#a3do

Damn, got by a lizard! That was so exciting! I can’t wait for Season 2; this Nomi seems like she’ll be a fantastic character!

This week's theme: Funky Background Aliens (FBAs)!

You guys don’t even know how much I love this panel. This is seriously one of my favorite panels of all time. What a dreadul place indeed!

All the nasty little FBAs here are, as far as I know, entirely original species. On the front row, left to right, we’ve got: a bellhop goat man; a hooded couple with witch lesbian energy; a horrible goblin with coral-like skin; and a spindly purple customer buying a jar from a hairy blue shopkeeper with a wrinkled sort of crucifix for a face. Behind them, we’ve got the handsome young Sunrider family and three pale, creepy-cute droids. And behind them, there are additional intriguing alien silhouettes.

I wish Star Wars artists would always feel free to fill the space with entirely new and bizarre aliens, especially when introducing a scary and strange setting. When there are no familiar designs, or even -- in this case -- barely any humanoid faces at all, it helps the audience to feel more genuinely unsettled and curious.

Also, that’s definitely Atton Rand’s sexy jacket there on Andur, right?? I wonder if KotOR II’s makers ever gave credit to Janine Johnston for the design!

I think what most compels me about this panel is the contrast between the beautiful humans and the ugly aliens. But don’t get me wrong: I love them all.

This week’s theme: Masters and Apprentices!

Here is a promised apprenticeship that is, tragically, never to be. Before he is able to teach either his daughter or his wife in the ways of the Force, Andur Sunrider is murdered. Nomi, his widow, becomes a reluctant hero and sole caregiver for their daughter, Vima. I love this whole magical family so much, especially Nomi. Sometimes I bring her up even out of context of obscure Star Wars comics, when the subject comes up of our favorite badass women of fiction/scifi. I wish we could have seen more of her ability (or inability?) to teach her daughter!

This week's theme: Star Wars moms have it rough!

My favorite Star Wars comics mom is Nomi Sunrider, who has to go on her entire adventure while caring for -- often literally carrying -- her daughter Nomi. I love when sci-fi/fantasy heroes have to take their kids along, but I feel like it is more common for dads -- like Batman, Kratos in the 2018 “God of War,” and of course Din Djarin in “The Mandalorian.” I wish there were more mom main characters like Nomi! (And I would personally appreciate non-binary parents, too!)