StarWars.com has posted a fantastic interview with Karen Traviss and Ryan Kaufman, all about the clone troopers. The article supplements the Guide to the Grand Army feature in Insider #84 and can be found in the Hyperspace area of the site. Click HERE to read it if you are a Fan Club member.

(Sharp-eyed collectors will also notice that the second clone pictured in the article bears the legion markings from the Target Exclusive collectible clone trooper from earlier this year. It's in the same style as many of the publicity shots you've seen in the Databank, Visual Dictionary, and elsewhere, with the CGI clone model posed against a blank grey background. Only difference this time is that it has the Target trooper logos. This is the first time this design has been seen other than on that figure, shown below. CORRECTION 10/5: Actually, these same markings appear in the film on Commander Neyo and one other trooper, but they both have nonstandard helmets. What I meant to say was, this is the first time, other than the figure, that these markings have been seen on a clone trooper with the standard armor.)


(Image courtesy of JediDefender.com. Reproduced by permission. Photo taken by Jared Brinkley)

Hyperspace has also posted an excerpt from the upcoming novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno, which begins at the very end of the Clone Wars and will further chronicle the early days of Darth Vader and the transformation from Republic to Empire.

 

Got news or questions? E-mail us at Clonewars@starwarz.com. Discuss these stories at The Galactic Senate.

The cover for the highly anticipated Republic Commando: Triple Zero was quietly added to the Del Rey catalog, and has been announced by Karen Traviss on her website and both of her blogs. The release date is February 28, 2006 and page count is 416.

You can read some of Karen's thoughts and post comments to the discussions HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

 

Got news or questions? E-mail us at Clonewars@starwarz.com. Discuss these stories at The Galactic Senate.

From StarWars.com: Like its predecessor series, Volume 2 (Episodes 21-25) of the Clone Wars animated shorts has won an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or More).

It also previously won an Emmy in the juried category of Individual Achievement in Animation.

Congratulations to everyone on the creative team!

 

Got news or questions? E-mail us at Clonewars@starwarz.com. Discuss these stories at The Galactic Senate.

StarWars.com updates with a preview of Insider #84, which will include the much-anticipated "Ultimate Clone Guide" by Karen Traviss and Ryan Kaufman, as well as the triumphant return of the popular HoloNet News feature, this time a "special inaugural edition" on the newly declared Galactic Empire.

The issue will come in three variant covers. It ships to subscribers this week and will start shipping to newsstands starting September 26.

Click HERE to read the full story!

 

Got news or questions? E-mail us at Clonewars@starwarz.com. Discuss these stories at The Galactic Senate.

As previously reported, Clone Wars Volume II (a.k.a. Season III) will be coming to DVD on December 6, 2005. Follow this link to StarWars.com's full story with details on bonus material and a larger image of the cover.

 

Got news or questions? E-mail us at Clonewars@starwarz.com. Discuss these stories at The Galactic Senate.

To celebrate the release of the Clone Wars Volume 2 DVD, StarWarsShop is pleased to offer a second round of exclusive hand-drawn animation cels and original production drawings following their sold out series first reported here.

As before, Acme Archives has created special one-of-one edition cels produced in the hand-colored tradition, pulled from the original line drawings which are included with each cel. Most of these come from scenes included in the Volume 2 DVD, which chronicles episodes 21-25 of the series.....

Follow this link to StarWars.com's full story including a link to the shop gallery.

 

Got news or questions? E-mail us at Clonewars@starwarz.com. Discuss these stories at The Galactic Senate.

Our news system is back up again, and here's a recap of some recent developments during the time it was down:

--Clone Wars Volume II wins juried Emmy in the category of Individual Achievement in Animation. Read the StarWars.com story HERE.

--StarWars.com preview of Star Wars Chronicles: The Prequels

--Sideshow Collectibles (new licensee for 12" action figures) is doing a poll to let fans choose (from six preselected options) the first Expanded Universe character that goes into production. The poll runs from August 19 to November 4. Three of the options are Clone Wars related: Quinlan Vos, Asajj Ventress, and Padme in arctic suit from the cartoon. Read more HERE.

--Rebelscum updates their JediJournals section with information on the Clone Wars Volume I cine-manga, published in the UK, Germany and Japan through TOKYOPOP.

 

Got news or questions? E-mail us at Clonewars@starwarz.com. Discuss these stories at The Galactic Senate.