Podcasts about Murder Most Foul

In 1882, the German mathematician Ferdinand von Lindemann proved that π was transcendental: it cannot be reduced to a tidy equation, never captured inside the comfortable boundaries expected by mathematicians. For centuries mathematicians tried to “square the circle” — creating a perfect square with the same area as a circle using only classical tools. In 1882, they finally got their answer: impossible. π's transcendence meant the problem itself can never be solved. π sits at the centre of order — wheels, planets, architecture, engineering — but does not obey the rules mathematicians thought would contain it. The more closely pi is examined, the more it slips beyond simple description. But pi also has beauty in it's patterns. π — roughly 3.14 etc etc — is the hidden constant inside every circle: divide the distance around any circle by the distance across it, and written out as a decimal, it goes on forever without ever stopping and without ever falling into a repeating pattern. Southern Africa in the early 1880s had the appearance of something similar. The neat assumptions of empire borders that could be drawn, peoples classified, and territories administered into obedience — were beginning to collide with a far messier reality. The aftermath of the First Anglo-Boer War had humbled imperial confidence, African polities remained powerful actors, and the mineral revolution was creating forces no colonial administrator fully controlled. Like π, South Africa was proving resistant to simple formulas. Emerging at this time was the Afrikaner Bond, led by Jan Hendrick Hofmeyr, his Boeren Beschermings Vereeniging, Farmers Protection Society, had merged with the Bond. Hofmeyr's main aim was to merge the diverse Afrikaner cultural movements from behind the scenes, thus his nickname, The Mole. Cape Prime Minister John Gordon Sprigg was sparring with political humanists, particularly Saul Solomon who owned the Cape Argus. As a liberal member of parliament, he was an articulate defender of African rights, called a friend of the natives and worse by some settlers. He was enticed to sell his paper to the editor at the time, what he didn't know, was that Cecil John Rhodes was secretly backing the sale - no Rhodes owned the Argus. It was in that moment that the Cape lost its important outsider voice, and Rhodes gained a news outlet. The main story the paper was covering after the first Anglo-Boer war was the instability in Basotholand. The Argus and other liberals had taken up the Basotho cause against the land-hungry settlers of the Orange Free State. Shoring up his personal wealth and power, Rhodes was simultaneously using his growing influence in the Cape to protect its northern territories. This was a natural progression, north of Kimberley lay the Vaal River, and the Molopo River. Between the two lay not only the Boers of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, but the Tswana people. South of the Molopo there were the Thlaping, the Rolong, north of the Molopo the Ngwato chiefdom, ruled by Khama as well as the Kwena under chief Sechele, the Ngwaketse ruled by Gaseitsiwe and soon, his son, Bathoen. The Tswana were tussling with colonial expansion, and navigating the difficult politics of the frontier, keeping the Boer settlers at arm's length. Along the edge of these chief's territory there lay the Great North Road, on the eastern side of the Tswana lands. Transvaal President Paul Kruger was behind efforts to cut off the Road to the North, something the British authorities suspected but couldn't prove. For Cecil Rhodes and British ambitions, these two micro-republics were a geopolitical nightmare. If the Transvaal annexed Stellaland and Goshen which was Paul Kruger's ultimate goal, the Boers would completely block Cape Colony access to the interior of Africa. Rhodes had taken to calling the Great north Road the Suez Canal of South Africa.

In 1882, the German mathematician Ferdinand von Lindemann proved that π was transcendental: it cannot be reduced to a tidy equation, never captured inside the comfortable boundaries expected by mathematicians. For centuries mathematicians tried to “square the circle” — creating a perfect square with the same area as a circle using only classical tools. In 1882, they finally got their answer: impossible. π's transcendence meant the problem itself can never be solved. π sits at the centre of order — wheels, planets, architecture, engineering — but does not obey the rules mathematicians thought would contain it. The more closely pi is examined, the more it slips beyond simple description. But pi also has beauty in it's patterns. π — roughly 3.14 etc etc — is the hidden constant inside every circle: divide the distance around any circle by the distance across it, and written out as a decimal, it goes on forever without ever stopping and without ever falling into a repeating pattern. Southern Africa in the early 1880s had the appearance of something similar. The neat assumptions of empire borders that could be drawn, peoples classified, and territories administered into obedience — were beginning to collide with a far messier reality. The aftermath of the First Anglo-Boer War had humbled imperial confidence, African polities remained powerful actors, and the mineral revolution was creating forces no colonial administrator fully controlled. Like π, South Africa was proving resistant to simple formulas. Emerging at this time was the Afrikaner Bond, led by Jan Hendrick Hofmeyr, his Boeren Beschermings Vereeniging, Farmers Protection Society, had merged with the Bond. Hofmeyr's main aim was to merge the diverse Afrikaner cultural movements from behind the scenes, thus his nickname, The Mole. Cape Prime Minister John Gordon Sprigg was sparring with political humanists, particularly Saul Solomon who owned the Cape Argus. As a liberal member of parliament, he was an articulate defender of African rights, called a friend of the natives and worse by some settlers. He was enticed to sell his paper to the editor at the time, what he didn't know, was that Cecil John Rhodes was secretly backing the sale - no Rhodes owned the Argus. It was in that moment that the Cape lost its important outsider voice, and Rhodes gained a news outlet. The main story the paper was covering after the first Anglo-Boer war was the instability in Basotholand. The Argus and other liberals had taken up the Basotho cause against the land-hungry settlers of the Orange Free State. Shoring up his personal wealth and power, Rhodes was simultaneously using his growing influence in the Cape to protect its northern territories. This was a natural progression, north of Kimberley lay the Vaal River, and the Molopo River. Between the two lay not only the Boers of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, but the Tswana people. South of the Molopo there were the Thlaping, the Rolong, north of the Molopo the Ngwato chiefdom, ruled by Khama as well as the Kwena under chief Sechele, the Ngwaketse ruled by Gaseitsiwe and soon, his son, Bathoen. The Tswana were tussling with colonial expansion, and navigating the difficult politics of the frontier, keeping the Boer settlers at arm's length. Along the edge of these chief's territory there lay the Great North Road, on the eastern side of the Tswana lands. Transvaal President Paul Kruger was behind efforts to cut off the Road to the North, something the British authorities suspected but couldn't prove. For Cecil Rhodes and British ambitions, these two micro-republics were a geopolitical nightmare. If the Transvaal annexed Stellaland and Goshen which was Paul Kruger's ultimate goal, the Boers would completely block Cape Colony access to the interior of Africa. Rhodes had taken to calling the Great north Road the Suez Canal of South Africa.

I denne udgave af Rockhistorier dykker Klaus Lynggaard og Henrik Queitsch ned i Bob Dylans sene mesterværker fra 1990 til 2020. Turen går altså fra begyndelsen af 90'erne til de mørke, mytiske mesterværker på Time Out of Mind og helt frem til det 17 minutters mesterværk der udgør Murder Most Foul.Værter: Klaus Lynggaard og Henrik QueitschKlip: Karla BeckerSpilleliste: “Born in Time” (Under the Red Sky, 1990)  “Not Dark Yet” (single, 1997, Time Out of Mind, 1997)    “Love Sick” (Time Out of Mind, 1997)  “Standing in the Doorway” (Time Out of Mind, 1997)  “Cold Irons Bound” (Time Out of Mind, 1997)   “Dreamin' of You” (Time Out of Mind outtake, udgivet på Tell Tale Signs, The Bootleg Series Vol. 8, 2008)  “Things Have Changed” (Wonder Boys OST, 2000)  “High Water (for Charley Patton)” (Love and Theft, 2001)    “Sugar Baby” (Love and Theft, 2001) “Workingman's Blues #2” (Modern Times, 2006)  “Ain't Talking” (Modern Times, 2006)  “Huck's Tune” (fra soundtracket til Lucky You, 2007)    ”Beyond Here Lies Nothin'” (Together Through Life, 2009)  “I Feel a Change Comin' On” (Together Through Life, 2009)  “Pay in Blood” (Tempest, 2012)    “Murder Most Foul” (Rough and Rowdy Ways, 2020)

If you believe serial killers are not entitled to defense lawyers, STOP HERE! This episode is not for you. On the other hand, if you are curious what it is like to defend one of America's most notorious serial killers during his final deathrow appeals-Welcome. "Killing Time with John Wayne Gacy" is a gripping account by Karen Conti, detailing her experiences defending John Wayne Gacy-“The Killer Clown.”In addition to Gacy, Ms. Conti also defended Jeffrey MacDonald of “Fatal Vision” fame and weighs in on that case as well in this episode of MURDER MOST FOUL. 

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 25, 2026 is: juxtapose • JUK-stuh-pohz • verb To juxtapose things is to place them together in order to create an interesting effect or to show how they are the same or different. // The local museum's new exhibit juxtaposes modern art with classical art. See the entry > Examples: “... on ‘Murder Most Foul' [Bob] Dylan thwarts readymade nostalgia, an easy revisiting of the storybook sixties and his golden ‘spokesman' moment. Instead, mixing and juxtaposing voices, lingos, and tones, he traces the decline of America over the trajectory of his own lifetime ...” — Robert Polito, After the Flood: Inside Bob Dylan's Memory Palace, 2026 Did you know? Although it doesn't feature the word juxtapose, a classic segment from a 1969 episode of Sesame Street perfectly illustrates the essence of the verb. In it, the character Bob (as played by actor Bob McGrath) sings the catchy song “One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others)” in front of a display that juxtaposes—that is, places near one another for comparison—four items: an apple, an ice cream cone, a hamburger, and a mitten. The song asks its audience to consider their similarities and differences before deciding which is the most different (spoiler alert: it's the mitten). The word juxtapose is likely a back-formation of the noun juxtaposition, which appropriately enough combines the Latin adjective juxta meaning “near” with the English word position. The use of juxtapose isn't limited to tangible objects, however—images, ideas, concepts, and more are frequently juxtaposed.

Music fan Brian Koppen chats with music critic Iain Key as they discuss Hall of Fame artists: Bob Dylan's “Murder Most Foul” vs. Pink Floyd's “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”The Cure's “Just Like Heaven” vs. Pearl Jam's “Go”Elvis' “If I Can Dream”  vs. Willie Nelson's “Stay a Little Longer (Live)”Lou Reed's “Perfect Day” vs. The Beach Boys' “God Only Knows”Whitney Houston's “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” vs. Green Day's “American Idiot” They also discuss John Hughes movie soundtrack songs, Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, and a 90's Children in Need BBC special. Check out Iain Key at https://linktr.ee/iainkey, https://www.instagram.com/iain.key, https://louderthanwar.com/author/iain-key/, and https://www.mixcloud.com/louderthanwar/playlists/iain-key/! Intro music is from Jussy's Down Open Roads.  Check out Jussy at https://soundcloud.com/user-214048265/sets/jussy-demos-1!Support the show

“That's my story, but not where it ends.” — Bob Dylan, “Key West (Philosopher Pirate)”Fitzgerald said there were no second acts in the American story. But it is, of course, a narrative of second chances. And there's no more of an American story than Bob Dylan, whose second act may be more memorable than his first.Robert Polito — poet, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning biographer, and former director of creative writing at the New School — has written what may be the (anti) definitive book on Dylan's second act. After the Flood: Inside Bob Dylan's Memory Palace covers the years from “Time Out of Mind” in 1997 through “Rough and Rowdy Ways” in 2020. It's structured as an abecedarium — twenty-six chapters, A to Z — because Polito explains, he wanted a form that acknowledged the limits of what anyone can know about Dylan. There is no rosebud sled buried in the Tulsa archive. So an alphabet book as good as we are gonna get.Digging into Dylan's Tulsa archive, Polito found much blood on the tracks — multiple drafts for every work, songs ripped up and redistributed line by line. The freewheeling spontaneity of Dylan's first act, Polito suggests, was replaced by something more deliberate: an American folk process merging into literary modernism. A hostage to his own memory palace, Dylan weaves Civil War poetry, Ovid's exile poems, Homer, and nineteenth-century speeches into songs that know more than any single listener can interpret.Polito argues that “Rough and Rowdy Ways” is Bob Dylan's real Nobel Prize speech — his self-reflection on his own art, delivered in his own forms and idioms. This pinnacle of Dylan's second act is his story, but not where it ends. Five Takeaways•       Rough and Rowdy Ways Is Dylan's Real Nobel Prize Speech: The 2020 album is Dylan's self-reflection on his own art, delivered in his own forms and idioms. Every song addresses his craft, his legacy, his audience. I Contain Multitudes, Key West, Murder Most Foul, My Own Version of You — each one a chapter in the speech the Nobel committee was waiting for. That's when Polito knew he could write the book.•       Dylan Works Harder Than Anyone Would Expect: The Tulsa archive reveals multiple drafts of songs that change radically from version to version. For Time Out of Mind, Dylan completed three or four songs, then ripped them up and redistributed the lines across different tracks. The spontaneity of the first act gave way to something more deliberate — folk process merging into literary modernism. Eliot, Joyce, Gertrude Stein.•       The Memory Palace Is Real: Dylan embeds Civil War poetry, Ovid's exile poems, Homer, nineteenth-century speeches, and movies into his late songs. The classical mnemonic device — depositing memories in specific rooms — became Polito's image for how much those songs know. There is no rosebud sled buried in the Tulsa archive. The memory palace is the art itself.•       That's My Story, But Not Where It Ends: The last line of Key West — probably Polito's favourite song on Rough and Rowdy Ways. If the song had ended with “that's my story,” there would have been a definitiveness about it. Instead, Dylan subverts the line in the very next breath. Tentativeness and self-skepticism, all the way through.•       The Police Didn't Believe He Was Bob Dylan: Wandering around New Jersey in the rain, looking for where Springsteen grew up. The police pick him up. What's your name? Bob Dylan. What's your real name? Robert Zimmerman. Where do you live? That's a good question. The more precisely he told the truth, the more they assumed he was lying. Knowing innocence. About the GuestRobert Polito is a poet, critic, and biographer. His biography of Jim Thompson, Savage Art, won the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is a former director of creative writing at the New School. After the Flood: Inside Bob Dylan's Memory Palace is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.References:•       After the Flood: Inside Bob Dylan's Memory Palace by Robert Polito (FSG) — the book under discussion.•       Episode 2849: How Stories Can Save Us — Colum McCann on Narrative Four. McCann's “that's his story, but not where it ends” is also Dylan's line.About Keen On AmericaNobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,800 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting.WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify Chapters:(00:00) - (00:31) - Introduction: Fitzgerald, second acts, and A Complete Unknown (02:57) - Team Dylan? No — tentativeness and self-skepticism (04:00) - The abecedarium: twenty-six chapters, A to Z, no rosebud sled (06:13) - Dylan the movie guy: always watching films on the tour bus (07:13) - The memory palace: how much those late songs know (09:26) - The interlude: the Grammy lifetime achievement speech and starting over (12:11) - Time Out of Mind and the Tulsa archive: how hard Dylan works (15:55) - Folk process meets literary modernism: Eliot, Joyce, Stein (18:34) - Lanois, the spoken vs. written word, and why albums are just a stage (21:41) - Rough and Rowdy Ways as Dylan's real Nobel Prize speech (24:19) - Key West: that's my story, but not where it ends (26:04) - The sacrificial quality: he was given something and shouldn't squander it (30:24) - Race, the civil war, and Love and Theft as minstrel acknowledgment (34:32) - Murder Most Foul: take me back to Tulsa, to the scene of the crime (40:56) - Picked up by police in New Jersey looking for Springsteen's house

What a delight to talk to laura thompson about Agatha Christie. Above all, this episode was fun. Laura really does know more than anyone about Agatha and we covered a lot. What did Agatha Christie read? What did she love about Shakespeare? Was she pro-hanging? Why so much more Poirot than Marple? Why was she so productive during the war? We also talked Wagner, modern art, the other Golden Age writers, nursery rhymes, TV adaptations, poshness, nostalgia, Mary Westmacott, and plenty more. TranscriptHENRY OLIVER: Today I am talking to the very splendid Laura Thompson. All of you will know Laura's Substack. She has also written books about the Mitfords, heiresses, Lord Lucan, many other subjects, and most importantly today, Agatha Christie, who died 50 years ago. And there's a new book coming from Laura about Agatha Christie's 1926 disappearance.Laura, welcome.LAURA THOMPSON: So lovely to be here, Henry. I'm such a fan of your Substack, as you know.OLIVER: Well, same. Same. This is a mutual admiration call.THOMPSON: Well, thank you. Well, that's what we like.Christie's Favorite WritersOLIVER: Now tell me, what did Agatha Christie like to read?THOMPSON: Oh, a lot the same as us. I discovered she was a huge fan of Elizabeth Bowen, as we are. And Nancy Mitford, Muriel Spark. But her big love really was Dickens. She absolutely adored Dickens. I mean, she grew up in a house full of books, you know, and she wrote a screenplay of Bleak House for which she was handsomely paid. And it was never—I know, don't you long to know what that was like? Can you imagine—OLIVER: We've lost it? We don't have the typescript?THOMPSON: I've never seen it. I mean, maybe—I don't know whether it exists somewhere. But I just wonder how she tackled it, what she did. But yes, so that happened. And of course, Shakespeare, as we know from her books, which are full of subliminal and—I mean, you kind of notice them, but you don't have to.OLIVER: Yes. There's Shakespeare in every book?THOMPSON: No, but it's there, particularly Macbeth, which I suppose figures.OLIVER: Yeah.THOMPSON: Like The Pale Horse is completely Macbeth themed. And when I was a kid reading them, I think she really—Tennyson she uses a lot—she affected my reading in a good way.OLIVER: She sent you back to Shakespeare and the poets?THOMPSON: Well, sent me to them as a kid, probably. And also, there's a lot of Bible in her books, as I'm sure you've noticed.OLIVER: Yes. Yes.THOMPSON: Very easy facility with quoting the Bible.Christie and ShakespeareOLIVER: Now, what did she learn from Shakespeare? Because she clearly knows the plays in detail. She sees them a lot. She reads them. She and he are, I think, quite good plotters.THOMPSON: Is she even better than he is?OLIVER: Well, let's not get into that. But there is a sort of, in a funny way, a kind of affinity between them as writers.THOMPSON: That's so interesting.OLIVER: What do you think she learned from him?THOMPSON: Tell me how you—how you see that.OLIVER: Well, do you know that Margaret Rutherford adaptation, which probably you don't like and I do—THOMPSON: Go on.OLIVER: It's called Murder Most Foul, isn't it?THOMPSON: Yes.OLIVER: And there's something about the way that they can both walk the line between the sort of dark and deadly and the histrionic. Margaret Rutherford can't walk that line, but Agatha Christie can, right?THOMPSON: That's really interesting.OLIVER: And Miss Marple could come onstage in a couple of the plays. She's not so far off from being a Queen Margaret or some—in her angry moments maybe, do you think?THOMPSON: More rational, maybe.OLIVER: Much more rational.THOMPSON: Not so mad. Well, she's not mad, Margaret, is she? But she's upset.OLIVER: She starts off as a much sort of nastier character—Murder at the Vicarage, right?THOMPSON: Yes, she does. She was more acidic and then gradually—OLIVER: Waspish.THOMPSON: Waspish, and sort of mellowed. I see what you mean. And almost in the way that she calls herself—although that's obviously not Shakespeare—calls herself Nemesis.OLIVER: And the sense of atmosphere.THOMPSON: Yes, and the way they're structured. That's not necessarily just true of Shakespeare, but there is this sort of act three entanglement and this beautiful act five resolution that goes on with a soliloquy, I suppose.OLIVER: And some people think they both get confused in act four, but that's obviously not true, that this is the real mess of the plot. I think she might have learned quite a lot from Shakespeare, right?THOMPSON: That's really interesting. But, you know, the way she writes about Shakespeare in her letters to her second husband, Max, because when she was living in London during the war and almost at her most productive—I mean, her productivity levels are insane. And hitting every ball for six, really, you know: Towards Zero, Five Little Pigs, a couple of Westmacotts, which I'm sure we'll talk about. But she spent a lot of time going on her own to see Shakespeare.She's very—I hope I'm right in saying this—she's very sort of Ernest Jones [CB1] in her approach. She doesn't regard them so much as the products of words on a page; she regards them as rounded characters. Why were Goneril and Regan the way they were? What's wrong with Ophelia? You feel like saying, “Well, whatever Shakespeare wanted it to be,” but she sees them in that way. And Iago particularly—OLIVER: Yes.THOMPSON: —is the one that gets her. Yes. In one of her, I better not say which, but a major, major novel.And the book that she wrote under the name Mary Westmacott, The Rose and the Yew Tree, which I think might well be her best book of all. I think—well, I'll just say she wrote these six books under a pseudonym, Mary Westmacott. People call them romantic novels; that's sort of the last thing they are. And they're very, very interesting mid-20th-century human condition novels, and they're full of lots of stuff that she had to distill for the detective fiction. And she talks a lot about Iago in The Rose and the Yew Tree really interestingly, I think.Christie on Shakespeare?OLIVER: Now, Max said she should just write a book about Shakespeare, all this Shakespeare all the time. But she didn't. Why?THOMPSON: No. I don't think she ever liked being told what to do.OLIVER: [laughs]THOMPSON: His letters to her are quite annoying, aren't they?OLIVER: Yes, yes. I've only read what's in your book, but yes, I didn't warm to him.THOMPSON: I'm glad because people do. He gets a really good press even though he was unfaithful. But it worked, the marriage, because they both got what they wanted from it. But he said that, yes, and she says, “Oh no, they're just thoughts for you.” I don't think she would've felt the need, somehow. I think she liked saying things in her own more oblique way.OLIVER: Save it for the novels.THOMPSON: Yes, she's a great mistress of the indirect, I think, really. The way she writes about Macbeth in The Pale Horse, which I think is a really underrated novel, including thoughts on how it should be staged, which are really interesting and very, very good. I think she would've preferred to do that and use it to her ends.And of course, she has an incredibly powerful sense of evil, which I suppose is also in Shakespeare. Hers is a Christian sensibility, I mean, no question. People never talk about that, but it really is.OLIVER: Was she pro hanging?THOMPSON: Well, I think she took a kind of utilitarian approach that the innocent must be protected. And she took a view that if you've killed once, it becomes very easy to kill again because something in you has shifted, so you become a danger to the community. So I suppose in that sense she was.I mean, Miss Marple was. She's quite—“I really feel quite glad to think of him being hanged.”OLIVER: It's one of her most striking lines.THOMPSON: It is, isn't it?OLIVER: Yes.THOMPSON: So I suppose she was. I mean, I suppose she was. You know, she's very modern, she's very subtle in her thinking, but at the same time, she is a late Victorian product of her society. Yes.Dickens and Christie's FamilyOLIVER: Now, you mentioned this Bleak House script. She loved Bleak House. Do we know what she loved about it? It's obviously the first detective novel. Are there other factors?THOMPSON: You are going to know—this is when I'm going to start coming across as an idiot. Is it written before The Moonstone? Yes, of course it is.OLIVER: I think so. Yes. Yes. It's the first time there's a police detective in a major English novel.THOMPSON: Okay. I think she—do you know, this is a really good question. I don't actually know why she loved Dickens so much. She grew up—she had that rather intriguing upbringing whereby she had two much older siblings, a sister who was 11 years older, a brother who was 10 years older. Father died when she was 11.So she grew up incredibly close with a really rather intriguing mother, Clara. This is in the house at Torquay. And her mother encouraged her in a way that, it seems to me, quite unusual for the time and for the class to which she belonged. Because it was never deemed that it would interfere with her marrying and leading a more conventional life. But she always wanted to express herself creatively. And I think her mother possibly was a frustrated creative. I don't know. She had a lot of go in her.And whether it was just something she read with—I think anything she did at an early age with her mother would've made a huge impression on her. I think what you read when you're that age, you never quite—I never read Dickens at that age, so I've never quite got the habit.OLIVER: But if she's born in 1890, presumably her mother is just about old enough to have been alive when Dickens was alive. And so she's got a somewhat direct—THOMPSON: Yes, she was.OLIVER: You know, it's sort of back to the original culture of it, as it were.THOMPSON: Yes. Isn't that extraordinary?OLIVER: Yes. Yes. It's crazy to think. So she must have taken it in maybe in a more original way, somehow?THOMPSON: Possibly. Certainly Tennyson, I get that feeling, because her mother wrote this rather leaden sub-Tennysonian poetry. [laughter] It's like Tennyson on the worst day he ever had, but worse than that.OLIVER: But worse, yes.THOMPSON: Yes. And she wrote poetry like that, the mother, which is really rather sweet and touching to read. And obviously she would've been alive at the same time as Tennyson. So, yes, I'd never, ever thought of that before. Isn't that extraordinary? I mean, they went to see Henry Irving.OLIVER: Yes.THOMPSON: Yes. And yet she feels—it just amazes me, this—so I'm leaping slightly here, but this 21st-century halo of cool that she has around her, Agatha Christie. [laughter] I know, it's awful in a way, but the way she can be reinterpreted—that is a bit Shakespearean, in a way.I don't mean to make extravagant claims, but there's a sort of translucent quality to what she writes that means that people can impose and pull it and twang it and know that she won't let them down, as we are seeing constantly at the moment.Art and MusicOLIVER: Yes. No, I agree. Other arts—we know about all this, she loves reading. What music did she enjoy, for example? Did she like paintings?THOMPSON: Yes, she loved paintings. She liked modern art. She was painted by Kokoschka. It's very good. And she writes about modern art. In Five Little Pigs, the painter in that is a modern artist.And then music was her grand passion. I mean, music was her original career choice, as you know, of course. She must have had a good voice. She thought she could make a career of it. And she could play the piano. Beautiful piano at Greenway, it's still there.And they used to do this thing—I think it's a lovely idea—as a family. They would fill in what they called the book of confessions, and it would be questions like, “What is your state of mind? If not yourself, who would you be?” And at the age of 63, which is the last time she filled it in, she wrote, “An opera singer.” So that was still what she would've dreamed of doing. She loved Wagner very, very deeply.OLIVER: Okay. Interesting.THOMPSON: And there's a Wagner theme in a very late book, Passenger to Frankfurt, the one that everybody hates except me. And music, I mean, as a girl when—so her voice wasn't strong enough for opera. I think her ultimate—same as I grew up wanting to be a ballet dancer, I think her ultimate would've been to sing Isolde at Covent Garden.And in some of her short stories and in her first Mary Westmacott, which is called Giant's Bread, which is about a musician—and she really inhabits this character, Vernon, and it's all about modern music. And somebody who knew about this stuff, which I don't, told me, “No, she knew. She knew what was going on. She knew about the trends.” This is in the late twenties.And she always went to Beirut, and that was her real, real, real passion. She was one of those restlessly creative people. And her mother, God bless her, encouraged it.Christie's UniquenessOLIVER: What is it that distinguishes her from the other detective fiction writers? Because she doesn't, to me, feel—she's obviously part of this whole generation, this whole golden age, whatever you want to call it, but she doesn't feel the same as them somehow.THOMPSON: No.OLIVER: What is that?THOMPSON: Do you think it's her simplicity, that distilled simplicity that she has? She doesn't write linear; she writes geometric, I always think.OLIVER: Tell me what you mean.THOMPSON: Well, if you think of a book, the one I admire the most, as I constantly go on about, which is Five Little Pigs—you think about the amount of stuff that's in that book. It's a meditation on art versus life. The solution is unbelievably intriguing, I think. There's a whole family psychodrama in there. And every move of the plot, she's also moving on a—every move of the plot is impelled by a revelation of character. So plot and character are utterly intertwined, distilled together.I don't think any of the others can do that. I think Dorothy Sayers would take twice as many pages. And she'd dot every i and cross every t, and she couldn't bear loose ends or anything, could she? And she liked to reveal her knowledge of other things, almost to—I think the others like you to know that they're a bit better than the genre, maybe. Their detectives are superhuman, almost; wish-fulfillment man, almost.She doesn't do that with Poirot. He's just pure omniscience, really, plus a few tics and traits and, you know, mustache. I think it's that distillation and simplicity and the way she inhabits the genre in a way that the others don't quite do. And at the same time, she's redefining it from within.OLIVER: There's something as well, I think, about—she gets past the kind of Sherlock Holmes model in a different way. They still all have a bit of an overreliance on that, maybe.THOMPSON: Yes.OLIVER: Whereas Poirot in, what is it? In something like, is it Murder in the Mews? Very sort of Sherlock and Watson—THOMPSON: Yes.OLIVER: —kind of dynamic. But within, I don't know, two or three novels, that's gone, and he's Poirot as we know him, as it were.THOMPSON: Yes, yes.OLIVER: And she kind of, as you say, makes it her own thing and goes off in new directions.Christie and the TheaterTHOMPSON: Yes. She's sort of conceptual and the others aren't quite, I think. She doesn't do—she does something completely different with the whole concept of what a solution is, it seems to me. She doesn't—it's not Cluedo, is it? It's not, there's six of them, and eventually it has to be one of them; however many tergiversations or however you say that word, you sort of know that. Whereas with her, it's: it's nobody, or it's everybody, or it's the policeman, or it's a child, or there's something bigger and bolder going on.And she writes—I think she writes very theatrically. I think she writes scenically. I think she's incredibly good at character and action. That scene where you know the girl's a thief because Poirot leaves out 23 pairs of silk stockings, and he goes back in the room and there's 19 or something like that, tells you everything. It's all in there.OLIVER: The solution to 4.50 from Paddington, which we shan't reveal, but—THOMPSON: That's Cards on the Table. But what I mean is, she's given us a little scene that tells us all we need to know about that person, really: a sort of timid thief who can't resist—OLIVER: Yes, but that's what I'm saying. At the end of 4.50, the solution is staged.THOMPSON: Oh, sorry. Yes.OLIVER: It is literally a little re-creation of the drama, if you see what I mean.THOMPSON: Yes, I do. Sorry, Henry. Yes, absolutely.OLIVER: No, no. We're crossed wires.THOMPSON: Yes, yes, yes.OLIVER: But she is very theatrical, yes.THOMPSON: No, you are absolutely right. That's a reenactment.OLIVER: Of something that was seen almost like in a—you know, the whole thing is very—THOMPSON: Yes, yes. Well, she was a great—I mean, obviously Shakespeare, but she was a great lover of the theater as a medium. And of course, she wrote plays, as we know, which I think are far weaker than her books, myself.OLIVER: Even The Mousetrap?THOMPSON: Especially. [laughter] When did you last see it? Or have you not—OLIVER: I've seen it once. I've seen it—you know, I don't know, before I had children, a long time ago. And I thought it was great. It was a lot of fun. The ending of act one, when someone opens a door and they say, “Oh, it's you.” It's very dramatic moments. You don't like it?THOMPSON: No, I think you're right. I wouldn't mind seeing it done really, really well. There's something strong at the heart of it, that theme that haunts a lot of her books about what happens to children who are unwanted.OLIVER: Yes.THOMPSON: Which is in loads of her—no, not loads. It's in Ordeal by Innocence. It's in Mrs. McGinty. That's, I think, because that happened to her mother. Her mother was given away as a child. Her own mother was a poor widow and gave up her daughter to be raised by her rich sister, which is not—it's not abandonment, but I think—OLIVER: Well, yes.THOMPSON: — it's not great. And I think all these things were absorbed by Agatha as a child. She grew up in what we would today call a house of—I hate this—strong women. I hate that “strong woman” thing, but they were strong women. Her mother was very, you know, as we've said, a sort of driving little person. And the rich grandmother, the poor sister, the dynamic there, they both fed into Miss Marple.And then her older sister, Madge, who was a big personality and actually had a play on in the West End before Agatha did, which I've always thought was extraordinary, just to write a play and have it on in the West End in 1924.And the men were—the father was feckless and charming and a rather grand New Yorker, he grew up as, and then settled in Torquay. And the brother was the Branwell Brontë. [laughter] He ended up a drug addict, which is also a type that feeds into her fiction: the man who could have made something of his life and goes wrong.The TV AdaptationsOLIVER: So all this theatricality in the books is obviously why she adapts so well to TV, and again, a lot of the others don't.THOMPSON: Yes, that's true.OLIVER: How famous would she be now without the TV adaptations?THOMPSON: Well, by 1990, so the centenary, she was a hell of a lot less—and that's really when the Poirots got going, which she never wanted. She never wanted—she didn't really want Murder on the Orient Express. It was only because it came via Lord Mountbatten. I don't know. I don't know because I think they're mostly not very good. I don't know what you think about the adaptations. But maybe that's deliberate, that they're less—if they drove you back to the books, you'd probably get quite a pleasant surprise.OLIVER: It's hard for me to say because I saw them all more or less after I'd finished reading her.THOMPSON: What did you think?OLIVER: I love Joan Aiken—not Joan Aiken, what's she called?THOMPSON: Yes, Joan Hickson is marvelous. Yes, absolutely.OLIVER: Hickson. I think she's just perfect because as you say, the simplicity, the not overstating. The “Pocketful of Rye” episode where she turns up and quotes the Bible, and the vicious older sister is there, and they have that moment. It's all so cleanly done.THOMPSON: Yes, I agree.OLIVER: David Suchet, I quite like him. I think he has those wonderful moments. “I cannot eat these eggs. They are not the same.” I think that's very good. It's very funny, you know, he gets it.THOMPSON: You prefer him in spats and art deco mode to when he became—he became like a de facto member of the House of Atreus by the end, hadn't he? It had gone very, very—OLIVER: I mean, I certainly didn't watch them all, no, no.THOMPSON: No. Well, I sort of had to.OLIVER: Yes, you did.THOMPSON: But I could never get through those short story ones. I don't think I've ever got—OLIVER: The moral sort of doom of it all, yes.THOMPSON: Well, the early ones, when they always had—you could see they'd hired a car for the day. [laughter] And I don't think I've ever got to the end of one of those.But I think—sorry, going back to your question, I think they probably did make a massive difference. You know, they're really, really popular. And whether she would have—what you think her—she might be read as much as somebody like Sayers if it weren't for all those adaptations. But then the fact of all those adaptations tells its own story in a way, because that wouldn't happen to one of the others, as you rightly said.Resurgence and PopularityOLIVER: No, they don't have that quality. And also, she was bigger than them. That's why they picked her, because she was bigger than them anyway.THOMPSON: And simpler. Because when I used to read them at university between the pages of Beowulf or whatever, like porn, [laughter] it was a bit mal vu. You read her for entertainment. But you certainly—I don't think—she's always been admired by a certain kind of French intellectual, hasn't she, for that subtextual quality that she has, that sort of fathomless quality that she has.But when I researched that biography, which I started in 2003, I can remember going on the radio. And names will not be named, but I was like a figure of fun with a couple of other detective writers, quite well known, who just sort of openly mocked me for taking her seriously and more or less said, “Oh yeah, we love her, but she's terrible” kind of thing. “Why are you taking her seriously?” I mean, it was regarded as a bit of a joke to take her seriously.I'm not saying I changed the game or anything like that, but I think there must have been a movement around that time in the early twenty-naughties—whatever the damn thing, decade's called—to start seeing that she is an interplay of text and subtext, facade and undercurrents, and these powerful foundations that underpin her books. Murder on the Orient Express is, you know, “Does human justice have the right to exert itself when legal justice has let it down?”There are these very strong—I think this is part of why she's survived the way she has. We intuit powerful truths underneath the Christie construct, if you like. I always say she's not real, she's true. I think she's incredibly wise about human nature, possibly more than any of them.You take a book like Evil Under the Sun, and there's a femme fatale who's murdered. “Oh, the femme fatale. No man can resist her.” Turns out she can't resist men. She's prey; she's not a predator. And of course, women who are so dependent on their looks and so on, that is what they are. They are prey. They're not predators. They're very, very vulnerable. Just a really small thing like that. And I just think, oh, you're very—there's so much easy wisdom in there somehow.And she deploys it perhaps differently—I mean, Ruth Rendell is wise, but it's very, “I am wise and you're going to pay attention to me.” You know what I mean? It's all very, “I'm very dark and very wise and very,” you know. I love her, but everything's so easy with Agatha. It's so, to coin a phrase, two tier. You can read them and have fun with them. You can read them and there's so much stuff going on underneath, and yet she presents this smooth face. I don't think any of the others are quite that resolved, if you like.Self-AdaptationsOLIVER: Now, you wrote that her own stage adaptations of The Hollow and Five Little Pigs lack the subtlety of the original books, quote, “almost as if Agatha herself did not realize what made them such good books.” How much of her talent do you think was unconscious in that way?THOMPSON: Yes. That's such a good question. I do think that, about those plays, it could have been that she just thought, “That's not what my audiences are going to want from me. They're just going to want to be entertained by”—we know she can do the other thing because of her Mary Westmacott books, where everything is laid out. They're not distilled at all; they're quite the opposite.I think they must have been such a pleasure for her to write because she didn't have to constantly—they're unresolved; they ask questions that don't have to be answered. She could have done that with those plays, I'm sure, but I think she would've thought people aren't coming to see them for that. I think she had a very good opinion of herself, in the best possible way.OLIVER: Hmm.THOMPSON: Like I said to you earlier, she didn't take a lot of notice of anything anybody said to her. Because it is like writing this other little book, the one I've just done about 1926. She was very acclaimed right from the start. I didn't emphasize that enough in the biography. And she was really recognized as very special right from the start.And I think it's extraordinary to me how—it's so difficult for us today, isn't it? We're so at the mercy of “That won't sell, don't do that, blah, blah, blah.” She really did not just plow her own furrow, but create that furrow in a way that you can only compare with, like, Lennon and McCartney. Or whether the time was absolutely right that they let her run, they trusted her to do what she wanted, and because she had the gift of pleasing readers . . .You do really feel, although those books are very tight and taut, you do feel an instinctive ease in what she's doing, an instinctive sort of—there's a kind of liberated—which sounds perverse because they are so controlled, the books. But I always feel she's doing exactly what she wants to do because she knows what it is and she knows how to do it. Because I think, would she be amazed that you and I are having this conversation now? I don't know that she would be, really. What do you think?OLIVER: No, I agree with you. I think she had what Johnson said, the felicity of rating herself properly. I think she knew she was really good.THOMPSON: You might know he'd say it right.OLIVER: Yes. [laughs] But there's a—I think there must have been something about—I think it's in Poirot's Christmas, one of those, where someone gets killed in the night in their bedroom, and they go up. And one of the women says, “Who would've thought the old man had so much blood in him?”And the quotation just sort of occurs to—I think there's quite a lot of that in Christie, right? Things are coming up and it fits. And she's good enough to run on instinct at times.THOMPSON: That's right. That's it. Exactly. That's absolutely right. Like the way she quotes from the—yes, I love the bit when she quotes from the Book of Saul in One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, which is really quite a profound novel about whether—I mean, it's terribly timely—whether it's better to be run by a corrupt capitalist or to let in the radicals. And as I said in the biography, the corrupt capitalist wins on points. But then another element enters, which is what power does to people. And that's when she quotes from the Book of Saul.And it's just like you said, this—an instinctive that she—I do always feel her as an instinctive writer, even though—her notebooks are intriguing because obviously some plots she really has to work away at. And yet they feel felicitous. A coup like The ABC Murders, and she's really—that went through lots and lots of iterations. But what she'll often do is scribble down a line of dialogue, a line of “There they are.” It's the whole—it's not bullet points, which is a loathsome concept. It reminds me of a bee going from flower to flower and knowing exactly which—and she's got this gift of knowing what flowers we're going to need.I sometimes fear I overdo it. I don't want be like one of those people who's writing a PhD on, what was the thing I said on Substack, gynocracy in St. Mary Mead or whatever. It's not—I do think that's a bit overdone these days, the rummaging in the subtext, because she's an interplay. And that's why I write that chapter in the book called “English Murder,” which is about the facade, you know, “smile and smile and be a villain.” And there's nothing more interesting. There's nothing more interesting than murder among classes who are trying to cover things up.And she does that—that's at the heart of golden age murder, I suppose. And I just think she does that better than anybody because she's so all the things we've been talking about. She's so distilled, she's so simple, she's so smooth, she's so instinctive. And she's doing it the way she wanted to do it because of your wonderful Dr. Johnson quote. She knew not to take notice of other people, including her—Quick Opinions on ChristieOLIVER: Should we have—THOMPSON: Yes. Go on.OLIVER: Sorry, sorry. Should we have a quick-fire round?THOMPSON: Please.OLIVER: I will say the name first of a few of her books—THOMPSON: Oh, god.OLIVER: —and then a few other detective writers, and you will just give us your unfiltered opinion: good, bad, ugly, indifferent.THOMPSON: Okay. What fun.OLIVER: You can “nothing” them if you want to.THOMPSON: Okay. [laughter]OLIVER: Hallowe'en Party.THOMPSON: Underrated. Very interesting on sixties counterculture and the effects of societal breakdown, et cetera. What do you think?OLIVER: I think it's a real page turner. I remember reading that for the first time. I loved it. Yes. Nemesis.THOMPSON: I can't keep saying the same thing. Underrated. [laughter] Very interesting philosophy of love in that book, I think. I think it harks back to her first marriage. However badly it turns out, it's better to have experienced it. It's quite a mournful novel.OLIVER: The Mr. Quin—THOMPSON: Oh.OLIVER: Oh, sorry.THOMPSON: No, no. Sorry. You carry on. Marvelous. So inventive, don't you think? Such a clever character.OLIVER: Why didn't she do more of him?THOMPSON: Yes, that would've been good. And she was always interested in the commedia dell'arte. She wrote poems about it as a girl. And the concept of Mr. Quin, yes, as this sort of evanescent figure who's also a moral force, isn't he really? Or—yes, I wish she'd done more. They're marvelous.OLIVER: Towards Zero.THOMPSON: Oh, top notch, don't you think?OLIVER: One of the best.THOMPSON: Yes, I agree. Frightening motive. Very Ruth Rendell.OLIVER: It's very distinct in her. I haven't read all of her novels, but it's very distinct.THOMPSON: But the plot is, again, typical of her because it redefines the word contingent. [laughs] I mean, Dorothy Sayers would be having palpitations. She's very bold and grand like that. “Oh, there's a loose end. Oh, who cares?” You know, I mean, it's so—it just drives along that book, doesn't it? Yes. But I agree with you, one of her best.OLIVER: Death on the Nile.THOMPSON: Quite moving, I think. I think it's one of those ones from the thirties that, again, is talking about love in a way that—I think it just strikes a personal note to me because she was very in love with her first husband, Archie Christie. And he did fall in love with another woman, and it did cause her extreme pain that some people said to me she never quite got over.And I feel that a little bit in that book. There's a shadow of something quite powerful in that book, I think. Again, very, very loose and lovely plot, but powerful. Would you agree? Very good on the place as well, I think, Egypt.OLIVER: I love it. I think the solution is great.THOMPSON: Yes.OLIVER: And it makes a really good film.THOMPSON: It's a great film, yes. Wonderful film.Other Mystery WritersOLIVER: Yes. Okay. A few other detective writers: Michael Innes.THOMPSON: You've got me. I haven't read him. Should I?OLIVER: Oh, I think you will like him. Yes. Try Hamlet, Revenge!THOMPSON: Okay. Okay. Oh, I like it already.OLIVER: Yes, yes, yes. Oh, this is exciting. Gladys Mitchell.THOMPSON: Can't get into her.OLIVER: No.THOMPSON: What do you think? Should I try a bit harder?OLIVER: I read two. I thought they were good. I was not intrigued.THOMPSON: No, somebody told—OLIVER: The ones I read—Spotted Hemlock is a wonderful, like, wow, that's great.THOMPSON: Okay. Okay. Somebody said to me, I know she really—no, I didn't—I read it in a book that she really hadn't liked Agatha Christie, but you know, who knows? All that Detection Club rivalry, you can imagine. But okay, Spotted Hemlock—if I'm going to read one, try that, yes?OLIVER: Yes, that's a great book. Margery Allingham.THOMPSON: Kind of love her, but I never understand her plots. I always feel I'm in a bit of a fog, but she's quite a good writer. Do you think? Or what do you think?OLIVER: She's good at the fog. She's good at that sort of whirligig sense that there's a lot going on—THOMPSON: Yes, whirligig.OLIVER: —and you've got to get to the end before they do, kind of thing.THOMPSON: Also, she had a pub in her sitting room. Now, I like a woman who has a pub in their sitting room.OLIVER: [laughs] E. C. Bentley.THOMPSON: You've got me again, Henry.OLIVER: Oh, The Blotting Book mystery. You'll like this.THOMPSON: Okay. Okay.OLIVER: The other one is not so good, but you'll like that a lot.THOMPSON: Okay.OLIVER: Edmund Crispin.THOMPSON: Didn't get on with him.OLIVER: Why not?THOMPSON: Don't know. Don't know. It sounds like I don't read the men, doesn't it? Which is not the truth at all.OLIVER: I think that's fair enough, isn't it?THOMPSON: Well, I don't know. I don't think anyone's ever come up with a really good reason why women have shone so brightly in this genre. I don't know. Why didn't I—I read that one, the toyshop one [The Moving Toyshop] or whatever. I don't know. I just didn't get on with it.OLIVER: Too glib?THOMPSON: Possibly.OLIVER: Bit flippant, bit sort of funny-funny?THOMPSON: Possibly. I just couldn't quite get hold of it in some way. I don't know.OLIVER: I quite like Edmund Crispin, but I do think he's got a bit of a “he's a very clever boy” about him.THOMPSON: Maybe that's what it was. Maybe that.OLIVER: Something, yes. G. K. Chesterton.THOMPSON: I haven't read Father Brown. Oh, this is awful, isn't it? I'm starting to sound like a radical feminist by accident.OLIVER: [laughs] Maybe that's what you are, Laura. Maybe you just need to admit it. [laughs]THOMPSON: No, it does. It sounds really bad because I do really love almost all the women. I just, I don't know why I haven't read him.Christie and NostalgiaOLIVER: Was Agatha a nostalgia writer?THOMPSON: No, I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think anyone who was a nostalgia writer would've written At Bertram's Hotel, which is an entire spin on the riff of nostalgia. Really clever. I think that's such a clever book. The way she traps us in her golden age, you know, this phantasmagoria of the re-created golden age. And then she says, “Ha, really fooled you.”I've written about this. I think she moved with the 20th century far more than is realized. I love those Cold War novels she writes about her dislike of ideologies. I love her postwar books about the fragmentation of the hierarchical society. I think she's—well, she's an incidental social historian, as are, I think, P. D. James and Ruth Rendell, but they're much more underlined about it. Again, I'm intrigued what you think. Do you think she is?OLIVER: I think there's definitely some quality, particularly to the Miss Marple stories—as you say, the social history sort of becomes a way of preserving something that's disappearing. One of them, written in the sixties—you can tell me which one—it opens with that description of all the new houses in the village and the mothers who give their children cereal for breakfast. And what sort of a thing is that to give a child? They should have bacon and eggs. Bacon and eggs is a real—you know, and she does have a real something heartfelt and real sense that this part of England is going, and this new thing is coming in.THOMPSON: That's true. That's absolutely true. That's The Mirror Crack'd. And it's—OLIVER: The Mirror, yes, yes.THOMPSON: Yes, and that whole thing of Mrs. Bantry's house has now been bought by a film star and blah, blah, blah. Yes, no, you are absolutely right. I didn't think hard enough before I answered your question.OLIVER: But no, what you said is also true. I can't sort of work out to what extent she regrets it, to what extent it's just useful material for her, you know?THOMPSON: Both. I mean, some of her late books, including Endless Night, I think, which is an incredibly modern book—that whole “me, me, me” culture of “I want, therefore I will have now,” which is written when she was quite an old lady. And then a book like Passenger to Frankfurt, which is—it's a bit sub–Brave New World, but it's very honest and pessimistic about a future—well, the one we are living in, really—full of fear and uncertainty and almost dystopian.She was a realist. You know, she is Miss Marple in a lot of ways. She was a realist in a way that I think a lot of us would find it difficult to be. And her American publishers were often—would sort of say, can she tone this down? Can she not have a young person who's completely evil? Readers want to know, is she going get any therapy? [laughter] And it's so true. There's quite a lot of that going on.She's very clear-eyed. So if she—I'm a bit nostalgic for Blur, do you know what I mean? I mean, you can't help it, in a way, like that brilliant example you give at the start of The Mirror Crack'd. But I would say her image is quite at odds with the reality of her in that way. But the image—OLIVER: And the adaptations don't help with that.THOMPSON: No. No. But at the same time, that Christie image, you know, the gentlewoman, the tea or the eternal bridge party, blah, blah, blah, that has a huge power of its own. So just being too iconoclastic about her, I think, is also a lie. Because I think, again, it's that interplay. She used the image, and the image—I hate the word cozy. I loathe the word cozy, but there's no denying that any book of that kind does have that quality. So I suppose even that's nostalgic in a way.Christie's PoshnessOLIVER: In a way, yes. How posh was she?THOMPSON: Good question. I've been thinking about that a lot. Quite, I would say. Quite grand, with that confidence. Her father really was—as I said, he was a young blade in New York dancing with Jennie Jerome and blah, blah, blah. And then it so happened that he ended up in Torquay, which of course then was very posh. And the fact that when she disappears, she disappears to Harrogate, [laughs] which is like the Torquay of the north.I remember her grandson saying to me, “She dealt with her literary agent. To her, he was staff.” You know, that kind of thing. Her sister, there is a—well, her sister ended up very grand indeed with a huge house up in Cheshire.I think she just had that internal confidence, really. She wasn't—and that there wasn't much money. I mean, there was very little money when she was growing up, as of course you know, but that didn't matter. I mean, her voice is insane. Her voice is, [affecting a posh voice] “Oh, it's lucky it just happens.” [laughter] But yes, there's a part of her that is real late Victorian upper middle class that, again, underpins her books.It's amazing really how broad-minded and cosmopolitan she was. But possibly, I mean, possibly that does—she was—you know, when she disappeared, she was described in foreign newspapers as an Anglo-American, the embodiment of Englishness, and that's how she was described. And then of course she was genuinely cosmopolitan in her love of travel and her love of other cultures and all that obvious stuff. Yes.Inspirations for Miss MarpleOLIVER: How much of her grandmothers is in Miss Marple?THOMPSON: Quite a lot, I would say, particularly the—OLIVER: Drawn from life?THOMPSON: Well, in an essential way not, because Miss Marple has no real experience of life in that way. We're occasionally told about some chap who came calling who wasn't suitable or whatever, but she's almost defined by nonexperience of life in a sense, but observation of life. She's an observer. She's not an outsider in the way that Poirot is. She has a place within the social hierarchy and whatever, and that village has a reality to it. And the way it changes has a reality to it. But she is defined by being an observer, I would say.But Margaret Miller, who was the rich grandmother, who is the one who had the big house at Ealing and was—you know, she's the one who would go to the Army and Navy stores and all that stuff that's in At Bertram's Hotel. She was—there's a lot of her in Miss—I think, as I say in the book, she grew up with the sound of female wisdom in her ears. You know, her grandmother was the sort of—if she'd seen her up in Harrogate, she would've known exactly what was going on. You know, one of those kind of women who could spot an affair at a hundred paces, just a wise sort of woman, worldly, worldly woman.And Miss Marple is worldly in her thinking, but not in her experience, particularly in a book like A Caribbean Mystery, which I think is—she's a real sophisticate, Agatha. I mean, I'm reading The Hollow again at the moment. And it's really astounding to me how there's a love affair at the center of it with a young woman who's kind of a self-portrait and this married man. And not only, there's not—it's not only nonjudgmental; there's literally no concept of judgment being in the vicinity. It's really, really sophisticated, grown-up stuff, I think. And again, I think that's maybe not recognized about her that much.Nursery RhymesOLIVER: What are the importance of nursery rhymes to her?THOMPSON: Yes, that's interesting. They're part of that distilled quality she had, I suppose, that really simple ability to catch hold of something that is simple and familiar in itself and then subvert it. There's books where she—I don't think she needs it in Five Little Pigs. I think the book is almost too good for that.But is it not to do with that—like her titles, which are really, really simple with a faint frisson of the sinister about them. Is it not that ability she has to catch, to take something really, really simple and subvert it for her own ends? What do you think? Do you think that's right? Or do you think it's something more than that?OLIVER: No, I think the simplicity is the point, and I think it probably gives her a way of talking, of showing how fundamental the wickedness is. And as you say, the children can be evil, and it's part of the darkness in a way, but it gives the appearance of innocence and, oh, One, Two, Buckle My Shoe? You know, children do this. And so it leads you through and makes it worse somehow. [laughs]THOMPSON: Yes. Exactly. Exactly. But I know I've—how many times have I said the word simple? But I really do feel that's the heart of her. And I also feel it's the heart of why she was misunderstood when I was growing up reading her because it was mistaken for simplistic.Wartime ProductivityOLIVER: Why was she so productive during the war? I mean, there were four books one year.THOMPSON: Yes.OLIVER: And as you say, they're some of the best. I mean, what is it about the war that gets her so busy?THOMPSON: Well, she was on her own, which she had never been, really. Well, obviously she divorced her first husband in 1928. So there's a couple of very bleak, dead years before she met her second husband and married him in 1930. But she wasn't completely on her own because she had her friend Charlotte Fisher, who was a sort of secretary-companion, but much more than that—really, really good friend.But in the war, Max Mallowan was abroad. Her daughter—she had one child—her daughter was married and living in Wales. And she was living in the Isokon building in North London, which I love because that's like, “You think I'm chintzy and old fashioned. And here I am socializing with the sort of left-wing intelligentsia at the Isokon building.” And there's something about being in that adorable little flat—they're so fabulous, those flats—and being alone but not feeling abandoned, as she had after her first marriage.And I suppose also, you know, war is, you either cower in despair or you think, “Right, well, better get on with it.” War is stimulating in that way. I think it was to quite a few writers, maybe, or quite a few creatives. The shadow of death. But there was something about that solitude but not abandonment, plus the stimulation of not knowing whether it was your last day on earth that did—it did. I mean, it's absolutely insane how productive she is.And then she wrote—she had a week off. She was also working as a dispenser at a London hospital, and she had a week off. And she wrote a Mary Westmacott, Absent in the Spring, which is one of her best Westmacotts, I think. I mean, she's got a week off and she writes a book. I mean, Jesus, there's a challenge to us, Henry. [laughter]The Mary Westmacott NovelsOLIVER: What are those Mary Westmacotts like? Because I've never read them, but you seem very—THOMPSON: Oh, have you not?OLIVER: You're very up on them. You like them?THOMPSON: I am. I really am. Well, for a biographer, they were a treasure trove because they're very revealing. Unfinished Portrait is, I think, as close as you are ever going to come to a true autobiography, as opposed to the actual autobiography, which is charmingly disingenuous.OLIVER: And also dull. No? I mean, it's just so dull.THOMPSON: Do you think? It is a bit.OLIVER: I couldn't read it. I couldn't read it. No, it was so long and so leaden. I felt like she didn't really want to tell me the story of her life. Just couldn't.THOMPSON: Well, I think that's probably right. It was very heavily edited after her death. And her daughter was very, very protective of her. So, Max Mallowan as well. So maybe there was a much better book in there somewhere. Who knows?OLIVER: So we should read Mary Westmacott if we want the unfiltered Agatha?THOMPSON: I would say Unfinished Portrait. It really fascinates me because the worst time you've ever gone through in your life—so in 1926, she lost her mother and her husband in the space of four months. And I think an awful lot of people, even writers, would think, “I'm going to put that behind me and get on.” But she had to reopen the wound. She had to go through it all again eight years later. I find that really, in itself, incredibly revealing about her.Poirot vs. MarpleOLIVER: Why is there so much more Poirot than Marple?THOMPSON: Yes, I've wondered that because there is this little thing that she hated him, which I don't really think she did. It's just something people say, isn't it?OLIVER: Well, it's a common thing about artists. They're supposed to hate their most successful work, but—THOMPSON: Yes. Yes. All I could come up with was that he was easier to put in different places. He could conceivably be on the Nile or in Mesopotamia or—I mean, it would be a—she does manage to get Miss Marple to the West Indies, but it's certainly—OLIVER: There are only so many holidays your nephew can send you on.THOMPSON: He was really successful, that nephew, wasn't he? Who do you think he was like? Sort of Ian McEwan or—OLIVER: [laughs] I know. It was sort of crazy, isn't it?THOMPSON: And very kind to her.OLIVER: It might be to her credit that she doesn't do a Midsomer Murders thing and just sort of wave away and say, “Oh, we can just have as many of these murders as we want.” She says, “No, we can only fit—” Do you think maybe that's it?THOMPSON: I think there might be a bit of that. I mean, her notebooks sort of—some of the books were originally Marples, like Cat Among the Pigeons and Death on the Nile, in fact. And then they became Poirots. I just wonder whether he's a bit more malleable because she is a more rooted, fixed entity.And he is—I don't mean to denigrate David Suchet because he's a fantastic actor, but he does root him more than I think the written version. I think he is a sketch on the page. And one of her great skills, I think, is how she can sketch, and they've got that quality of aliveness on the page, which you just can't analyze, really. I don't—well, I can't. And that's how I see Poirot. So he was more movable in that sense.And she's incredibly good at certain—like Sleeping Murder, there's no way you could have him in that. And Miss Marple is—her qualities are so perfect for a book like that, which has suddenly reminded me of how she got me into John Webster. I never read John Webster until—OLIVER: [laughs] That's great.THOMPSON: The way she uses The Duchess of Malfi is so clever. Do you think that's right about Poirot? Do you think there's something more . . .Reader Preferences and SalesOLIVER: I can see that. I wondered if there was some reader's prejudice involved.THOMPSON: Oh.OLIVER: Poirot is the sort of exotic—Sherlock Holmes, one thing that makes him popular is that he's a bit wacky, you know. And Poirot—he's always talking about, “You English are so xenophobic. Excuse me, I am Belgian.” And with the eggs and all the little—whereas Miss Marple's just the kind of old lady that we all wish there were more of. And how much of that will readers take? I don't know.THOMPSON: Yes. Although, as I say, she, she did—I mean, I think her publishers did like her to do Poirot, but I don't know that she would've been influenced by that necessarily. I mean, maybe she was—maybe I'm overdoing her—OLIVER: Well, she had these terrible money problems. Didn't she have to be a little bit focused on the dollar?THOMPSON: She did. She did, but she didn't—well, I mean, the money problems are insane because they were absolutely no fault of her own. They were to do with test cases, and it was just this sort of accumulation of horror that put her in tax problems during the war. And she really never could dig her way out of them and was advised to go bankrupt twice, which is unbelievable, just as a way of clearing it. I mean, it's terrible.But I don't know that she—I think her attitude was a bit more, “Well, why should I even bother if they're just going to take it away from me?” In 1948 she didn't write anything at all because I think she thought, “What's the point?” But then, that wasn't her way. But I don't know that she thought of writing as a way of digging out of it necessarily. But I could be—OLIVER: The Marples, did they make less money? Were they, did they sell less?THOMPSON: Not really. I think they all sold. Even poor old Passenger to Frankfurt sold hugely, absolutely hugely. I think people—I mean, my parents would—it was like people just wanted them, the Christie for Christmas.Rereading ChristieOLIVER: How many times have you read these books? Do you ever get bored?THOMPSON: No.OLIVER: Really?THOMPSON: Well, I have them on rotation, and I don't—as you know, I do interleave them with our beloved Elizabeth Bowen, who's my passion at the moment, and other people. But they are consolatory, I suppose. They are—there's bits of—there is this kind of—there's bits of them that I just know completely off by heart, like the gramophone record in And Then There Were None and all that.But there's something—and maybe I should have said this earlier, when I say—I've said it on Substack—that they're fairy tales for adults. There's something about that. There's an almost physical sensation of pleasure, really, when the resolution comes. It is a bit like act five of Shakespeare. I'm not going to say she's quite on that level. Not even I am going to say that.But there is—and it is like being a child again and reading the end toward the happy-ever-after, even though her happy-ever-afters are sometimes compromised. And there is something almost primal in that pleasure. And it almost sounds borderline mad, me saying it like that, but I do think there's something in it because the resolution is so—because it's character based, and at her best, she's character and plot as one, as in Five Little Pigs or The Hollow or Murder on the Orient Express or blah, blah, blah.Her resolutions do tell you something about human nature. You do think, “Oh, yes, that is what that would be. Yes, it would be all about money. Yes. Yes, doctors are untrustworthy,” or something on a more profound level than that. There's something that is a satisfaction, both childlike and I'm experiencing it as an adult. In my defense, P. G. Wodehouse said you can never read them too many times. [laughs] It doesn't matter if you know who did it. There's so much pleasure in them.Thompson's CareerOLIVER: Now, I want to ask a little bit about your career.THOMPSON: Mm-hmm.OLIVER: You were at a sort of stage school, then you studied at Merton, and then you worked at The Times.THOMPSON: Yes. Very briefly. Yes.OLIVER: How does one therefore go from all of this to being the biographer?THOMPSON: Well, I did always think I would have a career in—I wanted to direct plays. I directed Hamlet after university, which is probably the thing I'm still proudest of. But what it was, was that I wrote a couple of books. I won an award when I was quite young.And then I had an agent who—I said to him, “I want to write a biography of Nancy Mitford.” And he wasn't very keen on the idea, but I must have written an okay proposal. Again, because I thought Nancy Mitford was a little bit undervalued, that she's a lot more than just a posh girl. And at the time her reputation was quite low. And so somebody bought into that idea, and it sort of went from there, really.But it's a bit—I sometimes look back at the books I've written, including a memoir of my publican grandmother, and I think, gosh, this is all quite scatter-gun, but maybe that's okay. Maybe you should just write the books you really want to write. But it was a passion for Nancy Mitford that sort of started that particular ball rolling.And then I had the idea of—oh, no. I was down in Devon with a boyfriend, and he said, “You never stop talking about Agatha Christie. Why don't you try and write her biography?” And that was just a luck of timing because her daughter was still alive. So I met her, and she liked me because I knew the Mary Westmacotts so well, and that sort of happened. I mean, quite often these things are very fortuitous, don't you think? Did you not find that with your book?OLIVER: Yes, yes. No, I did. I did. I think some writers, as you say—I don't think of it as scatter-gun. I think of it, it's sort of an emergent thing, and you happen to have these different interests, and you just follow your nose, and that's fine.THOMPSON: Yes, exactly.OLIVER: Tell us about this production of Hamlet.THOMPSON: Oh. Do you know, I think it was not bad. I had a very good Hamlet. I think if you've—well, you're in trouble without—who is now quite a successful actor. And we were all really young, but he was—I saw him in something and said, “Do you want to play Hamlet for me?” And he said, “Okay then.” And it was a room above a pub in Chelsea, and it was very spare and very quick.And it was about—I can't bear when people overanalyze the character of Hamlet, and why does he delay? He delays because Shakespeare wants him to, so that he can write all those incredible speeches. That's a bit simplified, but it was—he was so, he so understood the translucent power of those soliloquies, this actor. So it just sort of worked because we didn't do too much to it. And it was, yes, it was good. I think it was good. But then I did Macbeth, and that was much less good.Secretly Reading ChristieOLIVER: And you've said here, and I think you said it in your book, that when you were at Merton, you were reading Agatha Christie between the covers of what you were supposed to be reading.THOMPSON: Yes, yes, I was.OLIVER: That can't be—is that a slight exaggeration, or did you really not get on with the syllabus?THOMPSON: Well, hang on. I was a bit stuck in the first term. Can you imagine coming from a performing arts school—OLIVER: Yes.THOMPSON: —and then being told, “Read that bloody, you know.OLIVER: Yes, yes. No, it's intense.THOMPSON: All I knew was French. How I got in is a minor mystery, but there it was. I've tried to do it honor ever since by writing as best books I possibly can. But I was okay once I got over that bit. Once I got into my beloved Tennyson and all the people we've been talking about, Hardy and blah, blah, blah. Larkin, about whom the best thing I've ever read—the best thing I've ever read about Larkin is your Substack about him, without a shadow of a doubt.OLIVER: Oh, thank you.THOMPSON: Just wonderful. So I sort of winged it a bit, but I had a very nice don. And the autodidact side of me, which is very like Agatha Christie, who barely went to school, and Nancy Mitford—I think it can be a good thing in a way, because you have such a respect for learning and truth. I always try to be truthful in my biographies, which as we know, not everybody is. [laughter]And I think you carry on wanting to learn and carry on wanting to fill all the gaps because I only had half an education, because in the morning you would do ballet and drama and all that kind of thing. So it is a bit odd, but in some ways I think it's been a good thing.OLIVER: Now, the new book is about the 1926 disappearance. When can we expect it to be published?THOMPSON: It's only a short book—OLIVER: Yes.THOMPSON: —because obviously I covered it a lot in the biography, and it doesn't—but I have found out a couple of new things. And that will be out in August here and in November in America. And I have come up with a slightly different slant on it, but mainly—and I treat it a little bit like a cold case. And it was—I had to write—I wrote it in five weeks, but it was incredibly good fun. Oh, and I reenacted her journey, which was very interesting, to Harrogate.But mainly it's such a pleasure because I, you know, on Substack, and I think, “Oh, you can't write about Agatha Christie again.” There always seems to be quite a lot to say. I'm intrigued by how you, who I think of as a true intellectual, how you have clear regard for her.Henry on Agatha ChristieOLIVER: I started reading her when I was about 12, and I just thought she was great, and I went through most of them. But I read them at intervals. So I was reading her into my twenties, thirties. And before this interview I tried to—I thought, “Laura's always saying Five Little Pigs is the best one. I'm going to read it.” And I just sort of found that I've lost the taste, in a way.THOMPSON: Okay.OLIVER: Which I was quite, I don't know, just maybe—I feel like this is my failing. Maybe I should take a week off and sit by the pool and read it properly. But I've always thought she's really, really great, and very few people can do that many very compelling stories without you sort of thinking, “Oh, I've read this one. I know. Yes. It's the same as the other one, isn't it? Yes. Yes, it was the”—as you say, it's not Cluedo. Even Dorothy L. Sayers, I don't think I could read much more by her, frankly. Great, she's great, but it's enough. [laughs]THOMPSON: Well, I quite like her. The whole—most girls who went to Oxford are quite keen on Gaudy Night, and the character of Harriet Vane is quite satisfying, I think.OLIVER: Indeed, indeed. And Strong Poison is great. And there—but I just mean if she'd written as many books as Agatha, you can't imagine it would've sustained the level of quality.THOMPSON: No, no. There is that lightness in Agatha and that terrible cliché of, “I wrote a long book because it was too—I didn't have enough time to write a short book,” and all that kind of thing. The brevity amazes me. When I said at the start, most writers would take twice as many pages to get all that in.She has style—I don't know if you can call it a style, but there is something blindingly effective about it that nobody can imitate. And it does—there's something so fathomless about her, and that's what continues to compel me. But I think it's very lovely of you to do this if you are no longer an admirer because you've let me sort of—OLIVER: Well, it's not that I'm not an admirer. It's just that I don't—I had this with P. G. Wodehouse. I read quite a lot of it, and now, I don't know, somehow I've reached a point where it's—I sort of get it, but it's just not that funny anymore. I don't know, just need some time away.THOMPSON: Well, maybe. Maybe, but you know, I'm a bit—she's part of my life now. It's like if somebody said, “You can't read her anymore,” it would be like, “You can't listen to the Rolling Stones anymore.” I mean, it'd be like a kind of death. She's part of my life the same way they're part of my life. She's now inseparable from just the way I go on, as is Shakespeare. And if I had to lose one of them, trust me, it would be her, you'll be reassured to know. [laughter]OLIVER: Very good. Laura, this has been a lot of fun. Thank you very much.THOMPSON: Oh, I've really enjoyed it. I really have. And I was really looking forward to it, and it's been even nicer than I thought it would be. So thank you.OLIVER: Oh, it's been delightful.THOMPSON: Thank you so much, Henry.OLIVER: Thank you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.commonreader.co.uk

On the upside, a tyrannical theocrat and much of his entourage are dead. On the downside, so are thousands of innocent children and adults. As Trump's open-ended and ill-defined Iran adventure unfolds, is it game over for the tattered remnants of the so-called Special Relationship between Britain and the US? Are there any good choices left for Starmer? And is Britain's rah-rah right-wing press fantasising that British people support this war? Plus: after the Greens' win in Manchester is Gorton & Denton Derangement Syndrome driving the legacy parties over the edge? And in a special extended Extra Bit: Dubai Schadenfreude, or: Won't anyone think of the influencers?  ESCAPE ROUTES • Jonn recommends The Lady on ITV.  • Marie recommends Stefan Zweig's Burning Secret • Raf recommends Departure(s) by Julian Barnes.  • Matt recommends Murder Most Foul by Guy Jenkins  www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Matt Green with Jonn Elledge, Marie le Conte and Rafael Behr. Audio Production by Robin Leeburn. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do you do after 197 rejections … for the same book?Well, if you're author Carmela Dutra, you keep going.In this episode, Carmela shares the real story behind her debut cozy mystery, A Murder Most Foul—from querying too soon and rewriting extensively to finding the right agent after nearly 200 nos. We talk about saggy middles, tense slips, brutal feedback, and what it takes to rebuild a manuscript from the ground up.If you're struggling with self-doubt, facing a bunch of rejection, and just feeling like maybe it's time to throw in the towel—this conversation will arm you with what you need to keep going and protect your mindset!Timestamps: 04:20 Personalizing cold queries06:12 What A Murder Most Foul is about11:19 Craft struggles: saggy middles & tense slips15:44 Surviving 197 rejections18:11 Ghosting & rock bottom19:48 Finding the right agent21:42 Learning to plot23:10 Imposter syndrome (“Peggy”)28:37 Querying advice30:20 Finding time to write as a momGuest Bio:Carmela Dutra is a writer from the Bay Area who loves food trucks, family, and cozy mysteries. Her debut, A Murder Most Fowl, has been praised by Kirkus Reviews for its “serious set of crimes leavened by plenty of amusing moments,” by Criminal Element for the “juicy reasoning behind the sabotage that was almost as shocking as the murder itself,” and described as “the perfect escapist read, brimming with banter and an extra helping of fun” by New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams. She has also been featured in CrimeReads Magazine.To connect with Carmela and purchase her books, visit her website and check her blog series: An Author's Guide to Quering for hot tips!Have a comment or idea about the show? Send me a direct text! Love to hear from you.Support the show To become a supporter of the show, click here!To get in touch with Stacy: Email: Stacy@writeitscared.co https://www.writeitscared.co/wis https://www.instagram.com/writeitscared/ Take advantage of these Free Resources From Write It Scared: Download Your Free Novel Planning and Drafting Quick Start Guide Download Your Free Guide to Remove Creative Blocks and Work Through Fears

On this episode of On Board Games, Erik talks with Steve Hatherley of Freeform Games all about games (and other things) they've played including: Forest Shuffle Dartmoor Obsession London Puerto Rico Traveller Origin Story Nemesis: Retaliation You can get a discount on Zencastr.com using this link. (15:16) Then, the two talk about what makes a good murder mystery game and how to host a murder. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Inverse Genius: http://www.inversegenius.com/   Patreon account: http://www.patreon.com/obg   Twitter: @onboardgames RSS Feed: http://onboardgames.libsyn.com/rss Email us: onboardgamesmailbag@gmail.com On Board Games Guild at Board Game Geek    

On death row for 42 years at San Quentin, artist and inmate William Noguera formed an unlikely bond with the notorious serial killer Joseph Naso. Over years of disturbing conversations—and at great personal risk—Noguera gained his trust. What he revealed was far worse than anyone imagined.Behind prison walls, Naso described his brutal crimes in chilling detail, disclosing evidence that had eluded investigators for decades and exposing the darknessthat drove him. Now, for the first time, Noguera lays bare in his book, Through the Lens of a Monster, those confessions and the psychological games behind them—offering long-overdue answers for grieving families and freshleads in cases gone cold.Through the Lens of a Monsteris both a window into the twisted mind of a predator and a haunting memoir of a man seeking redemption for his own violent past. My guest today on Murder Most Foul is William Noguera. 

durée : 00:05:11 - C'est une chanson - par : Frédéric Pommier - Elle a reçu il y a quelques mois le prix du Livre Inter pour "Un perdant magnifique" (ed. de l'Olivier). Au micro de Frédéric Pommier, la romancière et scénariste Florence Seyvos évoque "Murder Most Foul" de Bob Dylan, chanson de plus d'un quart d'heure qu'elle a découverte pendant le confinement. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

Recently there has been a renewed interest in the Son of Sam Case in the form of documentaries, the latest by NETFLIX. Many are subtitled, “The Lost Tapes,” a reference to recordings of multiple interviews with David Berkowitz in Attica prison, shortly after he was incarcerated. Luckily for us, the tapes were never lost! They were recorded by Rochester, New York, Democrat and Chronicle reporter, Jack Jones, and are thankfully still in his possession.Jack, a repeat guest here on Murder Most Foul, joins us today to share his thoughts on his interviews with David Berkowitz and the murders that gripped New York City in the Summer of 1977, hyped by the tabloid media.

Qui-Gon Jinn joins forces with Mace Windu and Aayla Secura, as the crew head to Mina-Rau to investigate the untimely death of one of their Jedi colleagues. Not all is as it seems though. How will the death of one of their own connect to the mysterious warrior hunting Qui-Gon?Covers: Jedi Knights #6

Why did Mary Queen of Scots' second marriage to the volatile Lord Darnley threaten to send Scotland into civil war? In what way did she essentially declare war upon her powerful cousin, Elizabeth I? Who was the hotheaded James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell, and why would he come to play such a devastating role in Mary's life? Could Mary survive unburnt if the religious tensions smouldering at the heart of Scotland, erupted into a bonfire of destruction? Why did she personally lead a Scottish army into battle, pistols in hand? And, who in her inner circle was brutally murdered before her very eyes? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the climax of Mary Queen of Scots' dysfunctional marriage, her efforts to seize power in both Scotland and England, and the birth of her heir, whose very existence threatened the reign of England's Virgin Queen? The Rest Is History Club: Become a member for exclusive bonus content, early access to full series and live show tickets, ad-free listening, our exclusive newsletter, discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, and our members' chatroom on Discord. Just head to therestishistory.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestishistory. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Black women and girls are targeted and murdered their cases are often categorized by police officers as “N.H.I.” — “No Human Involved.”  Dehumanized and invisible to the public eye, they are rarely seen as victims. In the United States, Black women are killed at a higher rate than any other group of women, but their victimhood is not covered by the media and their cases do not receive an adequate level of urgency. That is until now. My guest today is sociologist, Cheryl L. Neely, whose newly published book, “No Humans Involved,” presents a disturbing picture of the treatment of minority women, often on the fringes of society, by law enforcement in America. It is my honor to welcome Professor and author Cheryl Neely to this episode of MURDER MOST FOUL.

In the heart of Miami, a man finds unexpected romance, only for his joy to be shattered.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good evening, and welcome to another thrilling episode of Brett's Old Time Radio Show!

The events of how Robert, the father of David and James, was murdered are detailed in a flashback, in which Robert learns what happened to James after he ran away from King George. With help from Rumple, he tracks him to Pleasure Island, but their reunion is cut short by King George, who orders Robert’s […]

The boys are back in the land of the living after late family Christmases and sickness have tried to stop the show in the New Year but no more! We are talking 15 (count em!) 15 new books from over the last two week. Some surprises are in store this week! Best Books of the Week(s)Daredevil #17, Absolute Superman #3, The New Champions #1 (A first ever double pick!!!!!!)Book Blurbs (They were more than blurbs this week)Batgirl #3, Cable: Love and Chrome #1, The Atom Project #1, JSA #3, Aquaman #1, All New Venom #2, Uncanny X-Men #8, What If?...Galactus Transformed Gambit, Cruel Kingdom #1, The Lucky Devils #1, Absolute Batman #4, Magik #1.Uncle's One More ThingOnly Murders in the Building (Hulu)Murder by Numbers (Nintendo Switch)

After humanity's exile from Eden, the question the rest of the Bible wrestles with is, "How can we get back?" And the story of Cain and Abel offers us hints. In this message, Michael Bouterse, director of Thrive Harbor, explores how Cain's murder of his brother in Genesis 4 shows the right and wrong way to get back to God. Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Genesis 3:17; 4:1-16; Jude 11; Hebrews 11:4; 12:22-24; James 1:13-14; 1 John 3:12; and John 7:7.

Ty Yorrick is picking up enough sidekicks to form her own Jedi Order, while Drewen realizes he may have bitten off quite a bit more than he can chew as Dark Horse's The High Republic Adventures -- Saber for Hire #3 sets the mini-series up for its conclusion.In Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3, Maul appears to be questioning not his devotion to the Sith and the Dark Side, but Palpatine's people skills.Comics Discussed This Week:Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4) (12:12)Saber for Hire #3 (of 4) (20:18)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Jango Fett #1 (of 4)Thrawn Alliances #3 (of 4)Star Wars Visions: Takashi Okazaki #1News: Star Wars and Darth Vader will both end at #50 in September; Marvel promises a new batch of stories somewhere different. What might those be?September and October solicits for Marvel and Dark Horse are out and The High Republic Adventures Phase III is going past 10 issues as an ongoing series.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:
July 2_ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12); Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)
July 3 _ Inquisitors #1 (of 4), The High Republic Phase III #9July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8),  The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ Star Wars #48July 24 _ Darth Vader #48July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15); Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)
July 31 _ Darth Maul: Black, White and Red #4 (of 4)

Aug. 7 _ Inquisitors #2 (of 4), The High Republic Phase III #10, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8 
Aug. 13 _ The High Republic: The Edge of Balance Vol. 3

Aug. 14 _ Darth Vader #49
Aug. 20 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)

Aug. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #1 (of 4), Star Wars #49, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #9, Saber for Hire #4 (of 4)
Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)
Aug. 28 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III — Crash and Burn One-Shot, Ahsoka #2 (of 8)
Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6; Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)
Sept. 4 _ The Acolyte — Kelnacca #1Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)
Sept. 11 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #10, Star Wars #50, Inquisitors #3 (of 4)
Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)

Sept. 18 _ Darth Vader #50

Sept. 25 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #2 (of 4), Ahsoka #3Oct. 8 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters”)
Oct. 9 _ Dispatches From the Occlusion Zone #1 (of 4)
Oct. 16 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #11Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8
Oct. 30 — Echoes of Fear #3 (of 4)Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte-- Kelnacca #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1); Saber for Hire TPB (Collects 1-4)Dec. 3 _ Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB “The Path of Light” (Collects 46-50)
Dec. 10 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2); Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4),Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)
Jan. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III TPB Vol. 2 (Collects 6-10)
Jan. 28 _ Jango Fett TPB (Collects 1-4, Revelations (2023) story)Feb. 18 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novelMarch 4 _ Star Wars: Inquisitors TPB (Collects 1-4)

April 8 _ The High Republic: Edge of Balance: Premonition April 22 _ The High Republic -- Edge of Balance (Vol. 4)

Fights are fought, plans come together and plots are revealed in Jango Fett #4 (of 4), as the mini-series sticks the landing while auguring more tales to come and revealing the first instances of Palpatine's plot to discredit Chancellor Valorum.Comics Discussed This Week:Jango Fett #4 (of 4) (5:29)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Darth Vader (Vol. 3) #44News: September solicits are due out this week from Marvel, while Dark Horse will have its October solicits.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4), Saber for Hire #3 (of 4),
July 2 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12); Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)
July 3 _ Inquisitors #1 (of 4), The High Republic Phase III #9July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8), The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ Star Wars #48July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4), Darth Vader #48, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8,July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15); Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)
July 31 _ Darth Maul: Black, White and Red #4 (of 4)

Aug. 7 _ Inquisitors #2 (of 4), The High Republic Phase III #10
Aug. 13 _ The High Republic: The Edge of Balance Vol. 3

Aug. 14 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #9, Darth Vader #49
Aug. 20 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)

Aug. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #1 (of 4), Star Wars #49
Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)
Aug. 28 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III — Crash and Burn One-Shot, Ahsoka #2 (of 8)
Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6; Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)
Sept. 11 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #10
Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)
Sept. 25 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #2 (of 4)Oct. 8 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1); Saber for Hire TPB (Collects 1-4)Dec. 3 _ Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB “The Path of Light” Collects 46-50)
Dec. 10 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2); Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4),Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)
Jan. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III TPB Vol. 2 (Collects 6-10)
Jan. 28 _ Jango Fett TPB (Collects 1-4, Revelations (2023) story)Feb. 18 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novelMarch 4 _ Star Wars: Inquisitors TPB (Collects 1-4)

April 8 _ The High Republic: Edge of Balance: Premonition April 22 _ The High Republic -- Edge of Balance (Vol. 4)

Nine years to the day we released the first episode of this podcast, we've reached the fabled No. 400 and drill down deep into Marvel's Darth Vader (Vol. 3) #47 as Luke Skywalker feels his father's looming presence and encounters one who knew his parents.Comics Discussed This Week:Darth Vader (Vol. 3) #47 (5:29)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Star Wars (Vol. 3) #44News: Not only is this our 400th episode (well, technically, it's our 407th) it's also the ninth anniversary of our very first episode, which debut on June 12, 2015. Yay us.Marvel will reprint the Star Wars Legends The Old Republic Omnibus, Vol. 1 in March 2025, Near Mint Condition has reported.In his latest Sketchbooks & Scratchpads artist profile, The High Republic Adventures writer Daniel José Older interviews artist Harvey Tolibao.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:June 18 _  Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12), Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 (New Printing)
June 19 _ Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4), Saber for Hire #3 (of 4),
July 2 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12); Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)
July 3 _ Inquisitors #1 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8), The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ Star Wars #48July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4), Darth Vader #48, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8,July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15); Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)
July 31 _ Darth Maul: Black, White and Red #4 (of 4)

Aug. 7 _ Inquisitors #2 (of 4), The High Republic Phase III #10
Aug. 13 _ The High Republic: The Edge of Balance Vol. 3

Aug. 14 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #9, Darth Vader #49
Aug. 20 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)

Aug. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #1 (of 4), Star Wars #49
Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)
Aug. 28 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III — Crash and Burn One-Shot, Ahsoka #2 (of 8)
Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6; Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)
Sept. 11 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #10
Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)
Sept. 25 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #2 (of 4)Oct. 8 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1); Saber for Hire TPB (Collects 1-4)Dec. 3 _ Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB “The Path of Light” Collects 46-50)
Dec. 10 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2); Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4),Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)
Jan. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III TPB Vol. 2 (Collects 6-10)
Jan. 28 _ Jango Fett TPB (Collects 1-4, Revelations (2023) story)Feb. 18 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novelMarch 4 _ Star Wars: Inquisitors TPB (Collects 1-4)

April 8 _ The High Republic: Edge of Balance: Premonition April 22 _ The High Republic -- Edge of Balance (Vol. 4)

From Hamlet's father being murdered by poison, to Romeo killing himself when he drinks poison, and several instances of hemlock, dragon's scales, hebenon and others in between, Shakespeare utilizes poison as a dramatic device in several of his works. The use of poison was not just an easy tool for a plot twist, however, since poison was both a pervasive fear at all levels of society as well as a convenient and readily available method to dispatch someone, given that poison was incredibly hard to trace back to the criminal that administered it. The fear of poison was exacerbated by a broad ignorance of chemistry, resulting in many of the accepted treatments for illness being, in themselves, poison (Syphilis was routinely treated with mercury, for example, which is toxic.) Doctors, as well as monarchs, developed elaborate and unusual tactics for prevention and cure for poison, while those seeking to overthrow a monarch, or take out their enemy, used poison to come up with some sophisticated and complex designs for murder. Here today to share with us the history of real poisons from Shakespeare's lifetime used for medical and criminal application, as well as some ordinary items no one knew was trying to kill them, is our guest and author of The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul. We're delighted to welcome Eleanor Herman to the show today.   Get bonus episodes on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The trial of Lando Calrissian comes to its conclusion, amid some heartfelt testimony and, dare we say it, potential clues to the next volume of the flagship Star Wars title in issue #47. In The High Republic Phase III #8, seeds are planted for what's likely to be a wildly chaotic conclusion to the 10-issue maxi-series.Comics Discussed This Week:The High Republic Phase III #8 (11:59)Star Wars (Vol. 3) #47 (29:31)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Thrawn Alliances #2News: That Star Wars: The Acolyte one-shot we mentioned before? It's Kelnacca and will be written by Cavan Scott with art by Marika Cresta and due out Sept. 4. Full details when September's solicits come out in a couple of weeks.Scores of retailer-exclusive variants are being revealed for the first Ahsoka #1, due out July 10.The Acolyte debuted this week on Disney+ (but you probably already knew that).Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:June 11 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 1 “Children of the Storm” TPB (Collects 1-4, Material from 2023's Revelations One-Shot), Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6)June 12 _ Darth Vader #47June 18 _ Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12)June 19 _ Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4), Saber for Hire #3 (of 4),
July 2_ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)
July 3 _ Inquisitors #1 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8),  The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ Star Wars #48July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4), Darth Vader #48, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8,July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)
July 31 _ Darth Maul: Black, White and Red #4 (of 4)
Aug. 7 _ Inquisitors #2 (of 4), The High Republic Phase III #10 
Aug. 13 _ The High Republic: The Edge of Balance Vol. 3

Aug. 14 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #9, Darth Vader #49
Aug. 20 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)

Aug. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #1 (of 4), Star Wars #49
Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)
Aug. 28 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III — Crash and Burn One-Shot, Ahsoka #2 (of 8)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6, Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)Sept. 11 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #10Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Sept. 25 _ The High Republic Adventures -- Echoes of Fear #2 (of 4)Oct. 8 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1); Saber for Hire TPB (Collects 1-4)Dec. 3 _ Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB (Collects 46-50)
Dec. 10 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2); Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4),Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)
Jan. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III TPB Vol. 2 (Collects 6-10)
Jan. 28 _ Jango Fett TPB (Collects 1-4, Revelations (2023) story)Feb. 18 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novelMarch 4 _ Inquisitors TPB (Collects 1-4)April 8 _ The High Republic: Edge of Balance: Premonition April 22 _ The High Republic -- Edge of Balance (Vol. 4)

Four books are out this week, including the return of a character from the Bounty Hunters series in Jango Fett #3, while The High Republic features a double dose of stories -- Saber for Hire #2 and The High Republic Adventures #6 -- and Darth Maul contends with another Palpatine-decreed threat (or is it?) in Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2.Comics Discussed This Week:Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4) (6:31)Jango Fett #3 (of 4) (17:38)Saber for Hire #2 (of 4) (34:17)The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6 (52:57)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Star Wars (Vol. 3) #43The High Republic Phase III #4 and 5News: The TPBs for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hyperspace Stories, Vol. 3 and The High Republic Phase III Vol. are all due out June 11.Traversing the Stars has an interview with writer Ethan Sacks about the Jango Fett mini-series and more.August solicits from Marvel reveal a light month, with no reveal of The Acolyte one-shot or the expected Doctor Aphra outing. The High Republic Phase III ends with #10.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:June 5 _ Star Wars #47, The High Republic Phase III #8, Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4) 2nd PrintingJune 11 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 1 “Children of the Storm” TPB (Collects 1-4, Material from 2023's Revelations One-Shot), Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6)June 12 _ Darth Vader #47June 18 _ June 18 _  Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12)June 19 _ Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4), Saber for Hire #3 (of 4),
July 2_ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)
July 3 _ Inquisitors #1 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8),  The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ Star Wars #48July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4), Darth Vader #48, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8,July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)
July 31 _ Darth Maul: Black, White and Red #4 (of 4)
Aug. 7 _ Inquisitors #2 (of 4), The High Republic Phase III #10 
Aug. 13 _ The High Republic: The Edge of Balance Vol. 3

Aug. 14 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #9, Darth Vader #49
Aug. 20 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)

Aug. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #1 (of 4), Star Wars #49
Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)
Aug. 28 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III — Crash and Burn One-Shot, Ahsoka #2 (of 8)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6, Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)Sept. 11 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #10Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Sept. 25 _ The High Republic Adventures -- Echoes of Fear #2 (of 4)Oct. 1 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1); Saber for Hire TPB (Collects 1-4)Dec. 3 _ Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB (Collects 46-50)
Dec. 10 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2); Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4),Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)
Jan. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III TPB Vol. 2 (Collects 6-10)
Jan. 28 _ Jango Fett TPB (Collects 1-4, Revelations (2023) story)Feb. 18 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novel

Lando reaches a pivotal point in not just his court martial, but his thinking as readers are treated to a new look at the steely determination of Mon Mothma in Star Wars (Vol. 3) #46.Comics Discussed This Week:Star Wars #46 (10:11)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Darth Vader (Vol. 3) #43News: Some slight delays for Dark Horse's Star Wars comics titles._ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4) now due out June 26, not June 19_ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7 now due out July 10, not June 26The last four variant covers for Star Wars: Ahsoka #1 feature AKA's virgin variant, the TV variant, the concept-art variant and The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary by Chris Sprouse, Karl Story and Neeraj Menon. They're all due out July 10.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0) May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4), The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6, Saber for Hire #2 (of 4)June 5 _ Star Wars #47, The High Republic Phase III #8, Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4) 2nd PrintingJune 12 _ Darth Vader #47June 19 _ Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4), Saber for Hire #3 (of 4),
July 2_ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12); The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story); Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)
July 3 _ Inquisitors #1 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8),  The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ Star Wars #48July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4), Darth Vader #48, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8,July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)
July 31 _ Darth Maul: Black, White and Red #4 (of 4)
Aug. 13 _ The High Republic: The Edge of Balance Vol. 3

Aug. 14 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #9
Aug. 20 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)

Aug. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #1 (of 4)
Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)
Aug. 28 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III — Crash and Burn One-Shot
Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6, Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Oct. 1 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1); Saber for Hire TPB (Collects 1-4)Dec. 3 _ Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB (Collects 46-50)
Dec. 10 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2); Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4),Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)
Jan. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III TPB Vol. 2 (Collects 6-10)
Jan. 28 _ Jango Fett TPB (Collects 1-4, Revelations (2023) story)Feb. 18 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novel

The four-issue Mace Windu mini-series comes to a solid conclusion, with what we hope might be the chance for another outing, given the final page of the issue.Comics Discussed This Week:Mace Windu #4 (of 4) (12:55)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Mace Windu #1 (of 4)Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation #5 (of 6)News: Dark Horse is set to publish the four-issue The High Republic Adventures -- Dispatches From the Occlusion Zone starting in October. It'll feature stories written by Daniel Jose Older, Alyssa Wong and Cavan Scott. No artists have been announced to date, but Jake Bartok is doing the main cover.Head over to the Facebook page to see four interior pages of art from Star Wars: Inquisitors #1 and 2 by Ramon Rosanas. The first issue's page are colored, but  not lettered, while the second issue's pages are neither colored or lettered.The first cover for the Dark Horse-published Echoes of Fear four-issue mini-series, due in August, is out and viewable on the Facebook page and Twitter feed.Just a friendly reminder that Marvel's The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary variant covers will total 25. Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0) May 22 _ Star Wars #46May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4), The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6, Saber for Hire #2 (of 4)June 5 _ Star Wars #47, The High Republic Phase III #8, Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (2nd Printing)
June 12 _ Darth Vader #47June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4), Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4), The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7
July 2 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12); The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story); Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)July 3 _ Inquisitors #1 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8, Star Wars #48July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4), Darth Vader #48July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)
July 31 _ Darth Maul: Black, White and Red #4 (of 4)
Aug. 14 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #9
Aug. 20 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)

Aug. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #1 (of 4)
Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)
Aug. 28 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III — Crash and Burn One-Shot
Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6, Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Oct. 1 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1); Saber for Hire TPB (Collects 1-4)Dec. 3 _ Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4), Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB (Collects 46-50)Dec. 10 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2)Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)
Jan. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III TPB Vol. 2 (Collects 6-10); Jango Fett TPB (Collects 1-4, Revelations (2023) story)Jan. 29 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novel

In The High Republic Phase III #7, Keeve Trennis comes to a startling realization even as Lourna Dee has ... a heart?In Darth Vader #46, readers are taken to Exegol and it's quite the ride with implications derived from the Sequel Trilogy.We also take a quick run through both of the Star Wars Free Comic Book Day 2024 issues.Comics Discussed This Week:The High Republic Phase III #7 (3:05)Darth Vader (Vol. 3) #46 (18:03)Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD) (35:10)Star Wars/Darth Vader #1 (FCBD) (37:12)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) #40News: Some slight delays for Dark Horse's The High Republic Adventures Phase III, with #6 now due out May 29 and not May 22, and #7 due out June 26 instead of June 12. Saber for Hire #2 is now due out May 29 and not May 15.The High Republic Phase III #4 and 5 are coming to Marvel Unlimited a smidge early, and will appear on the service May 27.Despite our being perplexed about the lack of reveals of June's Pride variants on this week's episode, Marvel did so on Tuesday. They include:_ Star Wars #47, Ruu by Phil Jimenez (June 5)_ The High Republic Phase III #8 by Paulina Ganucheau (June 5)_ Darth Vader #47 by Rachael Stott (June 12)_ Jango Fett #4 (o 4) by Javier Garrón (June 19)Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:May 15 _ Mace Windu #4 (of 4) May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0) May 22 _ Star Wars #46May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4), The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6, Saber for Hire #2 (of 4)June 5 _ Star Wars #47, The High Republic Phase III #8, Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (2nd Printing)
June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12); The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story); Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)June 12 _ Darth Vader #47June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4), Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4), The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7
July 3 _ Inquisitors #1 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8, Star Wars #48July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4), Darth Vader #48July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)
July 31 _ Darth Maul: Black, White and Red #4 (of 4)
Aug. 14 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #9
Aug. 20 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)

Aug. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #1 (of 4)
Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)
Aug. 28 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III — Crash and Burn One-Shot
Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6, Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Oct. 1 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1); Saber for Hire TPB (Collects 1-4)Dec. 3 _ Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4), Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB (Collects 46-50)Dec. 10 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2)Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)
Jan. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III TPB Vol. 2 (Collects 6-10); Jango Fett TPB (Collects 1-4, Revelations (2023) story)Jan. 29 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novel

Fittingly time, Marvel's The Phantom Menace Anniversary Special #1 (it's a one-shot) is out this week just ahead of Star Wars Day. It provides a satisfying look at the 1999 film, showing us key parts of the story that were only alluded to in the movie. Greg Pak, Will Sliney, Guru e-FX and VC's Joe Caramagna deliver a solidly entertaining -- and informative -- issue.Comics Discussed This Week:The Phantom Menace Anniversary Special #1 (10:45)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Thrawn Alliances #1 (of 4)News: Star Wars: Vader's Castle the Deluxe Library Collection has been pushed back a week to Oct. 1 from Sept. 24. It collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019's FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters."In his latest newsletter (if you haven't yet subscribed, you should -- https://mailchi.mp/f0a5b413051c/charlessoule), Charles Soule provides an intriguing update on his work on Star Wars' The High Republic.The June Pride variants are starting to filter out into the world. Check the Facebook page or Twitter feed to see them as they're released.Free Comic Book Day is May 4. Marvel will have Star Wars/Darth Vader #1 and Dark Horse Young Jedi Adventures.Matt joined the This Is Lit podcast to talk about Star Wars comics. You can listen (and subscribe) here.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:May 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)May 8 _ Darth Vader #46,  The High Republic Phase III #7May 15 _ Saber for Hire #2 (of 4), Mace Windu #4 (of 4) May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0) May 22 _ Star Wars #46, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4)June 5 _ Star Wars #47, The High Republic Phase III #8, Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (2nd Printing)
June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12); The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story); Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)June 12 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7, Darth Vader #47June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4), Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4)
July 3 _ Inquisitors #1 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8, Star Wars #48July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4), Darth Vader #48July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)
July 31 _ Darth Maul: Black, White and Red #4 (of 4)
Aug. 14 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #9
Aug. 20 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)

Aug. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #1 (of 4)
Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)
Aug. 28 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III — Crash and Burn One-Shot
Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6, Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Oct. 1 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1); Saber for Hire TPB (Collects 1-4)Dec. 3 _ Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4), Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB (Collects 46-50)Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 24 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)
Jan. 22 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III TPB Vol. 2 (Collects 6-10)Jan. 29 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novel

Zeen and Lula reach a milestone decision in the pages of Dark Horse's The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5, as the first arc of the comic comes to an end, yet sets up what's likely to be a dynamic run through issues 6-10. In Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4), the Sith apprentice contends with an almost Lovecraftian-like horror and inner madness that evokes a Guillermo del Toro film. It's dark and trippy and what Star Wars would be like if it were in the Hellraiser universe. Finally, Jango Fett seemingly makes some headway in his latest job for the Republic, as the plot thickens around the theft of the Hope of Gleen Anselm. Jango Fett #2 (of 4) is the organic prequel to Bounty Hunters and, based on this issue alone, is worthy of being turned into a monthly series.Comics Discussed This Week:Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4) (10:45)Jango Fett #2 (of 4) (20:53)The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5 (44:20)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Bounty Hunters #42Obi-Wan Kenobi #3The High Republic Phase III #3News: Dark Horse will publish a new, likely four issue, The HighRepublic Adventures mini-series in August. Echoes of Fear is due out Aug. 21 and will be written by George Mann, with art by Vincenzo Federici, colors by Michael Atiyeh and letters by Comicraft's Tyler Smith and Jimmy Betancourt.Due out Aug. 28 is the Crash and Burn one-shot, a sequel to the prior one-shot.Dark Horse will release The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 2 TPB on Jan. 22, 2025 (collects 6-10).Matt joined the This Is Lit podcast to talk about Star Wars comics. You can listen (and subscribe) here.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:April 30 _ Shadows of Starlight TPB (Collecting 1-4)May 1 _ The Phantom Menace Special #1 One-ShotMay 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)May 8 _ Darth Vader #46,  The High Republic Phase III #7May 15 _ Saber for Hire #2 (of 4), Mace Windu #4 (of 4) May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0) May 22 _ Star Wars #46, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4)June 5 _ Star Wars #47, The High Republic Phase III #8
June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12); The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story); Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)June 12 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7, Darth Vader #47June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4), Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4)
July 3 _ Inquisitors #1 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8, Star Wars #48July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4), Darth Vader #48July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)
July 31 _ Darth Maul: Black, White and Red #4 (of 4)
Aug. 14 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #9
Aug. 20 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)

Aug. 21 _ The High Republic Adventures — Echoes of Fear #1 (of 4)
Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)
Aug. 28 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III — Crash and Burn One-Shot
Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6, Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Sept. 24 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1); Saber for Hire TPB (Collects 1-4)Dec. 3 _ Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4), Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB (Collects 46-50)Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 24 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)
Jan. 22 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III TPB Vol. 2 (Collects 6-10)Jan. 29 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novel

Ty Yorrick (and Drewen) return in a Phase III-set story from Cavan Scott and Rachael in The High Republic Adventures: Saber for Hire #1 (of 4) that features a charming parallel story featuring Kip and Jom that has, to us, some ominous foreshadowing. In Mace Windu #3 (of 4), we're treated to a side of the Jedi we've not really seen much of: Idealist Jedi Knight.Comics Discussed This Week:Saber for Hire #1 (of 4) (5:49)Mace Windu #3 (of 4) (27:14)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:The Mandalorian Season 2 #8Star Wars (Vol. 3) #42News: Marvel will  launch a Star Wars: Inquisitors mini-series on July 3, written by Rodney Barnes and art by Ramon Rosanas. So far, the covers for the first issue are by Nick Bradshaw, Alex Maleev and Walt Simonson.Dark Horse has scheduled The High Republic Adventures -- Saber for Hire TPB for release on Nov. 26. It collects the four-issue mini-series.Issues #5 and #6 of The High Republic Adventures Phase III have been pushed back by a week to April 24 and May 22.The Star Wars Legends Omnibus The Rebellion Vol. 2 has been pushed to June 11 from May 14.The Mace Windu TPB collecting that four-issue mini-series (plus the story from the Revelations (2023) one-shot) is now due out Aug. 20 and not Aug. 6.We're still awaiting an official announcement for the Star Wars: The Acolyte #1 one-shot.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:April 23 _ Star Wars by Gillen & Pak Omnibus (Collects Star Wars (2015) 38-75, Star Wars Annual 4, Star Wars: Empire Ascendant 1); Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) Vol. 7 “Dark Droids” TPB (Collects 32-40)April 24 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5, Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4), Jango Fett #2 (of 4)April 30 _ Shadows of Starlight TPB (Collecting 1-4)May 1 _ The Phantom Menace Special #1 One-ShotMay 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)May 8 _ Darth Vader #46,  The High Republic Phase III #7May 15 _ Saber for Hire #2 (of 4), Mace Windu #4 (of 4)May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0) May 22 _ Star Wars #46, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4)June 5 _ Star Wars #47, The High Republic Phase III #8June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12); The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story)June 12 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7, Darth Vader #47June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4), Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4)July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)Aug. 20 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6, Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Sept. 24 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1); Saber for Hire TPB (Collects 1-4)Dec. 3 _ Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4), Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB (Collects 46-50)Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 24 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)Jan. 29 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novel

The adaptation of Thrawn Alliances ends with a cliffhanger and what's surely to be another four-issue mini-series collecting the second half of the Timothy Zahn novel. In Darth Vader #45, Enric Pryde proves his mettle -- and loyalty -- to Vader, despite his fellow Schism Imperial members' bewilderment. Finally, The High Republic travels to Phase II as Tey Sirrek takes center stage in Phase III in a story that provides clarity and romance in The High Republic #6.Comics Discussed This Week:Thrawn Alliances #4 (of 4) (14:06)Darth Vader (Vol. 3) #45 ( )The High Republic Phase III #6 (  )Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Darth Vader (Vol. 3) #42The High Republic -- Shadows of Starlight #4 (of 4)News: The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5 and 6 have been delayed by week to April 24 and May 22, respectively.Thrawn Alliances will likely continue in a second four-issue miniseries, hopefully to be announced in July's solicits.We're awaiting an official announcement for the Star Wars: The Acolyte #1 one-shot.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:April 16 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand 0-6, Shadows of the Empire - Evolution 1-5, The Jabba Tape, Boba Fett - Twin Engines of Destruction and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14-15, 20 and 22); Bounty Hunters Vol. 7 TPB “Dark Droids” (Collects 35-42)April 17 _ Mace Windu #3 (of 4), Saber for Hire #1 (of 4)April 23 _ Star Wars by Gillen & Pak Omnibus (Collects Star Wars (2015) 38-75, Star Wars Annual 4, Star Wars: Empire Ascendant 1); Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) Vol. 7 “Dark Droids” TPB (Collects 32-40)April 24 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5, Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4), Jango Fett #2 (of 4)April 30 _ Shadows of Starlight TPB (Collecting 1-4)May 1 _ The Phantom Menace Special #1 One-ShotMay 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)May 8 _ Darth Vader #46,  The High Republic Phase III #7May 14 _ Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)May 15 _ Saber for Hire #2 (of 4), Mace Windu #4 (of 4)May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0) May 22 _ Star Wars #46, The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4)June 5 _ Star Wars #47, The High Republic Phase III #8June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); ; Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12)June 12 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7, Darth Vader #47June 18 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story)June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4), Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4)July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)Aug. 6 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6, Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Sept. 24 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1)Dec. 3 _ Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4), Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB (Collects 46-50)Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 24 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)Jan. 29 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novel

The trial of Lando Calrissian finds the charming con man facing down his past, while plotting his present and future, as he settles comfortably into his new role -- not facade -- as a Rebel in Star Wars (Vol. 3) #45.Comics Discussed This Week:Star Wars (Vol. 3) #45 (14:06)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Dark Droids #5 (of 5)The Mandalorian Season 2 #7News: We're getting a Star Wars: The Acolyte one-shot? That's what we intuit from the solicit for Nov. 19's The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2 "The Hunted" TPB that collects issues 5-8, but also "Star Wars: The Acolyte (2024) #1."Based on the solicit for Dec. 3's Star Wars, Vol. 9 and Dec. 31's Darth Vader, Vol. 10 TPBs, we are prepping for Return of the Jedi in Marvel's main title. Does this mean they're ending? Looks like it is to us, with a relaunch to follow.The Star Wars Vol. 8 TPB (Sept. 3) will collect material from the Star Wars Revelations (2023) one-shot and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars issues, while the Darth Vader Vol. 9 TPB (Sept. 10) will collect May 1's The Phantom Menace one-shot and material from Revelation.Due out Aug. 27 is The High Republic Adventures Phase III, Vol. 1 TPB collecting issues 1-5.The Hyperspace Stories -- Qui-Gon TPB has been pushed back to Jan. 29, 2025, per Dark Horse's website, though PRH still lists it for Oct. 22.Dark Horse confirms to us that The High Republic: Crash and Burn due in August will be a one-shot.The four-Issue Darth Vader: Black, White & Red Mini-Series is getting a trade paperback collection due out Dec. 3.April 24's Star Wars (2015) Omnibus Vol. 2 "Star Wars by Gillen & Pak" will also include the Storms of Crait one-shot.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:April 9 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) Vol. 8 TPB (Collects 37-41), The Mandalorian Season 2, Part II TPB (Collects 5-8)April 10 _ Darth Vader #45, Thrawn: Alliances #4 (of 4), The High Republic Phase III #6April 16 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand 0-6, Shadows of the Empire - Evolution 1-5, The Jabba Tape, Boba Fett - Twin Engines of Destruction and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14-15, 20 and 22); Bounty Hunters Vol. 7 TPB “Dark Droids” (Collects 35-42)April 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5, Mace Windu #3 (of 4), Saber for Hire #1 (of 4)April 23 _ Star Wars by Gillen & Pak Omnibus (Collects Star Wars (2015) 38-75, Star Wars Annual 4, Star Wars: Empire Ascendant 1); Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) Vol. 7 “Dark Droids” TPB (Collects 32-40)April 24 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4), Jango Fett #2 (of 4)April 30 _ Shadows of Starlight TPB (Collecting 1-4)May 1 _ The Phantom Menace Special #1 One-ShotMay 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)May 8 _ Darth Vader #46,  The High Republic Phase III #7May 14 _ Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)May 15 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6, Saber for Hire #2 (of 4), Mace Windu #4 (of 4)May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0) May 22 _ Star Wars #46May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4)June 5 _ Star Wars #47, The High Republic Phase III #8June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); ; Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12)June 12 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7, Darth Vader #47June 18 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story)June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4), Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4)July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)Aug. 6 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)Aug. 27 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III Vol. 1 TPB (Collects 1-5)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6, Star Wars, Vol. 8 “The Sith and the Skywalker” TPB (Collects 42-45, material from Revelations (2023) #1 and Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars)Sept. 10 _ Darth Vader, Vol. 9 “Rise of the Schism Imperial” TPB (Collects 42-45, The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special and material from Revelations (2023) #1)Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Sept. 24 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 19 _ The High Republic Phase III Vol. 2, “The Hunted” TPB (Collects 5-8, Star Wars: The Acolyte #1)Nov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets (Collects 1-12, Director's Cut 1, Darth Vader Annual 1)Dec. 3 _ Darth Vader: Black, White  Red TPB (Collects 1-4), Star Wars Vol. 9 TPB (Collects 46-50)Dec. 17 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 2 New Printing (Collects Dark Times 6-17, Dark Times - Blue Harvest 0 and Out of the Wilderness 1-5)Dec. 24 _ Star Wars Legends: The Empire Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Collects Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit 1, Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi 1,Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap 1, Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire 1-4, Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse 1-5, Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets 1-5, The Force Unleashed,  The Force Unleashed II, Star Wars: Blood Ties 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead 1-4, Star Wars: Empire 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse 2)Dec. 31 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) TPB (Collects 46-50, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars #1 Darth Vader Story)Jan. 29 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon original graphic novel

Ghostly encounters that defy explanation are reported at two haunted houses. Are you brave enough to explore these mysterious cases where the line between the living and the dead blurs, and every shadow holds a secret? In our first story, we delve into the grisly crimes of a house shrouded in a sinister past. Who—or what—haunts its halls, leaving guests trembling in fear? What secrets lurk within the walls, and why does the specter of violence linger in the darkness? We then venture to Oaklands, where a chance encounter with a spectral figure sets off a chain of unsettling events. Who is the mysterious woman with the swan-shaped candlestick, and what dark omens does she bring? Explore the lore with Mark Rees (Ghosts of Wales) on the Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast... if you dare. Until next time, nos da!   ORDER PARANORMAL CARDIFF BY MARK REES: Mark's latest "Ghosts of Wales" book "Paranormal Cardiff". You can order it online here.   BUY MARK REES A COFFEE: If you'd like to support the GHOSTS AND FOLKLORE OF WALES podcast you can treat Mark to a coffee here: Mark Rees on Ko-Fi - thank you/ diolch!  https://ko-fi.com/markrees    WHAT IS THE GHOSTS AND FOLKLORE OF WALES PODCAST WITH MARK REES? The "Ghosts and Folklore of Wales" podcast explores Welsh ghosts and ghost stories, lore, myths and legends. Launched by author and journalist Mark Rees (Ghosts of Wales/ Paranormal Wales) in early 2020, this weird and wonderful podcast takes a fascinating look at the country's countless curious subjects by combining decades of research from many books and articles with long-lost tales from dusty old tomes. Ranging from "real life" encounters with the uncanny to fantastical adventures from the Mabinogion, new episodes are uploaded every other (Folklore) Thursday and feature everything from pesky poltergeists to fire-breathing dragons, with the odd wicked - and not-so-wicked - witch along the way. Along with the regular stories you can also expect the odd special guest, an occasional live ghost hunt, and all sorts of crazy ideas. Seasonal specials include the dark folklore and Gothic Halloween (Nos Calan Gaeaf) traditions, and everyone's favourite skulled-headed Christmas visitor, the Mari Lwyd herself. Dare you explore haunted Wales? From the sublime mountains and cascading waterfalls to the bustling cities and remote farms, go in search of the paranormal and the unexplained in all corners of Cymru - think of it as opening the Welsh The X-Files... and some tenuous Ghostbusters links! Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a spooky episode, and for more details and to get in touch with Mark Rees, please visit https://markreesonline.com/: Mark Rees homepage Mark Rees on social media Books by Mark Rees (Ghosts of Wales, Paranormal Wales etc.) Ghosts and Folklore of Wales podcast It's spooky time!

Crash is back, with Ruu along for the jump in Dark Horse's The High Republic Adventures -- Crash Landing one-shot, while the adaptation of Obi-Wan Kenobi concludes its six-issue run.Comics Discussed This Week:Obi-Wan Kenobi #6 (of 6) (27:07)The High Republic Adventures -- Crash Landing (48:06)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Darth Vader (Vol. 3) #41Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) #39Revelations (2023) #1The High Republic Phase III #2News: June solicits for Marvel's Star Wars comics are on the Facebook page, as are Dark Horse's July solicits.Hasbro is releasing a Star Wars: The Last Command comic-inspired four pack of six-inch Black Series figures that includes Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade, Luuke and Joruus C'baoth.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:April 3 _ Star Wars #45April 9 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) Vol. 8 TPB (Collects 37-41), The Mandalorian Season 2, Part II TPB (Collects 5-8)April 10 _ Darth Vader #45, Thrawn: Alliances #4 (of 4), The High Republic Phase III #6April 16 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand 0-6, Shadows of the Empire - Evolution 1-5, The Jabba Tape, Boba Fett - Twin Engines of Destruction and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14-15, 20 and 22); Bounty Hunters Vol. 7 TPB “Dark Droids” (Collects 35-42)April 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5, Mace Windu #3 (of 4), Saber for Hire #1 (of 4)April 23 _ Star Wars by Gillen & Pak Omnibus (Collects Star Wars (2015) 38-75, Star Wars Annual 4, Star Wars: Empire Ascendant 1); Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) Vol. 7 “Dark Droids” TPB (Collects 32-40)April 24 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4), Jango Fett #2 (of 4) April 30 _ Shadows of Starlight TPB (Collecting 1-4)May 1 _ The Phantom Menace Special #1 One-ShotMay 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)May 8 _ Darth Vader #46, The High Republic Phase III #7May 14 _ Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)May 15 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6, Saber for Hire #2 (of 4), Mace Windu #4 (of 4) May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0) May 22 _ Star Wars #46May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4)June 4 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB (Collects 1-4)June 5 _ Star Wars #47, The High Republic Phase III #8June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); ; Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12)June 12 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7, Darth Vader #47June 18 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story)June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4), Jango Fett #4 (of 4)June 26 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #3 (of 4)July 10 _ Ahsoka #1 (of 8)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: The Thrawn Trilogy TPBJuly 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #8July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 24 _ Saber for Hire #4 (of 4)July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)Aug. 6 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Sept. 24 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 22 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon OGNOct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets

Why are Republicans and the right losing their minds over Taylor Swift, the gifted songwriter and globe-bestriding pop star? Why do they think her NFL tight end and Super Bowl-winning boyfriend is secretly gay—precisely because he's dating Taylor Swift? Why is this slice of Americana being portrayed as a deep-state op meant to hand the 2024 election to Joe Biden? To try to answer these, and other, similarly bewildering questions, Matt and Sam talked to writer B.D. McClay, whose Substack, Notebook, has become the essential guide to understanding Taylor Swift, her place in our culture and politics, and why she drives right-wingers (but not just right-wingers!) crazy. Read:B.D. McClay, "taylor derangement syndrome: on losing the normies," Notebook, Feb 3, 2024— "cruel summer is going number one," Notebook, Oct 22, 2023— "your future is me: let's talk about (sigh) swifties," Notebook, Oct 7, 2023— "Taylor Swift studies takes a detour," Sept 4, 2023— "Taylor Swift, Rockist," Notebook, Aug 4, 2023— "Taylor Swift studies, contd," Notebook, July 3, 2023— "(but I'm only looking at you)," Notebook, May 29, 2023— "A Decade of Sore Winners," The Outline, Dec 31, 2019. Clare Coffey, "Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince," Notebook, Sept 25, 2023Mark Harris, "Taylor Swift's ‘Look What You Made Me Do' Is the First Pure Piece of Trump-Era Pop Art," Vulture, Aug 30, 2017Edmund Smirk, "Swiftian Normality and the Freak Right," The American Mind, March, 7, 2024.Watch:Taylor Swift arguing with her Boomer Republican father about Tennessee U.S. Senate race (YouTube)Taylor Swift, folklore: the long pond studio sessions (2020)Bob Dylan, "Murder Most Foul" (2020)...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!

We open with a remembrance by Jeff of singer/songwriter Michael Knott, an artist who had an outsized influence on him. It's a touching tribute and worth your time.Then we break down the latest Star Wars comics news (8:45) and dive into Thrawn Alliances #3, Star Wars Visions: Takashi Okazaki #1, The High Republic Phase III #5 and last, but not least, Jango Fett #1, which marks writer Ethan J. Sacks' return to a galaxy far, far away.Comics Discussed This Week:Thrawn Alliances #3 (of 4) (15:00)Star Wars Visions: Takashi Okazaki #1 (20:36)The High Republic Phase III #5 (27:07)Jango Fett #1 (of 4) (48:06)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Bounty Hunters #41The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight #3 (of 4)News: Marvel's Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) won outstanding comic series at the 35th annual GLAAD awards. Congratulations to the book's entire creative team for the achievement.Ario Anindito says The High Republic Phase III #5 is his last issue. That makes us sad.Cavan Scott, in his newsletter, reveals the title and artist for The High Republic Phase III #9 in reponse to a question by Matt. So we know it's at least 10 issues.Dark Horse Comics will collect all the IDW Vader's Castle comics in a deluxe, oversized libray edition hardcover, including the "Droid Hunters" story from 2019's Free Comic Book Day issue. It's due out Sept. 24Phil Noto released a series of Nihil character portraits as part of Star Wars' first "Imperial March." The images are on the Facebook page.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:March 26 _ Dark Droids TPB (Collects 1-5)March 27 _ Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation #6 (of 6), The High Republic Adventures -- Crash Landing One-ShotApril 3 _ Star Wars #45April 9 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) Vol. 8 TPB (Collects 37-41), The Mandalorian Season 2, Part II TPB (Collects 5-8)April 10 _ Darth Vader #45, Thrawn: Alliances #4 (of 4), The High Republic Phase III #6April 16 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand 0-6, Shadows of the Empire - Evolution 1-5, The Jabba Tape, Boba Fett - Twin Engines of Destruction and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14-15, 20 and 22); Bounty Hunters Vol. 7 TPB “Dark Droids” (Collects 35-42)April 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5, Mace Windu #3 (of 4), Saber for Hire #1 (of 4)April 23 _ Star Wars by Gillen & Pak Omnibus (Collects Star Wars (2015) 38-75, Star Wars Annual 4, Star Wars: Empire Ascendant 1); Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) Vol. 7 “Dark Droids” TPB (Collects 32-40)April 24 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4), Jango Fett #2 (of 4) April 30 _ Shadows of Starlight TPB (Collecting 1-4)May 1 _ The Phantom Menace Special #1 One-Shot, The High Republic Phase III #7May 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)May 8 _ Darth Vader #46May 14 _ Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)May 15 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6, Saber for Hire #2 (of 4), Mace Windu #4 (of 4) May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0) May 22 _ Star Wars #46May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4)June 4 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB (Collects 1-4)June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); ; Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12)June 12 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7June 18 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story)June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4)July 16 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection Star Wars, Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, Director's Cut: Star Wars Vader Down 1, Darth Vader (2015) 13-15)July 23 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9)July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)Aug. 6 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Sept. 24 _ Star Wars: Vader's Castle The Deluxe Library Collection (Collects Tales From Vader's Castle, Return to Vader's Castle, Shadow of Vader's Castle, Ghosts of Vader's Castle and 2019 FCBD Issue story "Droid Hunters")Oct. 22 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon OGNOct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets

The prison-ship break begins in earnest in Dark Horse's The High Republic Adventures Phase III #4, an issue filled with several jaw-dropping surprises.In Darth Vader #44, an Imperial survivor of Dark Droids learns how to balance what's right and what's wrong, provided you stay on Vader's good side. Mace Windu #2 (of 4) expands on the titular jedi's history and personal philosophy, delivering an inspiring story while mining West End Games' Star Wars RPG for a certain character and unveiling a new Anzellan to the fold.Comics Discussed This Week:The High Republic Adventures Phase III #4 (of 8) (6:50)Darth Vader (Vol. 3) #44 (27:52)Mace Windu #2 (of 4) (46:40)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Dark Droids -- D-Squad #4 (of 4)News: The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5 has slipped by a week to April 24 from April 17.We noticed that the checklist for The High Republic Phase III from Marvel is now eight issues in issue #4, while in issue #3 it was 10 issues. No word, officially, as to why.Pete Woods' Edge of Spider-Verse #3 variant is an homage to Al Williams and Carlos Garzón's Star Wars #42 from September 1980.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:March 19 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Republic 78-80, Purge, Purge - Seconds to Die, Purge - The Hidden Blade one-shots, Purge - The Tyrant's Fist 1-2, Darth Vader and the Lost Command 1-5 and Dark Times 1-5)March 20 _ Jango Fett #1, Thrawn: Alliances #3 (of 4); Star Wars: Visions Takashi Okazaki #1, The High Republic Phase III #5March 26 _ Dark Droids TPB (Collects 1-5)March 27 _ Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation #6 (of 6), The High Republic Adventures -- Crash Landing One-ShotApril 3 _ Star Wars #45, The High Republic Phase III #6April 9 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) Vol. 8 TPB (Collects 37-41), The Mandalorian Season 2, Part II TPB (Collects 5-8)April 10 _ Darth Vader #45, Thrawn: Alliances #4 (of 4)April 16 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand 0-6, Shadows of the Empire - Evolution 1-5, The Jabba Tape, Boba Fett - Twin Engines of Destruction and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14-15, 20 and 22); Bounty Hunters Vol. 7 TPB “Dark Droids” (Collects 35-42)April 17 _ Mace Windu #3 (of 4), The High Republic -- Saber for Hire #1 (of 4)April 23 _ Star Wars by Gillen & Pak Omnibus (Collects Star Wars (2015) 38-75, Star Wars Annual 4, Star Wars: Empire Ascendant 1); Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) Vol. 7 “Dark Droids” TPB (Collects 32-40)April 24 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4), Jango Fett #2 (of 4), The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5April 30 _ Shadows of Starlight TPB (Collecting 1-4)May 1 _ The Phantom Menace Special #1 One-Shot, The High Republic Phase III #7May 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)May 8 _ Darth Vader #46May 14 _ Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)May 15 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6, Saber for Hire #2 (of 4), Mace Windu #4 (of 4)May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0)May 22 _ Star Wars #46May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4)June 4 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB (Collects 1-4)June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12)June 12 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7June 18 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story)June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9); Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection Star Wars, Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, Director's Cut: Star Wars Vader Down 1, Darth Vader (2015) 13-15)July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)Aug. 6 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Oct. 22 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon OGNOct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets

Jedi Keeve Trennis and Terec and Ceret have taken matters into their own hands, bringing the captive Lourna Dee with them as they plunge into the Occlusion Zone in a bid to find Sskeer. But does Sskeer even want to be found? The High Republic #4 is laden with surprises and reveals.In Star Wars #44, Lando Calrissian goes on trial for treason and other crimes against the Rebel Alliance as the body realizes that while justice must be served, at what cost to the Rebellion's morale?Comics Discussed This Week:The High Republic Adventures Phase III #4 (of 8) (8:32)Star Wars (Vol. 3) #44 (26:20)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Obi-Wan Kenobi adaptation #3 (of 6)News: Dark Horse's Thrawn trilogy is being collected by Marvel in an Epic collection in July. It'll feature all 18 issues, along with a slew of extras to help delineate it from previous versions.Darth Vader (205) is getting a Modern Era epic collection in November. It'll collect 1-12, the director's cut of #1, along with the first annual.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:March 13 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #4, Darth Vader #44, Mace Windu #2 (of 4)March 19 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Republic 78-80, Purge, Purge - Seconds to Die, Purge - The Hidden Blade one-shots, Purge - The Tyrant's Fist 1-2, Darth Vader and the Lost Command 1-5 and Dark Times 1-5)March 20 _ Jango Fett #1, Star Wars: Visions Takashi Okazaki #1, The High Republic Phase III #5, Thrawn: Alliances #3 (of 4)March 26 _ Dark Droids TPB (Collects 1-5)March 27 _ Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation #6 (of 6), The High Republic Adventures -- Crash Landing One-ShotApril 3 _ Star Wars #45, The High Republic Phase III #6April 9 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) Vol. 8 TPB (Collects 37-41), The Mandalorian Season 2, Part II TPB (Collects 5-8)April 10 _ The High Republic -- Saber for Hire #1 (of 4)April 16 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand 0-6, Shadows of the Empire - Evolution 1-5, The Jabba Tape, Boba Fett - Twin Engines of Destruction and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14-15, 20 and 22); Bounty Hunters Vol. 7 TPB “Dark Droids” (Collects 35-42)April 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5April 23 _ Star Wars by Gillen & Pak Omnibus (Collects Star Wars (2015) 38-75, Star Wars Annual 4, Star Wars: Empire Ascendant 1); Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) Vol. 7 “Dark Droids” TPB (Collects 32-40)April 24 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4)
April 30 _ Shadows of Starlight TPB (Collecting 1-4)May 1 _ The Phantom Menace Special #1 One-Shot, The High Republic Phase III #7May 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)May 8 _ Darth Vader #46May 14 _ Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)May 15 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6, Saber for Hire #2 (of 4), Mace Windu #4 (of 4)
May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0)
May 22 _ Star Wars #46May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4)June 4 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB (Collects 1-4)June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); ; Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12)June 12 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7June 18 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story)June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9); Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection Star Wars, Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, Director's Cut: Star Wars Vader Down 1, Darth Vader (2015) 13-15)July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)Aug. 6 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Oct. 22 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon OGNOct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi OmnibusNov. 26 _ Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets

Alright, brave souls and easily spooked wanderers, before we dive into the adult-themed chaos of Dark Enigma, here's your legal heads-up. Our tales and banter might disturb, frighten, or even offend you. If you're the kind who faints at the sight of a dark shadow, this might not be your cup of eerie tea. Consider this your warning – listener discretion is advised, and we will not be held responsible for any spilled coffee, dropped jaws, or overly dramatic gasps that may ensue, so, clutch your pearls at your own peril. So, buckle up, or don't I'm not your mother, and you've been warned! Greetings, my heathens, and step right up to the vortex of the peculiar and unexplained – this is Dark Enigma! I'm your ringmaster, Nicole Delacroix, here to guide you through tales of things that go bump in the night, creatures that haunt your dreams, supernatural beings with more drama than your nosy neighbor, and a sprinkle of unsolved mysteries. So, buckle up, grab your beverage of choice and prepare to be whisked away to the dark, delightful conundrum of today's episode. Let the weirdness commence, as we dive into today's Dark Enigma. And on today's Dark Enigma brace yourselves for a topic that tickles the paranormal fancy! Here we are, diving into the abyss of the mysterious, armed with our usual dose of sarcasm and a dash of dark humor. And, of course, our drinking game – because let's face it, you're listening to a podcast, and your social calendar is as full as a ghost's wardrobe. So, round up your favorite spirits, be it a fancy wine or a trusty brew, and get ready to embark on a journey into the realms of the weird and wacky. Take a swig every time you're mystified by the podcast's spellbinding tales, or equally spellbinding host, but remember, the choice of poison is entirely yours. Choose wisely, and let the laughter and libations flow! Alright, now for the game part how about every time I say Elizabeth that will be a single shot and every time I say dark, that will be a double shot.  Now that the business end is out of the way we can jump headfirst into today's dark enigma… so don your best Victorian garb and grab your spyglasses as we dive into today's offering of Murder Most Foul, Laughter Most Delightful – Spilling the Beans on Elizabeth Fenning Ah, London in 1815: Close your eyes and imagine a city cloaked in a veil of perpetual gloom, where the sun struggles to pierce through the thick blanket of fog that hangs over the streets like a ghostly shroud. Cobblestone alleys wind their way through the labyrinthine maze of the city, lined with crooked buildings that lean precariously over the narrow sidewalks below. The air is heavy with the scent of coal smoke and sewage, mingling with the tantalizing aromas of roasting chestnuts and sizzling meat pies wafting from street vendors' carts.

Thrawn and Anakin have not only walked into a bar but nearly leveled the joint and either drove everyone out of it or left them supine and not in a good way. Such is Thrawn Alliances #2 (of 4), a rigorously faithful adaptation of the novel.Comics Discussed This Week:Thrawn Alliances #2 (of 4) #43 (4:13)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Bounty Hunters #40Dark Droids: D-Squad #3 (of 4)News: May solicits for Marvel and June's solicits from Dark Horse are on the Facebook page. No mention of a new Doctor Aphra title, but Prequel Trilogy fans should be delighted with a Phantom Menance Special one-shot, along with a series of Phantom Menace variant covers.Dark Horse's Hyperspace Stories -- Qui-Gon was delayed to Oct. 22 from July 23.In his The Cavletter, Cavan Scott offered up a peek at some art from next week's The High Republic Phase III #6 and recounted a tale of an opening for The High Republic not taken.Marvel is extending its Master & Apprentice variants through May, with that month's covers by Phil Noto and featuring Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, Snoke and Kylo Ren, Darth Sidious and Count Dooku, Plo Koon and Bultar Swan, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Skeer and Keeve Trennis.The High Republic Phase III Vol. 1 "Children of the Storm" is due out June 18 and will features #1-4 as well as the story from Revelations #1 (2023).The Thrawn TPB collecting the four-issue mini-series has been pushed to Sept. 17 from Sept. 3.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:March 5 _ Star Wars (Vol. 3), Vol. 7 (Collects 37-41), Dark Droids: D-Squad TPB (Collects 1-4)March 6 _ Star Wars #44, The High Republic Phase III #4March 13 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #4, Darth Vader #44, Mace Windu #2 (of 4)March 19 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Republic 78-80, Purge, Purge - Seconds to Die, Purge - The Hidden Blade one-shots, Purge - The Tyrant's Fist 1-2, Darth Vader and the Lost Command 1-5 and Dark Times 1-5)March 20 _ Jango Fett #1, The High Republic Adventures -- Crash Landing One-Shot, Star Wars: Visions Takashi Okazaki #1, The High Republic Phase III #5, Thrawn: Alliances #3 (of 4)March 26 _ Dark Droids TPB (Collects 1-5)March 27 _ Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation #6 (of 6)April 3 _ Star Wars #45, The High Republic Phase III #6April 9 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) Vol. 8 TPB (Collects 37-41), The Mandalorian Season 2, Part II TPB (Collects 5-8)April 10 _ The High Republic -- Saber for Hire #1 (of 4)April 16 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand 0-6, Shadows of the Empire - Evolution 1-5, The Jabba Tape, Boba Fett - Twin Engines of Destruction and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14-15, 20 and 22); Bounty Hunters Vol. 7 TPB “Dark Droids” (Collects 35-42)April 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5April 23 _ Star Wars by Gillen & Pak Omnibus (Collects Star Wars (2015) 38-75, Star Wars Annual 4, Star Wars: Empire Ascendant 1); Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) Vol. 7 “Dark Droids” TPB (Collects 32-40)April 24 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4)
April 30 _ Shadows of Starlight TPB (Collecting 1-4)May 1 _ The Phantom Menace Special #1 One-Shot, The High Republic Phase III #7May 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)May 8 _ Darth Vader #46May 14 _ Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)May 15 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6, Saber for Hire #2 (of 4), Mace Windu #4 (of 4)
May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0)
May 22 _ Star Wars #46May 29 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #2 (of 4), Jango Fett #3 (of 4)June 4 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB (Collects 1-4)June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); ; Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12)June 12 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #7June 18 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story)June 19 _ Saber for Hire #3 (of 4)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9); Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection Star Wars, Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, Director's Cut: Star Wars Vader Down 1, Darth Vader (2015) 13-15)July 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)Aug. 6 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Rebellion Vol. 6Sept. 17 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)Oct. 22 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon OGNOct. 29 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 8Nov. 12 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years — Droids & Ewoks; Star Wars: The High Republic Phase II — Quest of the Jedi Omnibus

A familiar face returns in the pages of Dark Horse's The High Republic Adventures Phase III #3 as Lula recounts her adventures when she didn't know who she was.Everything's gone green in Star Wars (Vol. 3) #43 as Luke Skywalker returns to what may, or may not, be an ancient Sith compound, as he strives to heal a red khyber crystal and, perhaps, learn something about not just himself, but the force, too.Comics Discussed This Week:Star Wars (Vol. 3) #43 (12:03)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Dark Droids #4 (of 5)Doctor Aphra #38The Mandalorian Season 2 #6Return of the Jedi -- The 40th Anniversary Covers by Chris SprouseStar Wars Visions Peach Momoko #1News: May solicits for Marvel's Star Wars comics are due this week, as are June solicits for Dark Horse's titles, too. Will the new Aphra book be among the former? Mace Windu writer Marc Bernardin sat down with the Ahch-To Radio podcast to talk about his career as a journalist and writer and how he came to write the new Mace Windu mini-series.An interview with Al Williams and Archie Goodwin about their Star Wars comic strip by the late Paul Neary has resurfaced. It was done in the early 1980s and printed in a UK edition of the Savage Sword of Conan.Upcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:Feb. 27 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: Rise of the Sith, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Jedi - The Dark Side 1-5, Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan: The Aurorient Express 1-2, Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan - Last Stand on Ord Mantell 1-3, Jedi Council - Acts of War 1-4 and material from Star Wars (1998) 4-6, Star Wars Tales 1-3, 5, 7, 9-10, 13-14 and 24)Feb. 28 _ Thrawn: Alliances #2 (of 4), Thrawn: Alliances #1 (2nd Printing)March 5 _ Star Wars (Vol. 3), Vol. 7 (Collects 37-41), Dark Droids: D-Squad TPB (Collects 1-4)March 6 _ Star Wars #44, The High Republic Phase III #4March 13 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #4, Darth Vader #44, Mace Windu #2 (of 4)March 19 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Republic 78-80, Purge, Purge - Seconds to Die, Purge - The Hidden Blade one-shots, Purge - The Tyrant's Fist 1-2, Darth Vader and the Lost Command 1-5 and Dark Times 1-5)March 20 _ Jango Fett #1, The High Republic Adventures -- Crash Landing One-Shot, Star Wars: Visions Takashi Okazaki #1, The High Republic Phase III #5, Thrawn: Alliances #3 (of 4)March 26 _ Dark Droids TPB (Collects 1-5)March 27 _ Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation #6 (of 6)April 3 _ Star Wars #45, The High Republic Phase III #6April 9 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) Vol. 8 TPB (Collects 37-41), The Mandalorian Season 2, Part II TPB (Collects 5-8)April 10 _ The High Republic -- Saber for Hire #1 (of 4)April 16 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand 0-6, Shadows of the Empire - Evolution 1-5, The Jabba Tape, Boba Fett - Twin Engines of Destruction and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14-15, 20 and 22); Bounty Hunters Vol. 7 TPB “Dark Droids” (Collects 35-42)April 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5April 23 _ Star Wars by Gillen & Pak Omnibus (Collects Star Wars (2015) 38-75, Star Wars Annual 4, Star Wars: Empire Ascendant 1); Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) Vol. 7 “Dark Droids” TPB (Collects 32-40)April 24 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4)
April 30 _ Shadows of Starlight TPB (Collecting 1-4)May 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)

May 14 _ Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)
May 15 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6 and Saber for Hire #2 (of 4)May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0)
June 4 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB (Collects 1-4)June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); ; Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12)June 18 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9); Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection Star Wars, Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, Director's Cut: Star Wars Vader Down 1, Darth Vader (2015) 13-15)July 23 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon OGNJuly 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)Aug. 6 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)

A familiar face returns in the pages of Dark Horse's The High Republic Adventures Phase III #3 as Lula recounts her adventures when she didn't know who she was.In Darth Vader (Vol. 3) #43, the Imperial Schism sets about its work of creating a schism in the empire as the Dark Lord utilizes lessons learned from the Dark Droids event amid befriending and betrayal.Comics Discussed This Week:The High Republic Adventures Phase III #3 (2:22)Darth Vader #43 (12:40)Star Wars Comics New to Marvel Unlimited This Week:Darth Vader (Vol. 3) #40Shadows of Starlight #2 (of 4)The High Republic Phase III #1News: The 2nd printing of Thrawn: Alliances #1 has been pushed up a week to Feb. 28 from March 6The AKA women's history month variant for Jango Fett #1, featuring Rose Tico, has been updated to better depict Kelly Marie Tran, as in she now looks like Rose Tico.Epic collections fans get ready because four more are coming from October to to December of this year, including: The New Republic Vol. 8 in October, Darth Vader Modern Era Vol. 1 and Droids & Ewoks in November a new printing of The Empire Vol. 2 in DecemberUpcoming Star Wars comics, graphic novels and omnibuses:Feb. 21 _ Star Wars #43
Feb. 27 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: Rise of the Sith, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Jedi - The Dark Side 1-5, Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan: The Aurorient Express 1-2, Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan - Last Stand on Ord Mantell 1-3, Jedi Council - Acts of War 1-4 and material from Star Wars (1998) 4-6, Star Wars Tales 1-3, 5, 7, 9-10, 13-14 and 24)Feb. 28 _ Thrawn: Alliances #2 (of 4), Thrawn: Alliances #1 (2nd Printing)March 5 _ Star Wars (Vol. 3), Vol. 7 (Collects 37-41), Dark Droids: D-Squad TPB (Collects 1-4)March 6 _ Star Wars #44, The High Republic Phase III #4March 13 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #4, Darth Vader #44, Mace Windu #2 (of 4)March 19 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Empire, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Republic 78-80, Purge, Purge - Seconds to Die, Purge - The Hidden Blade one-shots, Purge - The Tyrant's Fist 1-2, Darth Vader and the Lost Command 1-5 and Dark Times 1-5)March 20 _ Jango Fett #1, The High Republic Adventures -- Crash Landing One-Shot, Star Wars: Visions Takashi Okazaki #1, The High Republic Phase III #5, Thrawn: Alliances #3 (of 4)March 26 _ Dark Droids TPB (Collects 1-5)March 27 _ Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation #6 (of 6)April 3 _ Star Wars #45, The High Republic Phase III #6April 9 _ Darth Vader (Vol. 3) Vol. 8 TPB (Collects 37-41), The Mandalorian Season 2, Part II TPB (Collects 5-8)April 10 _ The High Republic -- Saber for Hire #1 (of 4)April 16 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The New Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Mara Jade - By the Emperor's Hand 0-6, Shadows of the Empire - Evolution 1-5, The Jabba Tape, Boba Fett - Twin Engines of Destruction and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14-15, 20 and 22); Bounty Hunters Vol. 7 TPB “Dark Droids” (Collects 35-42)April 17 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #5April 23 _ Star Wars by Gillen & Pak Omnibus (Collects Star Wars (2015) 38-75, Star Wars Annual 4, Star Wars: Empire Ascendant 1); Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) Vol. 7 “Dark Droids” TPB (Collects 32-40)April 24 _ Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 (of 4)
April 30 _ Shadows of Starlight TPB (Collecting 1-4)May 4 _ Young Jedi Adventures (FCBD), Star Wars #1 (FCBD)

May 14 _ Star Wars Legends: The Rebellion, Vol. 2 Omnibus (Collects Star Wars: River of Chaos (1995) 1-4; Star Wars: Empire (2002) 28-40; Star Wars: Rebellion (2006) 1-16; Star Wars: Boba Fett – Overkill (2006) 1; Star Wars: Boba Fett (1997) 1/2; Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1995) 1-4; material from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic/Rebellion (2006) 0; Star Wars Tales (1999) 3, 15, 17, 21)
May 15 _ The High Republic Adventures Phase III #6 and Saber for Hire #2 (of 4)May 21 _ Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic, Vol. 1 NEW PRINTING (Collects Knights of the Old Republic 1-18 and material from Kings of the Old Republic/Rebellion 0)
June 4 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB (Collects 1-4)June 11 _ Star Wars Legends: The New Republic Omnibus, Vol. 2 (Collects Star Wars: The Jabba Tape; Heir to the Empire 1-6, Dark Force Rising 1-6, The Last Command 1-6. Dark Empire 1-6, Dark Empire II 1-6), Empire's End 1-2, Boba Fett -- Twin Engines of Destruction, Bounty on Bar-Kooda, When the Fat Lady Swings, Murder Most Foul and Agent of Doom, Star Wars Handbook 3 and material from Star Wars Tales 1, 3-5, 10, 14, 20 and 22); Obi-Wan Kenobi Adaptation TPB (Collects 1-6); ; Hyperspace Stories Vol. 3 TPB "Light and Shadow" (Collects 9-12)June 18 _ The High Republic Phase III TPB, Vol. 1 (Collects 1-4, Star Wars: Revelations One-Shot The High Republic Story)July 16 _ Star Wars Legends: Tales of the Jedi omnibus. (Collects Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Prisoner of Bogan 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force War 1-5, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Golden Age of the Sith 0-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Fall of the Sith Empire 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 1-5, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1-2, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Sith War 1-6, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Redemption 1-5, material from Star Wars Tales 23 and Dark Horse Comics 7-9); Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection Star Wars, Vol. 1 (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, Director's Cut: Star Wars Vader Down 1, Darth Vader (2015) 13-15)July 23 _ Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon OGNJuly 30 _ Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes (Collects Star Wars (2015) 1-14, 1 Director's Cut, Vader Down 1, Darth Vader 13-15)Aug. 6 _ Mace Windu TPB (Collects 1-4, Story from Revelations (2023)Sept. 3 _ Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances TPB (Collects 1-4)

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