#Mike Stackpole

[oldschoolfrp]

In 1989 Mayfair released a 2nd edition of their DC Heroes Role-Playing Game (top), and a 2nd ed Batman Sourcebook by Mike Stackpole (middle). The same year they also released a separate Batman Role-Playing Game (bottom) based on the DC Heroes rules, focused on Batman, his allies, and his classic villains.

[jadecrusades]

Star Wars Customizable Card Game promotional and play cards. “Reflections II: Expanding the Galaxy.” January, 2001.

Decipher’s Reflections II: Expanding the Galaxy series brought a handful of Expanded Universe characters to life including Mara Jade, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Talon Karrde, Corran Horn, Mirax Terrik, Dash Rendar, Prince Xizor, and Guri. Decipher also created an exclusive 5”x7” Promotional Oversized “Signature” Card depicting Mara, Talon Karrde, and Corran Horn for the summer ‘01 convention circuit. Model Shannon (Baksa) McRandle portrayed Mara Jade, while Timothy Zahn was made up to depict Talon Karrde, and Michael Stackpole was costumed to resemble Corran Horn. Stackpole had these memories to share on his blog:

The stuff done in a photostudio is really magic. At first glance, the guys they got for Corran and Karrde were right, in general. Good on the overall dimensions, hair color, eye color, etc., but they were just guys off the street. Then the hair and makeup folks went to work. Karrde got a wig and a full makeup job, which sharpened his features and totally changed him. By the end of the process - during which Tim's camera was clicking almost incessantly - I was believing the guy was Talon Karrde.

Once Karrde was made up and costumed, he was taken onto the photostage and lit. That's a fascinating process. If they put a yellow filter on a light, the light is considered "hot." A blue filter makes it "cold." The art director, photographer and photographer's assistant all discussed and debated, pulling lights this way and that, setting them up at angles, getting the model to look here or there. Then they took test Polaroid shots and digital shots and finally agreed that things were right. It was almost anticlimactic when the shooting got done, but the results were great. Talon Karrde lived.

Shannon Baksa actually did Corran's makeup, then he got lit and shot. One of my concerns had been that the model was a bit older than Corran would have been at that point, but the makeup and lighting slashed 15 years off him. And the models, they put up with a lot. At one point, while folks were off debating how Corran should be lit, the guy who had done Karrde's makeup commented that Corran was just sitting there rock-still. Corran said, "I'd move, but I'm afraid they'd have to re-light me."

[jkcorellia]

In terms of having their collective shit together, Alphabet Squadron makes Wraith Squadron look like Rogue Squadron

[unabashedllamamusic]

Jagged Fel should have been a butch lesbian. Discuss.

[legends-expo]

A year ago today was such a blast with all of you in Burbank, CA! We'll be back in the Los Angeles area in 2025 for another convention celebrating the Expanded Universe!

Photos by Thor Parker / Bekah Marie Photo

[cantsayidont]

October 2000 and May 2001. The Dark Horse STAR WARS TALES anthology had a very high dross-to-gems ratio, but it did feature one of a handful of SW stories drawn by Argentinian artist Carlos Meglia, best known as the co-creator of CYBERSIX with Carlos Trillo. Originally published in STAR WARS TALES #5, "Lando's Commandos: On Eagle's Wings," written by Ian Edginton, seems to have been intended to kick off a new series focused on Lando Calrissian and a group of misfit pilots doing special missions in the wake of RETURN OF THE JEDI, although it didn't catch on like the Mike Stackpole Rogue Squadron series did. Meglia also drew STAR WARS UNDERWORLD: THE YAVIN VASSILIKA, a five-issue miniseries with Lando, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and various other nefarious characters engaged in a treasure hunt for a mysterious artifact the Hutts are after (whose actual purpose is finally revealed at the end). It's fluff, but it has a sense of humor (dishearteningly rare in the Dark Horse SW comics), and Meglia's fluid, cartoony artwork is a joy.

[no2ticonderoga]

This mission was so hard, that when Mike Stackpole wrote the Rogue Squadron books, he used this mission in the Rogue Squadron training package...

[fanthatracks]

Star Wars: I, Jedi audiobook review The dramatic story of an X-wing pilot on the razor’s edge between the hero he once was and the power he could have—if he’s willing to embrace the Dark Side Corran Horn was an officer in the Corellian Security Force before casting his lot with the New Republic. As the grandson of a legendary Jedi hero, he has latent Force powers that have yet to be developed. But he has managed to distinguish himself with Rogue Squadron, the X-wing fighter force that has become the scourge of the Empire and of the pirates that prey on Republic shipping. When his wife, Mirax, vanishes on a covert mission for the New Republic, Corran vows to find her. He begins Jedi training at Luke Skywalker’s Jedi academy, hoping to develop his untapped powers. But as Corran grows dissatisfied with the Jedi master’s methods, he chooses to break with the academy before his training is finished. Now Corran is on his own. Using his undercover experience, he must infiltrate, sabotage, and destroy a ruthless organization in order to find his wife. But to succeed, Corran will have to come to terms with his Jedi heritage—and make a terrible choice: surrender to the Dark Side . . . or die. Author: Mike Stackpole Cover artist: Amir Zand Publisher: Del Rey Release date: March 12, 2024 Narrator: Marc Thompson ISBN: 9780593722183 A long time ago (April 25th 2014 to be exact), it was announced that the existing publishing content in Star Wars would be renamed Legends. It was also announced that the stories going forward published by Disney Press, Del Rey (now part of Random House Worlds) and other publishing houses would be considered Canon. What was lost in the immediate heartbreak and outrage of the announcement was the secondary announcement that when possible, Legends stories would be folded into existing canon. Star Wars publishing doesn't get enough credit for actively working towards this promise. Not only do we have Thrawn as part of the animated and live action universe, but we also have Legends novels being consistently re-released with fresh covers in both physical and audibook releases, and in unabridged form. Each of these novels and audiobooks contain an informative wraparound introduction to explain the stories to new readers. There have been a few Rogue Squadron novels released, many as unabridged audiobooks like this one. I, Jedi is a standalone novel starring Corran Horn, and if you watched the recent Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney Plus you might remember a desperate mother trying to get her young son off-planet through a conman named Haja because of his Force sensitivity. This moment made a lot of Legends fans very happy, and many are still theorizing what this could mean for the character in future Star Wars productions. I, Jedi is a perfect way to introduce new readers to the character, but before we get into the story here are a few things you need to know about the universe this book is set in. First: The book takes place in a post Return of the Jedi continuity. The Rebellion has won but still is battling Imperial remnants and other challenges to the galaxy. Second: The book takes place after the comic book mini-series Dark Empire. In that series Palpatine returned and Luke Skywalker fell to the dark side, later to be rescued by Princess Leia. Third: Many memorable Canon and Legends characters exist in this book including Wedge Antilles, Lando Calrissian, Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo (who are now married and have twins, Jaina and Jacen), and Luke Skywalkers future wife Mara Jade. Corran was a Corellian Security Offer who was dedicated to the cause of justice who left his post to fight in the Rebellion, serving with distinction in Rogue Squadron. Sometime before the events in this story Luke Skywalker tested Corran and found he had strong latent Jedi powers. Corran's Grandfather was a legendary Jedi hero, but Corran rejected his offer of training. At the start of the novel Corran finds himself at a crossroads as his wife Mirax reveals to him that she wants a child. Initially resistant, Corran references the instability of the galaxy and suggests they wait until the last Imperial threat is vanquished. Mirax humors him but is clear that they will revisit this discussion at a later date as she has to go on a secret mission to try to discover the whereabouts of an Imperial threat. Upon reflection Corran realizes he is ready and is excited to tell his wife, but comes home to find her not only absent from their residence but also that she hasn't checked in with her handlers. Corran draws on all his resources including an offer to look into it by Han Solo, Corran's fellow Corellian native. All leads come up empty and Corran begins to spiral. He tries to persuade prominent Rebel leaders to help, but they all refuse. What happens next is my one problem with the book. Corran joins Luke Skywalker and his other candidates in a remote location for Jedi training. That's right; his wife is missing and he spends MONTHS learning to be a Jedi. To be fair Mike Stackpole does a good job showing that all leads have dried up and that several people are searching for clues, but it still felt like an odd choice to me. I, Jedi is told from first person perspective, so the reader knows Mirax is always on his mind. Throughout his training, Corran is an apt pupil that always seems to be in the right place to make a difference against the threats that arrive at the school. When an ancient evil awakens on the grounds of Luke's academy, Corran is instrumental in discovering and rallying Luke's students to fight against it. When information finally comes on Mirax, Corran starts the steps to going to retrieve her, including learning some deep secrets about his family lineage and coming closer to accessing how his Force abilities work. I enjoyed the second half of this book immensely, and reading it from today's standards I think the book would have worked better as a duology, or if they had flipped the sequence of events to have Corran go to the academy first and then have Mirax be kidnapped a few months later, I would have been onboard. However, the woman and representation advocate in me couldn't get past the author shelving a female character for six months so the lead character could "find himself". Despite that, I understand the fandom love for Corran Horn. He has the swagger of Han Solo and the skills to back up the talk. He's also hard-headed, but when he learns something it sticks. He has a constant stream of allies that come into his life that he initially resists but always comes to appreciate. Stackpole really has a great understanding of his creation. Opinions vary on Horn but what shines through is how grounded Stackpole is in who Horn is and what limits he is willing to push. In this first person narrative there is a level of intimacy the reader gets with Horn that changes opinions on what you thought about him in previous stories. This was a solid adventure with a fantastic final act. A major part of my enjoyment was the narration by Marc Thompson. There are a variety of characters in this novel and he gives them all excellent voices, and it's amazing how he switches back and forth between human and alien characters, often ones having intense discussions with them. This book can be approached as a standalone read, but there are very many breadcrumbs to characters and stories you might want to explore, and if the time comes when Corran Horn graces the pages of a novel or live action project you'll have a far better understanding of his journey. [amazon box="B0CKS1NX2J"]

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 11.27

Beer Birthdays

Felix Geiger (1834)

Michaele Fallon; Miss Rheingold 1947 (1920)

"Crazy" Dave Heist (1956)

Chris Flaskamp (1962)

Matt "Batman" Brynildson (1971)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Jimi Hendrix; rock guitarist (1942)

Bruce Lee; actor, martial artist (1940)

Thomas Malory; English writer (1405)

Johnny "Blood" McNally; Green Bay Packers HB (1903)

Alison Pill; actress (1985)

Famous Birthdays

Kirk Acevedo; actor (1971)

James Agee; writer, critic (1909)

James Avery; actor (1945)

William Bliss Baker; painter (1859)

Charles A. Beard; historian (1874)

Julius Benedict; composer (1804)

Kathryn Bigelow; director and screenwriter (1951)

Les Blank; film director (1935)

Samantha Bond; English actress (1961)

Mike Bordin; drummer (1962)

Randy Brecker; jazz trumpeter (1945)

Nicole Brossard; Canadian author and poet (1943)

Kelly Bundy; Christina Applegate's character on Married with Children (1972)

Anders Celsius; astronomer (1701)

Zoe Colletti; actress (2001)

Sharlto Copley; South African actor (1973)

Frederic Crowninshield; artist and author (1845)

L. Sprague de Camp; historian (1907)

Frank Dicksee; English painter and illustrator (1853)

Tsuguharu Foujita; Japanese–French painter (1886)

Robin Givens; actor (1964)

Jackie Greene; singer-songwriter (1980)

Kevin Henkes; writer & illustrator (1960)

Robert Livington; signer of the Declaration of Independence (1746)

Shy Love; porn actor (1978)

Joseph Mack; passenger bus inventor (1870)

John Maddox; Welsh chemist, physicist (1925)

Anatoly Maltsev; Russian mathematician (1909)

Konosuke Matsushita; Japanese businessman, Panasonic founder (1894)

David Merrick; Broadway show producer (1911)

Katherine Milhous; author & illustrator (1894)

Alec Newman; Scottish actor (1974)

Bill Nye; the science guy (1955)

Steve Oedekerk; comedian, actor, writer, film director (1961)

Lars Onsager; Norwegian-American chemist and physicist (1903)

Eddie Rabbitt; country singer, songwriter (1941)

Liviu Rebreanu; Romanian author & playwright (1885)

Michael Rispoli; actor (1960)

Connie Sawyer; actress (1912)

Charles Scott Sherrington; English physiologist, & pathologist (1857)

Gail Sheehy; writer (1937)

Jose Asuncion Silva; Argentine poet (1865)

Arthur Smith; English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (1954)

"Buffalo" Bob Smith; television show host (1917)

Michael A. Stackpole; game designer (1957)

Fisher Stevens; actor (1963)

Richard Stone; composer (1953)

Mika Tan; porn actor (1977)

Cornelius Vanderbilt II; businessman (1843)

Fredric Warburg; English author (1898)

J. Ernest Wilkins Jr.; nuclear scientist & mathematician (1923)

Cal Worthington; Automobile dealer & TV personality (1920)

[ap-trash-compactor]

a friend of mine was talking about Beau is Afraid and Ari Aster’s work generally and they said “it’s nice to see a director with a male rape fetish,” by which they meant it’s nice that if a director is going to insist on having a rape fetish and putting it in every movie it’s at least nice that it isn’t about women getting raped for once. it was such an unfortunate phrasing and it was so goddamn hilarious that it’s gonna stay with me forever.

anyway this is all by way of saying I think Stackpole actually does have a bit of a male rape kink, and I can’t stop laughing about my friend’s unfortunate phrase in the context of this realization. I hope Mike got to live out his malesub non-con femdom fantasies without being as awful about women IRL as he is about so many of the women he writes.

[agbpaints]

The Pride Anthology is actually a fan project, but CGL has endorsed it and Mike Stackpole wrote the foreword for it, so they're clearly into it! There's definitely a small but loud minority that would like to keep the hobby exclusionary but overall it's good people who want to play giant robots/

Female custodes making the worst people imaginable mad enough they're gonna quit 40k is great, dealing with them moving to battletech is gonna be extremely tiresome

[jadecrusades]

Illustration by Duncan Fegredo, “Star Wars: Union” Issue #1. November, 1999.

Though the New Republic is thriving, there are still many who remain true to the spirit and evil designs of Emperor Palpatine. So when Luke Skywalker, the New Republic's greatest hero and sole Jedi master, decides to marry Mara Jade, the woman who was formerly Emperor Palpatine's personal assassin and executor of the Empire's will, you can be sure that somebody is going to raise their hands in protest!

[oldschoolfrp]

Map of lands explored in Tunnels & Trolls, by Liz Danforth, incorporating maps by Bear Peters, Ken St Andre, and Mike Stackpole (from “Ten Days in the Arena of Khazan” by Ken St Andre, Different Worlds 07, Chaosium, April/May 1980)

[captaingondolin]

a common theme in early legends books is mike stackpole looking at books/trilogies that came out before the x-wing series and being like "no, no, corran was in that series too, he was just two feet off-page the whole time!!" he's retconned into the thrawn trilogy (but only the final battle, really) and he is VERY retconned into the jedi academy trilogy while his wife is missing

two feet off-page XDD

[legends-expo]

Happy release anniversary to X-Wing: Isard's Revenge, published this day in 1999! Mike Stackpole's last foray in the series picks up from the final battle of the Thrawn Trilogy — and sees Rogue Squadron form an uneasy alliance with the dangerous Imperial spymaster, Ysanne Isard...

"The Isards make their own luck."

The New Republic has no love for Imperial Warlords, but Wedge Antilles, Corran Horn and the Rogues will risk all to bring home prisoners of war!

Love Legends? Join us for LegendsCon on September 9th & 10th 2023 in Burbank, California!

[bespoke-sharpie]

BATMAN, BATGIRL, ROBIN, ALFRED, GORDON, CATWOMAN, TWO-FACE, RIDDLER, PENGUIN, JOKER.  Front cover of the DC Heroes Role Playing Reference book published in 1986. Cover art by Ed Hannigan. Interior art by various. Written by Mike Stackpole. If you’re a Batman fan, this is a must have.