Scruffy Lookin'

I don't usually post rough sketches here. Like... practically never!

But it's Star Wars Day and I had to post SOMETHING, so here you go! Enjoy (and please forgive) this very rough Han Solo sketch.

May the 4th be with you!

All of That's a Lie!

They say when Hondo was on Tatooine, the Sarlacc fell into him!

My Emotional State... Is Not The Greatest

     If you were to go back in time and tell a young me that there would one day be a TV show with Boba Fett, as well as a show with Obi-Wan Kenobi, but the show with MON MOTHMA would be the only one that was any good, I would have said… Why are you doing this, Future Person?! You have a time machine and this is how you use it?? There has to be a more beneficial application of the technology!

Dashing and Daring

     So not too long ago, I had this idea to create a bunch of characters original to the Star Wars universe who were each heavily inspired by characters from The Disney Afternoon. Since today is Star Wars Day, I'm dipping back into that well.

     At first, I wasn’t sure how to plop the Gummi Bears into the Star Wars sandbox. Jedi? …nah. Ewoks? … too obvious. Nothing quite fit. Then I remembered Disney’s now-defunct Galactic Starcruiser and my favorite part of that whole experience: the Saja.

     For anyone unfamiliar, the Saja are Force-sensitive beings who aren’t technically Jedi but are devoted to preserving the Jedi ways... very similar to how the Gummi Bears devote themselves to the ways of the Ancient Gummis.

The two go together like a jawa and Amy Sedaris... which is to say... good enough for a blog post!

Space Goonies

May the 4th Be With You!

 

Rangers of the New Republic

     I've decided to rebrand my "Star Wars Afternoon" as Star Wars Adventures, in reference to Disney Adventures Magazine, a magazine that heavily featured comics from the Disney Afternoon shows as well as played a huge part in shaping who I am as a human being.

     Now I'm sure that something with the very generic title of Star Wars Adventures already exists, but... so what? This is my own little unofficial corner of fan-fiction that will never be distributed in any official form, and... I can do what I want!

     And the first thing I want to do is make retro-styled trading cards for each of my characters, starting with these guys inspired by the gang from Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers!

Happy VILLAINtines Day!

     I, for one, think this freaky lookin' dude is pretty cool. It had to have been a real trick to create a new villain for the movie that set up DARTH VADER, but they managed to pull it off. Rather than match Vader's cold intensity, Grievous counters it with a very "mustache-twirly" type flair, almost as if he's about to tie Shaak Ti (or whoever) to a railroad track somewhere. And from a visual standpoint, this guy gets the Fabuloso stamp, as well! The way he fights Jedi with the weapons of the Jedi he's killed is such a delightfully creepy touch, and his cyborg frame ever so subtly sets up what happens to Anakin? ...Yeah. I'm a fan of the general. 

Four thumbs up.

...

Did you get my joke? Because... because he has... Yeah. You get it.

Grogu's Favorite Things

     For my Instagram account this year, I put together this little Countdown to Christmas with Grogu reaching for things. There's not really anything "Christmasey" about it at all, but it was a lot of fun to do. I suppose you can say it's Grogu opening an advent calendar filled with the most random stuff imaginable.

Yeah... Let's go with that.

Merry Christmas!

A candy cane | Fried okra | A VHS copy of Fievel Goes West

An old Nokia cell phone | A rubber chicken | An extended car warranty

An autographed headshot of Tom Bergeron | Camelot (only a model) | Chattermax

A dirty old boot | That grain of sand from The NeverEnding Story | B.B. King's Lucille

A pair of Air Force Ones | Harry Potter's birthday cake | A roll of duct tape

Green eggs & ham | A jazz cup | Sheet music for "The Final Countdown"

Patrick Begorra | Aldebaran whiskey | That carrot toy from Disney's Bolt

The Maltese Falcon | A black & white cookie | That Miss Piggy doll that McDonald's sold in the '80s

Far, Far Away...

 Some random characters from that galaxy we all love so much.

Life Day

     On this day in 1978, the Star Wars Holiday Special aired. I, therefore, thought it appropriate to put my own artistic spin on Ackmena, the bartender from the infamous television special, who was played by the great Bea Arthur and (on a personal note) my wife bounded as when when we visited Oga's Cantina earlier this year. 

     I actually really like the Star Wars Holiday Special. Not because it's good, (it's definitely NOT GOOD) but because it helps me keep a little perspective. The original Star Wars was a surprise hit. No movie had ever been that big of a success and after it was over, everyone was clamoring to get more of it in any way they could. Thus the Holiday Special was born! The whole thing centered on an idea of George Lucas' to tell an entire story just about Wookiees and... it wasn't good. Not even a little bit. Two years later, however, we got The Empire Strikes Back which, in my opinion, is the greatest Star Wars film ever made!

     You see, sometimes... a LOT of times, Star Wars is bad. It's been this way since the very beginning. For every A New Hope, we may get a Holiday Special. For every "Mortis Trilogy" we'll get... The One Where Jar Jar Has a Girlfriend? Sometimes Andor. Sometimes Lizzo. This is just the ebb and flow that is Star Wars. If there's one central theme to the entire franchise it's that no matter how bad things get, there's always hope, and the Holiday Special reminds me of that.

     People didn't really have anything good to say about it back when it aired, but I doubt they lost their minds in a fit of rage and exclaimed, "Star Wars is dead!" They probably didn't worry about it and just tried to have fun. And to quote me some Dickens, "may that be truly said of us, and all of us!"

Happy Life Day, everyone!

Beep Boop

     I don't think there's a more iconic Star Wars character than R2-D2. Oh sure, there's plenty of characters who are just as iconic, but none more so! Sometimes I think we fail to appreciate the incredible feat of turning this faceless trashcan who communicates through beeps and whistles into such a beloved character. It's mind-boggling to me and a testament to many people, I'm sure, namely sound designer Ben Burtt, the late Kenny Baker obviously, and of course... George Lucas.

     One thing that disappoints me is just how underused Artoo is in the sequel trilogy. It feels as if the filmmakers just didn't really know what to do with him. There'll be like one scene per movie where they plug him into a thing and then that's it! Take a bow, buddy. You're done. I don't get it.

     I love BB-8 as much as the next guy, but I don't see why it has to be an either/or situation. They had an opportunity to turn one of the greatest sidekick duo's in movie history into a trio! It could've been great! 

I'm ranting now... about droids. Don't get me started on D-0.

Never Underestimate a Droid

     Recently Disney did what they call a "play test" with some new droid characters walking around Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge. I love this sort of thing and hope we'll see more of these little guys in a more official capacity. 

     To me, they're basically the Huey, Dewey & Louie (or maybe even the Flora, Fauna, & Merryweather) of the Star Wars universe and although they were only in the park for one day, I still think they deserve some fan art.

Here's to the Halcyon!

     Disney's Galactic Starcruiser sets off on its final voyage soon and, while I was never a passenger, the ship will always hold a special place in my heart. Here's a video where I talk about what the Halcyon, and specifically its crew, meant to me.

Who Would YOU Cast as a Jedi?

Star Wars: Visions

 I really like this show. You should watch it.

My Visit to Oga's Cantina

     A couple of years ago, I wrote this post about our visit to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Although we were able to go twice in one year, there was a pandemic going on and getting reservations to Oga's Cantina didn't work out. 

     This year, however, we went to Disneyland and were finally able to partake in some beverages from that beloved galaxy far, far away. And since this is Star Wars Day, what better time to issue an addendum to my previous post.

Oga's Cantina

     You can't think of Star Wars and not think of the cantina. Different iterations have popped up in several of the Star Wars films and I wouldn't be surprised if, when conceptualizing a Star Wars themed land, the cantina was at the top of the list.

     I ordered the Jabba Juice. When the waiter delivered it, he pointed to the worrt over the bar and implied that the boba pearls in my drink were actually its eggs, and that he wouldn't swallow them whole if he were me. I probably had the nerdiest grin that place had ever seen... and that's really saying something.

     The drinks were great but the atmosphere, of course, is what it's all about! This might be the most immersive part of the full immersion experience that Galaxy Edge promises... in my opinion, at least. DJ Rex live on the ones and twos only a few feet away from me almost brought a tear to my eye. I love all of the clanking and hissing of Star Wars-esque junk. They even had the assassin droid heads as drink dispensers! That's just like in the movie!!! 

Again. The nerdiest grin that place has ever seen!

     The only thing I could think of to make it better would be if an alien character or two would stroll through from time-to-time. I mean... How cool would that be?! It is a pretty cramped space, though. Such close quarters might not seem very practical as far as theme parks go, but it does add to that dive bar on a remote outpost aesthetic and that's really what this is all about, right? I wasn't complaining.

Like and Subscribe, You Will

     I had a few thoughts about some of the announcements at this year's Star Wars Celebration and I thought, "You know what? I'm a video editor by trade. Rather than write a blog post, I'm going to sum it all up in a video."

The Star Wars Afternoon presents... BATINE & PRINCESS WYNDLYN GALE

     The concept of swimming in a giant money bin doesn't really fit into the Star Wars universe,  so I decided to instead have Scrooge's counterpart's one love be a small, but prosperous, moon called Bindo. And since Scrooge's favorite color is probably gold, I gave the people of Bindo gold skin, as you can see here with Mrs. Beakley and Webby's counterparts.

Batine and Princess Wyndlyn Gale

Batine is the chief handmaiden and loyal bodyguard of Princess Wyndlyn Gale, heir to the throne of Bindo. During the attempted occupation of Bindo in 35ABY, tragedy struck the royal household. Though the First Order was ultimately driven from the paradise moon, the young king and queen were killed in the skirmish, leaving none but their infant daughter Wyndlyn to assume the throne. Until the young princess is of proper age, Baron Ansil Maddoc, one of the few outsiders welcome on Bindo, has been tasked as the small moon’s steward and protector. 

Although Batine and the baron may clash from time to time, they both have Wyndlyn’s best interests at heart and do their best to make sure the kindhearted princess grows into the wise and powerful queen that the people of Bindo need.

_____