"Shadow Of The Empire" - status?

It has come to my attention, that many people often refer to that story, when they're trying to explain things. Is it considered as more official than other EU stories? Has GL anything to do with it?

 

No, it is no different than any other novel. And George Lucas was not involved, and even if he was, it would not make it any more "official" than any other novel.

 

Shadows of the Empire is canon, just like every other Expanded Universe (EU) story that is not Infinities.

Shadows of the Empire was unique for its time in that it was a multi-media storyline comprised of three main sources - a LucasArts Shadows of the Empire game, a Dark Horse Comics' Shadows of the Empire comic series and a Bantam Shadows of the Empire novel. None of them were adaptations, they were all equal parts of the Shadows of the Empire storyline. If you read just the novel, you were missing out on about 1/3 of the whole story. Same with the comic or playing the game. To get the complete Shadows of the Empire story, one had to read the comic series, finish the game on the higher settings and read the novel. Furthermore, the story was enhanced by a number of Shadows of the Empire spinoff products - a soundtrack, several West End Games SWRPG sourcebooks, an action figure line (including special comic one-shots), etc.

It was a massive undertaking when it was done. And its success has allowed Lucas Licensing to go on and try even more ambitious plans with the current multi-media Clone Wars extravaganza.

 

Thanks. Well, I've only completed the pc game, so I guess I need 2/3 to know the full story...

The reason why I'm asking is, that the storyline between ESB and ROTJ has been described in the Marvel comics many years ago. And I must say that I find them quite ridiculous. Then again, they were written before ROTJ came out, so the authors couldn't possibly know what was going to happen.

Compared to the Marvel comics, SOTE seems much more true to the actual movies and the characters. So in that way it could considered more "official" or what?

 

Like I said before, many of the Marvel stories were written before ROTJ, so they couldn't cover just "one half of the year", since the authors didn't know how much time there was between ESB and ROTJ. They were just using their imagination, which is the purpose of the EU I guess...

Another thing: The SOTE game storyline begins just before the battle of Hoth, so it doesn't just cover the last half of the year.

But I agree with you: If GL doesn't have anything to do with SOTE, then it's just EU like all the other stories. But it's clearly written in the light of both ESB and ROTJ, and that makes it more true the movies I think.

 

Here is a link to a detailed ordering of the books and comics around SOTE.

link

 

Shadows of the Empire was written to answer the unanswered questions between Ep. V and VI, such as how Luke made a new lightsaber, how Lando got to Tatooine and onto JAbba's payroll, how Leia got the bounty hunter gear and thermal detonator, etc. It's as canon as any other EU Literature with the Infinites label, not any more, and not any less.

 

I feel I should point out that the SOTE multi-media exstravaganza has served as a sort of guide for the Clone Wars.

There are video games, comics, novels, and the cartoon that will depict various aspects of the Clone Wars and that are all integrated.

Frodo lives

 

I just started the SOTE novel. Is this good by itself or will reading the comics or playing the game make it better?
I always thought the comics and game wher just adaptations. Like the Thrawn trilogy comics.

 

No, not just adaptations. The game covers portions that the book skips over, and the comic covers what the game and book both miss.

Though they do have different versions of the end battle...but the way it was in the book would likely make a dull game.

 

Quest...
"The SOTE comic adapts portions of the novel..."

Actually, it's probably more accurate to say that the SOTE comic adapts portions of the SOTE storyline in the same manner that the SOTE novel adapts portions of the SOTE storyline. The comic doesn't adapt the novel any more than the novel adapts the comic. And actually neither is as accurate as what the real case was - neither is an "adaptation" of anything. Both comprise 2/3 of the SOTE storyline, each showing some of the same events from different POV.

"The SOTE game focuses on Dash's activities and only touches upon the "main" storyline whenever Dash crosses paths with Luke, Lando or Fett."

As Dah Rendar was a main character of SOTE, the game is in fact a major part of the "main" storyline. It covers the bulk of the "main" storyline that includes Dash.

 

"It's as canon as any other EU Literature with the Infinites label, not any more, and not any less."

Actually literature with the Infinities icon is non-canon. The rest of the EU is canon. So infact the rest of the EU is more canon than the stuff with infinities labels because stuff with the infinities labels is 0% canon.

"Like I said before, many of the Marvel stories were written before ROTJ, so they couldn't cover just "one half of the year", since the authors didn't know how much time there was between ESB and ROTJ. They were just using their imagination, which is the purpose of the EU I guess..."

Actually in one of the letter columns the authors said that they talked to lucas and mark hamill to go over the story line for marvel series to make sure that it fit with the movies, and together. Also you'll note that the marvel comics had some things show up before the movie, that were clearly details from the 3rd movie, mon calamari, death star 2 datatapes, etc, for instance. So to say they "didn't know what was going to happen" would be an incorrect statement, as they apparently did know about stuff that was going to happen. Probably like how most of the EU knows what is going to happen so that they can write movie tie-in EU before prequels come out.

 

Yep, the Marvel Comics' Star Wars series had stronger ties to George Lucas (the MAN, not a company or liason, editor or other representative) than very nearly any other EU product ever made in the history of Star Wars spinoff products:

---

Star Wars #1, July 1977, Marvel Comics
"The Story Behind Star Wars - The Movie and the Comic Mag
by Roy Thomas

It started slowly, this Star Wars project. Both for George Lucas and even for Marvel Comics.
It's a couple of years now since I met George Lucas... We met, shared a dinner and a few anecdotes and that was it.
Or so it seemed.
For, a few months later, a friend of George Lucas' looked me up. His name was Charlie Lippencott, and he was (for lack of a better term, he said) media director of George Lucas' new film, Star Wars, about which I knew nothing but the name.
Fairly understandable, since at that statge filming ahdn't even been started.
Charlie informed me, after a spaghetti dinner and some more swapped anecdotes, that he and George would like Marvel Comics in general and me in particular to handle the comic book adaptation of Star Wars..."[hr]Star Wars #1, July 1977, Marvel Comics
Marvel Bullpen Bulletins (Archie Goodwin, Ed.)

"ITEM! To emphasize what Stan was saying in the Soapbox about the House of Ideas zooming along, let's kick off this column with a few words about another new title we're springing on you this month... STAR WARS!
If that sounds familiar, it might be because we've plugged it a bit in the past, but a much better bet is that you've been hearing about the multi-million dollar, super science-fiction film from Twentieth Century Fox upon which our comic is based. STAR WARS is an epic of the far-flung future where intergalactic war and intrigue ruin rampant... To do it justice in graphic story format, Mr. Lucas and company handpicked Marvel for the awesome adaptation task, singling out Rascally Roy Thomas as writer/editor and Wholesome Howard Chaykin as artist..."[hr]Birth of Non-Movie Canon (OR Dispelling the Big Green Bunny Hatred Myth)
Star Wars #6, Dec. 1977 Marvel Comics

"...And yes, as heralded at the end of this issue's wind-up of the film story, just 30 days from now Thomas and Chaykin will be carrying on the story of our Star Warriors, into new areas not covered by the movie itself. It came about this way:
George Lucas himself, of course, had had plans for more than one 'Star Wars' film ever since its inception several years ago. In fact, there exist several earlier screenplays under the name 'Star Wars' which bear almost no resemblence whatever to the film as it eventually emerged, and Roy was given these to scan to see if there was anything that could be turned into a comic-book Star Wars #7 and beyond. While the screenplays are fascinating, they seem if anything to occur in the months and years before the movie itself, and we're pretty certain that it's really the likes of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Chewbaaca, the droids Artoo and Threepio, that everyone wants to see more of.
[b][u]Accordingly, Roy got together for lunch in Hollywood the other day with George Lucas (as well as amiable Mark Hamill, who plays Luke in the movie) to discuss the direction he and Howie would take the trip.[/u][/b] Messrs. Thomas and Chaykin had already plotted #7 and set the direction for an issue or two beyond, but they wanted to be sure that their own scheme of things did not conflict with future plans of George himself, who oversees the movies, books, and other priceless items which'll be emanating from the Star Wars Corporation in the months to come.
[b][u][color=red]Fortunately for all (since we labor always in the shadow of the Dreaded Deadline Doom), George was enthusiastic about what Roy and Howie had done, [i]and the other directions he suggested for the trip were nearly identical to what our writer/artist team wanted to do anyway. )Which, perhaps is natural is only natural since Roy and Howie have been two of the movie's biggest boosters since long before the film was even completed, let alone released!)[/

 

There is more on it past issue #6 as well, during one of the issues in the first EU story arc, possibly issue #7.

 

It's not even just issues right after #6. Marvel provided "editorial features" well into three years into its run which included accounts of direct George Lucas (the MAN, not some designated company representative, editor, etc.) involvement with the Marvel Star Wars series.

 

Which is the reason why they have elements from ROTJ, in stories that were written pre-rotj.

 

Ahhh... the DS2 datatapes, now I remember them. I've totally forgotten the stories about them. I apologize for that, Marvel...

But still, we see the Outrider in ANH SE, and I don't remember seeing anything else EU related stuff in the movies. Except Coruscant of course!

That gives SOTE some credit, don't you think?

 

Swoops. Aayla Secura. Bogdan.

There's tons of EU in the movies if you know where and what to look for.

And neither here nor there, ILM had a Prince Xizor action figure amongst some of their tomfoolary in the TPM podrace arena model used for the crowd scene.

 

Do you know an "EU in the movies" guide?

 

Didn't the designer(name escapes me) of the SOTE art go on to work on designs for the SE's and the prequel films? That would explain why he would toss in his designs, as he had previously worked with them, right?

 

There's tons of EU in the movies if you know where and what to look for.

If memory serves, the expanded pod racing scene on the TPM special features DVD had one of the pod racers as being from Tund. Which I believe was something that orginated in the EU and not something the author of the Lando Calrissian Adventures got from LFL when he wrote his books back in '83. Which would fit in with what you said, Genghis.