#Andy Mangels

[the-gershomite]

Star Wars: Boba Fett -Twin Engines of Destruction- November 2011

(20-32 of 32)

written by Andy Mangels

pencils by John Nadeau

inks by Jordi Ensign

lettering by Michael Taylor

colors by Cary Porter

[loveboatinsanity]

[startrek-readerslog]

Kobayashi Maru by Michael A Martin and Andy Mangels

I love the Kobayashi Maru as a concept in the Star Trek universe. I am interested to see how that idea is fleshed out in the novel. Just a general disclaimer, I read this novel over a few months and picked it up on and off so I feel like my thoughts are more scattered than they usually are.

The Summary

This story is again like the last one is told in multiple POVs. You have Trip's on Romulus, Archer and T'Pol's on the Enterprise, occasionally you have the Romulan POV, the crew aboard the Kobayashi Maru, and the members of the Coalition of planets. Trip's job is to discover some new and secret Romulan technology that will let them reach warp 7. He tries to accomplish this by pretending to be the student of the scientist who is working on the project who is a little addled. Of course lots of things go wrong, and Trip ends up under the scrutiny of Valdore, the Romulan head honcho. While this is going on ships and world allied to the Coalition keep getting attacked by "friendlies". That seems really fishy to Archer and he urges the Coalition that all is not what it seems. He is right, the Romulans have a remote piloting technology that they are using.

As Trip gets into deeper and deeper shit, T'Pol's spidey senses go off and she and Reed go on a rescue mission to try and make sure Trip is safe. Once rescued he heads back into Romulan space despite the danger. Trip gets caught up with the Vulcan/Romulan operative Sopek who knows T'Pol, and is convinced he is actually working for Romulus. Sopek and Trip end up going out to meet up with the Kobayashi Maru, but it is clear that the ship was only a distraction to get the Enterprise into remote control range. Trip manages to tip off Archer and crash the Romulan ship he is on into an asteroid. The novel ends with a declaration of war.

My Thoughts

I think this novel had less emotional oomph than the last one. I missed those emotional scenes between T'Pol and Trip. It felt much more plot focused than character focus. I think these two writers still have a fairly flowery writing style for my taste. Also who the fuck thought it was a good idea to send Trip in there with like 0 spy skills. The man is lovely, but a horrible spy. He had nowhere near enough intel for it to be a successful mission and like 0 ability to improvise. We did get some fun back story on T'Pol and her previous life as a Vulcan intelligence operative though which I did enjoy.

I think ultimately not a lot about this novel stands out sadly. That may be because I read it over such a long period of time, or it may be that it took me so long to read because it never captured my attention fully.

I give this one a 5/10. The next one is about the war that they just started: The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing. This one is just by Martin so let's see how he reads solo!

[thebuhonerodazorrow]

Bloodwulf #2

La nueva penetración

Octubre 1996

Image

[nevinslibrary]

Make It So Friday

So, Sulu and an Ambassador named Aiden Burgess are trying to have a diplomatic meeting with the Tholians. While also making sure that these not always trustworthy Tholians aren't trying to pull a fast one over Starfleet and the Federation.

Of course, that’s not all though, a surprise from Earth's past pops up too, making everything entirely more complicated.

It was a fun read. The surprise aliens were really cool, as was their story scattered throughout the novel. All in all another awesome Sulu led book. Still bummed that the character never got a series, either in book form or TV form though.

The Sundered by Andy Mangels

[etakeh]

Thinking back to when my kid was like, 3 or 4? and saw RuPaul for the first time.

My kid is like, "Why is that man dressed like...no, why does that woman sound like...???"

that was the extent of their confusion. Could be answered with a simple, "Because they like dressing that way." No drama or trauma involved. It's not hard.

[spockvarietyhour]

Excluding in this poll Ro Laren, Reginald Barclay, and Alyssa Ogawa as they've had more than two appearances each.

[electricnik]

Early version of Thrawn from Star Wars, An Essential Guide to Characters by Andy Mangels.

[dirtyriver]

Amazing Heroes #152, November 1988, Black Orchid cover by Dave McKean

Interviews of Neil Gaiman by Peter Sanderson and Dave McKean by Andy Mangels. Always fun to travel back in time and see Neil talk about his upcoming comics, Miracleman and Sandman... and this quote remains true to this day:

[airyairyaucontraire]

I don’t normally want to listen to audiobooks because I can read faster than they can talk and it’s frustrating, but it occurred to me that that might not happen with a book I’ve read before. I’ve got stuck in my LOTR reread but I want to get unstuck and I’m trying out the unabridged Fellowship of the Ring as read by Andy Serkis.

So far I’m enjoying it, because he has a lovely bedtime storyish reading voice, and he also does distinct character voices (although his Sam mangel-wurzel accent and his Pippin brogue [because he follows movie precedent, Pippin is Scottish] get a bit broad and cartoony sometimes). And he sings the songs! No music unfortunately, and he tends to go flat if he has to hold the note at the ends of lines, but after all the characters are not supposed to be trained singers, they just sing a lot because it’s their culture, and it’s just nice to have the songs acknowledged (one day someone will have the indomitable courage to adapt the Lord of the Rings for the screen as the musical it is, but that day has not yet come).

This time around I’m struck by how long it takes between Tolkien bringing Pippin on stage, as it were, and when he actually gets dialogue. He’s just sort of there as Extra Friend Who Isn’t Sam Or Merry (or Fredegar or Folco but they’re very C-list). We soon know Merry is the practical, helpful friend with local knowledge and a take-charge, can-do attitude (and if we listened to/read all the preface stuff, we know he grew up to be important and wrote books), but Pippin’s personality is pretty much a blank until he, Frodo and Sam are well into their hike from Hobbiton to Buckland.

[the-gershomite]

Star Wars: Boba Fett -Twin Engines of Destruction- November 2011

written by Andy Mangels

pencils by John Nadeau

inks by Jordi Ensign

lettering by Michael Taylor

colors by Cary Porter

cover by John Nadeau

[garthofshayeris]

There was a little interview with George Perez where he said he liked how Garth was sexy and Mediterranean looking, and showed off his muscular legs. This was an interview from the 80s I found, but lost 😩 like he PURPOSELY drew Garth sexy.... whew.

TitansTower used to have it, looks like the site is no longer up! It's an interview of George Perez by Andy Mangels in 1987

Lucky for YOU, I saved that part! He doesn't just say he's Mediterranean, he also says he based Garth's looks off of an ex-girlfriend.

Garth is the prettiest of the OGs confirmed.

I do like that he leaned into the curly hair (he's had that since the Silver Age tbh) because it really did make his character stand out when they aren't in costumes. I know pretty much every comic character lost their curly hair by the 90s, but I really miss Garth's

[startrek-readerslog]

The Good That Men Do by Andy Mangels and Michael A Martin

Finally back into a Star Trek novel swing! This one actually totally caught my attention because it is about Tucker and his you know general state of not being dead.

The Summary

Tucker and T’Pol are on Vulcan burying their kind of daughter. They meet back up with the e. Shran asks the Enterprise for help after his semi girlfriend gets captured by Romulan (at least he thinks that’s what happened). The idea is that the Romulans kidnapped some Aenar to use as remote weapons pilots. Archer is given orders to ignore them and come back to Earth for the signing of the Coalition. Trip is super angry about their inability to do anything. Malcom puts Trip in contact with someone in Star fleet intelligence and Trip gathers a few key members of the crew to fake his death (however this doesn’t involve T’Pol). They organize his death and everyone believes it (except T’Pol). He gets assigned to a covert Romulan mission where his body is physically altered to appear like a Romulan scientist who is believed dead. He goes to rendezvous with the Romulans to plans for a warp 7 engine from a Romulan scientist. Things go south, and him and the scientist escape but the scientist figures out Trip isn’t who he says he is. Trip gets knocked out and the scientist escapes but promises to keep Trip’s secret. While this is happening Shran and Archer are disobeying orders to go after the Aenar that have been kidnapped. They get most of them back and at the request of the ones they couldn’t save kill them so they can’t be used as weapons. Trip contacts Archer to warn him of an attack on a Coalition hopeful and archer passes on the message but not quite in time. The story ends at the opening of the coalition talks and Trip says hello to Archer and tells T’Pol the truth.

My Thoughts

This is the first of the novels that I think the plot actually really excited me!! In the show Tucker’s death feels so worthless. Random aliens board the ship, he dies taking them down so that Archer can live. It felt very out of the blue and like it wasn’t necessary. It felt not real which sounds silly, but the books really add something here. So far the books have been not really adding anything to the canon. Just little in between bits, but this makes that plot feel whole.

Both parts of the plot felt relevant, but the Enterprises plot felt a little more fleshed out. I was super stressed for Trip the whole time. I think the best scenes in the book were the more emotional ones where him and T’Pol interacted at the beginning and the end. Burying a daughter you never got to have was appropriately emotional. I was pissed when he didn’t tell her about his fake death, and felt vindicated when he decided to fill her in. This isn’t a love story but I always love a good romance under current. I hope we get some more midnight trysts between the two of them in coming volumes.

Mangles and Martin have a very flowery writing style which I don’t think is horrible but was at times distracting when I had to look up a word to understand what was happening. I think they make a great team as far as putting together a story with heart which is what this and their previous novel share.

I give it an 8.5/10. This really got me back in the Star Trek novel groove. Next up by the same authors is Kobayashi Maru.

[thebuhonerodazorrow]

Bloodwulf #1

Sopla un viento asqueroso

Octubre 1996

Image

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"NO WONDER YOU NEVER SHOW YOUR FACE."

PIC INFO: Spotlight on of the greatest panels in the history of the comic book medium, from " STAR WARS -- Boba Fett: Twin Engines of Destruction," published by Dark Horse Comics in 1997. It was a comic originally printed in the "STAR WARS Galaxy" Magazine.

DENGAR: "So, did Cas Yllek get booged out by your Sarlacc scars? Those things'll probably never go away. No wonder you never show your face."

BOBA FETT: "This is my face."

Story/script by Andy Mangels

Pencils by John Nadeau

Inks by Jordi Ensign

Colors by Cary Porter

Yup, the Fett went pretty fuckin' hard on this one, and all it took was four simple words. Spoken like a true badass, and easily one of the most savage one-liners ever uttered within the pages of the narrative art form. The Expanded Universe lives on.

Source: www.pinterest.com/pin/mothdust--423056958718132723.

[tathrin]

I just need you to know your tags on that post about Boba Fett made me realize HOW MUCH of Legends-era Boba Fett I didn't know about and now it is my goal to hunt every book and story down because dear gods he's even more amazing than I realized

Ahhhh omg yes he's the best and worst in all the best ways. Thank you for giving me another excuse to talk about him!

Okay so start with the Twin Engines of Destruction comic by Andy Mangels and John Naedeau, that is THE epitome of Boba Fett. (#he had no face just the helmet that WAS his face #he canonically gives money from successful jobs to orphanages WHAT #when he found out someone was impersonating him AND BOTCHING JOBS he set that fucker up SO GOOD #he literally took the man apart physically spiritually and emotionally and left him paralyzed staring at his own about-to-explode jetpack #and put the antidote to the neurotoxin in front of him said ''you may survive if you have the will to move...like i would'' and WALKED AWAY) Genuinely just...this is it, this is him, this is everything anyone ever needs to know about how to write Boba Fett.

After that I'll recommend moving onto the Boba Fett: Death, Lies, and Treachery comics (consisting of "Bounty on Bar Kooda," "When the Fat Lady Swings," and "Murder Most Foul") by John Wagner and Cam Kennedy (probably my favorite Fett comic artist; their style is wonky yes but it fits so well!). Boba Fett: Agent of Doom is another one drawn by Kennedy that is excellent, although it's written by John Ostrander (who did the best Clone Wars comics btw) instead of Wagner. Also I personally like to headcanon the last one actually being about Ailyn Vel, but that's neither here nor there. Your best bet to find these is probably the Star Wars Legends — Epic Collection: The New Republic vol 7 tpb but Marvel is shit about keeping their SW comics in print, so good luck.

Also definitely worth reading are K.W. Jeter's Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy of novels (#he surgically removed his olfactory pleasure sensors so he wouldn't be affected by space pollen shit  #he'd drop an entire mine on top of himself to get his mark if he had to and then just dig his way back out #he once used the dying body of the closest thing he had to a friend as a laser canon to kill some tin-can hutts  #he had his fucking SKIN DISSOLVED and still sat up to shoot a bitch #he walked onto an exploding star destroyer just to have a conversation AND THEN FLEW IT RIGHT BACK OUT AGAIN) but I will say that the quality of them varies wildly between different sections...but it's one of those "even the bad parts are good, despite being terrible" books, if you know what I mean!

No Disintegrations, Please! is a short-story from the Tales of the New Republic collection, and that's the one that features Fett walking through an Imperial Garrison to get his mark that I was thinking of when I made the post (although it seems that tag didn't save? or I just can't find it again amidst all the unhinged shrieking of the rest of them lol) although he also took on a garrison in one of the comics and in another comic he went through a wrecked Star Destroyer full of murder-droids and TIE patrols so like...not an out-of-the-ordinary endeavor for him lol.

Payback: The Tale of Dengar, also from one of the short-story collections, in this case Tales of the Bounty Hunters, is where Dengar gets Fett to be his best man, although alas the wedding itself is never depicted anywhere, at least not that I've seen. (Although if you'll permit an extremely immodest self-rec, I did write about it once in a fic...) My favorite moment in this story, though, is when Boba Fett pulls a straw out to drink without removing his helmet. Too bad no one apparently ever mentioned that features to Din Djarin; would have made his life considerably easier. And yes, I was the person shouting "use a straw you idiot!" at the screen several times, to the vast amusement of those watching with me.

And of course, Susejo a.k.a. the Sarlacc mentioned in the original post is from A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett from the short-story collection "Tales From Jabba's Palace."

For new stuff that still feels like classic Fett, Age of Rebellion: Boba Fett by Greg Pak and Bria LaVorgna is really the only thing that comes to mind, but it's quite a lovely little one-shot.

*If you have trouble finding Twin Engines of Destruction let me know. I have the whole thing saved on my computer because I love it so much, although I will say that the digital format/coloring does it no favors.