when browsing through the High Republic books. Release date is 28 July 2020.




Read on if you dare! This unique in-world collection hallows the spooky tales and ghost stories that would have kept young Luke and Leia up at night. Created by George Mann and Grant Griffin--the same team behind the stunning Star Wars: Myths & Fables--these six frightful fables have been carefully woven from the expansive fabric that is the Star Wars galaxy (including the thrilling landscape from Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland and Disney World), and beautifully painted in a lush illustrative style that feels intergalactic yet innately archetypal and timeless.


Looks like it could be fun. I haven't read Mann's original Myths book yet but will check it out at some point hopefully.

 

I wasn't terribly impressed by Myths & Legends. The twee fairy-tale style felt a bit too forced, and I much prefer Ken Liu's take on the similar idea in Legends of Luke Skywalker. The individual stories there felt more unique, with distinct voices and themes. Myths had some nice ideas but nothing really sank in for me.

 

I liked his first book. Have added this to my Amazon UK list.

 

The summary of this book reminds me a lot on Galaxy of Fear

 

we still need the 6 extra tales from the galaxy edge edition of myths and fables to become available to the people that can't get to GE

 

https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-dark-legends-art

Spoiler

Sometimes, it’s good to turn to the dark side.

Star Wars: Dark Legends, a follow-up to the acclaimed Star Wars: Myths & Fables, reunites the creative team of writer George Mann and artist Grant Griffin for seven new fables set in a galaxy far, far away. Only this time, the tales focus on all things dark side and spooky. With the book set for release on July 28, 2020, StarWars.com snagged a first look at three of Griffin’s stunning — and creepy — new paintings, along with the artist’s own commentary on his work. (You may want to keep the lights on.)



“Blood Moon”

“What I always loved most about the original trilogy is the rich backgrounds populated by repurposed appliances and recycled props. There is something extremely beautiful about mundane objects being turned into iconic droids and characters that still shape Star Wars lore 40 years later. So, when I received the art brief for “Blood Moon,” I was thrilled to do a Rick Baker tribute. Rick supplied the werewolf mask to help build out the cantina scene in A New Hope, and in turn, birthed the Shistavanen species.”



“Master and Servant”

“As this story was one of the last to be added, and due to approaching printing deadlines, I had to proceed with the illustration without knowing whom or what the main characters were. What I did know was that this story took place on Exegol and was going to have a strong Dr. Frankenstein and Ygor vibe. At the time, I only had the trailer visuals to go off of. Inspired by a screenshot, I built up the scene and shrouded our Sith in a hood to hide their identity. With a bit of Force lightning to showcase the villain’s power, I was able to increase the drama in the composition. The curved saber was added later, and if I am not mistaken, is specific to a particular Sith.”



“Predecessor”

“One of my favorite illustrations from Myths & Fables was the boogie-man version of Darth Vader. It was that piece that spilled over and set the tone for the rest of the art found in Dark Legends. This time, however, I had to illustrate Vader as we all know and love him. And it was this moment when I realized just how beautifully complex the design for Darth Vader’s helmet is. While I was struggling my way through the face mask, we decided to up the stakes and capture the essence of the stories in the reflections of Vader’s eyes, as he ironically Force chokes yet another poor Imperial officer.”

 

Looks a lil too much like

Spoiler

that Ethan Chandler cowboy werewolf character from Pennydreadful than Star Wars imo. The Sith with the limp Schwartz I suppose could be carrying a lightwhip, but apparently his lightsaber is akin to some Indian whipsword influence or curved bladed swords. The Praetorians used the whipsword in TLJ.

That hunchback creature looks like a cross between Snoke and Ephialtes from 300.

Not really crazy over the Myth ad Fables, not really particularly Star Wars for me, and Tales from Vader's castle I think better captures what they're going for and covers similar ground already.

 

Spoiler

It doesn't get more Star Wars than an original A New Hope species.

 

Talking about that artwork in particular, not the SW OT species.

 

Tatooine Times interview with author George Mann, with tidbits about some of the upcoming stories:

Spoiler

Myths & Fables opened the door to never heard before stories that have tumbled down the ages—immortalized by the words of author George Mann and the artwork of Grant Griffin. After the success of this legendary collection, more tales have been captured in Dark Legends—this time strongly infused with dark side energy, influenced by the darkest Grimms’ Fairy Tales and set in a galaxy far, far away.

“I loved writing Myths & Fables, but the highlight for me was definitely those darker stories … Gaze of Stone, The Witch and the Wookiee … they seemed to get a great response from readers as well. I had roughly 30 ideas for the stories when we first started. When I got to talking with Michael Siglain of Lucasfilm about doing a follow up—I mean, to be honest, we didn’t really stop because we had such fun doing those stories in Myths & Fables—he just said ‘How about we do a Halloween book? We can take some of those story ideas that you have and then add a whole bunch of new ones and do a spooky book.’ So that’s kind of how it happened,” Mann shared in an interview with TatooineTimes.com.

Just like in Myths & Fables, Mann and Griffin were allowed to be flexible with the way they represented the Star Wars universe with Dark Legends. The collaborative process between the author and the artist—with a few notes and suggestions from Lucasfilm—was a creative loop, beginning with captual story outlines and ending with sketches feeding back into the story development.

“There’s a particular trick to writing the story in [a folklorish] way … you’re not giving sweeping details and descriptions because that makes it too real. They’re meant to have this fable-like quality of stories that have tumbled down the ages and maybe some of the specifics are lost,” Mann said. “In The Orphanage, we never say it’s the Grand Inquisitor. Grant shows you that it’s the Grand Inquisitor. Also, as a Star Wars fan you can read the story as the legend, and you might have a suspicion about who it is, but the artwork then closes that gap for you as well.”


The Orphanage - Artwork by Grant Griffin. Lucasfilm Ltd.

Mann delves into the first tale of Dark Legends, The Orphanage, shining the light on his main source of inspiration for centering the story around the Grand Inquisitor—the main villain in the first season of Star Wars Rebels. “I’ve been watching Rebels with my son, and it just struck me … he’s got those pointy teeth, he’s got that kind of tall, willowy figure, and I just said to Mike [Siglain] ‘It might be a bit mad, but what about the Grand Inquisitor as Nosferatu? Backlit in front of the window, picking up that classic scene,’ and Mike was like ‘Yes, we have to do that!’ It was the first story I wrote, and it set the tone for the whole book.”

Unlike the rest of the stories in Dark Legends, The Orphanage is told from a child’s point of view. “I wanted to have a Jedi survivor and the Grand Inquisitor, but I thought the best way to get that fable-like quality was not to tell it from either of their perspectives,” Mann explained. “She’s in an orphanage at the end of the Clone Wars. You have a sense that she’s already had a tragedy. She’s a survivor. It kind of sets the tone for her character,” Mann said.

In the end, The Orphanage is centered around the moral of courage overcoming fear—making it the only one with a sort of happy ending.

“You have failed me for the last time.” The cover of Dark Legends features an all too popular moment in Star Wars history where we see the reflection of a despaired Imperial officer through Darth Vader’s eye lenses moments before he is choked to death by the Sith Lord. The Predecessor tells the story of the psychological impact that someone as ferociously evil as Darth Vader can have.

“His presence is almost trivialized in the films, books, and comics where Vader chokes an Imperial officer and immediately someone else steps up into his place. I thought, ‘How does the guy that has to step into the shoes of the man who’s just been choked to death in front of him feel? What is the psychological impact?’ That’s why I kind of went down the psychological ghost story,” Mann said. “Obviously it kind of becomes a self fulfilling prophecy because he unravels so much that he ends up getting choked to death by Vader, but it wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t happened to his boss.”

Myths & Fables introduced the readers to one of the most fascinating and cunning Sith Lords of all time: Darth Caldoth. “I couldn’t help feeling that, after Gaze of Stone, there was more of Darth Caldoth’s story to tell. I was keen to cement his place in Star Wars history! My friend Cavan Scott even put a reference of Darth Caldoth in Dooku: Jedi Lost, which gave additional validity to the character,” Mann said.


Gaze of Stone - Artwork by Grant Griffin. Lucasfilm Ltd.

Mann brought back his original character in Dark Legends to give a broader perspective about his life. In The Gilded Cage, Caldoth’s infallibility and mastery in deception are again tested, this time facing off against none other than the Nightsisters. The beautiful tale leaves the reader with a desire for more stories starring the cunning Sith Lord. “I’d love to write a novel about him. I don’t know if it’ll ever happen, but that would be a real dream,” Mann admitted.

And an excerpt from the Grand Inquisitosferatu story via SyFy Wire:

Spoiler

"The story from which the following is excerpted pretty much set the tone for the whole collection," Mann explains. "When I was initially brainstorming ideas, it was this one that really cemented the tone and approach to the stories that we ended up taking. It started with a spooky image — the idea of the Grand Inquisitor, caught before a window, backlit by the moon, creeping into a building like a monstrous Nosferatu. In it, we see an orphanage on a distant world in the aftermath of the Clone Wars. When a new girl arrives, she hears stories from the other children of a creature that comes in the night to steal away gifted ones..."

ON THE PLANET Gaaten, nestled amongst the gloomy spires of a once great city, sit the ruins of an orphanage where, long ago, children who had lost their parents during the fallout of the Clone Wars were sent to be cared for while they awaited placement in new homes throughout the sector.

Only, all was not well at the orphanage, for amongst the children there were tales of a dark terror who came in the night: a tall, thin man with sharp teeth and glowing eyes, who from time to time would visit the orphanage to steal away children, scooping them out of their beds and dragging them through the window, their cries muffled and unheard. The children who were taken by this horrifying creature were never heard from again.

These rumors were passed in terrified whispers between the children, muttered beneath bedsheets or behind cupped hands when the lights went out. The stories had, of course, been dismissed by the orphanage staff, and while it was true that some children had gone missing from the orphanage over the years— probably nothing more than runaways, children unhappy with their lot and suffering from the devastating loss of their parents—the rumors were viewed as nothing but the wild imaginings of disturbed youths, an embodiment of their fear and pain. Nevertheless, the stories persisted, and there was little the orphanage staff could do to curtail them.

All who came to reside in the orphanage, then, heard tell of this monster and, from that moment on, lived in fear that they, too, might become its next unwitting victim. All except one.

Elish had always been considered an exceptional child, ever since her time at the school on Malloran, where she had astounded her teachers with her confidence and scholarly aptitude. She was a gentle sort, prone to helping others before herself, and that had made her popular with her peers and the younger children alike. Like her mother – a palace guard on Malloran – Elish had always felt a deep connection to the universe around her and all the living things that inhabited it. This connection granted her a great sense of peace, and while she, too, had witnessed horrors, she refused to believe in whatever dark phantom the other children at the orphanage feared. For Elish, evil was embodied not in the form of monsters but of men, for she understood that all the terrors that had so recently blighted the galaxy were enacted at the behest of individuals and not creatures of the night.

So it was that Elish, upon coming to the orphanage on one of the Empire’s vast transport ships, became something of a steadying force to the other children, helping them cast aside their fears and, despite all they had lost, seek peace amidst the dormitories and schoolrooms of the ramshackle old building. For many months this went on, and much to the delight of the orphanage staff, talk of the phantom faltered. The children seemed altogether happier, and when the supply ships came in for the season, some of the orphans were allocated new homes with adoptive parents eager to lavish love and attention on their new charges.

It was not unusual for Elish to be awoken at night by the sound of screaming—for some of the children in the dormitory were plagued by night terrors that would wrench them from their slumber, causing them to lurch up in their beds, their faces gleaming with sweat. Never would the night staff come to comfort the poor children, so Elish would slip from her bed to take their hands, and her calm words and comforting influence would be enough to quiet their nightmares and send them readily back to sleep.

However, one night not long after her arrival, there was a great disturbance during the night, and all around Elish the alarm went up. She leapt from her bed to find the entire dormitory in disarray, and word amongst the children was that the monster had paid a visit in the small hours of the night and stolen away a young boy named Samil.

True enough, there was no sign of Samil, and search as they might, none of the staff or the children could locate him. Nor was there any evidence that a stranger had come amongst them, save for the window gently tapping in its frame, stirred by the breeze because the latch had been left undone.

After securing the window, the orphanage staff soon began ushering the children back to their beds, cooing sympathetically, shushing their cries of distress. Samil would be found in the morning, they said, or else he’d decided to run away and leave them, sneaking off into the night to make his own way in the world. Elish, though, could see that Samil’s handful of belongings had been left behind, scattered beneath his bed—and she knew he would never have left his toy heroes behind, for he would never tolerate being separated from the little hand-carved figures.

Thus, as the other children finally began to settle once again in their beds, Elish lay awake, reaching out with her senses, for she had come to recognize Samil through his connection to the universe, similar to her own. This had marked them out as different from the other children—all save perhaps one other, a young Kessurian girl named Gee’far, who also seemed to share Elish’s unusual perspective.

Sure enough, though, Elish could sense no trace of Samil anywhere within the confines of the orphanage or its grounds. Discomforted, she lay awake for the rest of the night, certain that he would not be found the following day.

The next morning a small expedition was put together from amongst the staff, which set out for the village, hoping to discover that Samil had fled the short distance to the settlement during the night. They were certain he would be found, cold and embarrassed, huddled in someone’s barn, ready to return to the orphanage for a warm bath and a rest.

As Elish had predicted, however, the team returned but a few hours later, tired and hungry, claiming that there was neither word nor trace of the boy in the village, or anywhere on the surrounding paths and roads. He had simply vanished, and there was nothing at all they could do about it.

 

Has anyone had a chance to look at this yet? I’m curious about the story set in Exegol.

 

Haven't seen it yet - Amazon UK has a release date of August 5. It's on my list though.

 

*watching as they clone Sinre and put him on strings into an Ommin harness... as in the background there is a clone tank with more twisted Sinre clones inside.

Welcome back, my friend! Your One-Canon-Eternal cultists have awaited your return!

 

I have to read an ARC first but I can’t wait to open this up. Sexy and fabric binding.

 

Spoiler: Exgol

It's very spooky and while maybe nothing directly tying into Rise of Skywalker the topic is very appropriate for what that planet was all about.

 

My copy arrives today! Amazon germany got it in stock and shipped already!

 

I ended up buying it too. Here are some thoughts about the Exegol story:

Spoiler: Exegol Story

I’ve only read that story so far, and it was pretty good. I’m glad to see stories featuring the Sith Lords of old, and this context of myths and legends feels like a perfect way to explore them without taking away from their mystery.

In this book we got not only another Darth Caldoth story but also the exciting inclusion of Exegol. Like with Caldoth, I liked that we got to read about another Sith Lord waging their own personal war across the galaxy and being a well-known force of destruction and terror.

Darth Noctyss certainly remains mysterious enough, but she makes a good precursor for the Sith journey toward immortality that we see in the movies. Not only that, but it’s cool to see that even for the Sith of times past, there are still even more ancient Sith Lords and worlds that are just as legendary in their time.

This story does a good job of keeping things ambiguous, but the events in Exegol do resonate with what we see and hear in TROS. I was most intrigued by the potential appearance of the Sith spirits that would be referenced by Palpatine, and generally by Exegol being depicted as a place where the boundary between life and death is weaker than normal. But also, I’m wondering if Noctyss’s servant and the twist at the end are hinting at some sort of connection with Snoke / the Snoke clones?

In any case, I know these are legends of uncertain canonicity, but that actually works quite well to tell a story of ancient Sith Lords. I’m excited to read the other stories in the collection, and maybe even for more in the future.

 

@Sauron_18

Spoiler

I was thinking the same thing but I wasn't sure.

I like it too but I still hope one day we can go back in time and explore the Sith lords of old in a more canonical sense.

 

Anyone else having trouble finding a hard copy of this book? Neither Chapters nor Amazon have the actual book in stock.

 

Amazon UK says 'Available to ship in 1-2 days.'.

Edit - just bought it and The Merry Rise of Skywalker along with a non-SW book. Order should come Saturday.

 

My copy has shipped from Amazon UK - might come tomorrow - if not, Saturday. Funnily enough this was the book that should have held up the shipment as both the others I ordered were in stock. So of course this part ships and the others haven't yet.