We conclude unofficial Cavan Scott month with a review of his newest comic series, Return to Vader’s castle. The story riffs off of the previous series but tells 5 stories in 5 issues from the perspectives of Vader’s servant, Vaneé, and his captive, a familiar face we do not meet until into the stories. We discuss why this series is right in our wheelhouse and is some of the best comics in all of Star Wars. From the riffing on classic monster stories like Dracula and Night of the Living Dead to the pathos of a failed Tarkin Initiative weapon, these five issues are just what the Halloween-loving Star Wars fan wants.

With a new Mandalorian trailer and Weiss and Benioff leaving their Star Wars project, we have plenty to talk about this week. We don’t go super in-depth on the trailer, but we definitely anticipate the new show and share some news for Home One Radio related to it. It’s a really fun episode with Josh going on a rant and Blaine trying his hand at a Mario/Dracula impression. Two weeks until The Mandalorian!

0:00 - Ahoy, hoy!

2:30 - The new The Mandalorian trailer

9:00 - D&D leave Star Wars

22:00 - H1R News

We’ve been waiting to get around to this comic series for a couple of months and we have finally gotten to it! Featuring the writing of Jody Houser, who we loved in the Age of Republic series, this comic ties-in to the Alexander Freed novel, Alphabet Squadron. We discuss the story’s surprising humanizing of Imperials as Shadow Wing, the nemesis of Alphabet Squadron, takes on a group of rebels, but not the rebels you would expect. Enjoy our review and make sure you read Alphabet Squadron and listen to our episode on it!

Home One Radio Episode #128 - Alphabet Squadron

With the much-hyped release of the final trailer for The Rise of Skywalker, we discuss the refreshing lack of plot details in the trailer and how it leaves us with the right amount of excitement, emotion, and questions. Are Rey and Kylo working together? Why is C-3PO saying goodbye? Is the Emperor really that important? These are a handful of the topics we explore plus we recount our favorite parts. We are sufficiently psyched for opening night!

Unofficial Cavan Scott month continues as we review the brand-new Choose Your Destiny book, A Finn & Poe Adventure! Taking place after the events of The Last Jedi, the Resistance is still on the lookout for more supplies. Finn and Poe are tasked with securing bacta, a crucial medical supply, for the Resistance. We discuss Cavan’s incredible ability to quickly embody Poe and Finn, how to choose wisely, as well as how Finn is the glue between all the main characters in the Sequel trilogy. Enjoy this book with your kids and look for some more Cavan-talk in a couple of episodes!

It’s not really a long episode, but it’s all about the release of Disney+ content. We focus on Star Wars content real quick and then we spend a little time talking outside Star Wars by sharing what we’re looking forward to from Disney+’s impressive amount of content coming out when it launches on November 12th. Less than a month away!

Its basically all Disney+ talk so there is no need for show notes this week!

Our first foray into the Journey to the Rise of Skywalker books is a discussion of Justina Ireland’s Spark of the Resistance! In one of our first glimpses of the post-The Last Jedi, we see a Resistance broken and shattered by the events of Episode VIII but a group that is hopeful and already rebuilding. We discuss Rey, Poe, and Rose’s excursion to the unknown planet of Minfar and how this little planet filled with rabbit-like Zixon’s is the first step towards a rebuilt Resistance capable of defeating the First Order. Plus, Ireland continues to impress us with her ability to capture the spirit of the old Legends books like the L. Neil Smith Lando books and Brian Daley’s Han Solo trilogy from the late ’70s and early ’80s.

We recap all the Star Wars news from last weekend’s New York Comic-Con, including post-The Rise of Skywalker plans, a new Thrawn trilogy, and the very secretive Project Luminous. Plus, we talk about baseball a lot, for some reason. We apologize to all the Chicago-area fans out there for the very anti-Cubs talk from a Brewers fan and Cardinals fan.

0:00 - Hello, there

0:55 - Playoff baseball and anti-Cubs talk

6:30 - NYCC Publishing announcements

17:30 - Star Wars-adjacent TV recommendations

Welcome to the start of our unofficial Cavan Scott month! The majority of our October 2019 episodes feature reviews and discussions of Cavan Scott’s books. We kick it off by catching up on last year’s Tales From Vader’s Castle. We welcome the return of Lina Graf, Crater, and Vader’s attendant Vaneé. Hitting right in our sweet spot, this comic series is all about the power of story and how things that scare us can help us learn and grow as a person. This comic series is so wonderful and we hope you enjoy our discussion of the power of story and Star Wars.

We’re not at the store, we’re stuck podcasting about new merchandise for Star Wars Resistance, The Mandalorian, and The Rise of Skywalker. Plus, we share our mutual excitement for Babu Frik and the premiere of Season 2 of Star Wars Resistance! Yay! It’s a great week of news and I’m sure we will be back early next week to talk news from NYCC.