The Boba Bounty

Last month, children’s book illustrator Jeffrey Brown followed up his bestseller Darth Vader and Son with another instant hit, Vader’s Little Princess. This cute story takes a look at what fatherhood would be like for the Sith Lord if he was forced to raise a daughter who was a rebel – a fun play on words, since Leia was, in fact, a rebel.

Each page of this book shows young Leia as she grows older and the troubles Vader would have managing his daughter – from teaching her to fly a TIE fighter, to dressing appropriately and spending too much time talking with friends.

One of the funniest images is when she brings a boy home – instead of cleaning his gun at the kitchen table, as we’ve seen countless times in movies or television, he has Boba Fett standing menacingly in the background – who wouldn’t ensure their date was home on time if the most infamous bounty hunter in the galaxy was keeping tabs on your night out!

Head over to Amazon.com to pick up your own copy.

Star Wars Identities is a unique traveling exhibition, which is currently making its way through Canada.

The exhibit showcases more than 200 original costumes, props, models and modern art pieces related to your favorite characters – including Boba Fett.

Not only do visitors get to encounter original prop pieces and costumes from all six films, but the installation also includes pieces from The Clone Wars.

Pieces include a model of the Millennium Falcon, concept art from Star Wars visionaries and even the original slab of Carbonite that imprisoned Han Solo.

Let’s not forget this exhibit is called Identities – and for a reason – what makes this installation unique is how it interacts with visitors.

Patrons are fitted with a smart technology bracelet, which allows them to respond to hypothetical situations – designed to assess their personality traits and help them discover what or who their character would be in the Star Wars Universe.

Star Wars Identities is currently at the Telus World of Science in Edmonton, Canada until April 1. Starting May 10, it will travel to Ottawa, Canada, where it will be on display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum through Sept. 2.

More dates and locations will be announced soon. Over the next six years, it will be featured in 12 cities.

While no U.S. destinations have been unveiled as of today, you can still purchase some amazing collectible merchandise from its online store at www.shop.starwarsidentities.com/home.aspx

It only took 24 hours for Dark Horse’s new series, “Star Wars,” to sell out during its debut on Jan. 9. Set in the original trilogy era, the happenings of the story arc, “In the Shadow of Yavin,” document the fallout from the destruction of the Death Star by the Rebel Alliance.

Within a few days of its release, Dark Horse staff announced a second print would be made available on Feb. 6, featuring a cover stripped of any text, so fans can revel in the cover art by comic legend Alex Ross.

The same day as the first issue’s release, a blog entry by the comic’s writer, Brian Wood, was ran on StarWars.com, and a few days later re-posted on Dark Horse’s website. Wood shares he aimed to capture the tone and feel of the original trilogy and feature a story that transpires only days after the final events of “A New Hope.”

Wood teases the series will be, “heavy on space battles and snubfighter dogfights. A series that gets into the emotional states of our post-Tattooine, post-Alderaan, post-Yavin characters who have lost so much yet press on in their fight for freedom.”

If there were any doubts that Wood would deliver the space battles and tales of peril he promises, fans were rewarded with a four-page preview of “Star Wars” #2 through the digital pages of Entertainment Weekly.

What is guaranteed to entice another sold out issue is the reveal that the second issue features the infamous bounty hunter, Boba Fett. In the preview, we see the Millennium Falcon avoiding fire by Slave I as the smugglers navigate space debris.

Scheduled for release on Feb. 13, the second issue hones in on Han Solo and Chewbacca as they attempt to evade the capture of Boba Fett; we’ll also see Darth Vader carry out a secret mission assigned to him by the Emperor.  

While the Empire doesn’t formally issue a bounty for Han Solo and company until “Empire Strikes Back,” it is already known after Solo’s encounter with Greedo in “A New Hope” that he is wanted by Jabba the Hutt.

Hiding in space debris, Solo believes they’re safe from being found, however, a ship appears on their radar. When identifying the ship, Solo realizes the immediate danger once they see Slave I fast approaching. Why is this interesting? This tells us Solo and Boba Fett have a history before the happenings of the original trilogy.

The chase between Fett and Solo is a common trope in Star Wars comics, so the challenge for Woods will be to make it fresh and new. How will Han Solo escape, or will he? I’d be interested to see what story unfolds if Solo and Chewbacca are actually captured – and later escape, of course.

Whatever happens though, this story needs to expand on the relationship between the bounty hunter and smuggler – besides the tired “cat and mouse” angle to their encounters. Unlike other bounty hunters, consider his run in with Greedo at the Catina – the films illustrate Han Solo having a genuine fear toward Fett.

I’m crossing my fingers we get a tale that explains why Solo takes the threat of Boba Fett more seriously than other hired guns.

In May, Sideshow releases its latest addition to the Star Wars Mythos Collection, Boba Fett. This polystone statue stands 19 inches tall and weighs 14 pounds. Sideshow deployed a team of nearly a half dozen artists to create this detailed piece, including sculpting by Michael Norman and Pascual Wawoe, a design by David Igo and a magnificent paintjob by Bernardo Esquivel. Collector’s can pre-order Boba Fett for a retail price of $324.99, but Sideshow also offers a payment plan for as low as $65 per month.

Great detail was put into the statue. Boba Fett wears his Mandalorian armor, which shows the wear and tear of numerous battles. The armor is banged up and burnt, his cape and tattered and his clothing is worn and dirty.

Boba Fett gribs two blasters and a larger blaster rifle straps over his shoulder. Hanging from his belt, underneath is jet pack are three Lightsabers. A knife is also strapped to his right boot. The statue carried a high purchase price, but this piece is superior to many other statues I’ve seen in the past and would be a great addition to any collection.