littlebitwriter

[littlebitwriter]

Mark Waid Returns To DC Comics!?

According to Bleeding Cool and DC Comics’ December 2020 solicitations, American comic book writer, editor, former Editor-in-Chief/Chief Creative Officer of Boom! Studios, publisher of the digital comics company Thrillbent, and current Humanoids publisher, and comic book store retailer Mark Waid, yes freaking Mark Waid has returned to DC Comics according to DC’s December 2020 solicitation for Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Last Stories Of The DC Universe, which he will be writing alongside comics creatives such as Gail Simone, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and others.

For a long time it didn’t seem like Mark Waid would ever return to DC Comics due to having run into conflict with former powers that be at DC. Point is, I did not expect Mark Waid one of the most prolific comic book creators of all time to make his return to DC Comics, in my opinion, he has been killing it at Marvel for awhile with his great run on Daredevil last decade with a murder’s row of artists from Paolo Rivera, Marcos Martin, Mike Allred all the way to Chris Samnee.

My hope for Mark Waid’s return is for him to finally get the chance as Bleeding Cool predicted to write Superman. With Brian Michael Bendis leaving the book in December, for 2021 Mark Waid could certainly take over Superman and it’s be a great move to take a tremendous talent to allow him to write the character and title he has always wanted to write. Waid’s Superman I’m sure if it were to happen would be something iconic, classic yet also something fresh and new. In terms of the artist I’d like to see him work with, obviously my choice is Chris Samnee, reuniting the Waid/Samnee team and giving them Superman and allowing them to create something truly special.

Waid as solidified by all-time classic stories such as “The Return of Barry Allen” and “Kingdom Come” is a writer who knows the DC Universe inside and out and knows how much these characters matter to people and creates tales with these characters that deeply inspire people to be the best versions of themselves. Overall, it is so exciting to see Waid back at DC and hopefully doing more work with the company once more. Very exciting stuff looking forward to the future!

[littlebitwriter]

WHAT IRON GIANT TAUGHT ME ABOUT WRITING

Iron Giant is a stunning film. It is an animation classic. When I saw the movie as a kid I was blown away there was so much heart, it was so smartly written, beautifully animated, it is an absolute classic even though it flopped when it first came out, but it’s a great movie. What I learned from Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant is that inherent high quality work doesn’t mean anything in terms of financial success. The cream will rise to the top in a lot of cases. With Iron Giant there will be people who forever love it and will discover it.

People will appreciate and find these gems and you can reach back through film, television (things like Freaks & Geeks and Firefly), books and comics, things that didn’t find their audience right away but were eventually beloved by people later. I took away that aspect I’ve learned from this film and I am going to bring it to my work. I am going to just focus on making the work that I love, that’s true to my voice, that is the best I can do and I can't worry about the rest. Inherent value, craft, love and voice. That is what leads to high quality work and is the only thing that matters and is what leads to any longevity.

Therefore, If I really like an idea I have, I am going to follow my bliss, Do my thing, do what I love, do it the best I can and not focus on the rest. I am going to let my freak flag fly. Brad Bird stuck to his guns and his crew at Warner Bros. made a classic family-friendly feature that stood the test of time. I set out to do that very thing with whatever it is I set out to do. Iron Giant is an absolute inspiration in terms of that aspect for me as it is in many others. That said, I’ll rewatch it ten more times and I am going to make the things I want to make as a writer, as an artist, as a creator.

-LilBitWriter (5/19/20)

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES EPISODE 12

For all of those who enjoyed The Rise of Skywalker I am so happy for you and glad you enjoyed it and have no ill-will or hatred against you. To those who didn't, I am terribly sorry I wish to give you all milk and cookies. I thought instead of ranting about how much I dislike this film and how it wasn’t the film I was looking for, or how it isn’t true Star Wars or that it didn’t provide answers to any questions and makes no sense.

I am instead going to provide an update on a project I am working on. I am currently writing my own space opera/sci-fi fantasy novel and have hit a total creative goldmine. I felt it would be much more productive and appropriate to do it in a series where I talk about Star Wars for twelve straight days, to talk about a novel I’m working on where one of the biggest subconscious influences on this project is Star Wars, I am so excited about the project and have been working on it for quite a long time. Getting to be able to create this vast space opera universe of my own has been so awesome and is just such a cool creative experience. I am working very hard on this manuscript and am very excited about it.

I always wanted to tell a deeply sophisticated science fiction epic unlike any you’ve ever seen before. This is my opportunity and I am just so highly enthusiastic about this project and cannot wait for everyone to see it. I will be digging deep into this project in 2020 and complete the entirety of the first draft. In terms of inspiration outside of Star Wars for this epic space opera are Flash Gordon, Valerian, old-school Jack Kirby comics, Firefly/Serenity, The Incal and other works of Alejando Jodorowsky, Frank Herbert’s Dune as well as the art of Moebius, there’s so much outside of that, that deeply inspired me. A lot of it did so intrinsically. My mission is to just tell an interesting story that is character-driven and emotionally resonant but is also relevant to today and is most importantly, a good story.

I hope all of you are having a happy holiday, I’m now going to eat some christmas cookies and catch up on The Mandalorian now. :)

THE END OF THE 12 DAYS OF STAR WARS…

-LittleBitWriter (12/24/19)

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES EPISODE 11: KENOBI SPECULATION

Here is my idea/dream theories for what the Obi-Wan Kenobi limited Disney + series is going to be, I am about to go into a giant rabbit hole of fun speculative ideas about the possibilities of what this series could be. I’m very excited about it. Especially for more scenes of Obi-Wan chopping aliens arms off in cantinas. That’ll be exciting to see. A Tatooine crime western where maybe Kenobi deals bounty hunters and other types of scum and villainy, that is what I want. Giving us gritty and dirty Star Wars. A back in the saddle story playing up the western and samurai influences and I think they’ll find a way to make it work. Something like James Mangold’s Logan and western films like Unforgiven and is a story that ultimately takes a chance.

Here is a list of what I want in the series ‘Kenobi’

Potential flashbacks to Obi-Wan’s childhood training with Qui-Gon Jinn or potential appearances of Qui-Gon Jinn as a Force Ghost.

Allusions to Darth Maul and having Obi-Wan Kenobi potentially deal with Crimson Dawn the criminal organization established in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Maybe he has a duel with Maul which would reprise the role of Ray Park as Darth Maul with the voice of Sam Witwer however that would potentially discanonicise their interaction in Star Wars Rebels which would prevent one of the greatest lightsaber fights from being canon. So maybe it should just have Obi-Wan take down the entire Crimson Dawn organization and subtly lead to their final confrontation in Rebels.

Delve deep into the psychology of Obi-Wan Kenobi and his transformation from the young Ewan McGregor interpretation to the Sir Alec Guiness interpretation.

Tell an emotional, true to core, great story that exists and stays true to the characters in a galaxy far, far away.

That is what I am hopefully for and hoping we will get with Kenobi when it airs on Disney +.

Have a lovely day, everyone.

- LittleBitWriter (12/23/19)

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES EPISODE 10: THE FUTURE OF STAR WARS POST-RISE OF SKYWALKER

(A tricky episode of 12 DAYS OF STAR WARS where I directly talk about the effects of The Rise of Skywalker on Star Wars fandom without talking about the movie itself saving it all for the big SPOILER review finale on Christmas Eve with an epilogue on Christmas Day)

**This is an extremely opinionated episode that I hope does not alienate anyone** So sorry if it does, for those who love the prequels I respect you all. It just wasn’t my thing*

Rise of Skywalker is in reality, ultimately... it’s just a movie. I will not say what I thought about it, whether it was good or bad or mediocre or whatever. I am saving it for the grand finale of 12 DAYS OF STAR WARS and I allow those who have been keeping up with the holiday spirit of 12 DAYS OF STAR WARS to play a guessing game as to whether people think ‘I liked it’ or if ‘I didn’t like it’ I am a guy with opinions on certain things and I don’t like that we live in an age where people have become so divisive over just simply having different opinions. I personally took a break from Star Wars when I was young because the Prequels gave me an obnoxious headache and I didn’t like everything that's Star Wars related when I was younger and didn’t know how to deal with my feelings because I thought as a fan you were supposed to like everything and I thought at the time ‘what if I don’t what if I become ridiculed and bullied or called Not a true fan’. As a child watching Star Wars and when it came to having different opinions on certain things ultimately I discovered was totally normal. I can love Star Wars and I can love the original films, Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars, Legacy, The Mandalorian but I don’t have to like Attack of The Clones for example. You can like or dislike whatever you want and can express your opinion only as long as you are respectful of other people and their beliefs you are allowed to be a fan of whatever you want to be a fan of. It is important to state the facts as to why you feel the way you feel and call it the way you see it without being rude or hypocritical and belittling people. What all of us fans of Star Wars have in common is we love Star Wars and want to see an exciting vibrant future of the franchise we all know and love.

I feel Star Wars should ultimately make the jump to television a la MCU moving to the binge-model for Disney +. Mainly because you have so much time on television than you in film, the entire Star Wars cinematic franchise honestly should only continue on-screen in the format of great prestige binge-streaming television. Even though it destroys the once-in-a-lifetime special experience of seeing a Star Wars film in theaters, it ultimately instead ultimately provides a richer story with deep nuance where you can have more time to delve deep into the characters, their relationships and motivations. With the mainline saga films ending I hope Star Wars takes the jump to strictly television as they have been having tremendous success with Clone Wars, Rebels, The Mandalorian and potentially more shows. In a previous episode of 12 Days of Star Wars I talked about directors/writers I would love to see direct a film or develop/showrun a TV show set in the Star Wars universe and I think it would be awesome for Disney + to bring people like Drew Goddard, Ryan Coogler, Todd Philips, in to make brilliant television and craft brilliant stories set in a galaxy far, far away with the help of folks who get Star Wars like Dave Filoni (who should from the beginning have been involved with the Sequel Trilogy).

There are so many cool ideas in Star Wars that could be fleshed out and made interesting that end up being almost stale in certain films. For example the idea of an Atlantic City casino in the Star Wars universe is a cool idea but ultimately in The Last Jedi the Canto Bight scenes were in my opinion the most boring parts of the entire film. Ultimately, you need people who can execute these cool and interesting ideas and that was a large part of what the last couple of episodes have been about. I’m NOT saying JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson are incompetant directors/writers and can’t execute a story, that’s completely false, they are two of some of the most talented directors in the industry who I love dearly. I don’t love everything they do but they both have done great projects in the past. Ultimately I feel Star Wars needs a larger canvas to tell it’s stories and I think television is the perfect place.

Even though The Rise of Skywalker is just a movie, Star Wars altogether is more than just a movie. It’s a cultural touchstone/phenomenon that matters to millions of us, all for different reasons, individually and we are all entitled to our own opinions and for all of its flaws, we all love Star Wars. That should continue to never end our love for this rich galaxy far, far away and we don’t need toxic fandoms or haters/trolls on the internet telling you to think how they should. As the Star Wars fan community we should end this divisiveness and just have respect for eachother. In America, we have sadly become such a politically charged/divided country where if you don’t agree with someone else you are in a way ridiculed for it and that ultimately goes on both sides of the political spectrum. Over the last couple of years there has been a toxic fandom in the Star Wars fan community dubbed "The Fandom Menace". Who are fans who are extremely unhappy with the current state of the Star Wars franchise who constantly give out increased attacks and the increased negativity about upcoming Star Wars projects. Who bully and harass fans across the internet and it is my own mission as a writer and also as a genuine human being to end this culture of extreme negativity.

Ultimately, with whatever your opinions on the state of Star Wars are, I respect you but ultimately you should NOT harass other people and force them to think the way you do. Everyone is different and thinks about things differently. Objectively and subjectively and no one should ruin another person’s enjoyment of something.

Please for the love of this franchise, let’s end the divisiveness, embrace others and be actual human beings and be friends have conversations and dig deep into the ‘why’ you feel the way you feel and respect why others feel the way that they feel. Remember, everyone we all love Star Wars. We all should have something to bond over. And my last thing I’ll say is (this is just my opinion) Han always shot first.

“For every ending there is a new beginning...”

-LilBitWriter (12/22/19)

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES “EPISODE 9: DIRECTORS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HELM A STAR WARS FILM OR TV SHOWS PART II”

This is a continuation of the last episode of 12 DAYS OF STAR WARS where I list directors who I would like to see make onscreen media within the Star Wars franchise.

Todd Philips

He is very much one of the more interesting candidates on this list of directors/writers who should tackle Star Wars on film or a television show. He can do whatever he wants but I’m interested in him doing a television series or movie that explores that fascinating gray area in the Star Wars universe and do what he did with Joker which was to make a rich character study / psychological examination story that delves deep into the psychology of people in this world or in this case, the galaxy of Star Wars. That would be fascinating I could see him doing things similar to the Dark Horse Comics John Ostrander and Jaan Dursema Legacy comic and provide a ‘darker’ Star Wars that isn’t afraid to take risks and is set in the far future and doing deep, profound, mature things with Star Wars most importantly even if he isn’t doing something like ‘Legacy’ it would be gritty but still authentically Star Wars.

The Duffer Brothers

A Princess Leia of Alderaan series starring Millie Bobby Brown as a young teenage Princess Leia is one show I could see the Duffer Brothers doing. It would be a perfect show with Leia showing us her relationship dynamics on the planet Alderaan, and deliver actual good space politics but the Duffer Brothers could also do so much beyond that. They can do a show about anything and any time period of Star Wars and could probably make it work. I do like the Princess Leia TV show idea for Disney + I think that should happen because she does in my mind has some resemblance to Carrie Fisher. Also the Duffer brothers can do anything they want they are streaming service giants!

Denis Villaneuve

Much like Todd Philips, Villaneuve is very much unlikely going to make Star Wars film due to his interest in adapting Dune. He said in an interview that a lot of his ideas for Star Wars he is taking and putting in Dune which is interesting. As a fan of Frank Herbert’s novel I’m excited to see what it looks like. Point is, he would have been a great director of a Star Wars film or a showrunner of a Star Wars TV show. One set in The Old Republic / the dawn of the Jedi & the Sith or whatever wildly crazy brilliance he could have came up with.

Dave Filoni

This man is the face of Star Wars / the heir the rightful heir apparent to George Lucas, who has showrun shows but is someone who should ad deserves to direct a Star Wars film. From directing and writing episodes of Clone Wars, Rebels and now the live-action Mandalorian, he’s finally got his feet wet with live-action and could definitely deliver an authentic, unique, big-budget big screen Star Wars event like no other and should oversee everything Star Wars ala Keven Fiege.

These are the brilliant directors I would love to see tackle a Star Wars film / showrun a Star Wars TV series.

-LilBitWriter (12/21/19)

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES “EPISODE 8: DIRECTORS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HELM A STAR WARS FILM OR TV SHOWS”

Star Wars has been a movie franchise forever however with the recent end of mainline Skywalker Saga with the Rise of Skywalker which came out today, TV could be where it’s at when it comes to telling future Star Wars big-budget on-screen stories. Here is a list of talented directors and writers I would like to see helm a Star Wars film, a potential Star Wars trilogy or something more.

RYAN COOGLER

With the success of his films such as Fruitvale Station, Creed and Black Panther, Ryan Coogler has proved himself to potentially be one of the top young directors in the industry. He is a superstar director with a strong track record and clearly has tremendously strong skills as a cinematic storyteller. Him taking on a future Star Wars film or a television series is an idea that is very exciting. Because he is in the Disney family with Star Wars I would love him to do a Star Wars film he has such a very unique taste and is a master at development of characters and development of story he’d be a perfect addition to Star Wars. He’d change things up much like Favreau, he has talent, he is amazing. He is gold. He’s such a good fit for Star Wars he can knock it out of the park, if you want an interesting unique voice to provide new Star Wars content, Coogler is a no-brainer. Him showrunning a Star Wars TV show would be a dream but that is such a tremendous workload. I don’t know or have any ideas for what a Coogler Star Wars film or series would be about which is what makes him such an exciting choice to tackle Star Wars. He is a definite Star Wars fan and would make terrific Star Wars content.

DREW GODDARD

Drew Goddard is a writer/director who is extremely talented who currently has a deal with Fox which is now owned by Disney so he could definitely work on a Star Wars movie or Star Wars show. He is a pupil of the great Joss Whedon and has previously worked on television shows like Buffy and Angel and has written and directed films such as The Cabin In The Woods and The Bad Times At The El Royale, and has written screenplays for movies like The Martian. He would be perfect for Star Wars. He’s just the type of director/writer who I’d love to see bring a fresh and unique take and craft a thrilling film or television show set in a galaxy far, far away.

DAMIEN CHAZELLE

Damien Chazelle is an amazing director/writer who directed Whiplash and La La Land and is someone who has such a unique creative voice that would be perfect to make Star Wars fresh and new once again much like the rest of the writer/directors/wishlist showrunners. He can blend tones really well and would be absolutely perfect for Star Wars Chazelle knows how to make emotional films that really grab your heart strings and a Star Wars movie or TV show like that is everything I need. He also has experience in television creating The Eddy which is coming out soon, so him making a Star Wars show or film would be a dream.

RUSSO BROTHERS

A Star Wars espionage spy-assassin political thriller miniseries that is show run by the Russo Brothers starring Mara Jade that is what I want. That could tie-in with The Mandalorian TV show and potentially crossover with it being in the same time period. That is what I would love to see the Russo Brothers tackle A spy-assassin thriller is a genre Star Wars hasn’t explored yet on screen and in the general public despite the pre-existing thriller-aspects in the Star Wars universe. It could potentially introduce characters like Dash Rendar and potentially other EU characters of yesteryear or of today, Maybe Doctor Aphra could appear in a show like this and it could be a heist film/miniseries. That would be something very exciting and would be so, so perfect for the Russo brothers or maybe a Thrawn television show starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Point is, get this dynamic duo of storytellers and bring them to the Star Wars universe.

TO BE CONTINUED…

LilBitWriter (12/20/19)

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES “EPISODE 7: SOME OF MY FAVORITE STAR WARS EU CHARACTERS”

Here is a list not ranked of some of my favorite characters in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Both canon and non-canon. *Specifically not gigantically main characters in the mainline saga films and ones who often have extensive material in tie-in media.*

GRAND ADMIRAL THRAWN

In terms of comparing Star Wars characters to archetypes, Grand Admiral Thrawn is the evil Sherlock Holmes of the Star Wars galaxy. The smartest, most tactical, perhaps the most shocking Star Wars villain is Grand Admiral Thrawn. A character with a unique philosophy and battle strategy. He looks at the art of a civilization or planet in the beginning of Heir To The Empire where he can tell/figure out something about that civilization/species through their art which is fascinating. He is a unique, evenly tempered character and listens to what people have to say if they have good ideas. Thrawn is a character who is evil who also has control of his emotions. He isn’t like Kylo Ren who flips out on his macbook pro or is like “Fire Everything!” Thrawn is ultimately the antithesis of that. He is the antithesis to Darth Vader and The Emperor in terms of their philosophy which is perhaps scarier and his philosophy is ‘don’t let your emotions consume you’ and is as level-headed as Darth Vader and is very much all about power. He is an incredibly unique character and villain unlike any other in Star Wars lore. There is so much rich Thrawn material out there, from the various novels by Timothy Zahn such as the original Thrawn Trilogy: Heir To The Empire, Dark Force Rising & The Last Command. As well as the Modern Thrawn Trilogy (set before the events of his appearance in Star Wars Rebels) Thrawn, Alliances and Treason. As well as many, many others I have not mentioned.

MARA JADE

She is a great character who starts from a very interesting place in Heir To The Empire who started out as a Force-sensitive Imperial assassin who is easily next to Thrawn, both are the best characters Timothy Zahn created in the Star Wars EU lore. She much like a lot of characters I will be talking about, are all truly authentic Star Wars characters. They all have the makings of a great iconic Star Wars character who went on an exciting redemptive journey across the EU from being an Imperial assassin who Palpatine wanted to kill Luke Skywalker to eventually become the wife of Luke Skywalker and mother of Ben Skywalker as a Jedi master. There was a lot that happened to her with the Yuuzhan Vong but everything about that outside of Mara Jade gives me a gigantic headache. Anyway she is a great character who should be integrated into the new canon and should be established to have been married to Luke. (In my personal headcanon Luke was married to Mara Jade in the gap between ROTJ and TFA) She just has one of the best character arcs in all of Star Wars and is a phenomenal character.

QUINLAN VOS

One of my favorite characters in the Expanded Universe is Quinlan Vos who has stories in the comics that came out during the time of The Clone Wars comics of the early aughts written by John Ostrander. The story of him really goes across The Clone Wars. He is an incredible character who is ultimately an exploration of the ideas of the Dark Side and the Light Side and the temptation of the Dark Side and he kind of rides that line between the two. He is very much a rogue Jedi and kind of goes with the dark and dabbles towards it but ultimately is a good guy. His story in the Clone Wars from Ostrander is very pivotal to his character. Also Dark Disciple is another Quinlan Vos story that is in canon that is based on unused scripts of the modern Clone Wars episodes and that is as well a good Quinlan Vos story with his unique relationship with Asajj Ventress.

CADE SKYWALKER

The main character of perhaps the best Star Wars things next to The Original Trilogy which is John Ostrander and Jaan Dursuma’s Legacy. He ultimately much like Quinlan Vos is an extremely fascinating character. He is a bounty hunter who has all but rejected his Jedi teachings and he does Death Sticks. He really dances on the line between Dark Side and Light Side in such an interesting way where there are things he does for good but he’s using Dark Side powers and bringing people back from the dead which is quote Palpatine in Revenge of The Sith “Unnatural…” He is a unique conflicted character and he is very much one of my favorite characters in Star Wars lore. He is very much like Quinlan Vos the archetypal John Ostrander dark Jedi character in a good way.

BOBA FETT

I love Boba Fett. He’s got a bad reputation now especially with a show about a super competent Mandalorian who is ‘The Mandalorian’ who is clearly not Boba Fett because of a thing that he does at the end of the pilot episode that Boba Fett would never do. Boba Fett ultimately unknown to the general mainstream public truly is not just a bum/incompetant clone/bounty hunter that ended up in Sarlacc Pit. He was once a and almost had a solo-novel written by Karen Traviss (A great Star Wars writer who wrote many great books such as The Republic Commando series, also has an obsession with Mandalorians) However in-canon as of now, Boba Fett died in Sarlacc Pit and ultimately the badass Boba Fett pre-1999 EU is now alive and well in The Mandalorian.

DARTH MAUL

One of the boldest creative decisions in all of Star Wars was in the fourth season of the modern Clone Wars TV Show which was a moment I remember seeing on television for the first time which is… The Return of Darth Maul. This led to what I call the “Maul Resurgence” where after I watched that story arc in television I was obsessed with Maul and had a connection to Maul outside of the double-bladed lightsaber and the spiky horns I was fascinated by his rivalry, connection and hatred of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I read the novel by Michael Reaves that was a prequel to Phantom Menace which was Shadow Hunter. Which established his backstory as being raised by Palpatine and was inflicted with Sith tattoos and was originally a Zabrak (which changed due to The Clone Wars he is now a…Dathomir. He is ultimately an assassin told he’s a Sith, not really a proper Dark Force user, he was a mad dog on Palpatine’s leash that became used everywhere. He is very much the prequel’s Boba Fett where he looks super cool and most of the public doesn't know he survived after his initial cheap death where they got a comeback and more development. In The Clone Wars He spent years in shame and squalor and when he gets power back and gains composure you see he learned the lessons Sidious/Palpatine taught him and that’s what makes his duel with him, Oppress and Sidious/Palpatine so impressive is that you can make the argument that Maul was legitimately a threat to Sidious. He is capable of being a thrilling and terrifying threat. As a Maul fan My favorite scene in Solo: A Star Wars Story is when you learn he is the head of the criminal organization of Crimson Dawn and the idea of him being a crime lord is genius. His story is ultimately perfectly wrapped up in Rebels in perhaps my favorite and in my opinion the most epic lightsaber fight in all of Star Wars which is his last battle with Kenobi. It’s an old-school epic samurai fight with such ambience and power and perfectly ends Maul story and captures the evolution of Obi-Wan and Maul’s relationship.

THE CHILD

The social media phenomenon himself gets what he / she deserves and is perhaps my favorite youngling in Star Wars lore (sorry, no disrespect to characters like Ashoka). It may seem like I’m hopping on the bandwagon but I really am not, outside of Yoda and Yaddle I believe, there is one other character who is of the same species who fans often mention and even casual or non fans mention a lot who is The Child. There is ultimately I think going to be a solid reason as to why he is such a phenomenon. Much like these other characters this is something about The Child that is distinctive and unique in that all of these characters are wholly their own and go on their own journeys and I’m sure The Child will be one of them. He is young for his species only fifty years old and has a long, long life ahead of him in a galaxy far, far away…

-LilBitWriter (12/19/19)

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES “EPISODE 6: A PERSONAL FAVORITE: THE CLONE WARS (2003-2005)

On the fifth day of twelve days of Star Wars, I am going to recommend one of my favorite things that is Star Wars ever!!! The 2003-2005 Clone Wars micro-series of shorts. It is in my humble opinion every shot of this series is a brush stroke of animation brilliance done by an absolute master. Genndy Tartakovsky who worked on Samurai Jack, Sym Bionic Titan, the recent miniseries Primal, A solid 70’s homage Luke Cage comic book series called Cage! So the point is, I could go on forever, I freaking love Genndy’s work. All of the episodes of the series are all watchable in one chunk on YouTube and that is how I was able to rewatch these during my freshman year of High School hopefully they are still up also you can get the two DVDs which are out of print. Point is I am going to give an overview of why I love this series and even though it was immediately removed canon there is so much great stuff that ties into the films and it’s all amazing. I think this is something that has really gotten forgotten where if you weren’t there when it was on and watching it at the time you probably don’t remember. It is fantastic and everyone who is a Star Wars fan should watch it, it doesn’t matter if it was immediately removed from continuity. It’s good. It’s Star Wars. That’s all that matters.

It is in my opinion far superior to the modern Clone Wars cartoon in my opinion due to me being extremely nostalgic about this show. There’s great stuff with Anakin and Padme and General Grievous is here and it’s all just really, really good. These are all smaller bits and pieces that are action-packed entertaining and exciting. There are some of the most epic lightsaber fights in Star Wars history and setup for Anakin’s fall to the dark side which leads to events in Revenge of The Sith. There’s so much goodness in this show, I don’t want to spoil it for people who have ever seen it. One of the microseries episodes shows why I love Mace Windu so much! Also another one of my favorite things we don’t see too often is lightsaber fights in the rain that is one of my favorite things I love lightsabers in the rain. I very much believe in the science of Tartakovsky where lightsabers steam up in rain. However, that is an argument that has been debunked with The Force Awakens since they don’t steam up over there and ultimately this isn’t canon (However in my headcanon, lightsabers steam up in rain).

It is in my headcanon, The ultimate Clone Wars in my mind is this mixed with the modern show and early-00s comics in my opinion viewing them all provides for the ultimate Clone Wars epic tie-in experience even though they all ultimately contradict each other looking at them all altogether would be a really fun thing to do leading to the revival of the show on Disney +.

These are great even though they may not be easily gettable. Hopefully they are. If you love the era of The Clone Wars and like the modern Clone Wars cartoon which I also like even though like the micro-series more. Someone could want provide for an interesting compare and contrast exercise between the two versions of Clone Wars animation. Also if you want to get into a Clone Wars fix and have seen all of the new show, check out the microseries it is great!

-Lil Bit Writer (12/18/19)

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES “EPISODE 5: INFINITIES: WHAT IF BRUCE TIMM AND PAUL DINI MADE A STAR WARS ANIMATED SERIES”

What struck this idea I have expressed in the title, was when I glanced on Paul Dini’s Wookieepedia page his opening quote says "After a few years working staff and freelance for various studios in LA, I got the opportunity to work on some Saturday Morning Star Wars-based series for Lucasfilm. The restrictions were very tight on animation, and while I enjoyed working at beautiful Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, I was sorry we were not able to cut loose and really do a Star Wars-style action show. I got my wish years later when I scripted several episodes of the new Clone Wars series, so I guess it all evened out."

This made me think ‘what if’ Paul Dini and his comrade Bruce Timm who both have worked on Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990s made a Star Wars show for Disney +. I know this sounds ridiculous and crazy and probably would never happen but it would be such a dream come true for not only me but for these two creators. Both of these creators always wanted to tell stories set in a galaxy, far far away sadly for Timm he almost had the opportunity in a Star Wars comic but it sadly didn’t happen. As opposed to Paul Dini who got to work on the Ewoks and Droids series as well as the modern-day Clone Wars cartoon but ‘what if’ Dini got to write this action-packed Star Wars show featuring the original cast from the Original Trilogy filling in the gaps between A New Hope or Empire Strikes Back, or Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi, or post Return of The Jedi potentially adapting the classic Thrawn trilogy or the iconic comic Dark Empire in animation or possibly taking the best of each of the storylines and doing their own thing with it. This would be the same model as they produced the DC Animated Universe shows of Batman, Superman, Batman Beyond, Justice League, etc. where they took what made the iconic characters and lore so great and did new and exciting things and delivered top-notch storytelling. What if now Paul Dini and Bruce Timm worked on an animated Star Wars show with the OT characters we all know and love. However doing it potentially with an all-new voice cast which I’m sure people would not be happy with but it is what it is.

My dream cast for the series would have Will Friedle (the voice of Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond) as Luke Skywalker, magnificent voice actress Tara Strong as Princess Leia Organa-Solo, Josh Keaton (The Spectacular Spider-Man, Green Lantern) or Nathan Fillion (Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly) as Han Solo. I think that cast as the triad of Original Trilogy characters with the writing of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm would make for a great Star Wars experience.

Imagine a writer’s room with Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Dave Filoni, Glen Marikami, Christopher Yost, Eric T. Carrasco, etc. You have the makings of a freaking amazing Star Wars animated series called none other than Star Wars: The Animated Series. Doing seasons of the show that explore the gaps between the movies (like the Marvel Star Wars comics) and moving beyond the OT exploring the adventures of Han, Luke and Leia during the time of The Mandalorian to pave way for the Sequel Trilogy of films (2015-2019). In my mind this is an idea I desperately want to happen and I’d love to show run it, “DISNEY, PLEASE, PLEASE CALL ME!” Haha, Don’t worry I’m kidding. In all seriousness Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and company should make a Star Wars cartoon because it would be Emmy Award winning and would potentially be one of my favorite Star Wars things since the OT.

Make it happen Disney :)

- LilBitWriter 12/17/19

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES “EPISODE 4: A PERSONAL FAVORITE: DARTH BANE TRILOGY

On the fourth day of twelve days of Star Wars, I am going to recommend more Star Wars novels outside of The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn. Today, I will be recommending Drew Karpyshyn’s Darth Bane Trilogy. “Path of Destruction”, “Rule Of Two” “Dynasty Of Evil”. The series takes place at the last Great War between the Jedi and the Sith in Revenge of The Sith when they mention a war, this is the war they are addressing. Darth Bane is the Sith Lord who takes the Sith from being this vast empire to the Rule of Two the master and apprentice. These novels are incredibly written and if you are interested in the Sith and their philosophy these books are a must-read. These are books where you can understand and empathise with the Sith.

These books are absolutely phenomenal and if you are interested in the history of the Sith and the lore I highly recommend these books. They really delve into the ideas of the Sith and are genuinely really good novels. So, if you are interested in that side of the galaxy, specifically the Sith since it is all about the Sith and is from their certain point of view. If you are interested in a ‘darker’ Star Wars tale I highly recommend this trilogy. Drew Karpyshyn is one of my favorite Star Wars prose authors next to Timothy Zahn.

Also Darth Bane eventually appeared in The Clone Wars cartoon and is portrayed excellently by Luke Skywalker himself Mark Hammill.

LilBitWriter 12/16/19

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES “EPISODE 3: A PERSONAL FAVORITE: THE THRAWN TRILOGY”

On the third day of twelve days of Star Wars, I am going to recommend to Star Wars fans everywhere the Thrawn Trilogy, I first read this stunning trilogy of novels early in the new year of 2012 when I was in sixth grade. (So, almost eight years ago, jeez!) I checked these three books out of the library simply because I loved Star Wars and I just wanted more adventures with the characters I grew up loving and I then discovered outside of the current Clone Wars cartoon, they exist! Lots of them exist! However The Thrawn Trilogy was the one that captivated and interested me the most with it being considered as the direct continuation of the OT set Return of The Jedi set five years after the Battle of Endor. This trilogy of novels introduced some fascinating new characters that I will now name-drop such as Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, Garm Bel Iblis, Gilad Pellaeon, a “Clone” of a certain character, and the introduction of a certain planet in the galaxy we all know as Coruscant (Before it was edited into the 1997 edition of ROTJ).

These three novels would kickstart we all now come to know as the Old Star Wars Expanded Universe / Legends. I would not want to spoil the exciting events that occur in these novels because I hope those who have not checked it out will check out the Thrawn Trilogy because it is just one of my favorite Star Wars things. Timothy Zahn is one of the most talented authors to have ever worked in the Star Wars universe and is easily one of my favorites. He is continually to this day writing great Star Wars books and as seen in the Thrawn trilogy he has a tremendous command of language. He truly understands Star Wars and gets these characters voices spot on and is able to create characters who are as compelling and interesting as the original core cast. What Zahn does with certain characters and their story arcs he is able to push them forward to the next logical progression of their story/where would they be after The Return of The Jedi.

These book shows why Zahn has been such a significant architect in the Star Wars universe for years and how he is able to create compelling Star Wars stories and delivers a brilliant sequel trilogy to the original trilogy. It’s sad that it isn’t canon anymore but luckily it is still easy to access and in my own personal headcanon of Star Wars, this trilogy definitely counts.

“May the Force Be With You & Read Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars books.”

-LilBitWriter (12/15/19)

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES “EPISODE 2: A PERSONAL FAVORITE: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)”

On the second day of twelve days of Star Wars, I give you, my favorite Star Wars film. I love the atmosphere of The Empire Strikes Back and how I feel watching it. I love the constant foreboding sense of danger in the film and it’s set dressing and the contrast of locales. It’s a film with brilliant script with a lot of interesting thematic stuff going on. There’s a really good kind of existential questions and ethical conundrum being explored and a good motif about temptation within the film. There is a lot of stuff to unpack idea-wise and thematically in this film. I love the film also because of the contrast of locales, you go from Hoth in the snow where it’s bright and white but bleak and then go to Dagobah where it’s dirty grimey but that is where the hope is and then you go to Cloud City which is serene, beautiful, and peaceful and is ironically where the most horrific things in the film happen.

A deeply profound, mind-blowing spectacle that will leave those who never experienced it on the edge of their seats. It’s a film that feels larger in scale simply because it is smaller. It is more intimate and character-driven and also it is extremely intense. There is no Death Star here and it is not driven by plot macguffins it is a story driven by great drama and storytelling. It’s part love story, it’s part of the hero's journey, it’s also part tragedy. It’s darker than Star Wars (1977) and it does end on a down note but there is still a glimmer of hope at the end and that’s what makes it such a powerful experience, with a powerful message where even if you lose, you have a chance to fight the battle again and learn from your mistakes and win (I could be completely off and I shall be ridiculed for it).

It’s a film that turns tropes on their heads and defies expectations and is perhaps one of, if not simply, the greatest Star Wars thing ever. When most people think of what Star Wars is, they may think of A New Hope but I think of The Empire Strikes Back. It’s a film that doesn’t take the easy way out and strikes a balance between fun space adventure and a heavier more brooding drama. It’s tone shift is gradual and almost effortless. The Empire Strikes Back is the meat of where the story of Star Wars is and it also it of course it has one of if not the greatest plot twists in all of cinema history. It’s a brilliant film, I love it, It’s more than a great Star Wars film or my favorite Star Wars film, it is easily one of my favorite films period.

-LilBitWriter (12/14/19)

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES “EPISODE I: INTRO”

Welcome to my all-new original twenty episode blog series called ‘12 Days of Star Wars’

With their being twelve days until Christmas I will give you twelve days of Star Wars.

Today is the first day of this new blog maxi-series that will end with the finale/culmination being an in-depth spoiler review of The Rise of Skywalker on Christmas Eve. Each day I will discuss an aspect, a character, a film, a book, whatever that is deeply integral to my love of Star Wars.

On the first day of the twelve days, I will explain my background with Star Wars, why I love it, why it has resonated with me for so many years. On the first day of twelve days of Star Wars I will give to you…. My Star Wars Fan History.

It all started a long time ago… (which I have explained before in a previous blog post) with a five year old boy playing with Star Wars toys coming up with his own Star Wars stories as a little kid and as a Star Wars fan playing with the toys and coming up with stories in my head and to be honest with myself as an adult those stories were really bad. Star Wars was one of my favorite things as a kid next to Marvel and DC superheroes, it was my whole creative world. I used to have the 2002 edition of the Revised Core Rulebook of the RPG which I eventually tore apart and lost because my family and I were moving and I was just a little kid I didn’t take care of my things very well being completely honest. However, recently during this Star Wars-y time of the year with The Rise of Skywalker approaching, I found a copy of it in my local library system and thought I would take a look at it again for research purposes to get myself back into that Star Wars feeling I got when I first saw The Original Trilogy and had that book beside me. With there being this amazingly exciting resurgence of Star Wars with The Mandalorian, Rise of Skywalker, The Clone Wars returning in February 2020, the brilliant Marvel comics, novels like Timothy Zahn’s next Thrawn Trilogy kick starting in May of 2020, all of that being coupled with childhood nostalgia I got goosebumps. I am a fan with I hope is a unique perspective on Star Wars since my first exposure was through not only playing with the toys but also watching the Original Trilogy on VHS and seeing the Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars micro-series around the same time when it was on Cartoon Network. Those were vivid memories that encapsulates everything I thought Star Wars was and what I wanted it to be. Then throughout I had a very funny relationship with Star Wars. Even though I loved the Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars cartoons when I saw the Star Wars prequels starting with Revenge of The Sith, which was the first one I saw when it had just came out on DVD and was my favorite out of the prequel films. However I found each of the prequels to be extremely boring and nowhere as entertaining as the original films and my least favorite was Attack of The Clones. Over time I decided to not go back to the prequels for a multitude of reasons it kind of gave me a headache. It sounds awful but that was just my opinion at the age of five-eight.

Around the time I turned nine years old the next iteration of Clone Wars in animation came to be which is the modern Clone Wars cartoon fans have all come to know and love. Produced by the brilliant Dave Filoni and paid a lot of reverence to all of Star Wars and old Star Wars Expanded Universe. Seeing storylines play out such as the return of Darth Maul when I was twelve years old (a young extremely picky middle schooler when it came to entertainment) during the fourth season of Clone Wars it absolutely blew my mind. Seeing that iteration of Maul solidified why he was such a multifaceted and complex character those episodes were some of my favorites. I will probably discuss why those episodes and the rest of The Clone Wars are my favorites eventually through ‘12 Days of Star Wars’.

Around that time, I discovered and delved deeply into the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Reading the Dark Horse Comics (Legacy by John Ostrander and Infinities) and the novels (Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy) through the library and really falling in love with the deep ideas and unique characters explored in those books. Grand Admiral Thrawn, Cade Skywalker, Mara Jade, Darth Bane etc. all of these characters are as well developed and layered and complex as the original cast. Reading these stories did the same as what the Original Trilogy did which is show me a side of the Star Wars universe I had never seen before and really delved deep into the characters and were some of the best Star Wars storytelling ever that stands next to the Original Trilogy. I miss the old Star Wars EU but luckily all of these stories are still in print and are able to be enjoyed by everyone. I also recently bought those reprints fairly recently and am currently digging into all of my favorite Star Wars things.

In December 2015, I was sixteen years old and The Force Awakens was just released. I was beyond excited as all fans were because it was freaking Star Wars! More Star Wars! I couldn’t wait and I was very happy with the fact that we got another Star Wars movie and now we have four almost five movies and a TV show which is absolutely awesome! I’m so glad to live in such a great Star Wars-y time and am highly anticipating more episodes of The Mandalorian since Episode 6 came out today written by the brilliant Christopher Yost and I really dug it. Also of course The Rise of Skywalker, the next season of Clone Wars, The Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney + Series, more Thrawn books from Timothy Zahn, another Star Wars trilogy, etc. Just Star Wars content overload in the best possible way. It’s all exciting, It’s all Star Wars and I am grateful to have access and eventually have access to it all.

“Embrace The Force in all it’s glory and it will Embrace you…”

-LilBitWriter (12/13/19)

[littlebitwriter]

WHAT I WANT FROM STAR WARS

I fell madly in love with Star Wars when I was five years old playing with the toys with my own Return of The Jedi lunchbox. So my love of Star Wars goes way back and it was one of my first loves next to superheroes. With The Skywalker Saga officially coming to an end this December in The Rise of Skywalker I am highly anticipating the film and am very excited. In the meantime, I’ve been watching the Original Trilogy as well as the pilot of The Mandalorian on Disney + which I quite liked. However while rewatching The Original Trilogy, episodes of The Clone Wars, Rebels, Force Awakens and The Last Jedi as well as the pilot of The Mandalorian, I came to the conclusion of what I want from Star Wars moving forward.

I want Star Wars stories made for people who love Star Wars. Where there can be deep-cut Star Wars lore references and callbacks with solid characters and interesting plots that can also be accessible for new audiences. I want stories that show different sides of the Star Wars universe and that expand the context of the original films and the universe overall like the great EU novels and comics of yesteryear. For creators, writers and directors to do something inventive that does something really different with Star Wars by taking risks and trying something new with it. To explore more of the moral ambiguity of what war is for people on the battleground as opposed to the big scale good vs. evil thing. I want stories that are smaller in scale and take risks and are for true fans of Star Wars. I want stories that can be told from any pocket or time period of the Star Wars universe that are really, really good. Stories that aren’t worried about appealing to everybody. The Star Wars universe is absolutely limitless full of characters and infinite story potential for creators to drive into several new avenues. I want creators to take what is recognizable aesthetically and take the time to build something exciting and new out of it. Where it’s still in that world and it’s still Star Wars but it’s playing with different types of genres and doing different things.

I personally am hoping that moving forward those spearheading Star Wars at Disney should use a lot of side canon as inspiration for the future of the films (such as books from the Legends banner) books like John Ostrander and Jan Duursema’s Legacy series and shades of some things like Dark Empire but pushing it towards the future. Using canon that is similar to the world and stories you know but reinvent it in a fresh and exciting way that shocks and grabs people.

Telling different and exciting stories with new and unique characters who are equally as interesting and complex as the ones from the original trilogy. Which is extremely tricky but it is the thing that will keep the franchise of Star Wars alive.

With things like the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney + limited series coming out soon which I am very, very excited about. I want there to be more of an exploration through different parts of the Star Wars universe past, present and future. There could be potential for more Disney + live-action and animated Star Wars shows and I think there’s a lot of Star Wars stories moving forward that could benefit from that treatment since Star Wars is so serialized. Seeing a live-action Star Wars television series week to week with each episode feeling like a mini-movie sounds like the most genius thing in the world and that is why The Mandalorian (from what I’ve heard haven’t seen the second or third episode) is having such an impact. From what I’ve watched it is something that feels like Star Wars but is also its own thing and I personally feel like that dial can be pushed even forward for other Star Wars things moving forward. I haven’t seen a lot of original content on Disney + but it feels like a very family-friendly streaming service in its presentation of certain things which I am fine with but I personally would like to see some Star Wars stories go into some darker territory but still be Star Wars if that makes sense. To play with challenging themes and ideas and make you think about things on a deeper level, which I am not saying Star Wars doesn’t do, it totally does. However I think there is tremendous storytelling potential for future Star Wars stories. Where there can be more adult and mature themes, experimentation, risks in storytelling choices, while still feeling like classic Star Wars. Where it is about human emotions and the human condition but is also Star Wars. Exploring moral ambiguities and the middle ground between the light side and the dark side of the Force. More mature, complex and adult oriented Star Wars stories. So very experimental different kinds of Star Wars stories. Stories that are darker and grittier that play around in different genres but also capture the spirit of what makes Star Wars what it is. Boundary breaking Star Wars projects that disintegrate the typical formulas. So my dream is for there to be stories that don’t just repeat the greatest hits, that show us new locales, new characters and take us on new adventures.

For fans and lovers of Star Wars, if you haven’t already, check out this brilliant article by James Whitbrook on Gizmodo from 2016 where he discusses and analyzes the brilliant artifact that is the Star Wars West End Games RPG and how to write good Star Wars after I read that when I was sixteen, I was writing my own personal Star Wars stories nonstop just to entertain myself. :)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/io9.gizmodo.com/the-secrets-of-writing-good-star-wars-according-to-wes-1765739282/amp

Enjoy The Day Everyone, May The Force Be With You All.

-LittleBitWriter (11/22/19)

[littlebitwriter]

MORE MATURE, ADULT, THOUGHT PROVOKING SUPERHERO COMIC BOOK FILMS

With the success of Logan and Joker there is definitely a space for more lower-budget alternative comic book films.

What I’ve dreamed of is for both Disney and Warner Bros. in the vein of Fox Searchlight is a prestige studio designed to making more sleeper-hit, critically acclaimed almost-indie arthouse films featuring iconic comic book characters. Films that are well crafted and highly executed that are potential Best Picture contenders that are critical darlings. That is my wildest dream for the superhero/comic book genre in film.

Todd Philips pitched DC BLACK to Warner Bros. that is similar to that of DC’s current Black Label line of books and the now defunct Elseworlds line which explored alternative takes on DC’s comic book characters. DC BLACK would be exactly what I want from DC Films moving forward. Smaller budgeted films done by cast and crew who are willing to take these films seriously and do brilliant smart reinventions of these classic iconic characters.

With these films featuring both DC and Marvel characters filmmakers are able to fulfill their vision and take creative liberties. For Warner Bros. there is potentially DC BLACK and for Disney there could be a MARVEL MAX/KNIGHTS line of films in a similar vein to films like Logan (2017).

With the tremendous success of Joker reaching the $1-billion dollar mark this’ll easily help Warner Bros and Disney to decide to take more risks with their IP and to tell more mature, intellectually thought provoking stories for the big screen that’ll captivate audiences for years to come.

-LilBitWriter (11/19/19)

[littlebitwriter]

Creator Spotlight: Ty Templeton

(WELCOME TO CREATOR SPOTLIGHT a new series where I shed some light on some of my favorite comic book creators in the industry who have inspired me to become a better writer/artist, today I’ll be focusing on Ty Templeton!)

Tyrone or as us comic book fans know as ‘Ty’ Templeton who is a Canadian cartoonist known to have worked on a massive number of titles from mainstream licensed properties such as Batman, Superman, Justice League International, Moon Knight, (*so many to name*) to his creator owned works like his original graphic novel Bigg Time. Ty is just one of those guys who has done it all. He is as good a writer as he is an artist and when it comes to both he is pretty darn amazing and is extremely consistent.

His body of work is tremendous and one issue in particular that stands out to me as of right now is from Batman Adventures a series of tie-in comics set in the same continuity as the popular and absolutely brilliant cartoon show Batman: The Animated Series. Ty Templeton did great work on this series and it is primarily where I’m most familiar with his work. Batman Adventures Vol.1 #3 which is an issue he collaborated on with tremendous writer Kelly Puckett that came out in December of 1992 so almost twenty seven years ago. It’s an issue with The Joker and as you can see I have the page up top and it’s a perfect example of the mastery of Templeton’s art and storytelling. It is an issue where as you can see from the page it is so authentically true to the character of The Joker as is the issue overall and it is simply and easily one of the best Batman/Joker stories of all time next to Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke, Joker’s Five Way Revenge, etc. That one panel with The Joker sweating with his hand over his mouth and other by his head trying to keep himself collected as he utters the words “...Chaos!” is a truly special Joker moment that is easily one of my personal ‘Top 10: Joker Moments Of All Time’ and will easily make the list when the time comes for that episode. It just simply embodies that character perfectly. Point is check out this issue if you are a diehard fan of great Batman vs. Joker stories!

Also speaking of Ty Templeton and Batman Adventures, After the success of the first volume of stories Ty Templeton returned to do writing and art duties on the second iteration of the series that came out in the early 2000’s. For example Batman Adventures Vol.2 #11 which Ty worked on with artist Rick Burchett that came out in came out in April, 2004. It is one of my favorite comic book issues of the series ever that deals with The Riddler being reformed and basically now a millionaire Steve Jobs-esque entrepreneur/innovator/designer type because he sold his inventions and everything is going great for him except he’s going crazy because his compulsion to tell riddles is just not being satisfied in his current day life. So he sends out these cryptic riddles implying he’s going to kill people so that he can grab The Dark Knight’s attention. It’s by far one of the best Riddler stories that shows the genius of Ty Templeton and his brilliant take on The Riddler. Overall it’s just great stuff.

There’s so much Ty Templeton has done that I could mention but I don’t want this episode to be too long and worn out. Ty is just one of those rare cartoonists who can do everything and do it marvelously well. He’s who I want to be as a cartoonist. A magnificent writer as he is an incredible artist, an absolute master storyteller in all respects. I always look forward to Ty Templeton’s work whenever he does something new. He also delivers great advice to young cartoonists about making comics and so on and he teaches a comic book making class that covers all the aspects of making comics that is "Ty Templeton's Comic Book Boot Camp". He’s just a great creator who is able to consistently put out great work. If he were a chef of a five star restaurant I would probably dine at that restaurant every night. That’s how much I enjoy the work of Ty Templeton in comics. Whether he’s just writing or drawing or doing both, he’s just a great cartoonist that the more uninitiated comic book readers should pay attention to. He’s a superbly talented creator who deserves a lot of recognition.

Have a great day everyone and stay tuned for more Creator Spotlights to come!

-LittleBitWriter (11/18/19)