#michael a. stackpole

Star Wars: Mara Jade-By The Emperor's Hand #1

by Timothy Zahn/ Michael A, Stackpole (W);  Carlos Ezquerra (P/I); James Sinclair and Michael Taylor (L)

Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron, Battleground Tatooine #1 of 4

-July 1996- Dark Horse Comics

Chapter 1

story: Michael A. Stackpole

script: Jan Strnad

pencil art: John Nadeau

inks: Jordi Ensign

colors: Perry McNamee

letterer: Vickie Williams

Wedge hit the reply button. " No problem here, we just have new plans. With Coruscant being under new management, we wanted to get things started early to ease the transition."

"What are you talking about? Who is this? "

"Rogue Squadron Contracting. X-wings far faster, but they don't build things as nicely as this does. Antilles out."

- A conversation between someone at the Ministry of Planning and Zoning and Wedge Antilles.

In the many, many series that comprise the Star Wars EU (the Legends Canon since Disney decanonized it in 2014), the X-Wing series is an interesting case because it is fairly cleanly bifurcated between two X-wing squadrons and two authors, and yet the series as a whole--and the characters who cross over between authors--feel remarkably consistent. That's a feat in and of itself, as anyone who has read over the shift from Robert Jordan to Brandon Sanderson in the Wheel of Time can attest.

My clear preference is for Aaron Allston's writing style and the Wrait Squadron missions, but I know readers who dearly love Stackploe's Rogue Squadron as well. So let's take a look at how these authors grab readers with their first lines!

Oh, ho ho YEAH!

MWAHAHA!

*SCREAMS*

Context

This poor dude has lost his entire squadron at some point and repeatedly loses people he cares about on a regular basis. He’s had to write hundreds of letters to families, telling them their loved ones won’t return home. 

He puts up a brave and collected front in order to encourage others and create some semblance of calm, but screams and breaks things because “I lost another man” when he’s alone.

He grieves alone, he suffers alone, and his duty has made him abandon the mere thought of falling in love and building a family at the age of fucking twenty eight.

Wedge, sweetie, you deserve a hug. 

Like he really thinks he’s being selfish, because having a family would mean NOT surrendering every part of himself to this seemingly never ending war. He thinks he’s selfish for having dreams and maybe not wanting to spend the rest of his years doing nothing except fighting.

He’s also fully prepared to die. Repeatedly. Is constantly going on the most dangerous missions and not willing to be promoted. 

Like no, you’re not selfish for wanting a life. You’re not selfish for feeling lonely when you don’t have many people around you and when you’ve reached a point where you distance yourself because you know it’s inevitable that the people around you will die in only a few years.

You’re not selfish for having feelings and emotions and wishing for a better life that you don’t have to give up everything for. You’re not selfish for sometimes thinking you’d love a different life where you didn’t have to fight tooth and nail to survive and to protect others. And where you didn’t have to lose blood sweat and tears to do so.

This man has gone though so much and he is such a fantastic character and I am so glad that the EU, and specifically Aaron Allston, decided to explore his character and give him depth.