Report: Topps Reveals Rejected Star Wars Art

Back in the 1990s, the Topps Company dazzled Star Wars enthusiasts with a trio of celebrated trading card sets called the Star Wars Galaxy. These series provided an illustrative, rather than photographic, overview of George Lucas’ seminal brainchild. Each showcased art used in the production of the three original movies, art used for their promotion and merchandising, and finally breathtaking, newly-commissioned art inspired by the films themselves. This last and most fanciful gallery, entitled “New Visions,” enabled illustrators from both the comic book and mainstream venues to lose themselves in imaginative bliss, dreaming up concepts and characters from Lucas’ fantasy universe that never were, but easily could have been.

Not surprisingly, some of these notions were deemed a bit “far out” by Lucasfilm’s officially designated editors. Additionally, many seemed at odds with certain aspects of the mythology that hadn’t been finalized yet. As a result, a handful of “controversial” New Visions were turned down, relegated to the catacombs of Topps’ picture archives. Until now.

With the rebirth of Star Wars Galaxy in the 21st Century as an eagerly-awaited Fourth Series, editors at Topps decided to re-visit those previously rejected paintings and renderings. Today, with so many storyline questions answered by the new episodes, many of these speculative Visions suddenly seemed viable. Some accurately predicted events in Lucas’ still-unfolding mythology, while others offered dramatically different takes on key story developments. Either way, it was decided by everyone involved that the time had finally come to reveal these previously-hidden creations to the world.

As expected, the original artists were delighted by this belated recognition of their efforts. “How great to have my Star Wars artwork finally see the light of day!” beamed Chris Moeller, one of a handful of illustrators showcased in SWG4′s special chase set entitled “The Lost Galaxy.” His unique rendering dared to show what the stormtroopers look like beneath their helmets – a full decade before George Lucas decided that all of these ubiquitous Imperial soldiers were actually clones of Jango Fett. Indeed, Boba’s enterprising father didn’t even exist as part of the Star Wars mythology back in the ’90s.

There will be a total of six Lost Galaxy cards in the new chase set. Other pieces include: Joe Ciardiello’s offbeat portrait of George Lucas; infant-style renderings of Luke and Leia by Garbage Pail Kid artist John Pound; a young Obi-Wan whisking away the infant Leia by Kevin Nowlan; an extremely formidable, Jedi-slaying Jabba by Tim Burgard; and, last but hardly least, John Rheaume’s enigmatic depiction of Yoda in the middle of a religious ceremony, on what appears to be his native world. The Rheaume piece has a rather noteworthy and controversial history of its own, having been released by accident on an earlier Star Wars Galaxy promo card before being pulled from distribution. A somewhat legendary image to collectors, it now returns as a fully-authorized Star Wars Galaxy 4 chase card, complete with a concise history of its colorful evolution. As an extra-added treat, the artist has agreed to provide his signature to a limited number of these Yoda cards.

“We’re delighted that Lucasfilm feels the same way we do about these unique illustrations,” says Ira Friedman, Topps Vice President of Publishing. “And their presence in Star Wars Galaxy 4 is only the beginning. Future Galaxy sets will contain additional ‘lost’ artwork, and other rare items too controversial for the ’90s. Clearly, their time has finally come!”

Star Wars Galaxy 4 will be available primarily in comics and hobby shops beginning Wednesday, February 11.

Official Star Wars light sabre and Harrison Ford hat for sale in Hollywood auction

The weapon was wielded by actor Mark Hamill in both the original ‘Star Wars: a New Hope’ and ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’

Made from an old photography flashgun, the lightsabre was owned by ‘Star Wars’ producer Gary Kurtz and could fetch up to $185,000 dollars in next month’s sale by Hollywood auction house Profiles in History.

The Indiana Jones ‘Fedora’ hat was worn by Ford in the second of the four cult films featuring the legendary doctor.

Made by London hat maker Herbert Johnson, it even has the initials ‘IJ’ printed inside the band.

Described as ‘one of the most recognisable pieces in modern film history’, the brown rabbit fur felt hat could sell for $62,000.

Collectors can also bid for Indiana’s bullwhip or his 41ins long machete in the auction. The whip is expected to go for $62,000 while the machete could fetch $100,000.

Star Wars fanatics can also bid for an original section of the Death Star from the first, 1977 movie and C-3PO’s helmet and robotic hands worn by British actor Anthony Daniels in the 1983 hit ‘Star Wars:Return of the Jedi’.

The fibreglass helmet could sell for as much as $82,000 while both the Death Star section and the neoprene droid hands are expected to fetch $31,800.

Fans of the hit ‘Gremlins’ movies have a chance to bid for the original ‘Gizmo’, ‘Brain’ and ‘Daffy’ puppets.

Gizmo comes still attached to the animatronic wires and switches used to control him. He is expected to sell for around $7,500. Puppets of other loveable ‘Mogwai’ characters as well as ‘bad guys’ Mohawk and Brain should fetch between $3,100 and $7,500.

An original set of the three JRR Tolkien Lord of the Rings books, all first editions printed in 1954 and signed by Tolkien, is also included.

They are bound in original red cloth and each volume has a fold out map of Middle Earth at the back.

Auctioneers have valued the set, which used to belong to a student of Tolkien’s, at $124,000.

Marlon Brando is also well represented with his ‘Jor-El’ outfit from ‘Superman: The Movie’ set to bring in $51,000 and the actor’s shirt from ‘Apocalypse Now’ expected to cost $20,000.

One of the most valuable items in the sale is a flying saucer from the 1956 classic sci-fi hit ‘Forbidden Planet’ which starred comedy actor Leslie Nielsen.

The 82 inch ‘filming miniature’ was made from wood, steel and fibreglass and could cost a collector $124,000.

The sale also features a collection of James Bond books described by Profiles in History as ‘the finest collection of Ian Fleming James Bond material ever to reach the market.’

The collection includes first editions of ‘Casino Royale’, ‘From Russia With Love’, ‘Thunderball’ and ‘Goldfinger’ among others. The books are all inscribed by Fleming himself.

But the prized item is the first British edition of ‘You Only Live Twice’ in which Fleming has written: “To the real James Bond from the thief of his identity.”

The book was given as a present to American Ornithologist James Bond, who died shortly after he met Fleming in 1964.

The Profiles in History auction takes place on December 11.

Profiles in History president Joseph Maddelena said: “This sale features over 500 unique pieces of Hollywood history, from the silent era to modern sci-fi classics and everything in between.

“This represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire some of the most important visual effects pieces ever created for modern cinema.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Nintendo Wii – Review

Following on from the cartoon movie and now the related TV series, players finally get the chance to challenge each other to the Lightsaber Duels of this game’s sub-title.

Based on the story between Episode II and III of the new trilogy, you’re thrown deep into the battle between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy.

HOW DOES IT HANDLE? Who needs a blaster when in your hands the Wii-remote becomes a Lightsaber wielded by a hero to defeat evil.

Or if you prefer, you can take on the guise of one of the villainous characters such as General Grievous, although there aren’t that many recognisable choices.

For decades now, young boys and big men have dreamt of having a Lightsaber and have used every manner of object to imitate that famous weapon.

Here that dream comes to life with reasonable accuracy through a mixture of levels where you fight one-on-one or hack at objects or scenery.

But while it is very fulfilling for the first half an hour, it soon gets boring and repetitive.

The moves are all very similar and there are occasions when your swings do not react as well or as quickly to the action on the screen.

This leaves you prone to being swiped and hurt by your rival.

SCREEN GRAB OR SCREEN DRAB? Graphically this is a real let-down.

With its heritage chiefly in the cartoon variation rather than the live action films, it looks very childish. The maker’s previous title The Force Unleashed was a visual masterpiece but this is so dumbed down compared to that you can only assume it’s been aimed firmly at a younger market.

Which makes its 12+ certificate surprising and personally I think it’s rated too high for the age groups likely to enjoy it the most.

HOW LONG TILL I’M BORED? This should have been the game Star Wars fans were waiting for and dreaming of ever since the original movies.

It is such a missed opportunity but perhaps it’s just LucasArts practice run for a more fully-fledged Lightsaber battler for adults only.

There’s certainly plenty of room for improvement and lots of lessons to be learned but if you can find it cheap enough in the Christmas sales, younger teens might get a Jedi night or two’s worth of excitement with their mates.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (for iPhone)

It didn’t seem to be that tough a task to make an official Star Wars game that could deliver more thrills for iPhone owners than those free virtual lightsaber apps, yet THQ Wireless has misfired as badly with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed as George Lucas did with the last three installments of his sci-fi saga. Despite some nifty technical wizardry, this $7.99 download (reduced from its original $9.99) offers a mostly lifeless gaming experience.
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The Force Unleashed casts you as an aspiring apprentice to Darth Vader, who dispatches you to eliminate the remaining Jedi knights around the Empire. You can play through Story mode, which moves you from chapter to chapter to face new combatants (and unlock additional Force powers), or you can choose Survival mode, where you encounter an increasing number of enemies while you try to achieve a high score. You can opt for either normal or hard difficulty levels.

To compensate for the iPhone’s lack of physical buttons to control game play, The Force Unleashed makes use of the touch-screen interface, letting you enable your Force powers through a series of finger motions, such as a diagonal sweep to block an enemy’s fire and send it back against him. It’s a clever idea, though you find it quickly loses its charm as you make the same motions again and again.

Likewise, the graphics are pretty slick for a game that’s designed for a phone rather than a dedicated portable gaming system, but that doesn’t help much as you encounter the game play limitations. Instead of letting you move freely, using your lightsaber and Force powers on the run, you’re essentially rooted to one spot in each chapter as you dispatch wave after wave of foes.

Meters for your health and your Force powers are shown on the bottom of the screen; you can draw a circle to boost your health, though the game is fickle about recognizing a “proper” circular motion. If you need to exit the game in the middle of Story mode, the game does at least automatically save your spot for you.

Aside from the repetitive, dull game play, what’s most disappointing about The Force Unleashed is that there’s not much of the Star Wars experience infused into the app. Yes, you’re greeted with the familiar theme song and scrolling-text introduction, but you don’t even get to hear Darth Vader give you his instructions—you read his (and everyone else’s) words in text boxes. And being able to run around with a lightsaber really would be a more fun experience than being stuck in one spot and using the same Force powers over and over.

In other words, Star Wars fans with iPhones should do the ultimate Jedi Mind Trick on The Force Unleashed: avoid paying for this game.