The New Site Is Up!

After many days of work, the new site is up! I'll be transfering the domain soon. Check out this link for the new website and new posts: http://thejediblogger.wordpress.com/

Switching to Wordpress

This is going to be a big change for me, but it shouldn't be a problem for you readers. I'll be switching the Jedi Blogger over to a Wordpress engine in the next couple of days. All you'll have to do is keep coming to http://www.thejediblogger.com/. For all you Feedburner sunscibers, you won't notice anything, because I've managed to switch the feed over the the other website.

Blogger vs. Wordpress

I've recently been contemplating the idea of switching The Jedi Blogger over to a Wordpress system. While Blogger is great, Wordpress has some great advantages, including seperate pages to post on and more customization options. So, recently, I've been messing around a little with the site. First off, I must say that it's a little bit of a let down coming off of the ultimately user-friendly Google Blogger. Maybe that's my opinion because I've been using blogger for more than three years now, but maybe it's just because Blogger is better. I could use Blogger blindfolded. Literally.

The biggest problem I have with Wordpress is it is the bizarre assortment of widgets. Unlike Blogger, which has a simple set of widgets like "Picture" and "HTML," Wordpress has things like Atkismo and Sonific. What are those things? And to find out what they are, you have to insert them into the template and save it. If you don't like it, you have to take it back out, which is a pain using their system. I haven't actually found a way to put in links, pictures of HTML banners, all of which would be essential to me for putting my site there.

The only good thing I can see to moving my site to a Wordpress engine is the pages. And it sort or hurts. I'll most likely be leaving my website here on Blogger, where I can never have individual pages. Not like they need to; Blogger is for blogging, which doesn't require pages. But what I've been doing recently with the Jedi Blogger is more like a Star Wars news site. I think it would be great to have a more web site-ish feel to it instead of a blog feel, if that makes any sense. I'll be toying around with it for a little while, and I'll announce any changes before I make them.

Comic Book Review: Knights of the Old Republic #24

Knights of the Old Republic #24 took the Days/Knights story arc out with a bang. For anyone who hasn't already picked up the issue, I ask you now to read it first before reading my spoiler-ridden review. I'd much rather you find out what happens in the actual issue.

This issue picks up right where the last ends. When Zayne, Shel and Raana Tey infiltrate the Mandalorian's headquarters (the former Jedi Embassy on Taris), they discover that Cassus Fett evacuated the building after hearing of the Taris Resistance's plans to attack there. Afterwards, when Shel hesitates to kill Zayne with her brother's lightsaber, Raana Tey decides to kill Zayne herself. A wonderfully-pencilled duel ensues, with Raana Tey and Zayne battling it out in the Council Room. Shel ends up killing Tey to save Zayne, finally coming to the realization that Zayne didn't kill her brother.

This issue also brings light to a few theories that have been floating around. It is now apparent that the Masters themselves are the five sith they've seen in their visions. I think this is a great and rather ironic twist in the plot.

Overall, this was a great issue, and a great ending to the twelve issues leading up to it. Definatly pick it up. Also, this last series is definatly a must-read before the KOToR issues of Vector begin.

Star Wars Book News: On Sale Today

As of today, according to Dark Horse's website, Legacy #18, Claws of the Dragon part 5 0f 6 and the reprint of Legacy 1/2 are now on sale. As we draw close to the conclussion of Claws of the Dragon, these last two issues will be essesntial to anyone who's been following the series. May the stands be stocked!

Star Wars Book News: January Comic Book Releases

It's a busy month for Star Wars comics. Not only do we have the reprint of Legacy 0 1/2, which sold out four times when it was origanally released back in 2006, but we have the first issue in the highly-anticipated Star Wars Comic event of 2008: Vector! Take in mind these release dates are straight from the horse's mouth (no pun intened), Dark Horse's website, which is sometimes a little iffy on correct dates.


On January 2, we have two issues of Legacy, Legacy #0 1/2 and Claws of the Dragon part 5. On January 23, we have Rebellion #11, Small Victories part 1. Dark Horse's website also shows two issues of Dark Times coming out on the twenty-third, the #8 and #9, which I'm pretty sure is a mistake. On January 30, we have the Knights of the Old Republic #25, Vector part 1, and Legacy: Claws of the Dragon part Six of Six.

We also have a bunch of trade paperbacks comic our this month. On January 9, the 30th Anniversary Collection continues with Volume 11--Union. On the 19, the final Clone Wars Adventures book, #10, is released, ending the long line of digest-sized graphic novels pencilled in the style of the cartoon series. On the 23, the compilation of Dark Times: A Path to Knowhere comes out. Also on that day, Knights of the Old Republic: Days of Fear, Knights of Anger comes out, chronicling the first half of the Days/Knights series.

Seven comics books and three trade paperbacks in one month? Either Dark Horse is starting off 2008 with a bang, or we're going to get some of it pushed back into Febuary. I doubt my wallet will complain if that happens.

As for what I suggest out of this, I say definatly pick up Knight of the Old Republic. Even if you haven't been picking it up regulary, it's essential that you get all the issues in Vector. I haven't been reading Legacy lately, so I'd suggest picking up the trade paperback later this year. The two issues I read in the beggining were pretty good.

Dark Times's Parralels is sort of medeocre. I've picked up the first two issues and I'm not impressed. As for Rebellion, definatly pick up Small Victories. While I know most weren't fans of the Akhista Gambit, I personally love this series. It's been on hiatus for a few months, and I'm glad to see it's return.

I'm not big into trade paperbacks, but I will be picking up Knights of the Old Republic. As for the others, I'm not too interested. Anyway, how come we still have the 30th Anniversary collection going into '08?

Game Review: Renegade Squadron

First off, I must say that the Play Station Portable system is really incredible. I recently received the Renegade Squadron PSP bundle for Christmas, which came with the white PSP, complete with a Darth Vader helmet silk-screened on the back. The graphics are amazing, and the PSP also comes with a wide array of other features, including Wi-Fi Internet connection and UMD movie drive. The screen is bigger than both of my Nintendo DS's screens combined.

The story starts with Renegade Squadron's leader, Coll Serra, telling the story of Renegade Squadron to Tionne, a New Republic-era Jedi historian, who is compiling a database on the Rebellion's history. You play out the battles as Coll Serra tells the story of Renegade Squadron. Essentially, Renegade Squadron was a fighting unit composed of outlaws, smugglers and bounty hunters, operating under the command of Han Solo. You get to play battles like Yavin 4, Hoth and Endor, as well as a good number of missions created for this game.

I was surprised to find that almost every single map in this game was new, exclusively created for Battlefront: Renegade Squadron. We got to see a lot of Expanded Universe references and locations in this game, including maps like Boz Pity, Saulucimi and Sullust.

One of the coolest features in this game is the character customization. In previous Battlefront games, you had the different unit kits, all of which had a different array of weapons. With Renegade Squadron, not only do you get to customize the look of your character, but you also get an "equipment budget" with which you can buy weapons with. There are a number of weapons that were created for this game, like the Tri-Shot rifle and the Carbinite Freeze-Gun. Also, with your budget, you can buy things like a Jet Pack, Stealth Suite and Personal Shield.

My only complaint about this game is the awkward arrangement of the controls. You use the small movement pad on the left of the PSP to move, and the rest of the buttons are used to do things such as jump, fire, change weapon or target. It is impossible to aim without using the target button, but I guess that's one of the trade offs for building a game for a portable system.

Overall, I think this game was entertaining, fun and addictive, and a step in the right direction for future Battlefront games. I'd definitely suggest it and the Play Station Portable to anyone.

Star Wars Book News: On Sale Now

Sorry I missed the date, but I've been quite busy these past couple of days. Knights of the Old Republic #24, the Knights of Suffering part three of three, is on sale now! This is the conclussion of the twelve-part Daze/Knights story arc. I can't reccomend this series highly enough! Check out the preview here at Dark Horse's official website. http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/preview.php?theid=14-777

Comic Book Review: Knights of the Old Republic #23

As the gigantic Daze/Knights story arc comes to an end for Knights of the Old Republic, Issue #23 sets readers up for en explosive ending, in a battle between the Mandalorians and the Taris Resistance.

After surviving a near-death encounter at the hands of his former childhood sweetheart Shel, who believes he killed her brother, Zayne and the Hidden Bekks form a treaty with the Taris Resistance in a mission to kill Cassus Fett. When Zayne is assigned to help Raana Tey and Shel scout out the enemy base, the Shel and Tey plan to kill Zayne using Shel's dead brother's lightsaber.

While much of the comic was just the buildup to #24, it was a very entertaining issue. As always, Dustin Weaver's art is spectacular. I can't suggest this series highly enough at the moment, especially to anyone who's played the KOToR video games. I really hope the conclusion of this series doesn't let us down; I would hate it if they ruined the stellar job they've done with the series this year.

Star Wars Book News: Dark Horse on sale today

Dark Times #7, Parralels part 2 of 5, is on sale today, according to Diamond Comics and Dark Horse's official website. I highly reccomend this arc after the great job they did with #6. It looks like we'll finally get to find out why Crys hates the Jedi so much; if I can judge anything from the preview Dark Horse has in it's Star Wars section. Here's a link to that. Happy hunting! http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/preview.php?theid=14-781

Book Crazy

It wasn't until about a year and a half ago that I went from being a casual comic book fan to a serious collector. I recently looked back at my large collection on my books and comics from this year, and I tallied it up. I suddenly realized how much I had spent this year on comics and books alone. More than four hundred dollars. While that might not be much to some people, to me, a more low-budget collector, this is a substancial amount of money.

While there are a lot of Star Wars comics, when you break it down, only two or three, sometimes even less, come out every month. Other than a few issues of Knights of the Old Republic and Legacy that have slipped through my fingers, I've picked up almost every single issue.

As for books, this year I've bought and read up the first four Legacy of the Force books, Allegence, Destiny's Way, Outbound Flight, X-Wing: Isard's Revenge, and X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar. As usual, these are in addition to re-reading older books with the Star Wars Action News book club.

Comic Book Review: Betrayal

Originally a four-part comic series released in late 2003, I recently decided to pick up the trade paperback collection that has been sitting on the stands of my local comic book store for some time now.

I was disappointed at first to see that our main characters are nowhere to be found in this series; the plot follows a group of scheming Imperial Moffs who plan to assassinate the Emperor and Darth Vader. Vader sets off a series of the Moff's traps as he travels to the outer rim to confront a renegade Jedi, while the Emperor and his royal guards fend off a legion of Stormtrooper drones. Most of the excitement was taken out of this plot because of the fact that we know both Vader and Palpatine survive to take place in the story of the original Star Wars movies.

The art in this series was excellent, penciled by Ryan Benjamin, who has worked with the Star Wars infinities comic series. This comics features some awesome fight sequences, as well as a cameo appearance by Boba Fett, who gives Vader a hand escaping a horde of bounty hunters. We also got to see the Royal Guards in action, which was cool to see. Four of them took out an entire brigade of Stormtrooper drones.

Overall, the story was engaging and fun, even though I was disappointed with the lack of familiar characters. I look forward to getting more of the early Empire comics that have been collected into trade paperbacks.

Comic Book Review: Dark Times #6

Dark Times #6 marked the beggining of a new story arc for Dark Times: Parralels, the a five-part story arc preceding the Path to Nowwhere. I was origanally skeptical of this arc because of artist Dave Ross. Anything is really a step down from Doug Wheatly's amazing pencil art, but I was pleasently suprised with Ross' work in this issue. Ross brings a fresh perspective to the series, with some excellent action sequences and sequential art.

I was glad to see the return of the long-lived Master Kruhk, who plays a large part in this issue. Most of the issue is about Kruhk's story of surviving Order 66. Even though I know he lived, because he later shows up in the Legacy comics, I was rivited by the fight scene between him and the clones. Kruhk kicked some butt in this issue.

We catch a small glimpse at the crew of the Uhemele, with one of their crewmates fleeing stormtroopers and ultimatly getting captured. No doubt, the rest of this arc will be about saving him. We get to see a little bit of Bomo Greenbark, who will undoubtly play a big role in this series.

Overall, I enjoyed this issue. If you've been following Dark Times, definatly pick it up. Also, this would be a good place for anyone new to the series to jump in and begin a new arc. Currently, only issue #1 is available. Dark Times #7 is planned to come out in less than six days now.

Comic Book Review: Dark Times #5

Dark Times #5 marked the end to an arc that lasted for more than a year; that brought doubts to fans that Dark Times was still being made, and taught us the hard lesson that the good guys don't always win. With amazing art by Doug Wheatly and colors by Ronda Pattison, this issue took out the Path to Nowhere with a melancholy bang. The entire basis of this arc revolves around Bomo Greenbark, and his Jedi friend, Jass Dennir, going on a quest to save Bomo's wife and daughter from slavery. In issue four of the Path to Nowhere, we learn that Bomo's wife, Resa, is dead, and that his daughter had been sold to a rich merchant on the planet of Esseles.

So the setup for issue five was clear; they'd go to Esseles and rescue Greenbark's daughter and live happily ever after. But things go wrong in this issue. It ends up that the merchant killed Mesa long before our heros arrive to rescue her; to eat her. To eat her! Whoever wrought this story is a very disturbing person. I will also say they did am excellent job executing this plot; the words, the expressions of terror and anger on faces. I found myself tearing up when I read it. A comic book has never evoked this reaction from me. Dass Jennir ends up gunning down the man in cold blood (kill nosurian-eating bastard!), and then flys away in the guy's ship, leaving Bomo. I have no idea where this story is going to go in future issues, though after this, I plan to start picking up Dark Times on a regular basis. I was really impressed with their guttsiness in this last issue, and I can't wait to see what they come up with in the future.

This issue was fitting end called "The Path to Nowhere" in a series called "Dark Times." I can't say I'm disappointed with it, because overall, it was a good issue. I'm just a little shocked that they decided to end it this way. Pick it up if you've been reading the Path to Nowhere.

Open Invitation

I was thinking one day about what my goals are for website. One, obviosly, is to keep up a constant posting schedule. Two, increase in site traffic and popularity. Three, get mentioned, without asking, on the Force-Cast. Then I started to think about those small reviews they put on Star Wars books from big newspapers like the New York Times. Wouldn't it be awsome if a publisher used a quote from one of my reviews on a Star Wars book? That's my most ultimate goal. So if you're reading this, Star Wars related book publisher, feel free to take any quote from this website and use it in your books.