The Unofficial Clone Wars Site

HADEN BLACKMAN INTERVIEW

Haden Blackman, writer and LucasArts video game producer, recently chatted with us about his contributions to the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Haden is a key figure in the "Chronicling the Clone Wars" campaign. He has written numerous issues of Republic including the first appearances of the ARC Troopers, Asajj Ventress, and Durge and the epic Last Stand On Jabiim saga. The hardest working man in Star Wars EU will also be penning a 10-issue story that will lead directly into the first scene of Episode III. The series will be illustrated by Brian Ching.

Haden is a producer and creative force behind numerous popular Star Wars video games for LucasArts including Starfighter, Bounty Hunter, Jedi Starfigher, The Clone Wars, Knights of the Old Republic, the massive multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, and many others.

Blackman's other Star Wars writing credits include stories in Star Wars Tales, Crossbones, Jango Fett: Open Seasons, The New Essential Guide To Vehicles and Vessels, and the upcoming paperback novel, Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine.

TUCWS: Haden, welcome and thank you for agreeing to do this interview. To get things started could you give us some background info of yourself like where you're from, where you received your training, and who were your past and/or present creative inspirations?

HB: I grew up in Southern California, where I was fortunate enough to attend really great public schools. I think people underestimate the importance of primary education, but I was encouraged to start writing when I was in second or third grade and I was already learning about story structure, character development, and the laws of grammar (which I break constantly) well before I reached high school. In high school, I had very supportive English teachers who urged me towards writing as a career. They also directed me to read outside of the standard curriculum (so, I've yet to read Catcher in the Rye, I'm embarassed to admit, but I did discover Paris Trout by Pete Dexter, who I think is the greatest novelist alive today), which opened me up to new genres. I probably wouldn't have gone to college if not for an intervention in the part of at least one high school teacher. Luckily, I did decide to attend UC: Santa Cruz, where I received my degree in Creative Writing. UCSC is great because you really get a holistic education - while my focus was on Creative Writing, I also got really deep into Shakespeare and took classes on science fiction, horror film, the CIA, marine biology, philosophy of death, gender studies, and pretty much anything else that seemed interesting. Again, I was really fortunate to have great mentors there too. I value all the technical training I've received, but in many ways, all the experiences I had outside of the writing classes often prove more valuable.

After college, I worked at a literary agency, looking at submissions and doing some ghost-writing. Eventually, I parlayed that into a two-book deal with Random House. I've always been a huge fan of books on monsters and the like, so I wrote (and Random House was good enough to publish) the Field Guide to North American Monsters and its sequel, the Field Guide to North American Hauntings. The work I did on those two books helped me land a job at LucasArts, working on Star Wars-related video games. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about Star Wars while researching and writing Behind the Magic, a Star Wars reference product, and I think it's that knowledge that was attractive to Dark Horse and Del Rey, who I've done some writing for recently.

In terms of inspirations, I look all over the place. I'm an avid gamer, so I take a lot of the kinetic energy from my favorite games and try to translate that into my comics. I also listen to music almost constantly - it's difficult for me to write if I don't have music playing, and I try to pick stuff that's good for the issue. So, if I'm writing about all the Padawans getting slaughtered or a story that's dark, it's something like Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, or old Metallica; for a serious issue with more dialogue and reflection, it might be the soundtrack to The Mission or Miller's Crossing. Actual individuals whose work inspires me includes all the mid-80s and early-90s comic book creators like Jim Starlin, Mike Mignola (Rocket Raccoon ruled), Jim Shooter, Alan Davis, and Mark Gruenwald. As a kid, I was especially into the darker stuff by guys like Bernie Wrightson, Len Wein, and Alan Moore. Right now, I read everything that J.H. Williams and Dan Brereton do, and I think Geoff Johns is fantastic. I'm also inspired by Brian Ching, who does a lot of the art for my most recent Star Wars comics - his talent really pushes me to try and make my stories more vibrant.

TUCWS: I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that you're a Star Wars fan. How long have you been a fan of the whole genera?

HB: I've been a fan of Star Wars since the first film was released. I had as many of the action figures as we could afford, read Splinters of the Mind's Eye, and bought the comics when I had extra money from mowing lawns. When Empire came out, though, I was old enough to really enjoy the movie on different levels, and it encouraged me to explore fantasy and science fiction books, films, and comics to an even greater degree. After Empire, I was consumed by a whole group of movies that I think are fundamentally influential because they were strange and exciting and fantastic (and even a little scary), but not necessarily kid unfriendly - Dragonslayer, The Dark Crystal, Gremlins, Close Encounters, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Dreamscape... But I don't think any of these would have been possible without the original Star Wars.

When I first started at LucasArts, I enjoyed Star Wars and had read some of the comics and novels, but I didn't know nearly a tenth of the backstory and trivia. Now that I do, I'd say I'm probably a bigger fan because I appreciate all the effort that has gone into making it a cohesive, "real" universe.

TUCWS: What's your favorite Star Wars film? Who's your favorite character?

HB: Without a doubt, The Empire Strikes Back. It has the best scene in the entire saga - the scene in the carbon-freezing chamber - and the most interesting relationships between characters. When Chewie goes berserk and starts tossing stormtroopers everywhere, it's just fantastic. And the interchange between Leia and Han is totally classic.

My favorite character is Lando. I think he's misunderstood. You might see a guy who betrays Han (which is true), but I see a guy who is finally trying to make good and be a responsible leader. But, in order to live up to that responsibility and save the lives and livelihood of those who depend on him, he's forced to betray an on-again, off-again friend. It's probably the most difficult moral dilemma anyone faces in the saga. On the surface, we get a charming, slick Lando, but there are great moments when he's shown struggling with his decisions. It helps that Billy Dee Williams was cast - I can't imagine anyone else in the role. By the end of the trilogy, Lando has redeemed himself completely in my eyes (he rescued Leia and Chewie, scoured the galaxy for Han, risked his life to infiltrate Jabba's Palace and participate in Han's rescue, and blew up the second Death Star), and yet some fans still hate him. Maybe if he had died while trying to escape the Death Star explosion he would have achieved redemption...

TUCWS: You've been wearing several hats for Lucasfilm for a few years now. When did you start working for LucasArts and what exactly is it that you do over there?

HB: Currently, I'm the producer on Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, which is our massively-multiplayer online role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe and developed by Sony Online Entertainment. As Producer, I'm responsible for maintaining the schedule, budget, game design, and Star Wars content.

When I was initially hired at LucasArts over six years ago, I was brought in as a writer/researcher for products like Behind the Magic. Because I worked so closely with Lucasfilm and developed an understanding of the license, I was eventually given the title of Content Supervisor. In that capacity, I worked with all of our Star Wars teams, including external developers, to ensure that their designs met our goals and fit within the context of the greater Star Wars license. I also spent a great deal of time writing story and dialogue for games like Starfighter and Jedi Starfighter, and did quite a bit of voice directing (which was perhaps one of my favorite aspects of the job). I was brought onto Star Wars Galaxies very early as the Content Supervisor because we knew that the game was going to require an unprecedented amount of Star Wars content. Pretty quickly, I took on the mantle of Producer to provide even greater oversight and direction. Right now, we're hard at work on the Live development efforts for Star Wars Galaxies and have just begun work on the Space Expansion, which will allow players to pilot starfighters and engage in combat in space.

TUCWS: At what point did you begin writing comics for the Dark Horse's Star Wars line? Were you approached or did you do the approaching?

HB: My first comic book story was also my first Star Wars story, way back in Star Wars Tales #7. I had become friendly with Alan Kausch, who was the Lucasfilm editor for the comics at that time. He introduced me to Dave Land at one of the San Diego comic cons. I gave Dave a copy of my Monsters book, and a few months later he asked if I wanted to do any stories related to LucasArts games. I pitched three or four ideas, and the one we ran with was a story was a bit about the pirate Nym in Star Wars Tales, which I then followed up with a limited series that takes place between the Starfighter game and its sequel, Jedi Starfighter. Dave really gave me my first break and even signed me to do the Jango Fett: Open Seasons series, which got much more attention than any of my previous stuff.

TUCWS: When do you find time to eat and sleep? No, seriously, how do you juggle keeping the Galaxies* players satisfied AND punch out those Clone Wars stories in the Republic comics?

HB: My wife will tell you that I don't sleep, and I eat at my desk. Six days a week, I'm devoted to Star Wars Galaxies. I try to do most of my writing at night or on Sunday.

TUCWS: What's most enjoyable about working for LucasArts and writing for Dark Horse Comics? Is it a dream come true to be working on Star Wars for a living?

HB: In both cases, for me the most enjoyable part of my work is interacting with so many other creative people. I really like brainstorming sessions with Randy Stradley, my editor on Star Wars Republic, for example. And I've been really lucky to get great artists for everything I've done so far in comics. Here at LucasArts, I'm surrounded by intensely creative people, and my favorite part of the job is the early design phase when everything is a possibility and we're just trying to decide what we want to build. The fact that all of this revolves around Star Wars is definitely a huge bonus.

TUCWS: You've written in virtually every medium of Star Wars publishing: video games, comics, novels, essential guides, and articles for Star Wars Insider. How does your approach differ when writing in each of these mediums?

HB: In general, I think I shift gears pretty well. I just try to sit down and focus, and remind myself what's best for the medium. I've found that there's actually a ton of overlap between writing for games and comics - both are incredibly visual and kinetic mediums that rely on short, memorable dialogue to develop characters. I also try to bring what I've learned from writing for one medium into others - I've found that the pacing and panel-by-panel descriptions used in comics has helped make me better at writing cutscenes for games. Because both games and comics are so conservative in terms of text and dialogue, I actually find it's easier to write things like the Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels because I'm not so constrained - I can say nearly everything I want to say about a subject. The Essential Guides do have their own challenge, though, and that's all the research that needs to be done before I can write one. I'd say that about 2/3rds of the time it takes to complete an Essential Guide is devoted to research, with the remaining 1/3 divided between the actual writing and then editing.

TUCWS: In Jango Fett: Open Seasons, you managed to clear up some lingering continuity issues regarding the Mandalorians and The Fetts. Was this an initial goal of that project? How important is continuity in Star Wars literature to you?

HB: Open Seasons has kind of a strange history... Prior to the release of Episode II, LucasArts was working on our Star Wars: Bounty Hunter game. The game's director, Jon Knoles, really wanted to have some idea of Jango's backstory before he wrote the story for the game, which deals with Jango's quest to become the Prime Clone. I worked closely with Jon to come up with a short, one-page bio for Jango, but Jon gets full credit for tying Jango to Jaster. I was also able to meet with George Lucas to talk about the backstory, which he approved. Jon and I later shared the backstory with Dark Horse, which then led Dave Land to pitch the limited series. From the basic one-page bio, I tried to flesh out Jango's history and clean up some of the continuity issues - I introduced Vizsla and the Death Watch as the main antagonists, placed the first issue on Concord Dawn, and injected Montross and Komari Vosa (both villains in Star Wars: Bounty Hunter) all to make the story more cohesive with what we already knew to be "true" about the Fetts and Mandalorians.

For me, continuity is extremely important, but how slavishly it must be follwed depends largely upon the medium. The great thing about Star Wars is the fact that the universe has a certain depth and verisimilitude that would be destroyed by rampant inconsitencies. Obviously, continuity is integral to the Essential Guides. I can't just make up anything I want about the AT-AT because so much has already been established, and I need to be consistent there or the "reality" of the AT-AT starts to fray. The comics often deal with stories that take place in relatively short timeframes, so there's some freedom in terms of the overarching Star Wars timeline, but I still try to be very conscious of the continuity and not contradict anything that we already know to be "true." With comics, my number one goal is always "Tell a good Star Wars story." A good Star Wars story requires an understanding and integration of the continuity. The Star Wars part is a key ingredient. With games, there's a little more lattitude, especially if the game doesn't have a concrete storyline. Something like Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is very much considered part of the continuity and Jon Knoles crafted the story to fit within the existing Expanded Universe. Other titles, though, sometimes bend certain aspects of the continuity for fun factor. Star Wars Galaxies is set between the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, an era that we know was bereft of Jedi - there's a valid argument that the films establish that Luke and Yoda were the only Jedi at that time (although others have been introduced through the EU). However, we wanted players to become Jedi in the game. Obviously, this is an area where the continuity is a little gray, and we had to go with what made the most sense from a game design perspective: 1) The Galactic Civil War era is the most interesting to us because of the war; and 2) Being a Jedi is fun, so we want Jedi in the game, even if it raises continuity concerns given the setting.

TUCWS: The New Essential Guide To Vehicles and Vessels was published earlier this year. How did you become involved with that project? Was it a daunting task with all the information that had to be included or was it relatively fun (and painless) to write?

HB: Yet again, I met an editor (in this case, the very patient Steve Saffel) at San Diego Comicon. At that time, I had just completed Behind the Magic for LucasArts, which was a massive undertaking and required a huge amount of research. Steve liked my Monsters and Hauntings books, and asked me if I ever wanted to do any non-fiction. We started discussing a possible revision to the Technical Journal first, but that eventually evolved into the New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels and an updated Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology, which I'm working on now. Again, the research was really the most difficult part of the new guide to vehicles, but I did get to invent quite a bit about the new vehicles, especially the Episode II craft and some of the stuff from the comics. Steve also suggested that we break up the layout with quotes about each vehicle, and these were a blast to write.

TUCWS: Can you give the fans any additional information on the upcoming novel, Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine of which you collaborated with author Voronica Whitney-Robinson?

HB: I don't want to overstate my involvement. Voronica really wrote the novel; I just helped out with the basic plot and made suggestions about characters and activities that should be featured in the book. After Voronica finished writing the book, I went through the novel and made sure that everything seemed consistent with the game - the game is establishing its own continuity, in some ways, and the book needs to reflect that (and does, I think).

In terms of the storyline, it deals with the Alliance's efforts to recover something they left behind on Dantooine. In their mission, the main characters travel to several worlds from the game and encounter quite a few of our staple characters. Voronica also drew on at least one well-known player-run event in-game as a setting for some of the activity in the novel.

While the book is a tie-in to the game, I think the story is engaging in its own right and should be interesting to all Star Wars fans, especially since it's set during the height of the Galactic Civil War and includes cameos from Lando, Vader, and a number of other characters.

TUCWS: Randy Stradley mentioned that you are to "blame" for this whole Clone Wars publishing campaign. To this, I say, THANK YOU. What made you want to initiate such an ambitious undertaking?

HB: Again, that might be overstating my involvement... When Randy asked me if I had any ideas for any Republic comics, I put together a treastise that was basically "If I ruled the galaxy, this is what I'd do with the series..." I thought that John Ostrander was doing a great job with the series, but as a writer, I really wanted to focus on Obi-Wan and Anakin during the Clone Wars. For me, the Clone Wars stories would be the ultimate fan fulfillment. The only way to do this was to ensure that the comics and other sources could actually start telling stories set during that era. So, I just kept arguing that fans would want to read about the Clone Wars more than the pre-Episode II era. I don't think this is a terribly brilliant idea - I'm sure Lucasfilm was already heading that way, but maybe we pushed the process a little. Randy, Jeremy Barlow, Scott Allie, John, and I had a meeting at Dark Horse with editors from Lucasfilm to map out a year or so of both Republic and Empire. I think that meeting really convinced Lucasfilm that there were thousands of possible stories for the time period. Soon after, Republic shifted gears with the Battle of Kamino issue. After the meeting with Dark Horse, Lucasfilm really began to drive all of the storytelling towards the Clone Wars era, which I think is a great move until Episode III releases.

TUCWS: You are one of only two writers that are responsible for telling the Clone Wars story in comic format up to this point. Are the Clone Wars what you envisioned them to be when you were a kid wondering what Luke was talking about in that conversation with Old Ben Kenobi? How cool is it knowing that YOU, for the most part, get to dictate the in-between's of the War?

HB: To be honest, as a kid, I imagined the Clone Wars pitting a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and other heroes (most of them grunts, not necessarily Jedi) fighting horribly disfigured, twisted "clones." I'm sure I didn't know what a clone was until I saw Blade Runner... I just knew that it sounded dangerous. I never imagined that the heroes would be fighting alongside the Clones. For me, it is really exciting to be telling stories in this era because it's so wide open. There aren't very many restrictions on us (except we can't kill Obi-Wan, but I came close...). In all my stories, I've tried to reinforce the brutality of the war and the fact that Jedi aren't immortal, which has been really challenging but has resulted in some cool moments.

TUCWS: What are the major challenges of creating an interesting plot for a Clone Wars story arc? Are you given free reign over what you want to write about? Do you (or did you) seek advice from other writers that proceeded you in writing Star Wars comics?

HB: I haven't really run into any specific challenges for the Clone Wars stories that I wouldn't face with stories set in any other era - it's always difficult to come up with a story that fits in 22 pages and helps to develop characters, but also shows some good action and has at least one or two really memorable moments. Lucasfilm and Dark Horse have been great in giving me a lot of lattitude with my stories, so I do things like kill off Jedi at a record pace. Probably the greatest challenge is just coming up with good villains to fight Jedi - they have become so powerful in so many sources and the lightsaber is often portrayed as the ultimate weapon, so very few villains can stand up a single Jedi, let alone a group of them. I tried to deal with this by showing some diversity in the Jedi "power levels," so that not all Jedi are superhuman, and through introducing unconventional threats (like a biological weapon) and some villains with superhuman qualities of their own.

I'm fortunate because I'm immersed in Star Wars, so I know a lot about what other creators are doing in the comics, novels, and games. I was really fortunate to spend time with John Ostrander when we transitioned into the Clone Wars era - he is an amazing storyteller and had some really great ideas about how to make my basic plots more engaging.

TUCWS: How long does it take you to write a complete script for a single comic issue?

HB: This is a tough question... If I answer one way, Randy thinks I'm not spending enough time on my scripts; if I answer another way, he realizes why my scripts are always late... Honestly, it varies a great deal, depending upon the story and the characters included, whether I'm working with a new artist, whether the setting is familiar, which football game is on TV... I tend to write really detailed panel descriptions, which take time to visualize and then put down on paper. At my best, I can knock out an issue in six or seven hours, by that's only if I'm really flying, I've had a long time to let the ideas percolate, there's a good balance of action and dialogue, and I don't need to do any revisions. That's really an issue "writing itself." In general, though, I average about four pages an hour for a first draft, but it's the revision process that's really the time sucker - I often rewrite entire scenes three or four times - so the final product could take much longer to complete.

TUCWS: So far, we've only seen action-oriented and more personal level Clone Wars stories from you. Do you have plans to take a more political spin on the Clone Wars in future stories?

HB: Well, I like to think I've managed to sneak in some politics amid all the carnage. The Battle of Jabiim is a good example - I tried to show how the Jabiim leader, Alto Stratus, is not only a military leader but a political leader. He is able to rally his troops because they feel neglected and even victimized by the Republic. They are fighting for the Confederacy because they want a change in the political climate. But really, I just don't want to write very many scenes set in the Republic Senate or featuring Palpatine talking about his next political moves. We know that the Confederacy and the Republic are at war, and we basically know why; now, what's really interesting to me is how that impacts the soldiers sent to fight the war - the Jedi and the Clones, specifically.

TUCWS: Is your almost exclusive pairing with artist Brian Ching due to how well you two work together or is it just a coincidence? Are you pleased with how Brian is translating your words into images?

HB: I hope it's because we work well together! I've been really fortunate in that each artist I've had has really made my scripts much better. I just think Dark Horse does a great job finding the right artists for the material, and Brian is wonderful at taking my panel descriptions and giving them life. There are times when I'm writing a panel description and thinking "He's never going to be able to pull this off..." or "I hope he understand what's I'm trying to describe..." But when I see the pencils I'm amazed because not only was Brian able to realize what I was trying desperately to describe, he also adds his own ideas to the panels to make them more dynamic.

TUCWS: The Clone Wars by their nature are dark and gruesome, full of death and despair. Is it more of a challenge to write darker stories rather than more light-hearted stories where the good-guys always win?

HB: I love the darker stuff. My favorite comic as a kid was Swamp Thing. I actually have more difficulty with lighter stuff, especially in the context of the Clone Wars, because it doesn't always feel true to me. I don't think the good guys should always win, and I think that comics are much more interesting when you know that the outcome isn't always guaranteed. The way in which heroes face certain defeat, or overcome an initial loss, can be important defining moments. I do want to portray Anakin and Obi-Wan as heroes, so they need to ultimately prove victorious on some level, but that doesn't mean that every battle is a victory. And, that doesn't mean that they won't lose a lot along the way... The Clone Wars stories are also about a large-scale, brutal war, so death needs to be part of the plots. Still, I hope that readers do recognize some of the dry humor we try to slip into the comic from time to time, and there are moments of real hope, especially after the Battle of Jabiim.

TUCWS: Along that same line, is it discouraging to create so many interesting characters (e.g. the Jedi quartet in Republic #53) just to have them killed off by the end of the issue? Would you like to, if possible, revisit some of these tragic character's backgrounds in future stories?

HB: My one regret is that I wish I had more time in these stories to develop the characters, so their deaths would have more impact on the reader. But, we're really trying to establish that during the Clone Wars, Jedi die. Some of the Jedi are background characters that you don't even know - faceless casualties; others are characters with names and histories that are hopefully intriguing. I'd love to write some stories about the Padawan Pack (a group of orphaned Jedi Padawans at the Battle of Jabiim) or the famed Jedi heroes who die in #53, if only because I've already brainstormed their backgrounds and have a strong handle on their personalities. The idea of a Jedi striketeam composed of the most ruthless and cunning Jedi is still a cool idea, so maybe that will get resurrected with a different group of Jedi.

TUCWS: The story arc of Republic #51-53 featured the Separatists using biological or chemical weapons against the Gungans. What prompted you to use these weapons? Did current events in the real world inspire this?

HB: I'm sure the real world events were on my mind, but the idea really came from trying to get into Count Dooku's mind and asking myself "If I were the leader of the Confederacy, which kind of superweapon would I build?" If your entire army is composed of droids, and you're fighting an army that consists of organic soldiers, then a biological or chemical agent makes total sense. You can kill your enemy without damaging your own troops. It makes even more sense if the enemy commanders are Jedi, enemy units that you don't want to confront directly and against whom blasters have very limited use.

TUCWS: Regarding Asajj Ventress and Durge, how much of their character development are you given freedom to dictate? Are there definitive plans for these two for the duration of the Clone Wars? Were you part of the Lucasfilm team that developed these villains specifically for the Clone Wars publishing campaign?

HB: Lucasfilm recognized a need for a few new villains during the Clone Wars. I was already proposing the introduction of more villains into the comics, because I think villains help to define their heroes and none of the Jedi really have a "rogues gallery." I wanted to bring that concept into Republic, introducing some key recurring villains that could challenge the heroes. Anyway, Lucasfilm also wanted some new villains for their other licensees - they would be useful for the comics, games, novels, and action figure lines. Later, it became clear that they were perfect for the cartoon as well. The process started at Lucasfilm, where some concept art was produced featuring a female Dark Jedi and a new bounty hunter. I was then asked to come up with backstories, personalities, and abilities for the characters. I wrote up detailed bios that were approved, although we still haven't revealed much about Durge's past. The naming was a group effort led by Lucasfilm.

TUCWS: Could you explain how the ARC trooper Alpha came about? He's deficiently one of the most interesting characters in the Clone Wars saga.

HB: In my initial pitch to Randy for my "dream" series, I proposed that the stories focus on a group of heroes adventuring across the galaxy, undertaking special missions during the Clone Wars. This group would include Obi-Wan and Anakin representing the Jedi, and Padme and Bail Organa representing the Senate. Captain Typho would be along to protect Padme, and Threepio and Artoo would tag along as well. I also wanted to include a few revolving characters as the story dictated - so, Aayla if the heroes were going to rescue Quinlan Vos (as an example of an early story idea). Finally, I wanted there to be a "military" representative in the group who would cause some friction. I saw this character as the "Special Forces" hero who could undertake some really dangerous missions and do things in an unorthodox fashion, which would put him at odds with the Jedi. I felt that someone like Jango Fett would be perfect in the role; unfortunately, he was dead... So, I invented the next best thing - a character who was a near-perfect clone of Jango and had, in fact, been trained by Jango himself. The fact that Jango was a villain (in the eyes of Obi-Wan, anyway), helped to create some of the friction I wanted. I really, really like Alpha - he's fun to write and he's great as a foil to the Jedi. It's also great to be able to show the Jedi learning new ways to handle situations, from someone who is not a Jedi.

TUCWS: Speaking of ARC troopers, they are going to be making appearances in several upcoming stories - most notably in the Clone Wars Micro-Series and The Cestus Deception hardcover novel. Did any of the authors or creators ask for your input on the ARCs?

HB: As with Durge and Ventress, I provided a detailed description of the ARC troopers to Lucasfilm, which was then given to the other creators. I hope they also read the comics to see how I handle Alpha, but really, Alpha is just one individual. Other ARC troopers might have slightly different personalities, depending upon their experiences.

TUCWS: In the Battle of Jabiim, we see the AT-AT walkers for the first time. What inspired you (and your team) to bring these in to the story line?

HB: George Lucas, who suggested that AT-AT walkers could appear during this timeframe. The fact that we see walkers in Episode II helped push this direction as well. Brian used the early Ralph McQuarrie concept art as the basis for the AT-ATs deployed at the Battle of Jabiim, suggesting that the walkers will evolve over time.

TUCWS: Are we going to see any of those Assassin Droids from Republic #57 again? They kind of resembled IG droids, only sleeker. Is there a connection? Did you write a description of them in the script for Brian Ching or did you give him complete freedom to design them?

HB: I believe that was mostly Brian. I just suggested that the droids needed to be menacing and threw out some ideas for other inspirations in the Star Wars universe. Similar droids are appearing in other sources, so he may have drawn on those concepts as well. I'll probably use them again too.

TUCWS: What can you tell us about the future of the Clone Wars? Are we going to start seeing elements from Episode III (i.e. ships, worlds, characters, etc.) showing up in your Clone Wars stories in the near future?

HB: I certainly hope so. The plan for when, where, and how Episode III content is rolled out is still being developed. We'd like to be able to showcase a few of the major characters and I personally want to continue Anakin's development.

TUCWS: What are you working on now: video game- and comic-wise? You have a 10-issue pre-Episode III story coming soon, right?

HB: On the video game front, I'm still serving as the LucasArts Producer on Star Wars Galaxies. We're hard at work on the Space Expansion right now, which will allow players to own their own starfighters to fly across the galaxy and engage in combat. On the comics front, I'm finishing up the first issue of a series based on the Clone Wars cartoons. We're also working on something that will serve as a lead-in to Episode III but, again, the details and logistics are still up in the air.

TUCWS: What advice can you offer to aspiring writers and video game developers?

HB: I don't know that I'm the best person to give advice on how to "break into" either industry because, in both cases, I feel like I sort of "lucked into" my roles. For writing, I would say that you do need to learn story structure. There are a million people who can string together a nice sentence or write something thoughtful. With the Internet, everyone's a writer. But, writing (comics at least) professionally does require a strong handle on story structure, and you don't get that necessarily by just reading other comics. I also suggest reading a book called Shot by Shot, which actually talks about cinematography by is useful when you're dreaming up panel-by-panel descriptions.

Game development is a totally different animal than anything else out there. In general, the best way to get into the industry is through a testing job. Outside of that, it really depends on your discipline (art, programming, etc.). When I get asked "How can I get a job in the games industry?" it's usually by people who want to be game designers. There isn't a "right" or defined path to becoming a game designer - most I've met started out in other disciplines and displayed a strong understanding of the fundamentals of game design and then shifted gears.

TUCWS: Soooo ...you've read the script to Episode III, I hear. What were your initial thoughts on the story? What can you tell us about it that won't get you sued or fired :p?

HB: Nothing. :)

TUCWS: How would you rate your excitement level about the final Star Wars film even though you know the plot?

HB: Very high.

*To learn more about Haden's involvement with Star Wars Galaxies, check out JediNet's exclusive 2-part interview with him: PART 1, PART 2

Conducted by Brian Gates, December 2003.