Thursday, October 31, 2019

Return To Vader's Castle


Last Halloween Lieutenant Thom Hudd crash landed on Mustafar with a team of Rebels commanded by Lina Graf. The team entered Vader’s fortress and escaped, but Hudd was left behind. Now he is being tortured by Vaneé (a lightsaber wielding crony of Darth Vader’s). In a prison cell Vaneé tells Hudd stories. Unsettling stories in the dark...

Issue #1 - “The Horned Devil”
Maul
A team is sent to Lotho Minor to extract a creature... Darth Maul. After Kenobi chopped off Maul’s lower half during the Battle of Naboo, Maul was driven insane. He constructed new spider-like legs for himself. Maul became a monster. And on Lotho Minor, there is no escape from that monster.


Issue #2 - “The Curse of Tarkin”
Tarkin
A monster is looking for Tarkin. The monster was an experiment created by the Grand Moff long ago- stitched together using body parts of many species. Now the experiment has come to seek revenge upon his creator. And yet this story proves that even monsters are capable of being heroes- and men like Grand Moff Tarkin, they are the real horrors.


Issue #3- “Bop Sh-Bop Little Sarlacc Horror”
Ventress
In the Coruscant underworld Asajj Ventress (former Sith assassin turned bounty hunter) stalks her prey. Yet this time the prey isn’t a wanted criminal, it is a Sarlacc. And she soon discovers that where you find one Sarlacc, you might find many. The Sarlacc has sent its spores all around the city, and now the Sith assassin turned bounty hunter must become… an exterminator.

Issue #4- “Vault of the Living Brains”
Jabba
Long before Jabba’s palace was a palace it belonged to the B’omarr Monks. Wanting to isolate themselves worldly sensations,  these monks would have their brains transplanted into liquid-filled orbs. The orbs were kept secret under the sands for generations, until Jabba built his palace on top of the B’omarr catacombs. Crakka the Hutt, Jabba’s cousin, wished to retrieve one of these brains for her own enrichment. She even hired Dagra Van, a beast-tamer, to help her infiltrate the catacombs far beneath the palace. But Jabba is not a gullible as his cousin believes him to be and by the time dawn touches the desert sands, another brain may be added to Jabba’s collection.

Issue #5- “Night of the Lava Zombies”
Vader
When Vader built his fortress on Mustafar, the locals were not impressed. Mustafarians, who were familiar with the force, sought to overthrow Vader and his Imperial Garrison. But Vader fought back and Vader won. Years later a Mustafarian named Mother Sssl brought an army of Lava Zombies to overtake the fortress. During the attack one zombie took a bite of Vader’s arm. Has the dark lord been turned into one of Mother Sssl’s monsters? Or will Mother Sssl be yet another victim who enters Fortress Vader, never to escape?

Special (Free Comic Book Day 2019) - “Droid Hunters”
Han & Chewie
The treasure of Rane Mahal is a legend, but for a smuggler like Han Solo, it is a legend worth searching for. This quest takes him to a cantina on Kelada in the Colonies Region, a droid museum on Nubia in the Core Worlds, a cave on Ogem in the Western Reaches and then to Sakreen in the Outer Rim. But Solo and his crew are not the only ones in search of the treasure. They will have to contend with the likes of Gwarm the Weequay and his gang of outlaws.


*UPDATE: November 2020*

Halloween 2020 - “Shadow of Vader's Castle”

One scientific explanation for haunted houses is often Carbon Monoxide leaks. In the Star Wars universe it is the noxious gasses of Mustafar that is causing ghostly visions to apparate at the site of Vader's Castle. The gasses caused Anakin Skywalker to experience hauntings in the hours before his transformation into Lord Vader. They caused Stormtroopers to to see malevolent shadows. They caused an Imperial officer named Vaneé to transform into a insane devotee to the Dark Lord.


Vader's (apparently) Haunted Castle was a blight on the landscape of Mustafar for years. And after Vader was defeated at the Battle of Endor, two young Mustafarians ventured into the fortress in an attempt to destroy it. Within they discovered a witch in a well: Vaneé, Keeper of the Obsidian Flame, and attendant to Darth Vader had been imrisoned in an exhaust vent  after angering the Dark Lord. But upon his escape Vaneé foiled the plot to explode the fortress. And out from the noxious gasses of Mustafar, Vaneé witnessed a return. The ghost of Vader had come home. Vader Triumphant. Vader Supreme. Vader Reborn.

To Be Continued In... Ghosts of Vader's Castle.
See you again Halloween 2021

More Star Wars Halloween Posts...




Galaxy of Fear

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The Five Subspecies of Nikto


The Nikto are a species with many subspecies. Five of these subspecies first appeared in a 1995 roleplaying gamebook called “Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens — Enemies and Allies”. The Nikto species are named after a famous line from “The Day The Earth Stood Still”: ‘Klaatu Barada Nikto’.

Kajain'sa'Nikto (Red Nikto)

The Red Nikto were recognized as the most common subspecies of the Nikto species. They evolved in the desert regions of the planet Kintan. Red Nikto could even take in water vapor from the air and absorb it into their bodies. Red Nikto had reddish-brown skin, ridges and horns on their faces, and breathing tubes on their necks in lieu of nostrils.

A famous Red Nikto is the Jedi warrior Ima-Gun Di whose name was designed to sound like the phrase “I'm gonna die”. It is no surprise that the Jedi Master perished in the same “Clone Wars” episode in which he was introduced.

Kadas'sa'Nikto (Green Nitko)

The Green Nikto lived on the forests and shorelines of their homeplanet Kintan. Their faces were scaley and green. Face horns radiated out from their dark, black eyes.

Some notable Green Nikto were Klatuu and Wooof, who worked for the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Another Green Nikto was Neeku Vozo who served as a member of Team Fireball on the Colossus refueling station (ala Star Wars Resistance).

Esral'sa'Nikto (Mountain Nikto)

The Esral’sa’Nikto or Mountain Nikto evolved in the mountains of Kintan. Their large facial fins were used to regulate heat, as well as offer improved hearing. Their skin ranged from shades of blue to grey- perhaps to help them blend in with their rocky environment. The Mountain Nikto spoke the unique language of Cracek.

A Mountain Nikto by the name of Oplock, appeared in "The Platform Classic", aSeason 1 episode of the animated show “Star Wars Resistance”.

M'shento'su'Nikto (Southern Nikto)

M’Shento’su’Nikto (or Southern Nikto) were one of the five Nikto subspecies native to planet Kintan. Like many of the Nikto subspecies the Southern Nikto lacked nostrils. In lieu of a nostrils the Southern Nikto relied on several breathing tubes that ran up their necks and over their heads. These breathing tubes were larger and more numerous compared to their Red Nikto cousins. The Southern Nikto also differed from the other Nikto subspecies in the fact that they lacked horns. Southern Nikto had skin color in shades of yellow and orange.

Southern Nikto first appeared in the “Star Wars Holiday Special” in the form of an individual named Kelbo.

Gluss'sa'Nikto (Pale Nikto)

The Pale Nikto can be identified by their facial fins (similar to the Mountain Nikto) and by the horns around their eyes (similar to the Green Nikto). The Pale Nikto could easily be called the “Island Nikto” because they live on the Gluss'elta Islands of Kintan. They are adept at living near the oceans of their home planet and have mastered the art of sailing.

The Pale Nikto have rarely appeared in Star Wars media, owing their existence mostly to sourcebooks. Unlike the other Nikto, they have never appeared in a Star Wars movie, live action feature, or animated TV show. Like the Southern Nikto, the Pale Nikto are not part of the new Disney canon.

*Update: May 2020*
Blue Nikto?

While watching the second season of Star Wars Resistance, I noticed a character named Nenavakasa Nalor (Nena for short). Nena was quite obviously a Nikto, but not from one of the five known subspecies. 

First, Nena has blue skin, unlike and Nikto we have seen before. Her other features seem to be an amalgamation of features from other Nikto subspecies. Nena's face structure is similar to the "starfish" face structure of Neeku (the Green Nikto of "Resistance"). However Nena has no nose which is more similar to all the other subspecies of Nikto apart from the Green subspecies. Nena's eyebrows have little pebble spikes above them, which resembles the Pale Nikto. Her forehead includes ridges which is similar to the Red Nikto and the back of her neck includes downward facing spikes similar to human hair braids.

So what is Nena? Is she a hybrid? Were her parents possibly a Green Nikto and a Pale Nikto? Or is Nena a sixth subspecies that we haven't seen before? Could Nena be a "Numol'elrul"- a mysterious Nikto subspecies mentioned in the 2015 sourcebook "Lords of Nal Hutta".

The truth is that we may never know. Star Wars Resistance is over and Nena only appears in one episode. It is possible that we will never see her (or her subspecies) again.

Yet again, someone behind the scenes of Star Wars probably has a good idea of what Nena is, so perhaps a barrage of Tweets can solve this mystery.

Star Wars Aliens


The Aliens of the Cantina

The Aliens of “The Empire Strikes Back"

The Aliens of Jabba’s Palace

The Aliens of Max Rebo’s Band

The Aliens of the Battle of Endor

Flipping Heads

The Aliens of Attack of the Clones

The Aliens of Revenge of the Sith


Aliens of Podracing

Aliens of Ralph McQuarrie


Aliens of  Rogue One

Aliens of  The Last Jedi


Aliens of  Endor

The Most Obscure Aliens of the Original Trilogy

Aliens of the Mandalorian

Bonus Aliens

Friday, October 11, 2019

Star Wars #1... Again


The comic “Star Wars #1” comes out in January… again. By this I mean this is the 5th comic in history to launch under the title “Star Wars #1”.

The first “Star Wars #1” was launched by Marvel in April of 1977, preceding the first Star Wars film by one month. For the first six issues, the storyline followed the script of the first Star Wars film, but stuff got weird after that- Giant green anthropomorphic space rabbits weird. Still, the comic was successful for a long time. It ran 107 issues and Marvel even published a follow-up “Star Wars #108” in the Spring of 2019.

The second “Star Wars #1” was published in 1998, in the months before “The Phantom Menace” released. By this point licensing for Star Wars comics had been transferred to Dark Horse, and even though they had been publishing Star Wars comics since 1991, Dark Horse had never launched a “main title” Star Wars line. This comic ran monthly for 83 issues until it was eventually relaunched under the title “Dark Times”.


The third “Star Wars” title was a weird one. It launched in the months after Lucas had sold his franchise to Disney and the writing was already on the wall: Disney was going to give the comic licensing rights back to Marvel (which they own). Dark Horse launched a few different titles in the months before publishing rights expired. They contracted comic veteran Brian Wood to pen “Star Wars #1” and 19 further issues. The storyline focussed on Luke, Leia, and Han’s adventures immediately following the Battle of Yavin (which is also what the same timeframe as the first “Star Wars #1” and the fourth “Star Wars #1)

The fourth “Star Wars #1” was launched shortly after the licensing rights had been transferred back to Marvel. This series tied directly into the new Disney universe canon and all previous Star Wars comics were moved to the “Legends” canonicity. Just as the first “Star Wars” comic line ran concurrent with the Original Trilogy, and the second “Star Wars” comic line ran concurrent with the Prequel Trilogy, this “Star Wars” comic line ran concurrent with the sequel trilogy. Marvel set to publish the final issue of this series on November 20th, one month before Episode IX “The Rise of Skywalker”. This series was set in the three years between “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back”

The fifth “Star Wars #1” takes place in the aftermath of “The Empire Strikes Back”, a time period not often dealt with in Star Wars lore. Although the 1970s / 1980s Star Wars comic dealt with “Empire Strikes Back” aftermath for 3 years before “Return of the Jedi” came out and the 1990s “Shadows of the Empire” media event also was set during this era. The series will be penned by Charles Soule, who has become a favorite writer of mine after having reading his various Star Wars comics and his science-fiction-politics series “Letter 44”.

Another comic announced to launch in early 2020 is “Darth Vader #1” written by Greg Pak. This is Marvel’s fifth Darth Vader series in just the last five years. Vader, to his credit, clearly has the capacity to sell comics.

With Marvel’s main “Star Wars” line coming to a close, the company is also ending “Doctor Aphra” which ran for 40 issues and continued a storyline which started with Kieron Gillen's Vader series. Chelli Lona Aphra is probably the most popular character that has ever originated in a Star Wars comic- highlighted by the fact that her series ran 40 issues.


Other long-running Star Wars titles include the Dark Horse titles “Legacy” and “Knights of the Old Republic”. Both of these comics enjoyed a 50-issue run and both also had a short follow-up mini-series which included the prefix “War”.



As we move beyond “The Rise of Skywalker” it will be interesting to keep following Marvel’s Star Wars lines. Will they continue to churn out series after series devoted to the “Classic” era? Or will we get some sequel or prequel era stuff as well?



Dark Horse Comics
 (
Link)

Dawn of the Jedi  Dawn of the Jedi

Tales of the Jedi Tales of the Jedi

Knights of the Old Republic Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars: Republic Star Wars: Republic
Dark Times Dark Times
Empire & Rebellion Star Wars: Empire & Star Wars: Rebellion
Brian Wood's Star Wars Brian Wood's Star Wars
Dark Empire Dark Empire
Crimson Empire Crimson Empire
Invasion Invasion
Legacy Vol. 1 Star Wars: Legacy
Vector Star Wars: Vector
Legacy Vol. 2 Legacy Volume 2
Infinities Infinities
The Star Wars The Star Wars

Star Wars Tales Star Wars Tales

Marvel Comics

Original Marvel Comics Original Marvel Comics
Star Wars #108 Star Wars #108
Alan Moore's Star Wars Comics Alan Moore's Star Wars Comics

Han Solos Vs. Space Crocodile Han Solo vs. Crocodile in Space

Marvel's New Star Wars Line Catching Up With Comics

Age of Republic Age of Republic
Age of Rebellion Age of Rebellion
Age of Resistance Age of Resistance

Star Wars #1... Again Star Wars #1... Again
Ewoks in Comics Ewoks in Comis
Who is Doctor Aphra Who Is Doctor Aphra

The Last Jedi Expanded Universe The Last Jedi Expanded Universe
Who is Jaxxon Who Is Jaxxon

IDW Comics
Tales from Vader's Castle Tales from Vader's Castle

Return to Vader's Caslte Return to Vader's Castle