Star Wars Publishing, Hasbro toys, and Collectibles are the big news of San Diego Comic Con 2016 Day 2.
By Mike Audette // The Star Wars panels at San Diego Comic Con 2016 Day 2 were all smashed together one after another in a nice even three-hour block. Makes for nice and easy coverage!
Publishing Panel
First up was the publishing panel. Hosted by Michael Siglain of Lucasfilm, the panel featured Brian Rood, Michael Kogge, Phil Szostak, Katie Cook, Mark Brooks, Matt Martin, and Chuck Wendig. Over the course of the panel the numerous guests talked about various things they are working on as well as the process of what it is like to work over across multiple different groups of production and editing staffs. For all of the details check the RetroZap Twitter account for a live tweet of the panel.
The big news that came from the panel was that Katie Cook is illustrating the sequel to A-B-C-3PO titled Obi-1-2-3, which will feature a similar art and writing style highlighting a number per page and using Star Wars characters and vehicles to depict. Also Rogue One will be getting it’s own Art Of book just like The Force Awakens had, written by Phil Szostak with a cover featuring K2-SO drawn by Doug Chiang.
Hasbro Black Series
Next up was the Hasbro panel, which was a highlight to mostly everyone. Announced during the panel would be the next wave of six-inch Black Series: Qui-Gon Jinn, Emperor’s Royal Guard, Tusken raider, Lando Calrissian, Jaina Solo, and finally–finally–Hera Syndulla. The calls for a Black Series Hera figure have been coming for a long time and its about time she got her due.
They also discussed the process of how the design works for making the Black Series figures. They also discussed the three San Diego Comic Con exclusives: Ben Kenobi, Kylo Ren, and Jyn Erso, which are featured in the collectible packaging with limited-edition art cards. The big news from the panel was the AT-ACT 3.75 scale vehicle. The AT-ACT walks on its own. It makes walking sound effects. It has a removable cargo container, AND is controllable with your smart phone. Holy crap, this thing is nuts.
Collectible Panel
After the Hasbro panel was the collectible panel. It featured EFX, Sideshow Collectibles, GentleGiant, Kotobukiya, Tamashii Nations, as well as the ProShop from Pinewood. Updates included all-new statues and sixth-scale replicas as well as all-new lightsaber creations as part of the “Duel” series. Then, there was the newly announced full-size control board from the Millennium Falcon coming from the ProShop. I swear it looks like it’s straight out of the movie. You can also check the RetroZap Twitter account for a live tweet of the panel.