Thursday, July 10, 2008

ToyFare #133

I wrote the "Join the Club" sidebar in the price guide of this month's ToyFare. This one's about Hyperspace: The Official Star Wars Fan Club, which is kinda cool since I've been hip-deep in all things Star Wars while editing John's new book over the last few weeks. So pick up the new issue of ToyFare at your newsstands and comic book shops, as well as John's Collect All 21! direct from the author or via Lulu!

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Field's Edge Founders

So John's book is finally finished, and Collect All 21! Memoirs of a Star Wars Geek - The First 30 Years is ready for mass consumption! While I can't take any sort of credit for the book, I have enjoyed sharing the journey with John. I have done plenty of work-shopping and editorial work over the years, but this was a completely different animal. Because I know John so well (Good Lord, nearly 30 years now? Really?) and love his writing so much, it was sometimes difficult to step outside of being a fan of his writing to ensure I was seeing the nuts-and-bolts stuff. On the other hand, it never made picking up the manuscript a chore. I'm honored John asked for my help and proud of what he has accomplished.

So go! Order it! It's good stuff (and shipping in the United States is free if you pre-order it).

John also runs Field's Edge, an online magazine, with an insanely talented Orlando-based photographer, Jim Carchidi. I am grateful to both of them for so willingly providing an outlet for my Deus ex Comica series, along with publishing other pieces of my work that deserve a wider audience than Random Thoughts Escaping might be able to give them.

I had been following Jim's coverage of Star Wars Weekends 2008 at Walt Disney World on the Field's Edge site. And, when I saw Jim's photo of the Donald Duck as Darth Maul maquette Disney released this year, I immediately wanted it. After checking out the order site for details, though, I couldn't justify dropping two-hundred twenty-five bucks for it. Then an unexpected package came in the mail Saturday with Jim's return address on it. It was the Star Wars/Star Tours theme park exclusive Donald Duck as Darth Maul PVC figure! While I'm usually more of an Original Trilogy kind of guy, this awesome little duck is three inches of Dark Force fury!

John rocks. Jim rocks. Check out the great work they're both doing!