A&A The Official Abel G. Pena Discussion Thread

Big Thanks! At last someone appreciated Kyle!

 

Comic-Con, huh? Sweet. For several years now I've "been planning" to go there, which is a driveable distance from here. Assuming I don't wind up working in Idaho over the summer, this may just be the year to stop planning and start doing.

 

Abel rocks!!!!!

Love, Cyn

 

Howdy folks!

Hope everyone has been able to watch or will catch Revenge of the Sith! Hard to believe the circle really is complete.

In other news, I?ve completed my contribution to Vader: The Definitive Guide. With other confirmed contributors like Karen Traviss, Dan Wallace, and Joe Corroney, it looks to be a very solid book. Several places are taking pre-orders, so check it out!

Nur_Ab_Sal: You?re welcome! You bet someone appreciates Kyle. Jason Fry and I really tried to go the extra mile in paying homage to this smart-talking Jedi. There?s still another minis piece and about three more meaty rpg articles coming soon.

Ris_jSarek wrote:
?Comic-Con, huh? Sweet. For several years now I've "been planning" to go there, which is a driveable distance from here. Assuming I don't wind up working in Idaho over the summer, this may just be the year to stop planning and start doing.?

Yup, I was in the same boat for years up until Comic-Con 2004, when I finally made it out to San Diego. It?s definitely worth it. Hope you make can make it out, jSarek.

Cyn, thanks for voicing your support. Much love!

Take care,
Abel

 

Abel, what are your thoughts / review of Episode III?

 

Abel: I just have a few questions about how you start an article and do the necessary research.

First, how often do you network with other authors/LFL employees? I'm sure you do most of your research on your own, but what about that ultimate obscure reference that may be *very* obscure. Take, for example, a hypothetical article on the SW Holiday Special. Would you notify other LFL continuity buffs in case they had any suggestions or additions; and consequently Pablo sends back something about a minor SWHS reference in HNN, Luceno some reference from Inside the Worlds of the Original Trilogy, and Jason Fry points out the two landspeeders in the picture on page 5 of WEG's Planets of the Galaxy, Volume One. Or do you do nearly all of your article research by your lonesome?

Second, how much access do you have to unpublished or hard to find materials? I know Dan Wallace has spoken of using parts of the unproduced Essential Guide to Episode I, but then that was partially his writing. Would you have access to such documents and, for that matter, info on future publications (Legacy of the Force information) or rare products (Maverick Moon)?

Thanks.

 

Howdy folks! Just wanted to chime in really quick.

Le_Sammler wrote:
"Abel, what are your thoughts / review of Episode III?"

Hey Le_Sammler! If you want to know my full thoughts about Revenge, you can check out my new VIP blog at starwars.com:

Only Sith Deal In Absolutes

In a nutshell, I thought Revenge was fantastic. Anakin?s fall to the Dark Side was depicted very convincingly for me. In fact, the whole movie seemed to me a procession of characters acting wrongly, from Obi-Wan to Mace Windu, with Anakin being the ultimate expression of what had gone wrong with the Jedi Order. It seemed everyone lost sight of their own morals, save Palpatine who had none.

Take care,
Abel

 

Right on, Abel. Exactly what I saw of the Jedi. Like what Yoda said in AOTC about many Jedi "being too sure of themselves".
I did have a problem with Kenobi being way too overconfident when confronting Greivous and defeated him too easily. A fast way to finally resolve the Grieous matter once and for all for time constraints sake. But I can see how maybe some intelligence reports may have helped in aiding Kenobi in being able to counter Grievous...
I wanted to see more clones than was shown btw!

>>>In a nutshell, I thought Revenge was fantastic. Anakin?s fall to the Dark Side was depicted very convincingly for me. In fact, the whole movie seemed to me a procession of characters acting wrongly, from Obi-Wan to Mace Windu, with Anakin being the ultimate expression of what had gone wrong with the Jedi Order. It seemed everyone lost sight of their own morals, save Palpatine who had none.

Take care,
Abel<<<

 

They didn't have Kyle with them, so they met their doom!

And seriously: Jedi were totally blinded. How they couldn not see that mindless clone army is a first
brick in building totalitarian system? That Palps was
destroying civil liberties and developing secret police? Why Jedi didn't counter anti-Jedi propaganda in the senate?

ANd BTW despite what George says, I believe that Luke is the Chosen One! Without his actions the galaxy would be in hands of the Sith for 10000 years...

 

Hey folks! Please swing by the wizards.com website to check out Part 4 and Part 5 of the Dark Forces Saga and Kyle Katarn?s Tale, respectively. Look forward to hearing your comments here or in the Lit forum!

Take care,
Abel

 

Any word on when the Mandalorians vs the Ithullan piece is to be coming?

 

Hey folks! Continuing the Revenge of the Sith discussion:

Kampilan wrote:
?I did have a problem with Kenobi being way too overconfident when confronting Greivous and defeated him too easily. A fast way to finally resolve the Grieous matter once and for all for time constraints sake.?

I would?ve liked to see Grievous in a bit more lightsaber action. That shot of him raking the floor as he dragged his sabers was delicious.

?I wanted to see more clones than was shown btw! ?

The lament of a clone lover.

Nur_Ab_Sal wrote:
?They didn't have Kyle with them, so they met their doom! ?

Ha. I can see how well Kyle would fit in with the Prequel-era Jedi! Think you?re lugging around enough thermal detonators, Master Katarn?

?And seriously: Jedi were totally blinded. How they couldn not see that mindless clone army is a first brick in building totalitarian system? That Palps was destroying civil liberties and developing secret police? Why Jedi didn't counter anti-Jedi propaganda in the senate??

Here we see that the Jedi were deftly manipulated. Exploiting the Jedi paradox of acting in defense and never attacking, Palpatine forced the Jedi into a situation where they felt they had to become soldiers. This, in my opinion, was not wrong, but certainly skirting the edge of despair. However, the moment Mace decided to slay Palpatine instead of arrest him as he had set out to do and just *moments* before had reaffirmed to carry out, the Jedi Order was lost. While we must assume Anakin was mostly motivated by selfish reasons when he struck out at Mace, imagine the Chosen One?s despair as he witnessed one of the two highest-ranking Jedi Council members betray the tenets of the Jedi out of fear of what might happen if he didn?t strike Palpatine down at that instant? Oh Mace, the horror?the horror.

?ANd BTW despite what George says, I believe that Luke is the Chosen One! Without his actions the galaxy would be in hands of the Sith for 10000 years...?

I secretly harbor that opinion myself, Nur_Ab_Sal. Or else, that Anakin was the Chosen One insofar as it was his destiny to father Luke. In either case, Luke is clearly the fulcrum (if there can be said to be such a thing in an interconnected universe), in my humble opinion.

Take care,
Abel

 

DarthMane2 wrote:
"Any word on when the Mandalorians vs the Ithullan piece is to be coming?"

I believe Dan Wallace has mentioned that the Mandalorian/Ithullan conflict will be explored in the New Essential Chronology.

BTW, Rogue_Follower, I'm saving your excellent question for when I have a bit more brain power.

Take care folks!
Abel

 

awesome

 

Hey folks.

I've recently updated my blog with a fun entry:

So You Wanna Be A Poodoo Mouth: Cussing In A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Can anyone add any terms to the list, with sources? Much obliged!

Take care,
Abel

 

Howdy folks.

Part 5 of the Dark Forces Saga is now up. Enjoy!

Take care,
Abel

 

Cool stuff, and even another Darth.

However, how was it that the Clones Emperor couldn't just reconnect with Mara after she killed the Clone Luke, and tell her to just kill the real Luke?


Desann and Jerec next I hope

 

The Emperor's bond to Mara was very weak by this point for various reasons, including proximity and frequency of interaction, allowing Mara to assert her independence from his mind. Her old beliefs about how Luke was evil were also dashed by the end of The Last Command, so it's no surprise she turned her back on the Emperor forever. Her discussion with Luke concerning the clone Emperor in the Hand of Thrawn reinforces this idea.

Take care,
Abel

 

Lovin' the list of slang/insults on your blog, Abel.

Two possible additions...

"By the Twi'lek goddess!" ( Tott Doneeta in the Tales of the Jedi audio drama -- I don't think it's in the comic. )

And...the myriad "By the Core!" variations that appear throughout the Lando Calrissian Adventures.

I myself have been taking notes on these things as I read the novels, and hopefully I'll have it all transcribed this year. And chances are, I'll have my own starwars.com blog up soon, with all sorts of essays and EU goodies similiar to this.

 

Thanks Sturm! Though not sure if this is one, the TOTJ audio dramas have a number of little tidbits that are not be found in the comic.

I thought some of the folks here might be interested in the Star Tours topic that has come up again in the Kyle Katarn's Tale thread. Here's the relevant page:

http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=19114424&start=20274182

Without digging in too deep, the DSIII as habitation sphere (the DS look-alikes over Coruscant from the Illustrated SW Universe) has seemed to me the easiest retcon for this continuity abomination.

Take care,
Abel

 

Gravel maggot is another curse, from the WEG Mos Eisley Sourcebook.

 

I was thinking about the dearth (no pun intended) of sourcebooks lately whilst going through my morning ablutions, and it struck me: The New Republic Era Sourcebook, by Abel G Pena!

Do it, Wizards. Bacardi and cola. Do it.

 

Re Star Tours and the Death Star III, a small nod to it in a TastyTaste blog

 

Eyrezer wrote:
?Gravel maggot is another curse, from the WEG Mos Eisley Sourcebook.?

Ah, gravel maggot, I remember that one. I?ll add it in the next update.

Incidentally, would you like credit as Eyrezer or other? Same question for you Sturm.

Xanakh wrote:
?I was thinking about the dearth (no pun intended) of sourcebooks lately whilst going through my morning ablutions, and it struck me: The New Republic Era Sourcebook, by Abel G Pena!?

::salivating::

I?m not sure what?s going on with the Wizards rpg book line, but an NR sourcebook is one of the ideas that?s popped into my head with some regularity. The other is a Marvel Star Wars SB. Those are two projects I could really get excited about.

And I have to admit Xanakh, I love your sig. I remember the first year I discovered Ebay, probably 6 or 7 years ago. I never spent so much money I didn?t have in my life, but what a joy each time I opened up a package and found a long sought-after Star Wars item. Ah?

BTW, I imagine most folks here have heard of the What?s the Story? contest over at starwars.com. I highly, highly encourage anyone who has been looking for a way to break into the SW writing scene to head on over there and give it your best shot.

Take care,
Abel

 

Eyrezer will be fine