Tales #11 (spoilers)

I was disappointed by this issue. Tales went downhill, and the past few issues have been great, so I expected the same of this one. Unfortunately... It was *ok* but I really can't give it a higher rating that when I only totally liked one story (Ghost) and parts of another (The Princess Leia diaries).

Prey was a sad excuse for a Han Solo story if you asked me. It doesn't fit into continuity. Even if we didn't know Han had fled the Empire years before ANH, I would've found the thought of him deserting just prior to the movie a bit hard to swallow. He was 29 after all. Then the story focused on Boba Fett and Darth Vader. Not on Han. I'm sure there are people that liked that, but the point of the issue is Han, and in this story we didn't get much of him.

In the Beginning was also a miss. Doesn't fit into continuity, Lando looks like a moron in it, and Han and Chewie steal the Faclon. NO.

Tall Tales: A total waste of the paper it was printed on. Seriously. The only thing I liked about was the bit about Greedo shooting first. The rest was stupid/pointless to me.

THe Princess Leia Diaries was a mixed blessing for me. I liked seeing Bail Oraga and Leia before A New Hope. I didn't however like most of the beginning of the story. I'm not thinking that Leia was always an angel, but I just can't see her as that obnoxious little brat. He thoughts about the galaxy didn't seem to fit with her attitude there. Mature thoughts going with childish behavior? I don't think so. I did however like the bit after she's talking to Winter where we see Luke. That was awesome. Also I thought the story from Bail's speaking to Garm and Mon Motha was great. I think this is story is a case of Dark Horse trying a bit too hard to be humorous... overall it's good, but it could've been a *lot* better.


Ghost was awesome. I loved seeing Quinlan Vos paired with Han. Very nice. Too bad Han doesn't remember it. Still a good short comic.

I guess over all there are enough redeeming things in here I'm not sorry I bought this issue, but I'm disappointed it wasn't better.

~*~Bria

 

What's this about Giles training Leia while she's still a senator? I don't have my comic yet, someone please tell me... is this directly spelled out?

Hey, Jason, has DH signed you on for any future SW Tales stories? While I have yet to read your latest, I really got a kick out of "A wookie scorned."

 

>I'm not thinking that Leia was always an angel, but I just can't see her as that obnoxious little brat. He thoughts about the galaxy didn't seem to fit with her attitude there. Mature thoughts going with childish behavior? I don't think so.<

Bria, I haven't read the comic, but I think they may have been attempting a parody of the Princess Dairies book, in which case brat-ish behavior is entirely appropriate.

TC

 

Oh. I've never read that. Well, that might make more sense, but it still didn't seem a good portrayal of Leia to me. Especially her eating like a pig. Or going out and dancing as a Twi'lek slave girl. Blah.

~*~Bria

 

quinlan vos is a great character.

i do think he could have looked a little older though.

i mentioned this in the jan duuresema forum, but it seems to me that gl scratched some JC members (ie. poof, ranciss) for lead roles in the new movies in favor of kit fist and luminara -- basically, more humanoid jedi.

so, if in fact gl ever gets wind of a character like quinlan vos, why not add him into the movie since he is a pre-estalished character.

and he IS IN epI according to jan !!!!!

maybe he has a spot as a jedi who is called for support after the first clone battle in epIII?

 

DoubleSith wrote:
I loved The Princess Leia Diaries, though. The best Tales story in quite a few issues, IMHO. I especially liked the Luke and Winter cameos, and Bail even looks like Jimmy Smits!

Thanks very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. (And I'm glad you liked that Bail looked like Mr. Smits and the "cameos" -- there's even a few more in there! )
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ParanoidAni-droid wrote:
Hey, Jason, has DH signed you on for any future SW Tales stories? While I have yet to read your latest, I really got a kick out of "A wookie scorned."

Great to hear -- thanks! I hope you enjoy "The Princess Leia Diaries" as well. I'm supposed to have another story in a future issue, and I hope to continue to do more beyond that! (btw, Leia's not a senator when she's trained by Giles in my story -- that must be something else...)
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Mavrick889 wrote:
Anyway, wonderful stuff. I really hope you get to write some more stories for Tales...or dare I say it...your own series!

I'd love to do it! I'm really enjoying writing these Tales stories. If you're liking what you're reading, let Dark Horse know!
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As far as the portrayal of Leia, the story takes place over quite a number of years, and people change during the course of their lifetime, especially from pre-teens to late-teens -- her more mature thoughts about the state of the galaxy really don't come into focus until after the "juvinle behavior" has somewhat subsided. She grows into an adult throughout the story. Plus, it's just my take on her childhood (with a little bit of humor and fun thrown in), which we really haven't seen very much (if anything) about to compare it to...

Anyways, that's my take on that!
----------------------------------

Thanks again, everyone!

 

"Great to hear -- thanks! I hope you enjoy "The Princess Leia Diaries" as well. I'm supposed to have another story in a future issue, and I hope to continue to do more beyond that! (btw, Leia's not a senator when she's trained by Giles in my story -- that must be something else...)"

Well, according to the story Giles appears in "Weapons Master" (published in 1980 I believe), she is a senator during her time training with Giles. Perhaps she was simply a Senatorial Aide (which would sort of fit, she certainly would accompany her father on many of his trips to Coruscant, or in this case, to Challon). My guess is that she was serving as a senator for a while, and then replaced her father as Alderaan's main representative. Also, for some reason Giles looks completely different in this story. I thought LFL was supposed to check stuff like that.

 

I like continuity and references, etc. a lot (and like to use it in my stories), but not knowing what's going to happen in Ep. III and what in the Marvel Comics (or any other comic or novel) will or won't be contradicted by what's established in Ep. III makes it difficult to try to pinpoint everything. Keep in mind these stories are considered "Infinites" -- and that's probably why. I like to make mine fit in continuity as much as possible anyways, but they're still considered "out of continuity", and hopefully that doesn't take away from your or anyone else's enjoyment of the stories you like in Tales.

 

Nerf_Lover I like your honest answer, it lays it like it is, in a nice way.

I also accept that stories that later are forced into continuity may not necessarily match the version of it shown in Non-Canon Tales.

I also accept that even if the story is refrenced into continuity that said issue it's from is still non-canon.

If lfl decides later insert stories into continuity that is there prerogative when the time comes, I accept that fate.

 

Jason, just a quick question:
Is that Daala in the back of Tarkin's speeder? Quite a few cameos you've got in this one!

 

Hi! Thanks for the compliments on 'Ghost'. It was great fun to write (first published writing for me!) And it was a real treat to draw two of my favorite Star Wars characters in the same story.

I also enjoyed seeing Dave McCaig's painting over my pencils. He made the characters seem very 'real' to me!

Episodenone--you wrote you thought Quin didn't look old enough...My thought was he'd only be in his early to mid fifties here (figure he was around 24-25 in Ep I) And anyone who survived the Jedi Purge would have to stay sharp. Who knows, maybe he'll make Ep III? (after all Aayla made EPII!) Seeing him in the background somewhere would be awesome!

Jason--the Leia story was great! Her Twi'lek slave girl dance was just a hoot--(I laughed out loud!)and described (along with her other pranks) in broader terms what kind of a maverick thinker you pictured Leia as being. And yet you brought out the serious side of the character in the story as well. It was fun to see Leia 'grow up'. A very cool story.

A note on Garis Shrike--unseen background for Han in this story was to have Shrike land on Soccoro for some piratical dealings--and give Han a couple of hours 'off'. Han uses this time to follow a 'treasure' map he's been hanging onto for a while--which takes us to the beginning of this story. Does that help?

Again, thanks!

 

Great art and great story, Jan. I don't think I have to say more than that.
Princess Leia Diaries was cool too. It was very funny, except Leia has ugly feet.

Here's my Beef.
Prey. I started out hating it. Then I finally caught on, "Oh, it is infinities, I wonder what the surprise Angle is here?" I was thinking Han was a Jedi or something in this story, or a Rebel Spy.
But then I got to the end and realized there was no "angle" and the author intended it to fit in continuity. So I went back to hating the story.
Boba Fett defying and dueling Vader and keeping his life? No way.
Also, why would Tarkin and Vader care about a single defector enough to send Boba Fett? Oh, and I guess I should mention Han wasn't a defector, he was decommissioned for rescuing CHewbacca.

 

Prey sucked. Though maybe Han wasn't allowed to leave Coruscant until his decommision was set down into paper? Perhaps the Imperial Bueacracy made a mistake.

Or more likely, Kia Asamiya made a big blunder.

Also, anyone else notice that "In the Beginning" sort of follows the continuity of Alan Moore's Devilworlds Millenium Falcon story? This would work as a sequel to that story pretty well.

 

Ghost rocks, Jan_Duursema. Easily the best story of the issue.

~*~Bria

 

Mavrick889 wrote:
Is that Daala in the back of Tarkin's speeder?

Indeed it is!

Jan_Duursema wrote:
Jason--the Leia story was great! Her Twi'lek slave girl dance was just a hoot--(I laughed out loud!)and described (along with her other pranks) in broader terms what kind of a maverick thinker you pictured Leia as being. And yet you brought out the serious side of the character in the story as well. It was fun to see Leia 'grow up'. A very cool story.

Thanks so much, Jan! I really appreciate it! And congratulations on "Ghost" -- the artwork was really nice (the combination of your artwork and Dave McCaig's paints had a cool effect) and I can imagine how neat it must have felt to write a story with your two favorite characters teamed up! And who doesn't love ol' Han Solo!

Darth Ludicrous wrote:
Princess Leia Diaries was cool too. It was very funny, except Leia has ugly feet.

I'm glad you enjoyed it -- thanks very much! (I didn't think Leia's feet were ugly, but I've scheduled her an appointment with the podiatrist-droid just in case... ).

-- Jason

 

Just read #11 myself. I was really looking forward to an 'all Han' issue, but I have to say the highlight for me was 'The Princess Leia Diaries'. My favorite panel/s had to be the ones where she cut off her hair! (although, as the mother of an almost 8yo daughter, I could relate to the Twi'Lek dancing girl bit! That was funny.) I also enjoyed the fact that it implied she liked a "wilder" sort of boyfriend

I quite liked "Ghost" (although I didn't have a clue who the Jedi was ) and it had the best art of the issue. Loved the look of the Jedi (even though I didn't have a clue who he was ) I especially loved the fact that young Han actually looked like a young Harrison Ford! Jan Duursema caught his expressions really well. Excellent work!

The rest of the stories were pretty forgettable, but the Vader/Fett one was just dumb. Oh, and I thought Han in that "tall Tales" one looked like Aragorn

 

Hi Jan and Jason

Tom AKA villiemace here!

Jason, sorry i have not been able to say what i thought about A wookie scorned for so long. The reason is it only came out in the UK about a week or two ago. I really loved it. I always enjoy stories about Chewbacca as he is a cool and very funny character and your story made me laugh. I am looking forward to reading the Princess Leia Diaries enormously.

Jan, I am looking forward to reading Ghost. Quinlan Vos has intrigued me ever since he first appeared in Emisaries to Malastare and although I have not read Ghost yet, I have heard he meets up with Han Solo! How cool is that! The old meeting the new so to speak. I have noticed that it is funny however that the number of jedi surviving the jedi purge seems to grow by the year.

I am looking forward to the Devaronian version as well as Villie makes me laugh a lot.

I am going to Tunisia in a few weeks and hopefully I will have Tales 11 and The deveronian version when I go so I look forward to reading them and getting back to you guys with what I though of the story.

All the best

Tom AKA Villiemace

 

Leela:

Ah, great, I'm not the only one who thought he looked like Aragorn, especially in the final page.

 

Leela wrote:
Just read #11 myself. I was really looking forward to an 'all Han' issue, but I have to say the highlight for me was 'The Princess Leia Diaries'. My favorite panel/s had to be the ones where she cut off her hair! (although, as the mother of an almost 8yo daughter, I could relate to the Twi'Lek dancing girl bit! That was funny.) I also enjoyed the fact that it implied she liked a "wilder" sort of boyfriend

That's great to hear, Leela! Thank you! The most rewarding thing is to hear that readers are enjoying one's work. (And I figured Leia had to of been somewhat of a "rebel" long before there was a Rebel Alliance... And I'm sure you've got your hands full with your own soon to be 8-year-old "rebel"! )

Villiemace wrote:
Jason, sorry i have not been able to say what i thought about A wookie scorned for so long. The reason is it only came out in the UK about a week or two ago. I really loved it. I always enjoy stories about Chewbacca as he is a cool and very funny character and your story made me laugh. I am looking forward to reading the Princess Leia Diaries enormously.

Thanks, Tom! I'm glad you got a kick out of "A Wookiee Scorned!" and I hope you enjoy "The Princess Leia Diaries" just as much! (And sorry to hear it takes so long for books to reach the UK -- I hope it'll be worth the wait! )

-- Jason

 

Hey, I just picked up Tales 11 today. (I had to get the photo cover ). Anyway, I enjoyed it very much. The highlight of the issue for me was the Quinlan Vos story. Wow, that excited me very much. Even though not much happened, I hope they take that and run with it and give us some stories about Quinlan in the Empire/Rebellion timeframe. I also enjoyed the Princess Leia Diaries. While I don't quite accept it as canon, I appreciate the humor and the insight that it gives. The other stories really weren't outstanding. The Boba Fett one wasn't very original, and the "In the Beginning" story was flat out wrong. They gave Lando an afro! Oh, puh-leez. Anyway, overall a good issue, although the fact that it had Jan with a Quinlan story brought my opinion of it up a lot.

 

Leela wrote:
"I quite liked "Ghost" (although I didn't have a clue who the Jedi was ) and it had the best art of the issue. Loved the look of the Jedi (even though I didn't have a clue who he was ) I especially loved the fact that young Han actually looked like a young Harrison Ford! Jan Duursema caught his expressions really well. Excellent work!"

Thanks Leela--I was trying hard to catch young Han's look and attitude. (Han is one of my favorite characters!) If you liked the Jedi (Quinlan Vos) you can see more of his stories in TWILIGHT, DARKNESS and the upcoming RITE of PASSAGE (Star Wars Ongoing 42-45--starts in May.)

Bria wrote:
"Ghost rocks, Jan_Duursema. Easily the best story of the issue."

Glad you liked it, Bria!

From VILLIEMACE:
"Jan, I am looking forward to reading Ghost. Quinlan Vos has intrigued me ever since he first appeared in Emisaries to Malastare and although I have not read Ghost yet, I have heard he meets up with Han Solo! How cool is that! The old meeting the new so to speak. I have noticed that it is funny however that the number of jedi surviving the jedi purge seems to grow by the year."
"I am going to Tunisia in a few weeks and hopefully I will have Tales 11 and The deveronian version when I go so I look forward to reading them and getting back to you guys with what I though of the story."

Great to hear from you, Villiemace! Hope you like "Ghost" once you see it--I'll be looking forward to hearing what you think once you've had a chance to read it!

Skawookie wrote:
"The highlight of the issue for me was the Quinlan Vos story. Wow, that excited me very much. Even though not much happened, I hope they take that and run with it and give us some stories about Quinlan in the Empire/Rebellion timeframe."

Skawookie, you never know where Quin is going to wind up. Empire/Rebellion stories involving Quin could only be too cool...(I wanna draw em...) Personally, I'd like to see the story that tells why Quin left the lightsaber with the sarlaac in the first place...

--Jan

 

G'day Jan

Tom AKA Villiemace here

I have now got Tales 11 and out of all of the stories in there my favourite was Ghost. It was great seeing Quinlan with han. You get a large sense of Quin's sadness of the jedi being wiped out. He still managed to retain that aura of mystery that he had in his first appearence in Emissaries to Malastare. I aggree with Skawookie about Quinlan appearing more in the empire/rebellion era. It would make for some great stories. Is this your first story that you actually wrote as well as drew. If so excellent first effort and i hope to see more in the future.

One or two questions though

Where did quin disapear to at the end of the story?

Also is villie still alive after the purge and will he be meeting up with quin again in the future after rites of passage?

As I am writing this i have not been to Tunisia yet, ( I go on sunday) but rest assured I will be taking ghost with me when I do go just so I can read it again in Tunisia, it is THAT good.

G'day Jason

Cool story about Leia. very interesting story about her past and i found the water balloon hitting Tarkin hillarious. keep up the good work

Best wishes to you both

Tom AKA Villiemace

 

Prey was kinda ackward. nice idea of them flagging han as a deserter....but i really cant see vader & tarkin discussing a single traitor... though boba fett as great as he may be...i cant see him holding his own against vader.

Kia Asamiya did the artwork. he is an awesome artist. better known in japan for Dark Angel & Silent Mobius.

The quilon vos story did take the prize though.

 

I did not really like the boba fett/darth vader and han story. Ghost and Princess leia diaries still rule though.