Sure... some of the figures were kinda low-grade, and some were low-demand characters, but you guys missed out on some real gems!

Anyway... I figured I had to do a little more with my last batch of auctions. So this time out I brought in a few ringers. There's two auctions in particular you should pay attention to. The first is the white gown ROTJ Princess Leia. That thing is worth... seriously... about a thousand dollars. Maybe two grand on a good day. Let's hope Sunday is a good day. The second is the taped Darth Vader. It's one of very few "confirmed" factory-taped ESB MOC figures. You can read all about it in the auction.

So here's the last. The rest of the figures are on their way to be graded and sold by Mr. Fawcett. I'll be posting when those auctions go live... because I really need to recoup this investment! But don't wait... bid on some of these!!

• Princess Leia Ograna - ROTJ48 RARE White Gown
• R2-D2 Sensorscope - ESB48
• Yoda - ESB41 Brown Snake
• Darth Vader - ESB47
• Darth Vader - ESB47 Unique Factory Variant
• Ugnaught - ESB47
• Lando Calrissian - ESB47
• Sandpeople - ESB47
• Luke Skywalker Bespin - ESB47
• Snaggletooth - ESB47
• Bossk - ESB47
• Stormtrooper - ESB47
• Walrusman - ESB47
• Darth Vader - ESB47

Click on over to the Create-A-Commander page and scroll down to Part II. Then, start thinking of ways to make the Shadow Trooper Commander even better and find out how to submit your ideas.

There are prizes to be won. Up to three stonkingly cool ideas can qualify. And let me put it this way: if you're having trouble with, shall we say, certain aspects of the Ultimate Galactic Hunt, entering a really good idea may very well help you bag that most elusive of exclusives . . . . I will say no more on the subject.

Uh?

I don't know what other forums may have this similar topic where questions will be forwarded to Hasbro but I hope not many.

My first problem with this is the unwashed masses that will crawl out of their empty Star Wars shipping boxes to ask the most obvious questions. Questions, I might add, that quite often will have already been answered if they'd simply read the news on the very same site. Of course these are the same people that got Kir Kanos into the top 25 characters of the most recent Fan Choice poll even after it had been confirmed that he was coming in 2006 anyway. Half that list was wasted on confirmed or all-but-confirmed figures...these same in-the-dark collectors are who we'll be dealing with here.

My second problem is that even if they get these questions answered it won't stop them from not believing Hasbro anyway. Thread after thread, post after post you can see where people dismiss info and substitute their own theories and apply their business knowledge as to why they dismiss it. I have yet to meet a single forum poster that has ever been in the toy business and therefore must assume that 100% of the posters in this category have no idea of actual costs thus rendering all their theories useless. But you know the adage about the squeaky wheel.

My third problem with this type of interaction from Hasbro is that they will quickly see just how unbalanced the large majority of Star Wars collectors really are. See, the people that you can take seriously in the hobby already know most of these answers...therefore it's the fringe (i.e. momma's basement dwellers) that will actually be seen and heard in this debacle. I fear the only logical outcome will be to have Hasbro dismiss the entire collector market based on these individuals.

What can we do to solve this problem? Unfortunately, banning forum posters for laziness, stupidity and general arrogance would leave us with 4 guys in the vintage section wondering where everyone went. I don't really have a solution, I guess, I'm just positing the question.

Oh, and another thing; Having a nickname on a forum is one thing but when you're trying to be taken seriously in a Q&A, don't sign your question with names like "SaddestMoon" or "RollaJedi."

(Many Bothans died to bring me this information.)

The fact is that Han's shot didn't kill Greedo! There was actually a second gunman on the grassy knoll, or in Tatooine's case, the sandy dune. Autopsy reports state that the size of Greedo's wound could not have come from a blaster, but a long range sniper rifle, probably with some sort of infrared scope attachment necessary to hit the target with any accuracy through the thick wall of the Cantina. Sources won't elaborate, but believe the shooter to be none other than the assassin droid, HK-47, the very same droid once believed to be owned by Darth Revan. After all, no one really knows what became of HK-47 after the Ebon Hawk left Malachor V. (Get "Knights of the Old Republic I and II if you don't know what I'm talking about)

This week's cards feature a vengeful Rodian and a hopeless droid.

Beedo Sookool...hey...wait...isn't that the name of a regular contributor to Bill Cable's "The Cantina" Comic? Why yes it is!

See, being part of the Creature Cantina family not only means lasting notoriety within and sidelong glances from the collecting community, it can also mean lasting fame in collectible card game form! So send in those stories and ideas, people!

(This messages has been sponsored in part by the CC.com Talent Search Committee.)

Anyway, Beedo can take the edge off those pesky bounty hunts by depriving your opponent of a game-tipping win.

Also trying to make it through the door is 8D8, here to annoy everyone with another Droid Rights protest. Add him to your deck at your own risk.

• Beedo Sookcool
• 8D8

Unfortunately, even good auction endings don't always have happy endings. There's that pesky matter of shipping. And sometimes even the best preventative measures aren't enough. And that happened with one figure I auctioned.

It was a Cloud Car Pilot. The winner was, oddly enough, a Cloud Car Pilot focus collector. Yes, somewhere in the world there's a guy who has a Cloud Car Pilot focus. I was shocked, too.

Even though I packed the CCP very well, wrapped in bubble wrap and everything, the upper-left corner of the bubble lifted away from the cardback. Thankfully it was one of the cheap-o figures I sold. The CCP focus freak was very understanding, and decided not to press charges. So I figured the least I could do is give him a plug when he relisted. Check it out:

• Vintage ESB Cloud Car Pilot 47bk Mint On Card MOC

Think about it. Indy comes across an ancient Sith holocron. (How did it get to Earth you say? Who knows? Maybe a Predator dropped it on one of his trips here, after all, the "Predator" and "Star Wars" movies are both 20th Century Fox. Plus, Lucas and Spielberg are friends and worked on the "Indiana Jones" films together. Did you know the little alien race from "E.T." was in the Galactic Senate scene in "Attack of the Clones"? But I digress.) The holocron opens up a portal that transports Indy back in time and across the galaxy to the Sith world of Korriban. Where he battles the forces of the dark side while exploring the tombs of the ancient Sith Lords: Ajunta Pall, Marko Ragnos, Naga Sadow, and Tulak Hord.

Not sure how a bullwhip would fare against a lightsaber, but Indy is known for holding his own and getting out of tight scrapes. Who could come to his aid? The Republic? Bounty Hunters? The New Jedi Order? The possibilities are endless. Now I'm sure you're asking, "Okay, so he has this big adventure on Korriban, when it's all over, how does he get back home?" Well depending on which Star Wars era it's set in, I think it would be really cool if he got a ride home in none other than the Millennium Falcon. Of course the obvious comparisons between Han and Indy would crop up.

Hey, The Cantina CCG fan, are you looking to win over the heart of some dewey-eyed damsel? Maybe you've been stalking...I mean...looking for an opportunity to meet that geek-chic girl that haunts the manga section of your local comic book store. Fret no more, little Romeo, for this week your friends at the Cantina are going to help you out with the ladies.

Just invite her to play a riveting round of The Cantina CCG, and make sure to slip a couple extra Princess Leia: Ladies' Night Cards in the stack. She'll be sure to win the game, and you'll be sure to win her heart. Oh, yeah. It's summer time, and we feel a heat wave coming.

Or, maybe you've already won the heart of your soul mate, settled down, and had a kid or two. Well, you don't want them wasting all these summer hours in the basement playing Battlefront II, Dungeons and Dragons, and The Cantina CCG...just stick this handy Darth Maul: Half-Time card in their deck, and you'll see them outside exposed to solar radiation and smog in no time!

• Princess Leia
• Darth Maul

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/CreatureCantina.com

There's only one problem... the way Wikipedia works, anybody can go in and change... anything. So anybody reading this is free to click over there and change the description of the site. And knowing how many people I've pissed off over the years, this is a big risk. I half-expect all our Star Wars pr0n pics to be posted there when I stop by tomorrow night. But that could also be comic gold. So have fun! Spruce up the CC.com stub. But be nice... at least a little nice.

They've decided to re-make "A Christmas Carol", this time with a twist. Chancellor Palpatine will be playing Scrooge, and young Anakin Skywalker will be Tiny Tim, a young lad with a severe breathing problem and majorly impaired acting ability. Now since Anakin really had no father, (only his mother Shmi, who will be reprising her role) they cast Darth Maul as Bob Cratchit? Originally they tried to get Watto, but he wanted too much money and wouldn't take Republic credits. Then they thought to use Kleeg Lars, but he wasn't part of the story yet when Anakin was a boy.

Anyway, Palpatine, a very nice, kind, generous man who wants nothing but peace and tranquility for the galaxy, gets visited by the ghost of Darth Plageus late one evening. Plageus gives him a book: "The Dark Side for Dummies". The Chancellor is also told he'll be visited that night by three spirits: "When the clock strikes "Episode I" - Mace Windu (Christmas past). When the clock strikes "Episode II" - Yoda (Christmas present). And when the clock strikes "Episode III", the ghost of Christmas yet to come - a Jawa." They want to commend him for all the good things he's done for the galaxy. (Well, not so much the Jawa, he just gives him a great deal on some plans for an armored battle station that were found in an old R2 unit.)

OK... I have a confession to make. I ruined OSWCC.

Within 24 hours of making this announcement, the diner was mysteriously no longer black-listed, and the Emperor himself offered to donate the necessary funds to renovate the facility. Even Imperial officers volunteered their days off to come help with the reconstruction. The Senate is proposing they expand the property size to accommodate more people. Local owners who have buildings that surround the diner all seem more than happy to sell their land at rock-bottom prices. One Aqualish was reluctant to sell, but recanted when he was offered an all-expense paid trip to an Imperial detention block.

Numerous applications for waitress positions have come in from the shapely Twi'leks on Ryloth and Hermione Bagwa (a waitress at Dexter's) is flying to Polis Massa to have some...enhancements done. Yarna D'al Gargan has also submitted numerous applications, after all, she has three sets of...hooters. But the forms keep getting lost in the mail, or the transport ships carrying them keep getting blasted out of the sky. Dexter suggested she try Jabba's Palace, as he caters toward a more discriminating clientele. WA-7 (the waitress droid at Dex's) has refused any "upgrades" to her frame and will be relegated to hostess duties only. The grand opening is scheduled for sometime next year.

Read on to find out...

I guess I should admit something here. I hate Durge. Not the character... I don't mind the whole sleeping-for-a-thousand-years, recovers-from-any-lightsaber-wound thing. But the character design - awful! There's just no cohesion. Every element is disjointed. It's like they covered a guy in tar, tossed him in the trash compactor, and kept anything that stuck.

That makes him exceedingly hard to draw. It makes my brain hurt to imagine how the guy who did him in the comic books could sketch all that crap panel after panel.

I guess that makes it even more of a miracle that I was able to pull him off as well as I did. I ask you, what can't you draw when you can draw something so nicely that you loathe so deeply? Witness my latest display of greatness:

BTW, a lot of people have been waiting over a year for their art, as I told them they would when they paid their deposits. I thought it might raise some hopes if you guys had an idea who's on deck. So here's a list of upcoming drawings in the order I'll be doing them:

• Quinlan Vos
• Life Day Chewbacca
• Lava Damage Vader
• Dewback
• Clone Wars Obi-Wan
• Bantha
• AT-AT Driver
• Saesee Tiin
• Bib Fortuna
• Corran Horn

How this is supposed to work is: Suppose the Death Star is orbiting Tatooine, there will be a shield generator there protecting it, working like the one on Endor did. If that generator gets destroyed, the Death Star will still be able to fall back on it's own internally generated shield until it can travel to the orbit of another world, like Hoth, Dagobah, Bespin, etc... Where other shield generators will be set up. So no matter where it goes, it will almost always have the comfort of dual shield protection. Great for when those pesky rebels decide to launch an attack.

That's not even the biggest news. If this Death Star gets attacked in transit and by some slim chance the internal shield gets knocked out...this space station is also a TRANSFORMER! The Death Star becomes the enormous mechno-terror DARTH KORRIBAN! In the core of this behemoth is a special chamber set up for only the most powerful Sith Lord (Whomever that may be at the time of its completion.) The room is to be equipped with special amplifiers through which the Dark Lord can feed his force powers directly into the workings of the machine itself, amplifying them, magnifying them. So when the Death Star is in robot form, it will be able to hurl super star destroyer-sized bolts of force lightning, force-push starships all the way to the outer rim, and force-crush whole planets.

Take for example the recent Toy Fare "Fan Choice" vote. If you remember, I was a big advocate for Willrow Hood. My position was that it'd be best to vote for a character that won't have any other chance of being made, rather than one that Hasbro would make eventually anyway.

Well, a couple weeks ago RebelScum posted a list of confirmed figures for 2007. It was a big list. Lots of good choices. And... big surprise... among the "3 3/4" expanded Universe 2-Packs" you'll see listed: SW Tales: Twilight #1 - Quinlan Vos VS. Vilmarh Grahrk.

Yes... Quinlan Vos. Hasbro's gonna make him. I seem to remember mentioning during my advocacy for Willrow that Hasbro was going to make him. I remember saying something along the lines of "Why waste your vote on something that's already in the pipe?"

And I remember a bunch of idiots claiming that voting for Vos wasn't a wasted vote! I remember a bunch of short-sighted nitwits bleating "But I wanna vote for Quinlan... he's my favorite!" And I tried and tried to get it through their thick skulls that Hasbro was going to make him whether he won the Fan Choice vote or not, but that just seemed beyond their comprehension. I don't know if they were too stupid to realize Vos was already being made. Maybe they were ignorant of the rumors that were posted on every stinking collecting site on the web.

Maybe now they'll get it. Hey dumbasses - they're already making Vos!!! You could have cast a vote that meant something if you weren't such morons! Congratulations - you voted for a figure that's already being made! If he wins the Fan Choice vote, maybe we'll get TWO. Wouldn't that be fan-freakin-tastic??!!

• Bib Fortuna
• Hermie Odle

Oorah. Yes, after 2 months of being stateside I finally got my pictures developed from my second run to foreign countries. Plus, I'll be leaving for more countries next month, so God knows what kinds of pics will show up. Anyway, without further ado, I present:

This photo was taken October 3, 2005 at Camp Victory, Kuwait, prior to us inserting into Iraq. A transit point where US personnel stop on their way to and from Iraq and the free world. Naturally, there was a nice, fat pinch of Copenhagen or Skoal in my, LCpl Brig's, lip.

This photo was taken November 2005, 2 days prior to Thanksgiving, while my platoon (1st) was prepping for a patrol that would insert into the Marfu Villages the following night (nothing like cramming 27 guys into the back of a 5ton, exhausted and weighted down with gear, returning from combat operations at 0100 Thanksgiving morning!). From left to right is LCpl Vargas (2nd Sqd/Grenadier), Cpl 'Iggy' Ingersoll (1st Sqd/1st Fireteam Leader) holding an ammo box of M-67 fragmentation grenades. He's since gotten out of the Corps. LCpl 'Benny' Gomez (2nd Sqd/SAW Gunner), also holding a grenade. LCpl Bare (2nd Sqd/Grenadier) and finally myself, LCpl 'Pink Mist' Brig (1st Sqd/2nd Fireteam Grenadier) holding a frag. The signs aren't easy to read, but the one in Bare's hand reads 'ATBn B Co OIF III' and the one in my own, the classic cc.com sucks.

Filename Checkpoint-this one was taken with a digital camera, so it came out a lot better. Military Lane, Grizzly Checkpoint, myself standing in full combat gear, including the crappy shoulder DAPs the Army made us wear, being an M2 Browing 50 caliber heavy machine gun (manufactured 1943, rebuilt 1967 or 69). Once again, I have a fat dip in. This picture was taken in March of 2006, prior to Operation Cafe Ole.

Enjoy! Oorah & Semper Fi

183 > 287

That this conclusion flies in the face of every proven mathematical theorem and millennia of both anecdotal observations and rigorous measurements didn't deter the bureau from issuing this decree. Bureau Chief Fill Eeesiw prefaced the announcement by stating, "There are times when the ends the Empire requires supersede numerical qualms. At such times, it is the duty of all law-abiding citizens of the Empire to adapt their perceptions to the reality we impose. Conduct yourselves accordingly."

Architect: Not to worry, my Lord. Once it's completed, no one would dare attack your new battle station.

Emperor: Excellent! I take that to mean it will have stronger shields, larger defense turrets, a more powerful super laser, and a smaller exhaust port.

Architect: Actually...no. We decided to make this a kinder, friendlier, Death Star. Let me explain. (Unrolls blueprints.) After the last one was destroyed, my superiors thought that if we made the new one less...imposing, the galaxy wouldn't fear it so much, and in fact, WANT to visit the Death Star!

Emperor: Kinder? Friendlier?? We're the Galactic Empire!!! I WANT to instill fear and terror throughout the galaxy! (Looking at blueprints) What is all this?

Architect: Let's see...We got rid of the detention blocks, interrogation rooms, things like that. Now have a food court, amusement park, petting zoo, day spa, casino (for adults only!), shopping mall, water park, convention center, luxury hotel suites, workout room, 36 screen movie theater with THX surround sound, comedy club, and four 18-hole golf courses. We even got rid of that horrid super laser and replaced it with the Galaxy's largest speaker! Right now it's only set up to play "Dixie", but we're work...

Emperor: Amusement parks? Petting zoos? DIXIE???? Why in the name of Marko Ragnos would we want that???

Architect: It's your way of saying to a world, "HI, WE'RE HERE!!!! COME OUT AN PL..."

Nigel (his real name) more than exceeded my expectations. He was a real "life of the party" type guy. Jolly. Boisterous. Bigger-than-life. It was a great lunch with lots of laughter. And we discovered something funny - even though Nigel was born in and now hails from the UK, he spent a lot of time in the USA. That includes a stretch attending Kent State University... at the same time my wife was attending Kent State and I was living in Kent! We both remembered the infamous PETA Chimp Incident of the late '90s! How odd is that?

I took the opportunity to snap a photo of Mr. Sookcool. So take a gander at the wonder that is Beedo:

Yep, that's Tsavong Lah scoping out the only lady brave enough to strut her stuff topless in this joint: Sy Snootles.

And who didn't have a crush on that yellow-skinned, blue-freckled, hot momma when he was a kid?

Playing out torrid love triangles between Han, Leia, and Sy in a veritable Star Wars Cabaret was half the fun when you weren't bashing your Chewie and Boba Fett together. And don't scoff. You know you did it.

As for Tsavong Lah...well...being EU illiterate, I had to actually look him up on the Star Wars databank. Even though he technically appears in The Cantina, I was worried that purists would think we were somehow losing our integrity to include him in the game. Thus, you should find a compromise that everyone will feel happy about.

Keep flopping!

• Sy Snootles
• Tsavong Lah

Investigations are under way to determine if the presidency was bought with funds from individuals linked to Osama Bin Laden. Plus it's quite interesting that some of the new SWFC members have names like: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Haley, Janis Joplin, and have addresses that are parking lots, baseball stadiums, airports, and landfills. Is there also any truth to a certain fan club president having something to do with the Trade Federation blockade on Naboo, or at least a deciding vote in the Toyfare fan's choice figure contest?

So help me out, readers! Check out these high-quality Vintage auctions!

• AFA85 ESB Han Bespin
• AFA80 ESB Yoda
• AFA80 ESB Luke Hoth
• AFA85 ESB Lando Calrissian
• AFA85 ESB Luke X-Wing
• Another AFA85 ESB Luke X-wing
• AFA80 ESB Zuckuss
• AFA85 ROTJ Darth Vader

After the elections it seemed like a sure bet that his only competition, uscwannabe, had a lock with a lead of nearly 100 votes. That all disappeared in recent days as recounts on Cato Neimoidia seemed to favor Roberts.

Oversight by the Banking Clan appeared lax at times but calls for an investigation by the Jedi Council went unanswered. Droid advocates on Coruscant heralded the decision which places R2-D2 in the vice president's chair.

WA-7, a labor representative on Coruscant, had this to say; "We finally have a candidate in office that we can communicate with. Hold on. Hey, Dex! Where's that Jawa juice?"

Congratulations for Roberts was rolling in from all corners of the galaxy. Most have nothing but good things to say but a few out there pointed to close ties with the Trade Federation that could be a conflict of interest.

Said one member of the Senate from Naboo, "Meesa thinkin' weesa in trouble!"

As fate would have it, not only is Quinlan Vos this week's Fan Choice Winner, it's the latest "Cable Original" art! I'd like to claim that I planned it out that way, but I simply don't have that much pull... you know... to rig a big election.

I'm really happy with how this one turned out. Quinlan Vos is an interesting character. My patron for this one chose his "assassin" outfit. Good choice, I think. Jedi robes can be sort of... dull. Assassin gear is the hotness. Check it out:

(Note: This episode contains highly patriotic imagery and may not be suitable for liberals and those with the tendency to vote Democrat.)

You might have thought the Star Wars empire had conquered just about every major board game. Monopoly, Life, Stratego, Battleship, had all fallen. Yes, even the upstanding interrogators of Trivial Pursuit had turned their dice over to the Dark Side. But the Star Wars marketing conquest was not yet complete. Not until now, at least...

The second time was at the OSWCC Summer Social. We donated more art from a "The Cantina" comic strip. Hey... it's an easy donation... I have five sketch pads full of this crap. This one was won by Billy Cory... apparently the third such piece in his collection!

Some possible decedents for the various editions include: Jabba, Shmi Skywalker, Owen, and Beru Lars, the Jedi council (it was decided to stay away from using younglings as this will be a game for all ages), Emperor Palpatine, Grand Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, and Obi Wan Kenobi. The weapons of choice don't just rely on the old standbys like blasters, thermal detonators, vibroblades, or lightsabers either. There's sabotaged podraces, strangulation, stampeding bantha herds, hungry Rancors, Krayt Dragons, the all powerful Sarlacc, being pushed into a reactor shaft, force lightning and other dark side powers, poisoning by Kouhun, crushed in a trash compactor, blown up in a space battle, and executive orders! There will be no disintegrations however.

I'm in the home stretch of my latest one. I have the cardbacks finished and printed. Top quality printing, BTW. I have most of the Stormtroopers and all of the weapons. Weapons I'm going to customize I might add. I have the bubbles, and the coins should arrive shortly. It's going to be an amazing piece when it's finished.

In the mean time, I figured I could give everybody a little preview. Drum up interest. If you wanna go on the waiting list for this one, E-mail me.