Hello Jundland Wastes Travelers! The weather is starting to get cold here in the northeast of the United States but the Expanded Universe titles are heating up this winter season! More specifically, it looks like that the EU is going to spend a good amount of time and energy on exploring the secrets of the Sith this year. Just take a look at what has already come out and what we can expect in the next few week!

Crimson Empire III - This Dark Horse comic book series has returned after a long hiatus! It prompted me to pick up the trade paperback versions of Crimson Empire I and II and get myself reacquainted with the characters of Kir Kanos, Carnor Jax and Mirith Sinn. The first series is the best in my opinion. The action and storyline is well written. And I really enjoyed seeing the appearance of Darth Vader and the Emperor in the flashback scenes as well. Check it out if you want to see the world of Star Wars from the vantage point of one of the Emperors Royal Guards.

The Book of Sith - The best piece of Star Wars memorabilia has to be my Vault Edition of The Jedi Path by Daniel Wallace. It is one of the most creative ideas to date when it comes to Star Wars books or even collectibles in general. The book itself is a work of art with special paper for the pages, collectible inserts, embossed cover and the awesome battery powered vault that houses this volume. And this February we get to see the Sith side with The Book of Sith by Daniel Wallace. It comes housed in a Sith holocron along with sound effects and a bunch of collectibles. It is priced around the same amount that The Jedi Path Vault Edition was when it first came out. I am planning on getting this but I have no doubt that next year a stripped down version will be for sale similar to what was done with The Jedi Path this season. I am hopeful that we will get a fresh look at the Sith Lords we have come to learn about through the books, comics and video games. I am especially looking forward to any history and information that will be mentioned about the planet Koriban and former Sith Lords like Darth Revan and Darth Malak.

Revan - I am currently reading this novel by Drew Karpyshyn. It is one of the best EU novels I have read in a long time. It has been a little difficult keeping up my hopes that something exciting will emerge from the Fate of the Jedi series. So finding this novel at the library was a breath of fresh air. I am a big fan of Drew Karpyshyn and his contributions to the Knights of the Old Republic video games as well as his three Darth Bane novels. Anyone who has played KOTOR and KOTOR 2 will love this novel! We meet characters from the game and learn more about what happened to them after the events of these two games. We are are also introduced to some new Sith Lords. Granted, Revan is no longer a Sith Lord at this time but he deserves an honorable mention for his Sith history which does continue to haunt him in this novel.

Darth Plagueis - Have you ever heard of the legend of Darth Plagueis the Wise? No, but we are going to in a couple days! Dan and I have mentioned this on the podcast, but without a doubt one of the greatest moments in the Star Wars movies is when Palpatine retells the story of Plagueis to Anakin in the opera house. Even this Cliff notes version of the story had me riveted to my seat in the theater and my ears wide open. I have always thought and imagined what this Sith Lord was like with Palpatine? What kind of apprentice was he to Plagueis? This is another must have novel for anyone who really enjoys stories of Sith Lords and are looking to rewatch Revenge of the Sith with some new background from this novel.

The Wrath of Darth Maul - It is no secret how much I enjoy the novels of Ryder Windham especially his biographies of Luke, Obi Wan and Anakin/Vader. I have spoken about them on the podcast and I encourage everyone to pick them up and read them (especially, the hardcover editions! The art on these novels are gorgeous!). And we now have another addition to this biography collection with the story behind Darth Maul. This is another must have for my collection and I cannot wait to get into it.

The Clone Wars - I know that the Clone Wars animated series is not really EU. But they are certainly going to be addressing Sith issues when we see the return of Darth Maul this season on the Clone Wars. Who would have thought that Darth Maul would officially return to the Star Wars universe? Yes, we have seen him in comics and other places in the EU, but this is different. Especially, considering that some information in the new Darth Maul novel will probably connect into the series. And we are all looking forward to seeing how they are going to construct his cybernetic legs as well as seeing him duel again with Obi Wan and maybe even Anakin!

So much to read, watch and enjoy in 2012...the year of the Sith! Do you have anything Sith-like that you are reading this year or looking forward to? Let us know here at the Jundland Wastes! Send us an email!

Looking forward to getting back in the studio for another TJW Podcast!
All the best,

Mark
Co-host of the TJW Podcast