Star Wars Outlander

So, I have been on a Star Wars kick again recently. This time it is a series that ran from 1998-2002. Essentially, we are looking at the Jedi Council and such as we lead into the clone wars story lines. And really, it is one of the things that reminds me of why I have loved this stuff for as long as I have. I’m not going to dig too far into anything. Basically, the amount I have been able to go through so far right now is roughly 18 issues, so about three separate storylines (they follow a 6-issue story pattern).

The one that really got me was the second storyline. This one followed the path of Ki-Adi-Mundi, the Cerean Jedi master. If you don’t know their names like the back of your hand, just picture the one who looks a bit like a cone head from Saturday Night Live (back when it was funny).

In this story line he is looking for a Jedi that is supposed to be dead. Wait, back up a minute, I realize that I forgot to mention the name of this story line and it is important because the name does fit in so many different aspects of the story. So back to the direction I should be going. In the storyline Outlander, Ki-Adi-Mundi has traveled to Tatooine in search of Sharad Hett.

At the outset, Sharad is believed to have joined up with a band of Tusken Raiders. Which is odd since he is believed dead and the Tusken do not allow outsiders into their groups. But not only is he now connected with the band, it is believed that he might be a leader. Yeah, basic story, in a nutshell. And as you might expect all manner of things go wrong and discoveries are made and yada yada…

Yep, I yada yadad that. Mainly because it isn’t necessarily the story exactly that we are going with here. More so, I am thinking of the meta behind the story itself. Maybe I said that wrong. It’s the history inside the stories as well as outside of the stories that I am looking to touch on here.

Because if you may have noticed, we don’t see much about many of the alien races within the stories unless they have a moment inside the stories and even then it is something brief that doesn’t give us any history or tradition. Well, without going into any of the source books and encyclopedias. But who has time for all that. Personally, I find that to be a bit boring unless I am looking for quick answers to some questions. And even then I am more likely to look through stuff online than I am going to be digging through tomes that are more than likely out of date (hell, even online is out of date most of the time because we as a whole are lazy bastages).

Anyway…

As you dig through the pages, there is tradition of the Tusken people that plays out in front of you. We learn things about who and what they are and what drives them. That’s the kind of stuff I love to find in stories like this. In it’s own way we are getting an expansion of the lore and histories of the universe as we experience some of it unfolding. Doesn’t get much better than that.

The sad thing is, the time when these stories came out was before the sale to Disney. So with that it isn’t always easy to tell if the stuff we learn in this is accepted as canon anymore. It could just be folklore that doesn’t really touch on the new realities that are being worked into the universe.

I find that sad. But I don’t know if this is a thing I need to get into again here. I mean, if you have spent any time reading some of the stuff I have written about Star Wars and the universe it all happens in, you will know my feelings on the new stuff coming out. I would rather talk about the parts that have come before all that, the parts that bring me happiness and give the stories meaning.

As things go, this is one that gives meaning to so much of what is going on. As it all takes place just a bit after Annikin was picked up on Tatooine, it gives a new dimension to what we know of his experiences on that world as we see them in the movies. Yeah, that’s how it should be.

As we are shown more of those worlds and the lore, we are drawn deeper into their folklore. Something I think is missing from many of the modern movies coming out now. We have lost so much of the traditions established in the growth of certain storylines that we no longer can recognize the connections.

Just a bit of my thoughts on it for the day. But otherwise, the series is pretty good. If you get a chance you should pick it up and spend sometime in the stories of those who aren’t directly related to the Skywalker family. See the worlds through some new eyes.

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If you enjoy these stories, consider leaving some coffee money in the jar or you could buy a book or two. Either way helps keep the stories flowing.